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Exacerbation Of Δefp Sickness In Escherichia Coli By An Uncharacterized Rna Helicase, Robert Wingo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Escherichia coli, growth is rate-limited by translation capacity [1]. Stalled ribosomes have profound effects on a cell such as altered mRNA abundance, decreased ribosome availability, and an imbalanced proteome. The absence of elongation factor P (EF-P), a universally conserved transpeptidation enhancer, presents an extreme example of this scenario, wherein ribosomes accumulate disproportionately onto messages that are more slowly translated and cell growth becomes notably impaired. We discovered that faster-growing cells arise spontaneously in Δefp cultures, suggesting that translation defects could be circumvented by mutating other genes. This thesis presents a genetic and biochemical analysis of a mechanism Δefp cells …

Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Exosomes Enhance Cardiac Stem Cell Differentiation Into Heart Cells, Jamillah Hammond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transplantation of embryonic stem (ES) cells into the ischemic and infarcted heart has proven to repopulate cardiac cell populations, attenuate structural cardiac remodeling, and rescue cardiac function. Unfortunately, the pluripotency of ES cells increases risk of teratoma formation in vivo. Exosomes, smaller in comparison to ES cells, are cell free carriers of miRNA, proteins, and lipids, and do not suggest risk of teratoma formation. Exosomes have been proposed to mediate and attenuate regeneration following myocardial infarction (MI), however, the role of exosomes derived from ES cells (ES-Exo) in activating resident cardiac stem cells (CSCs) to undergo cardiac differentiation is not …

Neuromuscular Junction Defects In A Mouse Model Of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 2o, Thywill Sabblah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Charcot Marie Tooth disease (CMT) represents the most common inheritable peripheral group of motor and sensory disorders; affecting 1 in 2500 people worldwide. Individuals with CMT experience slow progressing weakness of the muscle, atrophy, mild loss of motor coordination and in some cases loss of sensory function in the hands and feet which could ultimately affect mobility. Dynein is an essential molecular motor that functions to transport cargos in all cells. A point mutation in the dynein heavy chain was discovered to cause CMT disease in humans, specifically CMT type 2O. We generated a knock-in mouse model bearing the same …

Role Of Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis (Map) And Tnfsf15 Snps On Tl1a In Cd, Sayf Al-Deen Hassouneh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tumor Necrosis Factor-Like Ligand 1a (TL1A) is a cytokine encoded by Tumor Necrosis Factor Super Family 15 gene (TNFSF15) gene mostly in endothelial cells which binds to T-cells and foments the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1b, IFN- γ and IL-13. TL1A level is elevated in inflammatory diseases including Crohn's Disease (CD). Although Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in TNFSF15 have been reported in CD, no studies have investigated the effect of these SNPs on TL1A, inflammation, and susceptibility to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection. MAP is a strong candidate in CD pathogenesis. This study is designed to …

Targeted Delivery Of A Therapeutic Protein For The Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease, Heather Holman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease are linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and the underexpression of TOM40, a protein with chaperone-like qualities that is responsible for transporting precursor proteins into the mitochondria. Overexpression of TOM40 is reported to partially restore mitochondrial dysfunction and decrease the accumulation of neurotoxic aggregates of α-synuclein. Our goal is to develop an effective method for delivery of TOM40 protein to the brain.

Previous studies have used lentiviruses to carry TOM40 into the hippocampus of α-synuclein transgenic mice. The disadvantage of lentiviral transfection is the random insertions of the target gene into the host …

The Effect Of Mismatch Primers On The Efficiency Of Amplification In Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reactions, Molly C. Dawkins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method used in many research protocols to amplify a small amount of a short segment of DNA to millions of copies. PCR is used for many taxonomic studies, as well as for some medical diagnostic procedures. Through PCR, short DNA primers bind to the template DNA to allow the thermostable DNA polymerase to copy the DNA. Often, researchers create universal primers to target a conserved region of DNA in multiple species, for example, the 16S rRNA gene in bacteria. The problem with these universal primers is that they do not always perfectly match the …

Effects Of The Influenza Vaccine On The Oral Cavity, Laura Sawires

Honors Undergraduate Theses

According to existing literature, there is a suggested correlation between certain vaccinations and oral cavity symptoms. Studies have shown that the Diphtheria, Tetanus, Acellular Pertusis, as well as Polio Vaccinations have an association with presented symptoms of bleeding gums, sores, ulcers, white spots in the mouth or on lips, and unpleasant breath odor. Although these symptoms may not occur simultaneously or directly after administration of the immunization, there has been supported evidence of correlation. Given the relevance of an association between vaccinations and orally manifested side effects, an investigation on the presence of such association with the widely administered flu …

