Life Sciences Commons^™

Dopamine Levels In The Brain Of Rat Models Of Human Rheumatoid Arthritis, Amelia Stinson

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, debilitating, autoimmune disease that causes the destruction of bone tissue and the articular structures of joints. At least 30% of RA patient populations have cognitive impairment. Acidic dopamine (DA) is the principal neuroimmunotransmitter that links the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system together. The aim of the present study was to determine the levels of DA and its two acidic metabolites: 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in arthritic induced rats, and whether their levels vary across four different parts of the brain: amygdala (AMG), front cerebral cortex (CX), hippocampus …

Assessing The Effect Of Nutritional Interventions On Body Composition Changes During Pregnancy In Moderately Malnourished Malawian Women, Megan K. Kitagawa

Master's Theses

Background: Malnutrition can affect the body composition changes that occur in healthy pregnancy, resulting in adverse effects to both the mother and infant. Supplementary foods with high quality protein may result in more favorable changes in lean mass and fat mass in pregnant malnourished women.

Objective: To retrospectively assess changes in body composition in moderately malnourished pregnant Malawian women in response to one of three nutritional interventions.

Methods: Height, weight, MUAC, and TSF were measured in pregnant women with MUAC >20.6 cm and19) were compared using ANOVA. If differences were detected, differences between groups were tested using the Tukey HSD …

Optimizing A Method For Simultaneous Recovery Of Proteins And Dna From Fingerprints, Steven Kranes

Student Theses

DNA testing on touched objects is a valuable tool in forensic investigations, but DNA is usually present in low amounts, causing poor STR typing results. For touch DNA evidence, there is a clear need for additional individualization, especially for highly probative samples. This could be achieved by testing genetically variable proteins. The goal of this project was to develop a DNA/protein co-extraction method to facilitate DNA and protein testing on the same evidence item. Existing DNA extraction methods were carefully adjusted to allow for downstream mass spectrometry analysis. Initial experiments on saliva and fingerprints placed on glass suggested that trypsin …

Algorithms For Automated Assignment Of Solution-State And Solid-State Protein Nmr Spectra., Andrey Smelter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protein nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (Protein NMR) is an invaluable analytical technique for studying protein structure, function, and dynamics. There are two major types of NMR spectroscopy that are used for investigation of protein structure – solution-state and solid-state NMR. Solution-based NMR spectroscopy is typically applied to proteins of small and medium size that are soluble in water. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is amenable for proteins that are insoluble in water. In the vast majority NMR-based protein studies, the first step after experiment optimization is the assignment of protein resonances via the association of chemical shift values to specific atoms in …

Caveolin Binding Motif Mutation Yields A Variance In Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Signaling, Justin Fleischer

Honors Theses

The human follicle stimulating hormone receptor (hFSHR) is a glycoprotein hormone receptor belonging to the g protein-coupled receptor family. It is important in both male and female reproductive processes; defects in hFSHR can lead to infertility, delayed puberty, reduced muscle bulk, and osteoporosis. Work in other labs has shown that GPCRs can be localized to microdomains located within the cell membrane called lipid rafts. These regions are highly resistant to detergents because of the high concentration of sphingolipids and cholesterol. Also within these domains, an intracellular protein, caveolin, is present. Our lab has shown that hFSHR also localizes to lipid …

A Systematic Investigation Of The Effects Of Chain Length And Ionic Head Group On Perfluoroalkyl Acid Binding To Human Serum Albumin, Jake Ulrich

Honors Theses

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are industrial chemicals used in everyday products ranging from non-stick coatings to fire-fighting foam. PFAAs are contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and are bioaccumulative, persistent and toxic. Unlike other CECs, PFAAs bioaccumulate in areas of high protein concentration, such as the kidneys, liver and blood; therefore, it is vital to study PFAA-protein interactions. Human Serum Albumin (HSA) is the model protein used for PFAA-protein studies because it is the most abundant protein in the human body and it binds and transports endogenous and exogenous ligands. Previously, researchers have investigated PFAA-HSA binding, but most of these studies have …

Studies Into The Structure And Function Of Various Domains Of Obscurin And Titin, Rachel A. Policke

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Muscles give our bodies the ability to move by stretching and contracting. While contraction is accomplished by the well-known actin-myosin interaction, not much is known about stretch. Two integral muscle proteins involved in stretch are titin and obscurin; both are long rope-like protein molecules that seem to act as molecular springs. Mutations in these two proteins can lead to diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and muscular dystrophy, as well as a variety of cancers. In an effort to understand muscle stretch and signaling on a more fundamental level, here we present the high resolution structure of obscurin Ig59, a domain …

