Molecular Biology Commons^™

Characterization And Functional Regulation Of Bioactive Peptides In Avian Macrophages And Heterophils, Lakshmi Kannan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oligopeptides and low molecular weight polypeptides play central roles as effectors and signal transducers acting as hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, toxins, and antimicrobial factors that are important for the survival of the organism. Owing to the ubiquitous involvement of peptides in many key regulatory processes, we have been interested to identify native peptides in different cells and tissues and understand their functions. To conduct our studies, we used avian macrophages and heterophils as models of specialized cells which constitute central components of innate immunity. These studies involved (a) qualitative identification and characterization of the peptides associated with high intensity mass …

The Role Of Multiple Ccaat-Binding Factors In Candida Albicans Gene Expression, Lashall Lynn Bates

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The CCAAT-binding factor is a heterooligomeric transcription factor that is evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes. In yeast, the DNA-binding component that interacts with the CCAAT consensus sequence in promoters consists of the subunits termed Hap2p, Hap3p and Hap5p. In yeast and fungi, a fourth subunit, Hap4p, is required for regulating gene expression. The goal of this research is to understand the function of the Candida albicans CCAAT-binding factor and how it relates to virulence and pathogenicity. C. albicans is a human opportunistic pathogen responsible for a variety of mucosal and systemic infections that result in significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in …

Ppar Agonists Down-Regulate The Expression Of Atp10c Mrna During Adipogenesis, A Peretich, Maria Cekanova Ms, Rndr, Phd, S Hurst, Sj Baek, Madhu Dahr

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology

No abstract provided.

Ppar Agonists Down-Regulate The Expression Of Atp10c Mrna During Adipogenesis, A Peretich, Maria Cekanova Ms, Rndr, Phd, S Hurst, Sj Baek, Madhu Dahr

Maria Cekanova MS, RNDr, PhD

No abstract provided.

E-Science @ Umass: Anticipating And Supporting E-Science Activities At The University Of Massachusetts, Maxine G. Schmidt, Rebecca Reznik-Zellen

Maxine G Schmidt

In March of 2008 an Ad Hoccommittee of Science Librarians from the University of Massachusetts Five Campus System convened to discuss the challenges of e-science and prepare the Libraries for their role in e-science initiatives. Three primary outcomes intended to support e-science activities emerged from the work of the Ad Hoc committee.

Contribution Of The Novel C-Terminal Domain To The Ribosome Binding Activities Of Virulence Regulator Bipa, Heeren Makanji

Honors Scholar Theses

Bacterial GTPases regulate many cell functions, including the stress response, signal recognition, protein synthesis, and cell differentiation, through a molecular switch that is activated and deactivated depending on their nucleotide bound state (1). A member of the translational family of bacterial GTPases along with LepA and EF-G, BipA is a 67 kD protein that is essential for virulence and the stress response. Crystal structures from the Robinson lab have shown a unique C-terminal domain on BipA that has been implicated in ribosome binding. Using N-terminal deletion constructs, we have shown that the C-terminal domain is necessary, but not sufficient, to …

Analysis Of The Phosphorylated Forms Of Protein Kinase R, Christine Quartararo

Honors Scholar Theses

Protein Kinase R (PKR) is induced by interferon and activated by dsRNA. Subsequent autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of eIF2alpha inhibits viral replication. In the latent state PKR exists as an unphosphorylated monomer. Work in the Cole laboratory has shown two additional states, a phosphorylated monomeric state (pPKRm) and a phosphorylated dimeric state (pPKRd). RNA serves as a scaffold bringing two PKRs together allowing dimerization and autophosphorylation to occur. The contribution of each state to the function of PKR remains unclear. Western blots were performed to examine the phosphorylation states of the essential residues,

T446 and T451. Activity assays have shown activation …

Characterization Of A Hypothetical Protein Critical For The Symbiotic Interaction Of Aeromonas Veronii And Hirudo Verbana, Kaitlin Vaughan

Honors Scholar Theses

The digestive tract symbiosis of the medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is a model system for studying the genes required for microbial colonization of digestive tracts, as H. verbana has only two species of bacteria that dominate the crop microbiota, Aeromonas veronii and a Rikenella-like bacterium. Signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) of the A.

veronii strain, HM21R, revealed genes required for the colonization of the digestive tract. One of these mutants, JG573, has an interrupted gene that is predicted to encode a hypothetical protein. The region flanking the transposon insertion of this mutant was sequenced by primer walking.

Comparison of the flanking DNA …

Characterizing The Role Of Phaeobacter In The Mortality Of The Squid, Euprymna Scolopes, Brian Shawn Wong Won

Honors Scholar Theses

The subject of our study is the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, which is known for its model symbiotic relationship with the bioluminescent bacterium, Vibrio fischeri. The interactions between E. scolopes and V. fischeri provide an exemplary model of the biochemical and molecular dynamics of symbiosis since both members can be cultivated separately and V. fischeri can be genetically modified 1. However, in a laboratory setting, the mortality of embryonic E. scolopes can be a recurrent problem. In many of these fatalities, the egg cases display a pink-hued biofilm, and rosy pigmentation has also been noted in the deaths of …

