Martina E. Bowen Ph.D.

Current Position:

Manager, Agents Research, Ansul Incorporated Tyco International, Marinette, WI

Education:

• Post Doctoral Fellow University of Arizona 2004-2007
• Ph.D. Organic Chemistry University of Arizona 2004
• B.S. Chemistry University of Massachusetts at Amherst 1997

Achievements:

• NIEHS Toxicology and Toxicogenomics Training Program Postdoctoral Trainee 2004-2007

Professional Experience:

• Research Chemistry, Ansul Incorporated Tyco International, Marinette, WI 2008-2011
• Research Assistant Mass Spectrometry Facility, Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona 1999-2001

Research Project:

Quinones and glutathionyl substituted hydroquinones have been studied in the Lau laboratory for many years. The mechanism of toxicity of these compounds involves generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protein arylation. My research project focused on understanding toxicant induced renal toxicity through these mechanisms.

The ROS generated in a cell can elicit oxidative DNA damage which can be measured by quantifying the amount of 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) in the cell. This is performed by extracting the DNA from toxicant-treated and untreated cells or from tissues obtained from control and treated animals. The isolated DNA is digested, and analyzed using a sensitive and selective method that was developed in the Lau Laboratory utilizing HPLC/UV and EC detection. Immunohistochemical detection of 8-oxo-dG in cells and tissues is also performed to provide validation and cell type-selective production of 8-oxo-dGs.

To study the adduction of proteins by the quinones, a biotin labeled hydroquinone has been synthesized in our laboratory. This compound was used to study the adduction sites of hydroquinone, and hydroquinone metabolites in vitro and in vivo. Using the biotin tag on the toxicant, the adducted proteins can be enriched by the use of avidin beads. The biotinylated adducted proteins will interact with the avidin while the unadducted proteins will not, giving an enriched sample of biotinylated proteins. This will enable the study of the adduction of hydroquinone in a complicated sample of proteins from tissue or urine.

Publications:

• Fisher, A.A., Labenski, M.T., Gokhale, V., Bowen, M.E., Milleron, R.S., Bratton, S.B., Monks, T. J. and Lau, S.S. Quinone electrophiles selectively adduct “electrophile binding motifs” within cytochrome c. Biochemistry, 46:11090-11100, 2007.
• Eblin, K.E., Bowen, M.E., Cromey, D., Bredfeldt, T.G., Mash, E.A., Lau, S.S. and Gandolfi, A.J. Arsenite and monomethylarsonous acid generate oxidative stress response in human bladder cell culture. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 217:7-14, 2006