The Effects Of Emerging Technology On Healthcare And The Difficulties Of Integration, Skyler J. Pavlish-Carpenter

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Disruptive technology describes technology that is significantly more advanced than previous iterations, such as: 3D printing, genetic manipulation, stem cell research, innovative surgical procedures, and computer-based charting software. These technologies often require extensive overhauls to implement into older systems and must overcome many difficult financial and societal complications before they can be widely used. In a field like healthcare that makes frequent advancements, these difficulties can mean that the technology will not be utilized to its full potential or implemented at all.

Objective: To determine the inhibiting factors that prevent disruptive technology from being implemented in conventional healthcare.

Methods: …

Parasympathetic Nerve Derived Exosomes Inhibit Hyperglycemia Induced Apoptosis In Cardiomyoblast Cells, Reetish K. Singla

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Diabetic cardiomyopathy involves both forms of cardiac cell cell death such as apoptosis and necrosis. However, this remains unknown whether hyperglycemia induced apoptosis in the cell culture system is inhibited by parasympathetic nerve derived exosomes. We isolated parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves and derived exosomes. We developed hyperglycemia induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells. H9c2 cells were divided into 4 groups: 1) Control, 2) H9c2+ Glucose 100 mmol, 3) H9c2+ Glucose +parasympathetic-exo, 4) H9c2+ Glucose+sympathetic-exo. We determined cell proliferation and viability with MTT assay kit and apoptosis with TUNEL staining and cell death detection ELISA kit. Data was further confirmed with pro-apoptotic …

Can Nox1 Activity Initiate Parkinson's-Like Pathology In An Enteroendocrine Cell Line?, Evan Adler

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Increased attention has been given to the gut lately in a number of conditions, from maintaining health via the use of probiotics to treating Autism Spectrum Disorder. Parkinson's Disease has a history with the gut starting with the Braak hypothesis, in which eminent researcher Heiko Braak observed that the spread of Parkinson's (PD) seemed to occur along either olfactory or enteric neurons prior to reaching the substantia nigra in the midbrain, where the classical disease symptoms become evident. Though this finding was largely ignored at the time, the possibility of a gut origin for PD has received interest lately as …

Development Of A Non-Human Primate Model For Staphylococcus Aureus Nasal Carriage, Amanda Lasseter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage (SANC) is largely asymptomatic, but presents a risk of autoinfection and dissemination to new immunocompromised hosts. SA disease states range from mild cutaneous infections to life-threatening bacteremia. Historically utilized rodent models do not naturally carry SA in the nose, are insufficient in longitudinal SANC experimentation, and lack immune factors that are vital in human clearance of SA. The nasal passages of non-human primates are similar anatomically and histologically, and reproductive mucosal studies have shown similar immune responses to pathogens and human-relevant microbial profiles. Seventeen captive pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) were found to naturally carry SA in …

Effects Of Energy-Based Therapies On Postoperative Recovery: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Emily M. Wooten

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Associated with health care reform, there has been a growing interest among healthcare professionals regarding use of energy-based therapies as a complementary therapeutic intervention. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine the impact of energy-based therapies (i.e. healing touch, reiki, therapeutic touch) on patients’ postoperative recovery. The methodology included identifying appropriate peer-reviewed, English-language research articles on the topic area that were published between 2006 to 2018. Following a search in select data bases, articles focusing on the topic were critiqued, analyzed and synthesized by the researcher. Consistent and inconsistent findings along with gaps in the literature are …

Development Of Methods To Modulate Natural Killer Cells, Kari A. Shaver

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Natural Killer (NK) cell based immunotherapies have demonstrated success against malignancies and hematological cancers. However, tumors have developed mechanisms to evade detection by and suppress the immune system, commonly through altering the expression of cell-surface proteins. Overexpression of human leukocyte antigen-E (HLA-E), which binds to the inhibitory NKG2A on NK cells, protects malignant cells from lysis. Downregulating the NKG2A receptor on NK cells should release NK cell inhibition, but proves challenging as NK cells are difficult to transfect and no good methods currently exist. This project is designed to investigate the use of exosomes – small vesicles and natural carriers …