Temperature-dependent microtensile testing of thin film materials for application to microelectromechanical system

A specially designed microtensile apparatus capable of carrying out a series of tests on microscale thin films for microelectromechanical system (MEMS) applications at room temperature and at temperature up to 400°C has been developed and tested, and is described here. Several MEMS-applicable thin films were measured with it, including thermally grown silicon dioxide, gold, and gold–vanadium. The silicon dioxide was tested at room temperature. Gold and gold–vanadium films were tested at room temperature and at 200 and 400°C. Examples of these results are presented.

     

Temperature-dependent microtensile testing of thin film materials for application to microelectromechanical system

A specially designed microtensile apparatus capable of carrying out a series of tests on microscale thin films for microelectromechanical system (MEMS) applications at room temperature and at temperature up to 400°C has been developed and tested, and is described here. Several MEMS-applicable thin films were measured with it, including thermally grown silicon dioxide, gold, and gold–vanadium. The silicon dioxide was tested at room temperature. Gold and gold–vanadium films were tested at room temperature and at 200 and 400°C. Examples of these results are presented.     

Rare loss-of-function mutation of a death receptor gene in head and neck cancer

The chromosomal region 8p21 contains a number of putative tumor suppressor genes and is a frequent site of translocations in head and neck cancers. Recently, a novel tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) death receptor gene, KILLER/DR5, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family, was identified as a potential mediator in p53-dependent apoptosis and mapped to 8p21 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. We have determined the genomic structure of KILLER/DR5 and performed sequence analysis of all 10 coding exons in 20 primary head and neck cancers with allelic loss of chromosome 8p. To screen for a subset of mutations localized to the functional cytoplasmic death domain, we sequenced this region in an additional 40 primary head and neck cancers. We found two alterations in this domain, including a 2-bp insertion at a minimal repeat site, introducing a premature stop codon and resulting in a truncated protein. This KILLER/DR5 mutation was also present in the germ line of the affected patient, and the tumor did not have a p53 mutation by sequence analysis. Transfection studies in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and colon and ovarian carcinoma cell lines revealed loss of growth-suppressive function associated with the tumor-derived KILLER/DR5 truncation mutant. These observations provide the first evidence for mutation of a TRAIL death receptor gene in a human cancer, leading to loss of its apoptotic function.     

Apoptotic death of tumor cells correlates with chemosensitivity, independent of p53 or bcl-2

p53 has been implicated as a determinant of chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity. We measured chemosensitivity of human tumor cell lines (n = 11), with or without wild-type p53, following exposure to clinically useful chemotherapeutic drugs (n = 4). Chemosensitivity and apoptosis induction were correlated independently of p53 status or Bcl-2 protein levels in vitro. Wild-type p53 correlated with chemosensitivity in ovarian carcinoma and some Burkitt's lymphoma cells, but not in leukemia or lung cancer. Bcl-2 levels correlated with chemoresistance only in Burkitt's lymphoma. p53-dependent p21(WAF1/CIP1) induction and cell cycle arrest occurred at sublethal doses of chemotherapy, whereas at lethal doses of chemotherapy apoptotic death was observed, consistent with models proposing a relationship between the level of DNA damage versus survival or death. Loss of apoptosis induction was observed in drug-resistant ML-1 and HL-60 leukemia cells, without changes in p53 or Bcl-2. Targeted loss of p53 protein in H460 lung cancer cells using HPV-16 E6 inhibited the etoposide-induced G1 checkpoint but did not decrease chemosensitivity. Our studies suggest that the simple measurement of apoptosis induction may be a useful predictor of chemosensitivity, at least in vitro, and confirm that p53 status and Bcl-2 expression may be useful predictors of chemosensitivity in certain cell types.