Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

The Effects Of Cocaine And Ecstasy On Cardiac Myocytes And The Intact Myocardium, David A. Tiangco

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Cocaine and ecstasy are widely used illicit drugs. Both drugs have undergone intense scrutiny as information regarding their side-effects has become available. One important yet incomplete area of investigation pertains to their effects on the heart. The purpose of the current studies was to test the hypothesis that exposure to cocaine or ecstasy will adversely affect cellular homeostasis and normal heart function. Cultured cardiac myocytes (H9c2) and New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were used to measure the responses to various concentrations of cocaine or ecstasy at both the cellular and intact organ system levels. We observed that cocaine and …

Pge2 Receptor Subsets Mediate Hcg Regulation Of The Plasminogen Activator/Plasmin System In Primate Periovulatory Follicles, Nune Markosyan

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Elevated follicular prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels are necessary for follicle rupture during ovulation. As the degradation of the follicle wall requires proteolysis, it was hypothesized that regulation of proteolysis by gonadotropins is PGE2 mediated.

There are four PGE2 receptors: EP1, EP2, EP3 and EP4. To determine which PGE2 receptors are present in monkey periovulatory follicles, granulosa cells and whole ovaries were collected 0, 12, 24, and 36 hours after administration of an ovulatory dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), or 36 hours after hCG from monkeys that received the prostaglandin (PG) synthesis inhibitor celecoxib. All EP receptor mRNAs were present …

The Study Of Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression, Function, And Regulation In The Renal Vasculature During Postnatal Renal Development, Brian Blake Ratliff

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The newborn kidney is vulnerable to vasomotor acute renal failure (ARF) from adverse perinatal events or complications of prematurity. Nitric oxide (NO) vasodilation is vitally protective in this type of ARF, but its relationship with other vasoactive factors, such as angiotensin II (AII) has not been examined. In the immature kidney, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms, specifically eNOS and nNOS, are developmentally regulated, but their specific role and regulation are unknown.

The enhanced vasodilatory role of NO in the immature kidney was hypothesized to be attributed to regulatory, expressional, and functional differences in eNOS and nNOS isoforms from the adult. …

Characterization Of The Biological Functions Of Human Recombinant Zona Pellucida Protein 3, Yu Wen Juan

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Recombinant human zona pellucida protein 3 (rhZP3), expressed. isolated and purified from PA-1 cells, is characterized for its biological activity and the role in the signal transduction pathway. Characterization of the biological activity of rhZP3 was detected by hemizona assay and immunofluorescence staining of acrosome reaction The results indicated that rhZP3 exhibited an inhibition in the binding assay (HZI 43.6 +/-3.3; n = 9; 30 ng/mL rhZP3) and induction of acrosome reaction (198.6% +/- 77.2% increase from baseline; n = 29; 30 ng/mL rhZP3). It was further confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy that there was no difference in morphology …

Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (Lif): Murine Preimplantation Embryo Development, Implantation Rates, And Skeletal Development, Michael Hayes Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine which demonstrates perplexing physiological effects. It has been demonstrated that LIF is essential for implantation in mice. Little is known relating to the manner by which LIF effects pre-implantation and post-implantation development. The objectives of this project were to determine the effects LIF on pre-implantation development, to determine the effects that it may have on implantation rates, successful pregnancy rates, and resorption rates, and to determine the effects that LIF has on the skeletal development of mice. For the embryo transfer experiments, embryos were exposed to test compounds in the transfer medium …

Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase And Growth Factor Regulation Of Flow-Mediated Vascular Remodeling, David Anthony Tulis

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

This study was designed to characterize structural remodeling of male Wistar rat mesenteric arteries exposed to elevated blood flow in vivo for 1, 3, or 7 days. A series of arterial ligations induced blood flow increases in ileal and second-order branch arteries compared to same animal control vessels. Neither mean carotid nor local mesenteric arterial pressures changed significantly pre- to post-ligation. The primary flow-mediated force in both vessels was shear stress with possible involvement of acute stretch-induced wall stress in the ileal artery. Significant luminal expansion and medial wall hypertrophy occurred in the ileal and second-order arteries in a time-dependent …

Interaction Of Acth And Estradiol In The Regulation Of Growth, Differentiation, And Steroidogenic Maturation Of The Baboon Fetal Adrenal Gland, Maria Gomez Leavitt

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The present study determined whether the growth of, as well as ACTH receptor and P-450 enzyme messenger ribonucleic acid and/or protein levels in the baboon fetal adrenal are dependent upon fetal pituitary ACTH during mid and late gestation and the mechanism by which placental estrogen modulates ACTH actions. Administration of betamethasone (3mg/day) to baboon mothers on days 60-99 of gestation and to the fetus (0.6 mg/, n = 4) or to the fetus (0.6mg) and mother (6 mg/ml; n = 4) every other day between days 150-164 of gestation (term = 184 days) decreased (P $53β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-isomerase (3β-HSD(+)ctochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase, …

Choline Acetyltransferase And Carnitine Acetyltransferase Activity In Human Spermatozoa During Capacitation, Lisa A. Eccles

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The regional distribution of ChAT activity in human spermatozoa is altered during in vitro capacitation and it correlates with the fertilizing potential of sperm.

Regional immunoreactivity in human spermatozoa as assessed by fluorescent immunocytochemistry was compared with ChAT and CaAT activity determined by enzymatic methodologies. Increasing proportions of sperm exhibited ChAT immunoreactivity along the equatorial region with a concomitant decrease in ChAT reactivity in the midpiece. Also, competitive studies with unlabeled ChAT blocked the equatorial region labeling; the unlabeled CaAT blocked staining along the midpiece region of the tail, suggesting some cross-reactivity of the ChAT antiserum with the CaAT enzyme. …

The Assessment Of Osteoinductivity Of Human Allograft Demineralized Bone Matrix By In Vivo And In Vitro Assay Models, Min Zhang

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The osteoinductive potential (osteoinductivity) is a very important aspect of demineralized bone matrix (DBM) as a biomaterial. This study is directed at establishing qualitative and quantitative assays of the osteoinductivity of human DBM. Further aspects of this study include an assessment of the effects of the production process, matrix characterization, and donor related factors on osteoinductivity of the DBM.

Athymic mice were chosen as the animal model for use in the in vivo bioassay. Implantation of DBM in muscle pouches provided for much higher osteoinductivity (remineralization to 10% calcium) than subcutaneous site implantation (remineralization to 1.6% calcium). Histological observations revealed …

A Kinetic Investigation Of The Mechanism Of Muscle Contraction With A Series Of Nucleotides, Wei Jiang

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Muscle contraction is thought to be accomplished by sliding of myosin filaments along actin filaments. Although actomyosin naturally uses ATP as an energy source, it can also use other nucleoside triphosphates (NTP) as substrates. In this work, the dependence of rate and equilibrium constants of the various steps in the muscle contraction mechanism upon nucleotide structure was investigated to unravel the dependence of the mechanical properties of the muscle upon changes in different biochemical steps of the mechanism.

The experiments measuring the dissociation of actomyosin by NTP (or mant-NTP) shows that both the rate constant of actomyosin-S1 dissociation and second …