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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Characterizing Multivalent Interactions Between Folded Protein Domains And Intrinsically Disordered Regions Or Peptide Substrates, Tongyin Zheng Jul 2021

Characterizing Multivalent Interactions Between Folded Protein Domains And Intrinsically Disordered Regions Or Peptide Substrates, Tongyin Zheng

Dissertations - ALL

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play central roles in most biological processes. Studying PPIs is a fundamental step in understanding the molecular basis of cellular processes such as cell-cell contact, enzyme activity, and transient assembly of signaling complexes or cellular structures. In this work, we employed a combination of biophysical and biochemical methods to characterize PPIs, with a focus on interactions between structured domains and intrinsically disordered regions or peptide substrates.The subject of Chapter two is prolyl isomerase Ess1, which is an essential enzyme found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ess1 regulates the transcription and co-transcriptional RNA processing by catalyzing the isomerization of serine-proline …


Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale, Nandhini Rajagopal May 2021

Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale, Nandhini Rajagopal

Dissertations - ALL

Biological barriers in the human body are one of the most crucial interfaces perfected through evolution for diverse and unique functions. Of the wide range of barriers, the paracellular protein interfaces of epithelial and endothelial cells called tight junctions with high molecular specificities are vital for homeostasis and to maintain proper health. While the breakdown of these barriers is associated with serious pathological consequences, their intact presence also poses a challenge to effective delivery of therapeutic drugs. Complimenting a rigorous combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to establishing the fundamental biological construct, in addition to elucidating pathological implications …


Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale, Nandhini Rajagopal May 2021

Computational Algorithms For Predicting Membrane Protein Assembly From Angstrom To Micron Scale, Nandhini Rajagopal

Dissertations - ALL

Biological barriers in the human body are one of the most crucial interfaces perfected through evolution for diverse and unique functions. Of the wide range of barriers, the paracellular protein interfaces of epithelial and endothelial cells called tight junctions with high molecular specificities are vital for homeostasis and to maintain proper health. While the breakdown of these barriers is associated with serious pathological consequences, their intact presence also poses a challenge to effective delivery of therapeutic drugs. Complimenting a rigorous combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to establishing the fundamental biological construct, in addition to elucidating pathological implications …


Characterization Of Ghrelin O-Acyltransferase Active Site, Leslie Patton May 2015

Characterization Of Ghrelin O-Acyltransferase Active Site, Leslie Patton

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Ghrelin, first discovered in 1999, is a 28-amino acid peptide hormone involved in the regulation of appetite, insulin secretion and sensitivity, and many neurological effects such as learning, memory, and depression.1-6 Ghrelin has been identified to have a unique posttranslational octanoylation carried out by the enzyme ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT). This distinctive modification is a point of interest in studying GOAT whereby blocking the acylation of the ghrelin could potentially halt the activity of the peptide hormone and provide a means of treating obesity, diabetes, and other diseases affected by ghrelin levels. The duration of my project involved working …


Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Neonatal Oocyte Survival And Primordial Follicle Formation In The Mouse Ovary, Robin L. Jones Dec 2012

Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Neonatal Oocyte Survival And Primordial Follicle Formation In The Mouse Ovary, Robin L. Jones

Biology - Dissertations

In mammals, formation of the primordial follicle is a complex process involving the breakdown of germ cell cysts, where oocytes must separate from each other and subsequently become surrounded by somatic cells. As cysts separate, a large number of germ cells are lost by apoptosis, however the mechanisms by which cyst breakdown and germ cell death occur are not well understood. We first hypothesized that two anti-apoptotic regulators from the BCL2 family of proteins, BCL2 and MCL1, may be responsible for regulating neonatal oocyte survival. To elucidate the effects of BCL2 in the neonatal ovary, we examined ovaries of both …