Thylakoid Protein Targeting/Insertion By A Signal Recognition Particle In Chloroplasts, Priyanka Sharma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein targeting is a fundamental cellular process that directs proteins from their site of synthesis to the site where they function. The signal recognition particle (SRP) dependent targeting pathway is conserved in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes where it co-translationally targets polypeptide chains emerging from ribosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum (eukaryotes) or cytoplasmic membrane (prokaryotes). A structurally unique form of SRP is found in chloroplasts where it functions to post-translationally bind and target a subset of integral thylakoid membrane proteins, the light harvesting chlorophyll binding proteins (LHCPs). Mature LHCPs bind chlorophyll a/b and function in photosynthetic light capture. Like many other …

Protein, Methionine, And Cysteine Upregulation In Phaseolus Vulgaris ‘Black Turtle Bean’ Seeds Through Sulfur Fertilization At V2 And R2 Stages Of Growth, Hannah Paige Barry

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to increase protein, methionine, and cysteine content in Phaseolus vulgaris L., common bean in relation to the inhibitory compound tannin. Previous research has shown that sulfur fertilization increases total protein, methionine and cysteine content in various crops, but always in tandem with inhibitory compound increases. If successful, the resulting bean seed will have a better nutrient profile for malnourished populations around the world.

Granular gypsum was applied at 0 kg S ha^-1 [kilograms of sulfur per hectare], 10 kg S ha^-1, 20 kg S ha^-1, 40 kg S ha …

Effect Of The Mutant Danbaekkong Or Stem Termination Alleles On Soybean Seed Protein Concentration, Amino Acid Composition, And Other Seed Quality And Agronomic Traits, Mia Justina Cunicelli

Masters Theses

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is the world’s leading source of vegetable oil and high quality protein meal. Increasing soybean protein concentration through selection while maintaining oil concentration and yield has been a constant goal for plant breeders, as there is a negative correlation between protein and oil and protein and yield. The objective of this study was to determine if marker assisted selection (MAS) for the Danbaekkong (Dan) protein allele influences agronomic and seed quality traits. A population of 24 F_8:10 [eighth filial generation advanced to the tenth filial generation] near isogenic lines (NILs) of soybean was …

Effects Of Ultra-Sonication Process On Digestibility Of Kafirin In Sorghum, Sarah F. Beazley

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Network Exploration Of Correlated Multivariate Protein Data For Alzheimer's Disease Association, Matthew J. Lane

Theses

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is difficult to diagnose by using genetic testing or other traditional methods. Unlike diseases with simple genetic risk components, there exists no single marker determining as to whether someone will develop AD. Furthermore, AD is highly heterogeneous and different subgroups of individuals develop the disease due to differing factors. Traditional diagnostic methods using perceivable cognitive deficiencies are often too little too late due to the brain having suffered damage from decades of disease progression. In order to observe AD at early stages prior to the observation of cognitive deficiencies, biomarkers with greater accuracy are required. By using …

Inquiry Into Perilipin-5a Expression In Triacylglycerol Rich Vs Normal Fed Mouse Tissue, Kobi Agyepong

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

The steep rise in both childhood and adult obesity over the past three decades has moved to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years. This development has generated a marked increase in general health awareness and lifestyle changes for a vast number of individuals, most notably in the form of increased physical activity and diet alterations. The latter point is especially salient in a biochemical context, because of the myriad factors that can result in “fat accumulation”. Chief among these factors is the Perilipin 5A gene, (known as PLIN5A) which encodes the protein Perilipin 5A of the Perilipin family …

Mutagenic And Spectroscopic Investigation Of Ph Dependent Cooa Dna Binding, Brian R. Weaver

Chemistry Honors Papers

The carbon monoxide (CO) sensing heme protein, CooA, is a transcription factor which exists in several bacteria that utilize CO as an energy source. CooA positively regulates the expression of coo genes in the presence of CO such that the corresponding proteins may metabolize CO. The present studies have yielded the unexpected result that Fe(III) CooA binds DNA tightly at pH < 7, deviating from all previously reported work which indicate that CooA DNA binding is initiated only when the exogenous CO effector reacts with the Fe(II) CooA heme. This observation suggests that the disruption of one or more salt bridges upon effector binding may be a critical feature of the normal CooA activation mechanism. To test this possibility, several protein variants that eliminated a selected salt bridge for the CooA homolog from Rhodospirillum rubrum were prepared via site-directed mutagenesis. Samples of these variant proteins, which were overexpressed in Escherichia coli, were then characterized by spectroscopic methods and functional assays to investigate the impact these mutations had on CooA heme coordination …

Adsorption Of Biomolecules On Carbon-Based Nanomaterial As Affected By Surface Chemistry And Ionic Strength, Peng Du

Doctoral Dissertations

In the first project, we examined adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (LYZ) on carboxylated (CM), hydroxylated (HM) and graphitized (GM) multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs). All adsorption isotherms were fitted well with Langmuir model. Maximum adsorption capacities (mg/g) followed: HM>CM>GM for both BSA and LYZ, which positively related to the surface areas of the three CNTs. However, after surface area normalization, adsorption capacity (mg/m²) followed: HM>GM>CM for BSA and GM>CM>HM for LYZ, indicating that functional groups and hydrophobicity of CNTs also contributed to protein adsorption. In addition, adsorption of LYZ …

Elucidating Structure, Function, And Small Molecular Interactions Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Chikungunya Virus, Kristin Nicole Slater

Wayne State University Theses

Abstract HIV-1:

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) is a widespread, incurable retrovirus known to cause

immunodeficiency and a shortened life span. Despite successful treatment methods, HIV-1

frequently mutates, resulting in antiviral resistance. Many therapies target the HIV-1 protease

(PR), which is responsible for cleaving the viral polyprotein essential for its life cycle. HIV-1 PR

often evades treatment by way of mutations and less commonly through residue insertions. We

have identified a clinical isolate with a five residue insertion between residues 28 and 29.

