Life Sciences Commons^™

Improving Hpv Vaccination Series Initiation Rates And Compliance Among Indigent Women In South Texas, Ages 19-26, Through Provider Recommendation And Additional Clinic Funding: A Quality Improvement Project, Lacey Cudd

Doctor of Nursing Practice

The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase human papillomavirus vaccination series initiation rates among indigent women, ages 19-26, at a clinic in South Texas. The human papillomavirus is a sexually transmitted infection that has been associated with multiple types of cancers. Each year, approximately 6.2 million cases of the human papillomavirus infection are diagnosed; as many as 75% of all new infections occur among females 18-26 years of age. The human papillomavirus vaccination has a high efficacy in regards to cancer prevention, preventing as many as 76% of cancers with only one dose. The project included educating …

Mitochondrial Dynamics Controls T Cell Fate Through Metabolic Programming, Michael Buck

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Activated effector T (TE) cells augment anabolic pathways of metabolism, such as aerobic glycolysis, while memory T (TM) cells engage catabolic pathways, like fatty acid oxidation (FAO). However, signals that drive these differences remain unclear. Mitochondria are metabolic organelles that actively transform their ultrastructure. Therefore, we questioned whether mitochondrial dynamics controls T cell metabolism. We show that TE cells have punctate mitochondria, while TM cells maintain fused networks. The fusion protein Opa1 is required for TM, but not TE cells after infection, and enforcing fusion in TE cells imposes TM cell characteristics and enhances antitumor function. Our data suggest that, …

The Role Of Progesterone Receptor Membrane Component 1 In Receptor Trafficking And Disease, Kaia K. Hampton

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

The progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) is a multifunctional protein with a heme-binding domain that promotes cellular signaling via receptor trafficking, and is essential for some elements of tumor growth and metastasis. PGRMC1 is upregulated in breast, colon, lung and thyroid tumors. We expanded the analysis of PGRMC1 in the clinical setting, and report the first analysis of PGRMC1 in human oral cavity and ovarian tumors and found PGRMC1 to correlate with lung and ovarian cancer patient survival. Furthermore, we discovered a specific role for PGRMC1 in cancer stem cell viability. PGRMC1 directly associates with the epidermal growth factor …

Thyroid Hormone Receptor Ss (Trß) Regulation Of Runt-Related Transcription Factor 2 (Runx2) In Thyroid Tumorigenesis: Determination Of The Trß Nuclear Protein Complexes That Associate With The Runx2 Gene., Thomas Howland Taber

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Thyroid Tumorigenesis is typically a well understood process, with well delineated oncogenic factors. Follicular and papillary thyroid cancers are typically survivable, with 5-year survival rates being >95% for Stage I-III of both cancer types. Anaplastic thyroid cancer, in contrast, lacks this prognosis, and is the most lethal of all endocrine-related cancers. The median survival time after a diagnosis is generally between 6-8 months, with a 5-year survival rate of <10%. Current treatment for anaplastic thyroid cancers routinely meet roadblocks, as resistance is quickly developed. Even non-discriminatory kinase inactivators, such as sorafenib, which are generally considered a drug of last resort, are unable to effect survival rates. As such, there is a clear need for further investigation of the causes of anaplastic thyroid cancer mechanisms.

Previous work in the Carr lab revealed a novel regulatory pathway of an oncogene that is associated with several other endocrine-related cancers, as well as other non-endocrine-related cancers. Specifically, the Runt-related …