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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Investigating The Effects Of Bag3 Knockdown On The Cytotoxicity Of The Anticancer Drug Laromustine, Kayla Gross Jan 2013

Investigating The Effects Of Bag3 Knockdown On The Cytotoxicity Of The Anticancer Drug Laromustine, Kayla Gross

Honors Theses

Laromustine is a sulfonylhydrazine anticancer prodrug whose cytotoxicity results from the formation of interstrand cross-links caused by the synergistic action of co- generated 2-chloroethylating and carbamoylating species. The cytotoxic activities of Laromustine involve the induction of apoptosis. Described herein is an investigation into this drug’s effects on apoptotic gene expression in HL-60 cells using qRT-PCR. Significant changes in the expression levels of 13 genes were observed, most dramatically in the upregulation of the bcl2-associated athanogene 3 (BAG3) gene. Given the pro-survival role of BAG3 in the cell, this investigation sought to decrease BAG3 mRNA levels in HL-60 cells using transient …


Investigating The Role Of Epibiotic Bacteria In Defense Against Chytridiomycosis In The Green Frog, Lithobates Clamitans, Sarah Nalven Jan 2013

Investigating The Role Of Epibiotic Bacteria In Defense Against Chytridiomycosis In The Green Frog, Lithobates Clamitans, Sarah Nalven

Honors Theses

Amphibian populations have been declining for several decades, in part due to the emerging fungal skin disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Chytridiomycosis has caused extinctions and extirpations in many parts of the world, but its influence varies across species, populations, and individuals. The Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), which inhabits the eastern half of the United States, seems capable of sustaining Bd infections without experiencing die-offs. It is possible that the Green Frog's epibiotic bacteria are contributing to its defense against Bd as the epibiotic bacteria of several amphibian species are known to play …


Prenatal Choline Supplementation And Mk-801 Toxicity: Protecting Memory And Preventing Neurodegeneration, Chelsea Nickerson Jan 2013

Prenatal Choline Supplementation And Mk-801 Toxicity: Protecting Memory And Preventing Neurodegeneration, Chelsea Nickerson

Honors Theses

Choline is essential to the development and function of the central nervous system. Supplemental choline is neuroprotective against a variety of insults, including neurotoxins like dizocilpine (MK-801). MK-801 is an NMDA receptor antagonist that is frequently used in rodent models of psychological disorders. At low doses, it causes cognitive impairments, and at higher doses it induces motor deficits, anhedonia, and neuronal degeneration. The primary goals of the present study were to investigate whether prenatal choline supplementation protects against the cognitive impairments, motor deficits, and neuropathologies that are precipitated by MK-801 administration in adulthood. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were fed …


Relationship Of Cross-Linking Potential To Mechanism Of Cell Death, Adam N. Spierer Jan 2013

Relationship Of Cross-Linking Potential To Mechanism Of Cell Death, Adam N. Spierer

Honors Theses

Mechlorethamine (HN2), a nitrogen derivative of mustard gas, was the first synthetic anti-tumor chemotherapeutic because it forms covalent cross-links between strands of duplex DNA. HN2 represents a class of bifunctional alkylating agents that are both chemotherapeutic and carcinogenic: diepoxybutane (DEB), the active form of the pro-drug treosulfan, and epichlorohydrin (ECH), a structural hybrid of HN2 and DEB, also form covalent cross-links between DNA. While HN2 and DEB are clinically used as anti-tumor chemotherapeutics, ECH is a structural hybrid of these two compounds not used in a clinical setting. Accordingly, we aimed to understand the relationship between the cross-linking potential of …