Life Sciences Commons^™

Rapidly Self-Renewing Human Multipotent Marrow Stromal Cells (Hmsc) Express Sialyl Lewis X And Actively Adhere To Arterial Endothelium In A Chick Embryo Model System, Harris E. Mcferrin, Scott D. Olson, Miriam V. Gutschow, Julie A. Semon, Deborah E. Sullivan, Darwin J. Prockop

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: There have been conflicting observations regarding the receptors utilized by human multipotent mesenchymal bone marrow stromal cells (hMSC) to adhere to endothelial cells (EC). To address the discrepancies, we performed experiments with cells prepared with a standardized, low-density protocol preserving a sub-population of small cells that are rapidly self-renewing.

Methods: Sialyl Lewis X (SLeX) and α4 integrin expression were determined by flow cytometry. Fucosyltransferase expression was determined by quantitative realtime RT-PCR. Cell adhesion assays were carried out with a panel of endothelial cells from arteries, veins and the microvasculature in vitro. In Vivo experiments were performed to determine …

Increasing Energetic Cost Of Biosynthesis During Growth Makes Refeeding Deleterious, Chen Hou

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Diet restriction (DR) enhances animals' health maintenance, but refeeding reverses its beneficial effects. However, to what degree refeeding reverses the beneficial effects of DR remains controversial. Here, I develop a theoretical model for reconciling the results of refeeding studies and understanding the dynamic and reversible mechanism underlying the effects of diet on health from the energetic viewpoint. By illustrating the negative correlation between health maintenance and the energetic cost of growth in animals under different diet regimes, the model explains why, in some cases, refed animals have better health and live longer than freely fed controls. More importantly, the model …

Comparison Of Human Adult Stem Cells From Adipose Tissue And Bone Marrow In The Treatment Of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis, Julie A. Semon, Catherine Maness, Xiujuan Zhang, Steven A. Sharkey, Marc M. Beuttler, Forum S. Shah, Amitabh C. Pandey, Jeffrey M. Gimble, Shijia Zhang, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Introduction. While administration of ex vitro culture-expanded stem cells has been used to study immunosuppressive mechanisms in multiple models of autoimmune diseases, less is known about the uncultured, nonexpanded stromal vascular fraction (SVF)-based therapy. The SVF is composed of a heterogeneous population of cells and has been used clinically to treat acute and chronic diseases, alleviating symptoms in a range of tissues and organs.

Methods. In this study, the ability of human SVF cells was compared with culture-expanded adipose stem cells (ASCs) and bone-derived marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) as a treatment of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (35-55)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalitis in …

Transplantation Of Autologous Adipose Stem Cells Lacks Therapeutic Efficacy In The Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Model, Xiujuan Zhang, Annie C. Bowles, Julie A. Semon, Brittni A. Scruggs, Shijia Zhang, Amy L. Strong, Jeffrey M. Gimble, Bruce A. Bunnell

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Multiple sclerosis (MS), characterized by chronic inflammation, demyelination, and axonal damage, is a complicated neurological disease of the human central nervous system. Recent interest in adipose stromal/stem cell (ASCs) for the treatment of CNS diseases has promoted further investigation in order to identify the most suitable ASCs. To investigate whether MS affects the biologic properties of ASCs and whether autologous ASCs from MS-affected sources could serve as an effective source for stem cell therapy, cells were isolated from subcutaneous inguinal fat pads of mice with established experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS. ASCs from EAE mice and …

Dephosphorylation Of Iqg1 By Cdc14 Temporally Regulates Actin Ring Formation, Daniel Patrick Miller

Masters Theses

"Cytokinesis is the final step in cell division when the cell separates the cytoplasm by contracting a ring composed of filamentous actin (F-actin) and type II myosin. Iqg1, an IQGAP family member, is an essential scaffolding protein in budding yeast (S. cerevisiae) required for actin recruitment to, and contraction of, the actomyosin ring. Actin is recruited by the calponin homology domain (CHD) in anaphase after Iqg1 is localized to the bud neck. Consensus sites for the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) Cdc28 were identified flanking the CHD. This led us to the hypothesis that phosphorylation of Iqg1 by Cdc28 negatively regulates actin …

Characterization Of A Plant Gene Family Expanded In Glycine Max, Lisa Snoderly-Foster

Masters Theses

"Glycine max, commonly named the cultivated soybean, is one of the oldest and most important food crops in the world. The study of the G. max genome provides valuable insight into the molecular mechanisms that govern its reproduction and environmental responsiveness, key factors in maximizing crop yield. Since the complete sequencing of the genome in 2010, the analysis has become faster and easier, especially with the development of numerous web-based, publically accessible bioinformatics tools.

This research effort utilizes these tools to characterize a small, unannotated G. max gene family. Although no definitive evidence was uncovered for the production of a …

Investigation Of Angiogenic Effects Of Bioactive Borate Glass Microfibers And Beads In A Rodent Model, Richard Jeffrey Watters

Masters Theses

"The primary objective of this research project was to evaluate the effects of three different compositions of bioactive glass microfibers (45S5, 13-93B3, and 13-93B3Cu) and bioactive glass beads (13-93, 13-93B3, and 13-93B3Cu) on angiogenesis in subcutaneous tissue in the SKH1 'hairless' mouse. Microvascular responses to the bioactive glass implants were investigated via three experimental approaches: noninvasive vital imaging of microvasculature in dorsal skin windows; quantitative histomorphometry of microvascular densities; and quantitative PCR measurements of mRNA expression of pro-angiogenic cytokines VEGF and FGF-2. The live imaging of dorsal skin window preparations in the hairless SKH1 showed the formation of a halo-like …

Ecology Of A Declining Great Plains Fish, Fundulus Sciadicus, In The Missouri Ozarks, Gregory Travis Thompson

Masters Theses

"Anthropogenic habitat disturbances are of growing concern due to their impacts on native biota, especially in freshwater ecosystems. Damming, channelization, urbanization, wetland draining, and non-native fish introductions all play large roles in habitat homogeneity, fragmentation, and species competition. This has negative effects on native fish and invertebrate species. In the Midwestern United States, the plains topminnow (Fundulus sciadicus) has been declining across its range, to the point of becoming a species of special concern in Missouri. This is possibly due to a combination of the above anthropogenic habitat disturbances. To better understand the ecology of the plains topminnow …

Energy Tradeoffs Between Food Assimilation, Growth, Metabolism And Maintenance, Lihong Jiao

Masters Theses

"The effect of metabolic rate (MR) on organisms' health maintenance is a long-standing puzzle and empirical data on this issue is contradictory. A theoretical model was developed for understanding animal's energy budget under the food condition of Ad libitum (AL) and food restriction. This model offers a framework for understanding the role of MR and health maintenance mechanism from the perspective of energy tradeoff between food assimilation, growth, metabolism and maintenance. Hornworm (Manduca sexta larva) has been selected as an model to test the energetic tradeoff under different food supply and ambient temperatures. The changes in energy budget can …