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Articles 1 - 16 of 16
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The Characterization Of Inflammatory Extracellular Vesicles, Barak Balva
The Characterization Of Inflammatory Extracellular Vesicles, Barak Balva
Master's Theses
One of the driving factors behind innate immunity is the early response of inflammation. While beneficial in controlling infections, when uncontrolled it can lead to a plethora of disorders. Thus, it is essential to understand the driving factors behind inflammation. a cell's ability to recycle, discard, or transfer proteins is integral for survival and intercellular communication. It has been appreciated that inflammatory components, such as caspase-1, play a huge role in driving protein secretion. Thus, inflammation also plays a role in the distribution of proteins released from cells. These proteins are released via non-conventional secretory pathways, and our lab is …
Zika Virus Inactivates Polyamine Catabolism Via Alternative Splicing To Enhance Infection, Marion Lea Graham
Zika Virus Inactivates Polyamine Catabolism Via Alternative Splicing To Enhance Infection, Marion Lea Graham
Master's Theses
During viral infection, the virus and host must compete for resources inside the cell. One of these resources is polyamines. Polyamines are small, positively charged molecules that are found in all eukaryotic cells. They play a key role in several cellular functions including growth and proliferation, transcription and translation, and membrane stability. Viruses also rely polyamines for productive replication, utilizing them during DNA/RNa polymerization, nucleic acid packaging, and protein synthesis. in response to a virus infecting a host cell, the host cell will begin to regulate polyamine levels as a way to combat the infection. Polyamine levels are regulated by …
Optimizing Gene Expression Prediction And Omics Integration In Populations Of African Ancestry, Paul Chukwuebuka Okoro
Optimizing Gene Expression Prediction And Omics Integration In Populations Of African Ancestry, Paul Chukwuebuka Okoro
Master's Theses
Popular transcriptome imputation methods such as PrediXcan and FUSIon use parametric linear assumptions, and thus are unable to flexibly model the complex genetic architecture of the transcriptome. Although non-linear modeling has been shown to improve imputation performance, replicability and potential cross-population differences have not been adequately studied. Therefore, to optimize imputation performance across global populations, we used the non-linear machine learning (ML) models random forest (RF), support vector regression (SVR), and K nearest neighbor (KNN) to build transcriptome imputation models, and evaluated their performance in comparison to elastic net (EN). We trained gene expression prediction models using genotype and blood …
Characterization Of Caspase 1 Substrate Specificity Utilizing Luminescent Reporter Constructs, Nicholas Rohlfes
Characterization Of Caspase 1 Substrate Specificity Utilizing Luminescent Reporter Constructs, Nicholas Rohlfes
Master's Theses
Inflammation is the bodies first response to defend itself against foreign pathogens and damage. Cellular sensors are constantly monitoring the body and checking for homeostatic disruption. Microbial pathogens and tissue damage are sensed by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which sense pathogen associated molecular patterns and damage associated molecular patterns, termed PAMPs and DAMPs respectively. Within the family of PRRs are sensors that can induce the formation of the multi-protein complex termed the inflammasome following activation. the inflammasome complex is a molecular platform for which caspase 1, a cysteine protease, is incorporated and is responsible for the maturation of pro-inflammatory cytokines …
Reducing Reperfusion Injury In An Adult Rat Stroke Model With St-115 Treatment, Morgan Rae Lenz
Reducing Reperfusion Injury In An Adult Rat Stroke Model With St-115 Treatment, Morgan Rae Lenz
Master's Theses
The restoration of blood flow to ischemic cerebral tissue can result in reperfusion injury, and blocking reperfusion injury can significantly aid in recovery of ischemic tissue. Bradykinin has been shown to exhibit protective effects, but does not reach protective levels during reperfusion due to inactivation by aminopeptidase P2 (APP2). Therefore, inhibiting APP2 during reperfusion is a potential therapeutic strategy to aid in the reduction of reperfusion injury, leading to the development of ST-115, an APP2 inhibitor. It was hypothesized that administration of ST-115 during ischemic stroke, and just prior to reperfusion, will result in reduced neurological injury and increased functional …
Investigating Dispersal Ability To Infer Diversification In The Birds Of Madagascar, Robert D. Lauer
Investigating Dispersal Ability To Infer Diversification In The Birds Of Madagascar, Robert D. Lauer
Master's Theses