Through molecular dynamics simulations we analyzed the protease protein structure and

determined that the residue insertion created a …

Neuronal Gq Structures In Neurodegeneration, Damian S. Mcaninch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates protein nucleic acid interactions between various proteins and G quadruplex (GQ) forming messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in human neurological disorders. GQ structures are formed in DNA/RNA, when four guanine residues form planar tetrads stabilized by Hoogsteen base pairing, that stack forming a GQ structure stabilized by potassium ions. These GQ structures are targeted by the arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) repeat domain containing RNA-binding domain.

Three RGG domain containing RNA-binding proteins, all of which have been implicated in neurological disorders, and their interactions with GQ forming mRNAs, were investigated in this study: fused in sarcoma (FUS), fragile X mental retardation protein …

Structure-Function Investigation Of Proteins Involved In Cellulose Biosynthesis By Escherichia Coli, Thomas Brenner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Bacteria thrive within multicellular communities called biofilms consisting of a self-produced matrix. Biofilm matrices improve bacterial adherence to surfaces while creating a barrier from host immune responses, disinfectants, antibiotics and other environmental factors. Persistent colonization by the widely distributed pathogens, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp., has been linked to production of biofilms composed of the exopolysaccharide cellulose. Cellulose-containing biofilms are also important to Acetobacter, Sarcina, Rhizobium and Agrobacterium species to form symbiotic and pathogenic interactions. In Enterobacteriaceae, two operons (bcsABZC and bcsEFG) are proposed to encode for proteins that form a cellulose biosynthetic complex that spans the …

Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Is A Novel Protein Sensor In Pregnancy, Elizabeth Frost Sutton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The twenty-first century has experienced a shift in cause of death worldwide from communicable diseases to noncommunicable diseases. Interestingly, many of these implicated chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, have been shown to be programmed in the womb. As first posited by the Barker Hypothesis, adverse exposures in utero can increase an individual’s risk for chronic disease later in life. Therefore, pregnancy is an opportune time for intervention to improve the health of future generations. Studies of exposures known to negatively impact infant health, e.g. states of overnutrition (obesity, diabetes, excess gestational weight gain) and undernutrition (starvation, …

Muscle Inflammatory Signaling Regulates Eccentric Contraction-Induced Protein Synthesis During Cancer Cachexia, Justin Perry Hardee

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer-related cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome that involves the unintentional loss of skeletal muscle mass that cannot be reversed by standard nutritional intervention. Skeletal muscle mass depletion directly impacts patient survival and life quality, and therefore treatments that preserve muscle mass and function may have significant implications for cancer patient treatment and survival. Systemic and muscle inflammation has been implicated in the regulation of skeletal muscle homeostasis, and the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and muscle gp130 receptor signaling have established roles in cancer-induced muscle wasting. Resistance exercise is a nonpharmacological treatment that can improve physical function and metabolic health in …

Expression Of Fam171b Protein In Mouse Brain Tissue, Quan Tran

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases are inherited fatal neurodegenerative disorders caused by expansion of trinucleotide cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeats, encoding abnormally long glutamine tracts in respective disease proteins. Currently, there are nine polyQ diseases- including Huntington’s disease and a number of Spinocerebellar ataxias. Interestingly, expanded polyQ proteins are prone to aggregate, and this aggregation may underlie neurodegeneration. In this study, we investigate the expression and localization of FAM171B (a novel polyQ protein) in the brain. Western blotting reveals that FAM171B protein is indeed expressed in the developing and adult mouse brain. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analyses suggests widespread localization of FAM171B to many brain regions …

Functional And Structural Analyses Of A Bacterial Antifreeze Protein, Chen Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a class of ice binding proteins (IBPs) that are expressed by different cold-adapted organisms to increase their freezing tolerance. AFPs have two major properties: thermal hysteresis and ice recrystallization inhibition. Here we report the functional and structural analyses of a bacterial AFP, IBPv. IBPv was originally secreted by a bacterium recovered from a deep glacial ice core drilled at Vostok Station, Antarctica. Our study showed that the recombinant protein rIBPv exhibited a thermal hysteresis of 2°C at concentrations higher than 50 µM, effectively inhibited ice recrystallization, and enhanced bacterial viability during freeze-thaw cycling. Circular dichroism scans …