Life Sciences Commons^™

Antioxidant Biomarkers And Nutraceutical Therapeutics In Neurodegeneration And Neurotrauma, Lilia A. Koza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), yielding a Glascow Coma Scale of 13-15, is the most commonly occurring severity of TBI. Pathology from mTBI consists of blood brain barrier disruption, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, protein aggregation, axonal degeneration, and resulting neuronal death. These processes deplete the body’s endogenous antioxidant system. We report a retrospective analysis of antioxidant blood biomarkers in patients with a history of mTBI from a local sports medicine clinic, Resilience Code. We found persistent sex-specific antioxidant depletions in mTBI patients associated with worsened symptomology.

Certain populations, such as athletes, are at high risk for repetitive mTBI …

Phosphatidylserine Externalization On Non-Apoptotic Cells And Lipid Scramblases In C. Elegans, Julia Frondoni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cell corpse clearance is key for animals to avoid inflammation and autoimmune disease. To better understand the “eat me” signal of phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure for non-apoptotic corpse clearance, we attempted to disrupt the externalization of PS on C. elegans polar bodies. The second polar body undergoes a non-apoptotic form of cell death, loses membrane integrity, externalizes PS and is cleared by embryonic cells during early development. During apoptotic and necrotic cell death, PS asymmetry is disrupted by lipid scramblases, which translocate phospholipids between the leaflets of the lipid bilayer. We found neither apoptotic nor necrotic scramblases are required for PS …

Organellar Zn2+ Homeostasis And The Role Of Trpml Channels In Neuronal Lysosome Physiology And Axonal Transport, Taylor Franklin Minckley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Zinc (Zn²⁺) is crucial for proper cellular function, and as such it is important to measure and track Zn²⁺ dynamics in living cells. Fluorescent sensors have been used to estimate Zn²⁺ content of subcellular compartments, but little is known about endolysosomal Zn2+ homeostasis. Similarly, although numerous sensors have been reported, it is unclear whether and how Zn²⁺ can be released from intracellular compartments into the cytosol due to a lack of probes that can detect physiological dynamics of cytosolic Zn²⁺. My dissertation started with comparing and characterizing different Zn²⁺ sensors including the …

The Pathophysiological Mechanisms Of Alzheimer's Disease; Investigating Therapeutic Interventions For Disease Onset, Alexandra A. Sandberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s Disease is a multifarious disease that progressively affects more people as both the proportion of older adults in the population and life expectancy increase in both the United States and worldwide. This devastating disease is a result of rampant neuronal loss in the memory centers of the brain that robs the independence of those who are diagnosed and places a heavy burden on those who care for them. Traditionally speaking, research has focused on the hallmark pathology of amyloid plaques, targeting them to try and prevent disease onset. However, countless failures in clinical trials aimed at this said pathology …