The objective of this study was to investigate whether dispersal ability, as measured by a proxy of hand-wing index 2, influenced diversification of the birds of Madagascar at two scales. Madagascar is home to several avian lineages that have diversified greatly while other lineages are only represented by a single species. a key question in evolutionary biology is why some of these lineages diversified while others did not. One way to address this is to examine what features of these lineages promotes their diversification. Recent studies have focused on the relative importance of dispersal ability to diversification at the continental …
Induction Of Zika And Dengue Virus-Specific Cd8+ T Cells By Means Of Dna Vaccine, Natalie Jachym
Induction Of Zika And Dengue Virus-Specific Cd8+ T Cells By Means Of Dna Vaccine, Natalie Jachym
Master's Theses
Zika virus (ZIKV) and Dengue virus (DENV) are flaviviruses that circulate in the same endemic regions and can co-infect the same individual. While primary infection by DENV leads to life-long immunity to the infecting serotype, it does not provide immunity to other serotypes. Moreover, ZIKV and DENV antibodies can be cross-reactive and potentially enhance infection of the other virus through a process known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). In this mechanism, antibodies weakly bind the infecting virus and direct virions to immunoglobulin Fc receptors on macrophages. This promotes viral uptake and infection rather than neutralize the virus. Due to this mechanism, …
Effects Of Pharmaceutical Contamination On Sedment Microbial Communities In Streams, Benjamin Joseph Lorentz
Effects Of Pharmaceutical Contamination On Sedment Microbial Communities In Streams, Benjamin Joseph Lorentz
Master's Theses
The objective of this study was to examine the interaction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP) and microbial communities in freshwater ecosystems. This study included two components. The first component consisted of an artificial stream study in which sediment was exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of three different pharmaceuticals (diphenhydramine, ciprofloxacin, and fluoxetine) individually and as a mixture. Pharmaceutical exposure had no effect on denitrification rates or respiration rates in the sediments, and sediment microbial community composition showed only slight differences between streams dosed with pharmaceuticals and control streams. The second component consisted of a field study in which …
Investigating The Role Of Hypusine In Viral Translation And Infection, Jeremy Joseph Esin
Investigating The Role Of Hypusine In Viral Translation And Infection, Jeremy Joseph Esin
Master's Theses
Polyamines are small, positively charged, molecules found in eukaryotic cells with roles in cellular function and viral infection. in previous work we have shown RNa viruses, including bunyaviruses, to be sensitive to polyamine depletion, but exact mechanisms are unknown. Bunyaviruses are emerging pathogens that cause encephalitis, hemorrhagic fevers, and meningitis. Rift Valley Fever Virus is a bunyavirus that infects both humans and livestock with severe mortality and morbidity. in previous work done with Rift Valley Fever Virus polyamine depleted results in noninfectious interfering particles without affecting the shape or size of the particles. Here, I investigate a specific metabolic pathway …
The Effect Of Plastic On Leaf Litter Breakdown In Urban Streams, Lisa Haneul Kim
The Effect Of Plastic On Leaf Litter Breakdown In Urban Streams, Lisa Haneul Kim
Master's Theses
The plastic component of anthropogenic litter (AL) is an emerging ecological concern and has been a focus of research, as it is long-lived, mobile, interacts with physical and chemical components of aquatic ecosystems, and breaks down into smaller pieces (i.e., microplastic, <5mm particles). Rivers are considered a major source of plastic to oceans, but little is known about plastic's abundance, distribution, and effects on ecological processes in urban streams. Previous studies report plastic is abundant in freshwater systems, especially in naturally occurring debris dam structures and overhanging vegetation which accumulate high quantities of AL, especially plastic items (i.e. bags, wrappers, packaging material), along with leaf litter and other coarse particulate organic matter. in temperate, forested streams, leaf litter is a critical food source and plays an essential role in the stream food web. the rate at which leaves break down is affected by many variables such as hydrology, water chemistry, and macroinvertebrate and microbial communities. We predicted that plastic accumulation along with leaf litter can slow leaf breakdown by reducing diversity and abundance of microbial decomposers, as well as macroinvertebrate consumers. We measured leaf breakdown, and characterized macroinvertebrate and microbial (i.e., bacterial, fungal, algal) communities in 3 litter bag treatments: leaves alone, plastic alone, and leaves mixed with plastic. Although plastic did not reduce leaf breakdown rates or have a significant effect on macroinvertebrate consumer communities, it showed distinct microbial communities compared to leaf substrates. Results will provide a new understanding of how plastic and microbial communities interact, and set the framework for future studies to look at microbial succession and macroinvertebrate diversity on other synthetic substrates in freshwater systems.
