Life Sciences Commons^™

Dimerization Of Dopamine (D2) And Adenosine (A2a) Receptors, Elena Vukovic, Jackson M. Macatol

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This experiment will aim to explore the heterodimerization of Dopamine (D2) and Adenosine (A2A) receptors in cells when bound to different ligands. Borroto-Escuela et al. (2018) investigated the dimerization of the A2AR-D2R in rats when administered with cocaine, and they found that disrupting the A2AR-D2R complex restores the cocaine reward system in rats. This was a strong influence as to why we chose to investigate A2AR-D2R dimerization in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.

One goal that we have for this experiment is to combine our current laboratory skills with new laboratory techniques. There are constantly new techniques in labs, and …

Xenoestrogens From Household Plastics Bind Estrogen Receptors And Affect Cell Proliferation, Susan G. Hurley, Brett R. Lackey, Patricia L. Tate, Sandra L. Gray

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Xenoestrogens are “foreign” chemicals or compounds that interact with estrogen receptors as either agonists or antagonists to interfere with endocrine system function. Xenoestrogens include phytoestrogens, pesticides, industrial by- products and synthetic estrogens. In this study, consumer plasticware, including baby bottles and food storage containers, were found to release xenoestrogenic compounds that bound to ERα and ERβ and affected cell proliferation.

Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor Mediates Par-Induced Bladder Pain., Dimitrios E. Kouzoukas, Katherine L. Meyer-Siegler, Fei Ma, Karin N. Westlund, David E. Hunt, Pedro L. Vera

Physiology Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is constitutively expressed in urothelial cells that also express protease-activated receptors (PAR). Urothelial PAR1 receptors were shown to mediate bladder inflammation. We showed that PAR1 and PAR4 activator, thrombin, also mediates urothelial MIF release. We hypothesized that stimulation of urothelial PAR1 or PAR4 receptors elicits release of urothelial MIF that acts on MIF receptors in the urothelium to mediate bladder inflammation and pain. Thus, we examined the effect of activation of specific bladder PAR receptors on MIF release, bladder pain, micturition and histological changes.

METHODS: MIF release was measured …

Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Agonist Attenuates Pain Related Behavior In Rats With Chronic Alcohol/High Fat Diet Induced Pancreatitis, Liping Zhang, Robert H. Kline Iv, Terry A. Mcnearney, Michael P. Johnson, Karin Westlund High

Physiology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) is a complex and multifactorial syndrome. Many contributing factors result in development of dysfunctional pain in a significant number of patients. Drugs developed to treat a variety of pain states fall short of providing effective analgesia for patients with chronic pancreatitis, often providing minimal to partial pain relief over time with significant side effects. Recently, availability of selective pharmacological tools has enabled great advances in our knowledge of the role of the cannabinoid receptors in pathophysiology. In particular, cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) has emerged as an attractive target for management of chronic pain, as demonstrated in …

Discovery Of A Novel Ccr5 Antagonist As An Effective Therapeutic Agent For Prostate Cancer, Tasrif Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

Previously, the CCR5 receptor was found to be a good target for treating prostate cancer (PCa). Dr. Yan Zhang’s laboratory designed several CCR5 antagonists, which were screened for their inhibitory effect on the growth and invasion of the M12, DU145 and PC-3 PCa cell lines. Primary in vitro screening showed one compound (Drug 17) significantly inhibited the proliferation of PCa cells at 1μM concentration, with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 237.68 nM. Further in vitro assays including a proliferation, cytotoxicity and invasion assay confirmed the inhibitory effect of drug 17. The physiological effect of drug 17 was tested by the …

Cannabinoid-Mediated Inhibition Of Recurrent Excitatory Circuitry In The Dentate Gyrus In A Mouse Model Of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Muthu D. Bhaskaran, Bret N. Smith

Physiology Faculty Publications

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a neurological condition associated with neuron loss, axon sprouting, and hippocampal sclerosis, which results in modified synaptic circuitry. Cannabinoids appear to be anti-convulsive in patients and animal models of TLE, but the mechanisms of this effect are not known. A pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus mouse model of TLE was used to study the effect of cannabinoid agonists on recurrent excitatory circuits of the dentate gyrus using electrophysiological recordings in hippocampal slices isolated from control mice and mice with TLE. Cannabinoid agonists WIN 55,212-2, anandamide (AEA), or 2-arachydonoylglycerol (2-AG) reduced the frequency of spontaneous and tetrodotoxin-resistant excitatory …