Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Glucose On Transcription At Cpxr- And Ompr-Regulated Promoters, Andrew Charles Cosgrove

Master's Theses

While reversible acetylation of proteins has been well studied in eukaryotes and is now recognized in bacteria, global protein acetylation in bacteria is a recently appreciated phenomenon. Protein acetylation is known to affect almost every aspect of cellular physiology in eukaryotes and there is proteomic evidence that this may also hold true in bacteria. In eukaryotes, lysines are acetylated by acetyltransferases that use acetyl-CoA as the acetyl group source, and de-acetylated by deacetylases. In bacteria, this reversible process uses enzymes homologous to those used by eukaryotes.

Our lab has recently found that acetylation of RNA polymerase (RNAP) can activate transcription …

Binge Ethanol Leads To Decreased Macrophage Accumulation In Infected Cutaneous Wounds, Sara Hlavin

Master's Theses

Trauma patients who consumed alcohol prior to sustaining injuries have higher rates of morbidity and mortality than those with comparable injuries who did not drink. Additionally, those who drank had impaired wound healing and increased susceptibility to infection. Despite these clinical observations, few studies have explored the effect of ethanol on the innate immune cell function in a healing wound or how this may alter resolution of cutaneous infection. A murine model of ethanol and cutaneous wound infection was used to examine bacterial growth and recruitment of innate immune cells. Mice were given either ethanol (2.2 g/kg) or saline 30 …

Characterization Of The Clostridium Difficile Biofilm, Michelle Laning

Master's Theses

Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive, spore forming bacterium and an opportunistic gastrointestinal pathogen. Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common nosocomial infection. Upon antibiotic treatment, patients can be colonized with C. difficile from ingestion of spores. After colonization, cells produce toxins creating symptoms from diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis, and many patients develop recurrent infections. Interactions between host epithelium and the bacteria is a critical step in infection, yet the interaction is not well understood. It is not known how C. difficile evades host immune responses. These are important mechanisms to answer in advancing CDI treatment. A biofilm could contribute to …

Urinary Antimicrobial Peptides And The Urinary Microbiota In A Uti-Susceptible Population Of Female Pelvic Floor Surgery Patients, Vanessa Nienhouse

Master's Theses

Urinary tract infections (UTI)s are a national priority. Women who undergo surgery for pelvic floor disorders such as pelvic organ prolapse (POP) or urinary incontinence (UI) are at increased risk for UTI, as 10-30% will contract a post-instrumentation UTI (postI-UTI) within six weeks after surgery. Currently, the factors that contribute to the high rate of postI-UTI are unknown, and there is currently no clinical assessment to identify at-risk patients. However, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and characteristics of the urinary microbiota have the potential to serve as biomarkers, identifying patients at UTI risk and facilitating clinical prevention studies.

While it was previously …

Organization And Composition Of The Α21-Ii Region Of Human Chromosome 21, William Ziccardi

Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to develop a better map of the alpha 21-II region of human chromosome 21 in regards to size and primary sequence of the five alphoid clusters that comprise the region and to explore the evolutionary relationships that exist within and between these clusters. Several HC21 BACs were identified as containing strong sequence identities to alpha 21-II clones and were mapped to various alpha 21-II clusters. It was revealed that both monomeric and HOR alphoid clusters can be found in the alpha 21-II region. Phylogenetic analysis revealed separate evolutionary histories for the monomeric and HOR …

Determination Of An Interaction Between Nipped B-Like Protein And Mll, Adam Robert Marek

Master's Theses

The Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) protein serves as a positive transcriptional regulator during hematopoietic and embryonic development. The MLL gene can undergo chromosomal translocations producing leukemia-causing fusions that retain the MLL amino-terminus, including the repression domain. A recent yeast two-hybrid screening used the MLL repression domain as bait and yielded nine positive clones of Nipped B-like (NIPBL).

NIPBL is a crucial member of the cohesin complex, which functions in the segregation of sister chromatids during cell division. However, recent evidence suggests the cohesin complex can also function as a transcriptional regulator.

In this study, we wanted to confirm this interaction …

Evolution Of Interactomes, Monica Micek

Master's Theses

Protein-protein interactions are part of all biological processes and are responsible for directing the development and maintenance of all systems in a species. Identifying such interactions provides insight into molecular processes in addition to their importance in understanding disease. Identifying protein-protein interactions experimentally is expensive, both in terms of cost and effort, and can generate erroneous results. Thus computational methods are key in reducing the scope of experimental assays, providing predictions for subsequent verification. Herein I present a new computational tool for the prediction of protein-protein interactions which, looking at sequence data alone, can identify putative interacting proteins as a …

Organization Of The Centromeric Satellite I Cluster And D21z1 Short Arm Junction Region Of Human Chromosome 21, Riddhi V. Patel

Master's Theses

To study chromosomal segregation errors causing Down syndrome one needs a chromosome 21 (HC21) specific centromeric marker, which presently does not exist. Alphoid DNA is the only repetitive sequence at all human centromeres. The current map of HC21 has a gap in the p-arm alphoid (D21Z1) junction region and the centromeric satellite I (satI) sequence. This satellite I cluster was shown not to be a specific centromeric marker since it is also on HC13. There are actually multiple satI families on both HC13 and HC21. This project also filled the gap in the HC21map and characterized the D21Z1 p- arm …

Characterization Of The Coca Chemokine Receptor Four Agonist Activity Of Ubiquitin, Daniel M. Staren

Master's Theses

Ubiquitin has previously been identified as another natural agonist of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). In addition, recent evidence suggests that ubiquitin may activate CXCR4 through a binding site on the receptor, which is distinct from the binding site for the cognate ligand stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1α. The cellular consequences of ubiquitin induced CXCR4 activation, however, are still poorly defined and a side-by-side comparison of CXCR4 mediated functions after activation with SDF-1α and ubiquitin is lacking. Such information will be instrumental to better understand the physiological function of CXCR4 and to further define its role as a therapeutic target in …

Understanding The Regulation Of Metabolic Enzyme Acetylation In E. Coli, Arti Walker-Peddakotla

Master's Theses

Global protein acetylation is a newly discovered phenomenon in bacteria. Of the more than 250 acetylations reported in E. coli, many are of metabolic enzymes. Thus, acetylation could represent a novel posttranslational mechanism of metabolic control. Yet, almost nothing is known about the regulation of these acetylations or of their metabolic outcomes. Here, we report that the cAMP receptor protein (CRP) regulates protein acetylation in E. coli and provide evidence that protein acetylation modulates the flux of carbon through central metabolism. When we grew cells in mixed amino acids supplemented with glucose and cAMP, global protein acetylation increased in a …

Kv7 K+ Channels In Airway Smooth Muscle Cells As Target For Asthma Therapy, Priyanka Prakash Kakad

Master's Theses

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is an important etiological feature of asthma, the molecular mechanisms of which are poorly understood, thus preventing development of specific and effective therapies. We investigate the role played by Kv7 voltage-activated potassium channels in the pathophysiology of AHR and evaluate the significance of their regulation in treatment of asthma. Our studies provide the first evidence for expression of multiple Kv7 channels in guinea pig and human airways and demonstrate that the expression of Kv7 channels is reduced in allergen-sensitized guinea pig airways. Our ex vivo functional studies reveal that clinically available Kv7 channel activators attenuate the bronchoconstrictor …