Enabling The Clinical Detection Of Human Papilloma Virus (Hpv) To Enhance Effective Diagnosis And Research, Jennifer Sackey
Enabling The Clinical Detection Of Human Papilloma Virus (Hpv) To Enhance Effective Diagnosis And Research, Jennifer Sackey
Master's Theses
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. There are over 150 different genotypes of HPV. Some cause benign warts, while others cause several types of cancer. Subunit vaccines comprised of the capsid protein from an increasing number of HPV genotypes have been developed; however, the vaccines are prophylactic and are documented to protect against only 9 of the HPV genotypes. Importantly, there are also significant limitations in the clinical detection of HPV. Current clinical tests can only specifically identify HPV16 and HPV18. One of the test also detects 12 of the other high-oncogenic risk …
Determining Interactions Between Bacteriophage And Urinary Microbiome Lysogens, Michael Bochert
Determining Interactions Between Bacteriophage And Urinary Microbiome Lysogens, Michael Bochert
Master's Theses
Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect bacteria. They are the most abundant life forms on earth. It is estimated that there are approximately 10³⁰ phages on the planet (Chibani-Chennoufi et al. 2004). They outnumber their bacterial hosts approximately 10 to 1. Bacteria inhabit most niches on the planet including the human body, where they play critical roles in health and disease. Since phages shape bacterial populations the same way that viruses, such as smallpox and measles, shaped human populations, it is important to understand how they interact with their bacterial hosts. The majority of the phages that we know of …
Transforming Growth Factor Beta Suppression Of Cd8+ T Cell Proliferation, Shena Geisinger
Transforming Growth Factor Beta Suppression Of Cd8+ T Cell Proliferation, Shena Geisinger
Master's Theses
Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-beta) is highly suppressive to both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell proliferation and function. in tumor microenvironments, TGF-beta has been described as immune suppressive, particularly to CD8+ T cells, however, the molecular mechanism behind how TGF-beta signaling controls T cell growth is not fully understood. Here, we report that TGF-beta inhibits CD8+ T cell proliferation and reduces expression of the CARMA1/BCL10/MALT1 (CBM) signalosome complex in activated CD8+ T cells. the CBM signalosome is an essential scaffold that forms after T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation, leading to the activation of NF-kB and AP-1. This observed reduction in …
A Susceptibility Study Of Urinary Isolates To Methenamine Hippurate And Its Metabolites, Nancy Sloan
A Susceptibility Study Of Urinary Isolates To Methenamine Hippurate And Its Metabolites, Nancy Sloan
Master's Theses
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections in adult women. Treatment is one of the most common reasons for antibiotic prescription. the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections coupled with the shortage of new antibiotics creates an urgent need for alternative non-antibiotic treatments. One alternative is methenamine hippurate (MH), which is a non-antibiotic prophylaxis. It is reported to be active against some common uropathogens including Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species, but its effects on the newly discovered bladder microbiota (urobiome) are undocumented. Given this knowledge gap, this study aimed to evaluate the drug's spectrum of susceptibility on …
Dna Methylation Patterns Of Repetitive Elements On Hc21, Navy Neang
Dna Methylation Patterns Of Repetitive Elements On Hc21, Navy Neang
Master's Theses
Cancer is one of the most prominent diseases resulting in death, thus the need for early detection remains essential to its treatments. It is usually associated with DNA methylation changes during tumorigenesis. While many studies focus on euchromatin, some studies have looked at the methylation changes in heterochromatin, since the methylation changes of repetitive elements is common and they contribute to karyotypic instability leading to enhanced chances for more mutations in tumor progression. Using bisulfite PCR and HC21 as a model, this study examines the DNA methylation changes of three repetitive elements in prostate cancer, NBL2, satellite I subfamilies, and …
Behavioral Ecology And Physiological Health Of Managed Populations Of Juvenile Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii) In Urban Wetlands, Armand Andre' Cann
Behavioral Ecology And Physiological Health Of Managed Populations Of Juvenile Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii) In Urban Wetlands, Armand Andre' Cann
Master's Theses
Substantial threats to reptile species biodiversity have become apparent in the last few decades. This is partly caused by significant losses in grasslands and their associate prairie-wetland ecosystems. One Midwestern prairie-wetland species, Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii), are at risk of extirpation due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and increased predator populations. Consequently, significant head-starting efforts, a form of reintroduction conservation using captive-reared and then released turtles, have been conducted to recover populations of E. blandingii in northeastern Illinois. However, the success of these programs both locally and range-wide have not been fully quantified. Unfortunately, many approaches to guaging success involve long-term …