Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Connections Between Protein Misfolding And Monobenzone-Induced Vitiligo, Senegal Carty
Connections Between Protein Misfolding And Monobenzone-Induced Vitiligo, Senegal Carty
Biology
Vitiligo, an autoimmune disease affecting melanocytes, causes areas of skin to completely lose pigment. These colorless lesions can spread, eventually leading to the complete absence of skin and hair pigment in some patients. Exposure to monobenzyl ether of hydroquinone (MBEH), or monobenzone, is an environmental trigger of this disfiguring disease. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism of this phenomenon by studying monobenzone's inhibition of tyrosinase, a melanocyte enzyme that plays a key role in melanin production. As tyrosinase is an oxidizing enzyme, we hypothesized that when inhibited by monobenzone, resulting elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) …
Proteolytic Degradation Of Ctf57 And Abeta Polypeptides By Insulin-Degrading Enzyme: Biophysical Studies With Implications For Alzheimer's Disease, Claire A. Krasinski
Proteolytic Degradation Of Ctf57 And Abeta Polypeptides By Insulin-Degrading Enzyme: Biophysical Studies With Implications For Alzheimer's Disease, Claire A. Krasinski
Biology
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is today's most common type of dementia, affecting approximately 5.4 million Americans. After many years of basic science research and clinical trials, there is still no cure for the disease. We hypothesize that the impaired degradation/clearance of CTF57 and Abeta polypeptides from the brain contributes to the onset of AD. This work expands upon the honor's thesis with emphasis on the proteolytic degradation of these species by insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). Chapter 3 investigates CTF57's global conformation in solution and its proteolysis using various biophysical techniques. CTF57 forms a reproducible beta-sheet that is non-fibrillar, anti-parallel, and degradable near …
Functionalization Of Linear Poly(Ethylenimine) As Dna-Binding Polymer For Gene Therapy Application, Thanaphorn Suk-In
Functionalization Of Linear Poly(Ethylenimine) As Dna-Binding Polymer For Gene Therapy Application, Thanaphorn Suk-In
Biology
Gene therapy is a technique used to combat diseases by correcting the defective gene responsible for the disease to alleviate its symptoms and restore normal function to the defective gene. Gene therapy uses vectors to deliver a functional copy of the defective gene targeted towards the defective cell to replace the defective gene with the functional one via gene transfer (1). Over the years, gene delivery vectors available for gene therapy have gradually evolved, leading to the development of new and better vectors for gene delivery. These advances contribute largely to the growing successes of gene therapy and its application …