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The Role Of The Basement Membrane In Basal Tissue Folding, Elizabeth Falat
The Role Of The Basement Membrane In Basal Tissue Folding, Elizabeth Falat
Theses and Dissertations
The ability of organs and tissues to function properly is reliant on the correct formation of shape. Proper morphogenesis is carefully regulated by both intracellular dynamics and extracellular mechanical forces. Using the highly conserved zebrafish midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB), we investigated the role of the basement membrane, a specialized extracellular matrix that basally lines the tissue, in mediating cell shapes and mechanical tissue stresses during basal tissue folding. A primary component of the basement membrane is laminin-111, a heterotrimer composed of the alpha1, beta1 and gamma1 chains, encoded by lama1, lamb1a, and lamc1 genes respectively. We investigated the role of each …
An Assessment Of Bsa Protein Hydrogel Biocompatibility In The Vertebrate Intestinal Tract, Ryan Joseph Garde
An Assessment Of Bsa Protein Hydrogel Biocompatibility In The Vertebrate Intestinal Tract, Ryan Joseph Garde
Theses and Dissertations
The fields of biomedicine and pharmacology have a mission to design methods to treat disease while minimizing adverse side effects using novel drug delivery systems. In developing new therapeutic systems, it is crucial to test that drug delivery systems target pathological cells and tissue and is non-toxic in healthy tissue. One promising method for targeted drug delivery is the use of hydrogels as carriers. Here, we studied the effects of bovine serum albumin (BSA) hydrogel consumption to assess the potential for hydrogel use in treating intestinal disease via oral administration. We investigated intestinal architecture and cell populations following hydrogel treatments …
Effects Of Global Dna Methylation Changes On Neurobehavior In Zebrafish, Matthew Christopher Pickens
Effects Of Global Dna Methylation Changes On Neurobehavior In Zebrafish, Matthew Christopher Pickens
Theses and Dissertations
A number of environmental neurotoxicants modulate DNA methylation, but its influence on neurobehavior remains unclear. The laboratory has established that low-level developmental methylmercury exposure induces neurobehavioral deficits; the current results demonstrate that it also induces global DNA hypomethylation. DNA methyltransferase 1-mutant zebrafish (exhibit ~70% reduction in enzymatic activity) were used to assess the role of DNA hypomethylation on behavior. Several neurobehavioral assays including the C-start escape, circadian rhythm, basic locomotion and visual-motor response (VMR) were also performed. There was a significant difference in VMR between the wild type and mutant animals. Other behavior assays revealed no significant difference, primarily due …
Neurobehavioral And Gene Expression Effects Of Early Embryonic Methylmercury Exposure In Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) And Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Larvae, Francisco Xavier Mora Zamorano
Neurobehavioral And Gene Expression Effects Of Early Embryonic Methylmercury Exposure In Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) And Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Larvae, Francisco Xavier Mora Zamorano
Theses and Dissertations
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a pervasive and persistent neurotoxic environmental pollutant known to affect the behavior of fish, birds and mammals. The present study addresses the neurobehavioral and gene expression effects of MeHg in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. The rationale for this study originated from an interest to understand the behavioral and molecular phenotypes of environmental MeHg exposure in the yellow perch, an ecologically and economically relevant species of the North American Great Lakes region. Both MeHg and the yellow perch coexist in a common ecosystem: the North American Great Lakes. However, the effects of this …
Female Reproductive Impacts Of Dietary Methylmercury In Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) And Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Abigail Rachael Debofsky
Female Reproductive Impacts Of Dietary Methylmercury In Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) And Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Abigail Rachael Debofsky
Theses and Dissertations
This study sought to evaluate the effects of dietary MeHg exposure on female teleost reproduction and phenotypically-anchor gene dysregulation in adult yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) in order to establish relevant biomarkers relating exposure and subsequent reproductive effects. Yellow perch were used in the study for their socioeconomic importance within the Great Lakes basin, and their significance to the food web. Utilization of zebrafish allowed for a detailed analysis of the molecular effects of MeHg and established its relevance as a model for other fish species. MeHg exposures at environmentally relevant levels were done in zebrafish for …
