Life Sciences Commons^™

Role Of Intrinsic Disorder In Animal Desiccation Tolerance, Brett Janis, Clinton Belott, Michael Menze

Faculty Scholarship

This review compares the molecular strategies employed by anhydrobiotic invertebrates to survive extreme water stress. Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) play a central role in desiccation tolerance in all species investigated. Various hypotheses about the functions of anhydrobiosisrelated intrinsically disordered (ARID) proteins, including late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) and tardigrade-specific intrinsically disordered proteins, were evaluated by broad sequence characterization. A surprisingly wide range in sequence characteristics including hydropathy and the frequency and distribution of charges was discovered. Interestingly, two clusters of similar proteins were found that potentially correlate with distinct functions. This may indicate two broad groups of ARID proteins, composed of …

Unfolded Protein Response Pathways In Skeletal Muscle Homeostasis., Kyle R. Bohnert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Skeletal muscle mass, contractile properties, and metabolic function are regulated through the coordinated activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways and genetic reprogramming. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a pivotal role in protein folding and calcium homeostasis in many cell types, including skeletal muscle. Disruption of calcium levels or accumulation of misfolded proteins in the ER lumen leads to stress, which results in the activation of a signaling network called the unfolded protein response (UPR). Further, recent studies have suggested that in certain conditions, UPR pathways can be activated independent of ER stress. However, the role of ER stress and the …

Dsba-L Protein Levels In White Adipose Tissue In An Obesity Model., Madison E. Kerley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Adiponectin is an adipose tissue-secreted protein found in three isoforms. Disulfide bond A oxidoreductase-like protein (DsbA-L) is thought to assist with protomeric disulfide bonding to generate the HMW (high molecular weight) isoform, which regulates insulin sensitivity. Both adiponectin and DsbA-L were previously found to negatively correlate with obesity.

Immunoblots were conducted on adipose tissue samples from male mice fed a high or low-fat diet for 6, 10, or 16 weeks. Immunoblots from high-fat diet-fed mice revealed double bands for DsbA-L. High and low molecular weight bands were analyzed together, revealing significantly higher relative band densities with 10 and 16-week high-fat …