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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Identifying A Glucocorticoid-Activated Gpcr That Rapidly And Non-Genomically Increases Camp Levels In Mammalian Cells, Francisco Nunez
Identifying A Glucocorticoid-Activated Gpcr That Rapidly And Non-Genomically Increases Camp Levels In Mammalian Cells, Francisco Nunez
Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) Dissertations
Glucocorticoids (GCs) are steroid hormones that regulate diverse physiological processes. Synthetic versions of GCs are commonly used to treat inflammatory diseases such as asthma by modulating gene expression to suppressing several inflammatory activities. However, it is estimated that 5-10% of asthmatics are unresponsive to GCs, which may be explained by receptor desensitization and/or the presence of a neutrophilic endotype. One understudied phenomenon of GCs is their ability to induce rapid, non-genomic actions. For example, GCs can acutely modulate calcium concentrations levels, induce smooth muscle relaxation and modulate nitric oxide synthase activity, within minutes and sometimes seconds, which is too rapid …
Targeting Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (Nnos) For Melanoma Treatment, Shirley Tong
Targeting Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase (Nnos) For Melanoma Treatment, Shirley Tong
Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) Dissertations
Human cutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and the incidence rates have continued to increase over the years. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) produces nitric oxide (NO) has been found to be overexpressed in human melanoma and the expression of nNOS is induced by interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). In our studies, nNOS has been implicated in IFN-γ-stimulated melanoma progression and the inhibition of nNOS using novel inhibitors effectively inhibited IFN-γ-stimulated tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is overexpressed in melanoma and plays an important role in suppressing the immune system 12-14. Our …
Sensory Primary Cilium Is A Distinct Signaling Compartment, Rinzhin Tshering Sherpa
Sensory Primary Cilium Is A Distinct Signaling Compartment, Rinzhin Tshering Sherpa
Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD) Dissertations
The primary cilium is a solitary cellular organelle that protrudes from the apical cell membrane. Findings on cilia-dependent mechanosenstation have shown that the primary cilium acts as a transducer of fluid-shear stress into intracellular signaling. Over recent years, studies in primary cilia have intensified after determining a causal relationship between dysfunctional primary cilia and cystic diseases. Along with its mechanosensory function, the primary cilium houses a variety of receptors, ion channels and transporter proteins. Studies in cilia biology have shown that primary cilia are coordinators of signaling pathways such as Hedgehog (Hh), Wnt, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) pathways during …