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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology
Amelioration Of Prenatal Alcohol Effects By Environmental Enrichment In A Mouse Model Of Fasd, Aniruddho Chokroborty-Hoque
Amelioration Of Prenatal Alcohol Effects By Environmental Enrichment In A Mouse Model Of Fasd, Aniruddho Chokroborty-Hoque
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy results in a spectrum of behavioural and cognitive deficits collectively known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Currently, little is know about if and how the external environment may modulate these deficits. I have used C57BL/6 mice to study this interaction between prenatal alcohol exposure and the postnatal environment. Alcohol exposure during synaptogenesis produces high levels of anxiety-like traits and decreased memory performance. Alcohol-exposed mice (and matched unexposed controls) were put in 'environmentally-enriched' conditions of voluntary exercise, physical activities and cognitive stimulation to ascertain the effects of a positive postnatal environment. The results show that …
Pore-Lining Residues And Intracellular Magnesium Concentration Influence Connexin50 Gap Junction Unitary Channel Conductance, Mary Grace M. Tejada
Pore-Lining Residues And Intracellular Magnesium Concentration Influence Connexin50 Gap Junction Unitary Channel Conductance, Mary Grace M. Tejada
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Gap junction (GJ) channels mediate direct intercellular communication. Each GJ channel consists of two hemichannels and each hemichannel is a hexamer of connexins. GJs formed by different connexins display different unitary channel conductance (γj) and intracellular magnesium modulation. The underlying mechanisms are not fully clear. The present study investigates the effect of mutating putative pore-lining residues (G8, G46, and V53 individually or together) into glutamate in Cx50 on homotypic GJ channel properties. Expression of the triple and individual mutants in GJ-deficient N2A cells resulted in the formation of functional GJ channels similar to that of Cx50 GJs. However, …