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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Investigating The Role Of The Cholesterol Recognition/Interaction Amino-Acid Consensus Sequence In Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Function And Structure, Tatyana Lynn Jun 2022

Investigating The Role Of The Cholesterol Recognition/Interaction Amino-Acid Consensus Sequence In Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Function And Structure, Tatyana Lynn

Honors Theses

Human infertility is a complex disorder that can often be attributed to a dysfunction of the endocrine system. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is one of many hormones that participate in a complex process in both women and men to regulate normal reproduction. The dysfunction of this hormone and its receptor are some of the many causes of infertility. FSH is secreted by the anterior pituitary and, in women, initiates a cascade of biological events that enable ovulation. FSH carries out its function by binding and activating specific receptors. The FSH receptor (FSHR) is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is located …


Mutations In Caveolin Binding Motif Alter Human Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Signaling, Katarina Zahedi Jun 2022

Mutations In Caveolin Binding Motif Alter Human Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Signaling, Katarina Zahedi

Honors Theses

Globally, there are about 48 million couples and 186 million individuals of reproductive age that are affected by infertility. Some cases of infertility in both men and women have been attributed to impaired follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) signaling. The lack of proper function of the cognate receptor for FSH (FSHR) could contribute to infertility since the biochemical signal generated by FSH binding to FSHR stimulates the production of a sperm-stabilizing protein in males and follicle maturation in females. It has been demonstrated that human FSHR (hFSHR) localizes to lipid rafts, which are rigid and detergent-resistant microdomains in the cell membrane. …


Lectin-Glycan Complexes: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Docking Calculations, Ashton Custer May 2022

Lectin-Glycan Complexes: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Docking Calculations, Ashton Custer

Honors Theses

Lectins are a type of glycan-binding protein that noncovalently bind glycans. Carbohydrates are molecules consisting of sugar units joined together. Glycans are carbohydrates. Hence, glycans are also sugars. Lectins and lectin-glycan complexes have a range of biological roles and can be found in animals (including humans), plants, bacteria, viruses, and yeasts and fungi.1 Many scientists focus on the computational study of these complexes due to their intricate roles in many living organisms. Computational study is important in furthering our knowledge of lectin-glycan complexes and other such protein complexes. However, computational study is not perfect. There are many challenges in …


Retro-Structural Analysis Of The Four Helix Bundle Motif In Binuclear Proteins, Walker Pedigo, Maggie Smith May 2022

Retro-Structural Analysis Of The Four Helix Bundle Motif In Binuclear Proteins, Walker Pedigo, Maggie Smith

Honors Theses

Protein structure is directly related to protein function. There are four levels of protein structure: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. The interactions amongst the structural components of a protein give rise to its unique characteristics. The four helix bundle motif is a common structural trait in a variety of binuclear proteins. In this study, PyMOL, a molecular visualization system, was used to analyze binuclear proteins that possess a four helix bundle. Images of proteins containing dicopper, diiron, and dimanganese sites were captured. The images were compiled into figures for each individual protein. After creating the figures, each protein was further …


The Role Of Free Radicals In The Activation Of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors In Murine Microglial Cells, Eliana John Apr 2022

The Role Of Free Radicals In The Activation Of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors In Murine Microglial Cells, Eliana John

Honors Theses

Regulation of cellular processes is important for proper functioning. Environmental factors, including stress, can interfere with cellular regulation. One of the diseases caused by cellular regulation disturbance is cancer and mutations in EGF-related genes highly correlate with worse outcomes in cancer. The Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) pathway is involved in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. Phosphorylation of the receptors activates this pathway, leading to cell growth and regulation. This study examines the impact of oxidative stress on EGF pathway activation. Previous studies using breast cancer lines have indirectly shown a decrease in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) activation …


Halogen Bonding: A Computational Chemistry Investigation Of The Interaction Between Thyroid Hormone And Deiodinase, William Rice Apr 2022

Halogen Bonding: A Computational Chemistry Investigation Of The Interaction Between Thyroid Hormone And Deiodinase, William Rice

Honors Theses

Halogen bonding is a noncovalent interaction that continues to garner interest among the scientific community. Investigation of halogen bonds in biological contexts typically revolves around rational drug design for developing therapeutics. However, halogen bonding may be occurring naturally in our body every day. Thyroid hormone and its regulating enzyme, iodothyronine deiodinase, show promising results for a halogen bonding interaction that happens during catalysis. Prior work has examined the interaction between the iodine of thyroid hormone and the selenium of iodothyronine deiodinase. However, this study is the first of its kind to use computational chemistry methods to analyze the halogen bond …


Optimization And Standardization Of Dms Chemical Mapping Experiments For Probing Rna 3d Structure, Sarah Brady Jan 2022

Optimization And Standardization Of Dms Chemical Mapping Experiments For Probing Rna 3d Structure, Sarah Brady

Honors Theses

RNA plays a significant and crucial role in biological processes. The properties of RNA are ultimately responsible for each molecule’s unique function. The configuration and structural integrity of RNA is important for its functionality. Chemical mapping detailed in this thesis can be used to analyze the 3D structure of an RNA sequence. RNA is modified via methylation of adenine and cytosine bases using dimethyl sulfate, then reverse transcribed to DNA, then sequenced. The sites where the bases were methylated become mutations in the DNA sequence, allowing for identification of these locations when analyzing sequencing data. Conditions for modification can be …