Role Of Non-Muscle Myosin Ii And Calcium In Zebrafish Midbrain-Hindbrain Boundary Morphogenesis, Srishti Upasana Sahu
Role Of Non-Muscle Myosin Ii And Calcium In Zebrafish Midbrain-Hindbrain Boundary Morphogenesis, Srishti Upasana Sahu
Theses and Dissertations
Elucidating the molecular mechanisms that play a role in cellular morphogenesis is critical to our understanding of brain development and function. The midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) is one of the first folds in the vertebrate embryonic brain and is highly conserved across species. We used the zebrafish MHB as a model for determining the molecular mechanisms that regulate these cell shape changes. Cellular morphogenesis is tightly regulated by signaling pathways that rearrange the cytoskeleton and produce mechanical forces that enable changes in cell and tissue morphology. The generation of force within a cell often depends on motor proteins, particularly non-muscle myosins …
Gene Regulatory Pathways Driving Central Nervous System Regeneration In Zebrafish, Ishwariya Venkatesh
Gene Regulatory Pathways Driving Central Nervous System Regeneration In Zebrafish, Ishwariya Venkatesh
Theses and Dissertations
Damage to the central nervous system (CNS) circuitry of adult mammals results in permanent disability. In contrast, the ability to regenerate damaged CNS nerves and achieve functional recovery occurs naturally in fish. The ability of fish to successfully regrow damaged CNS nerves is in part a consequence of their ability to re-express key neuronal growth-associated genes/proteins in response to CNS injury. On such protein is Growth-Associated Protein-43 (Gap43), a protein which is highly enriched in axonal growth cones during CNS development and regeneration. Experiments conducted in mammals have demonstrated that ectopic expression of GAP-43 improves axonal re-growth after injury. Using …
Zebrafish As A Model For Determining The Mechanisms Causing Deafness In Myh9-Related Disease, Luke David Spychalla
Zebrafish As A Model For Determining The Mechanisms Causing Deafness In Myh9-Related Disease, Luke David Spychalla
Theses and Dissertations
Approximately 1 in 500 infants are diagnosed with hearing loss, and about half of these cases can be traced to genetic defects. Several hundred genes have been implicated in deafness, including MYH9, which codes for the conventional motor protein non-muscle myosin IIA (NMIIA). Mutations in MYH9 lead to syndromic MYH9-related diseases, which include deafness as a variable symptom, as well as non-syndromic autosomal deafness DFNA17. Despite its identification as a deafness gene, the functions of MYH9 in ear development and hearing remain unknown. To study this role, we will use zebrafish as a model. Zebrafish offer significant advantages including established …
The Role Of Gap-43 Phosphorylation In Axon Behavior In The Developing Zebrafish Visual System, Jennifer Forecki
The Role Of Gap-43 Phosphorylation In Axon Behavior In The Developing Zebrafish Visual System, Jennifer Forecki
Theses and Dissertations
Developing neurons extend processes to specific targets and establish connections that are essential for future function of the nervous system. One of these processes, the axon, has a motile tip called a growth cone that rearranges its membrane-associated actin cytoskeleton to turn toward or away from environmental guidance cues. Growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43) is one of the most abundant proteins associated with axonal growth cone membranes and is known to modulate the formation and stability of the actin cytoskeleton during axon guidance. Protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of GAP-43 on serine 42 regulates its interactions with actin. Phosphorylated GAP-43 …
Complexity And Uncertainty In Human And Ecological Risk Assessment, Matthew Jordan Dellinger
Complexity And Uncertainty In Human And Ecological Risk Assessment, Matthew Jordan Dellinger
Theses and Dissertations
Multiple interacting stressors in the environment present increasingly complex risks to human health. Too often, however, the data required for traditional risk assessment are either lacking or unavailable at the necessary spatial or temporal scale. In addition, assessment practices and management policies need to move away from single factor approaches in order to accommodate the reality of complex chemical mixtures and environmental stressors. Recent literature suggests that a paradigm shift is under way. This points to a need for the development of new techniques both for rapid data collection and flexible risk assessment strategies that can adapt to make use …