Life Sciences Commons^™

Behavioral Insights Into Nociceptor Function: A Systematic Approach To Understanding Postsurgical And Neuropathic Pain Mechanisms In Rats, Max Odem

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Postsurgical and neuropathic pain are each clinically common, and often associated with ongoing pain. Ongoing pain has been linked to ongoing activity (OA) in human C-fiber nociceptors. Preclinical studies using rodent neuropathic models have concentrated on allodynia driven by OA generated in non-nociceptive Aβ fibers, but little attention has been paid to postsurgical pain in sham controls or to C-fiber nociceptor OA promoting ongoing pain.

Operant assays that reveal negative motivational and cognitive aspects of voluntary pain-related behavior may be particularly sensitive to pain-related alterations. In the mechanical conflict (MC) test, rodents can freely choose to escape from a brightly …

The Role Of Tumor Suppressor Dear1 In The Acquisition Of Mammary Stem/Progenitor Cell Properties, Uyen Le

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in America. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), one of the earliest pre-invasive forms of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), has a 30-50% risk of progressing to IDC. Understanding the mechanisms regulating progression from DCIS to IDC would help identify biomarkers to stratify patients at higher risk of progression or metastasis. Cumulative literature suggests the earliest phase of dissemination from the primary tumor is driven by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. DEAR1 is a tumor suppressor gene which is mutated, undergoes loss of heterozygosity in breast cancer, and is downregulated in DCIS …

Identification And Utility Of Dna In Exosomes, Paul Kurywchak

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Cancer-associated mortality has been declining for two decades but remains a significant public health problem, especially when patients initially present with advanced disease. Early detection methods have improved survival rates but remain unavailable for a majority of cancers due to a lack of sensitive biomarkers or numerous limitations associated with current diagnosis strategies. Approaches to develop “liquid biopsies” by detecting tumor cells or DNA in the blood have led to several breakthroughs and create the potential for non-invasive, routine assessment of diseases status. However, these biomarkers are rare and currently difficult to isolate, especially in the early stages of disease. …