Knockdown Of Kiaa0319 Reduces Dendritic Spine Density, Daniel Young Kim

Honors Scholar Theses

Developmental Dyslexia is a reading disorder that affects individuals that possess otherwise normal intelligence. Until the four candidate dyslexia susceptibility genes were discovered, the cause of cortical malformations found in post mortem dyslexic brains was unclear. Normal brain development is crucial for the proper wiring of the neural circuitry that allow an individual to perform cognitive tasks like reading. For years, familial and twin studies have suggested that there was a genetic basis to the causation of dyslexia. Kiaa0319 was among the candidate dyslexia susceptibility genes that were ascertained. KIAA0319 is located on Chromosome 6p22.2-22.3 and has been found to …

Effects Of Estrogen On Muscle Damage In Response To An Acute Resistance Exercise Protocol, Megan R. Wolf

Honors Scholar Theses

Creatine Kinase (CK) is used as a measure of exercise-induced muscle membrane damage. During acute eccentric (muscle lengthening) exercise, muscle sarcolemma, sarcoplasmic reticulum, and Z-lines are damaged, thus causing muscle proteins and enzymes to leak into the interstitial fluid.

Strenuous eccentric exercise produces an elevation of oxygen free radicals, which further increases muscle damage. Muscle soreness and fatigue can be attributed to this membrane damage. Estradiol, however, may preserve membrane stability post-exercise (Brancaccio, Maffulli, & Limongelli, 2007; Carter, Dobridge, & Hackney, 2001; Tiidus, 2001). Because estradiol has a similar structure to Vitamin E, which is known to have antioxidant properties, …

The Membrane Interface Of Chloroplast Signal Recognition Particle-Dependent Protein Targeting, Naomi Jane Marty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel signal recognition particle (SRP) found in the chloroplast (cpSRP) works in combination with the cpSRP receptor, cpFtsY, to facilitate the post-translational targeting of a family of nuclear-encoded thylakoid proteins to the Alb3 translocase in thylakoid membranes. Work here focused on understanding events at the membrane that take place to ensure targeting of the cpSRP-dependent substrate to Alb3. Specifically, we sought to understand the structural and functional role of membrane binding by cpFtsY, a protein that exhibits the ability to partition between the membrane (thylakoid) and soluble (stroma) phase during protein targeting. We also sought to understand whether a …

Study Of The Dna Damage Complexes Within The Htlv-1 Tax Oncoprotein Interactome, Sidi Mehdi Belgnaoui

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a transforming retrovirus that can give rise to adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Tax is a virally encoded oncoprotein that is involved in HTLV-1 mediated cellular transformation. It has been hypothesized that Tax induces genomic instability via repression of the cellular DNA damage repair response. Our laboratory has previously shown that the interaction between Tax and various proteins involved in the DNA-damage response pathway impairs the ability of these proteins to mount an efficient repair response. As part of these observations, we proposed that Tax induces …

E-Science @ The University Of Massachusetts, Maxine G. Schmidt, Rebecca Reznik-Zellen, Raquel Rivera, Cecilia P. Mullen

Maxine G Schmidt

e-Science @ the University of Massachusetts Abstract: What is e-Science and how can libraries and librarians support it? The University of Massachusetts takes a proactive approach to support network-enabled research on its campuses and provides examples where e-Science is already at work. Statement: “e-Science” is a term commonly used to describe research in a networked environment, a growing trend not only in the sciences, but the arts and humanities as well. e-Science creates both opportunities and challenges for academic libraries. The opportunities lie in leveraging the basic skill set that libraries and librarians already possess: the knowledge of and practical …

A Microrna Imparts Robustness Against Environmental Fluctuation During Development, Xin Li, Justin J. Cassidy, Catherine A. Reinke, Stephen Fischboeck, Richard W. Carthew

Faculty Publications

The microRNA miR-7 is perfectly conserved from annelids to humans, and yet some of the genes that it regulates in Drosophila are not regulated in mammals. We have explored the role of lineage restricted targets, using Drosophila , in order to better understand the evolutionary significance of microRNA-target relationships. From studies of two well characterized developmental regulatory networks, we find that miR-7 functions in several interlocking feedback and feedforward loops, and propose that its role in these networks is to buffer them against perturbation. To directly demonstrate this function for miR-7, we subjected the networks to temperature fluctuation and found …

Umass Libraries 2009, Maxine G. Schmidt

Maxine G Schmidt

No abstract provided.

An Rnai Screen Targeting The Protein Tyrosine Kinases Identifies Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (Btk) As A Breast Cancer Cell Survival Factor, Cheryl Lynne Eifert

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The receptor protein tyrosine kinases (RPTKs) and the non- receptor protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) are among the most commonly up-regulated genes found in all types of cancers. Although, a large body of data implicates a majority of tyrosine kinases (TKs) in cancer, few have been extensively evaluated for any potential therapeutic benefit in any of the many subtypes of breast cancer. We have used RNA interference (RNAi) to perform a large-scale loss-of-function analysis to facilitate the identification of individual factors necessary for the survival of an ErbB2 positive breast cancer cell line. We have found that 30% of the TKs …

Evolution Of Gene Structure In Multicellular Eukaryotes, Maria Hester

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

We investigated the patterns of intron conservation in eukaryotes for five different genes. The genes examined were ribosomal proteins L8, S14 and S17, along with elongation factor 2B and triose phosphate isomerase. Intron conservation for S14, S17, and triose phosphate isomerase was determined for 32 species representing the major branches of multicellular eukaryotes. For 25 conserved introns 16 were phase 0, five were phase 1, and four were phase 2. Triose phosphate isomerase had five of nine conserved introns shared between plants and animals, where S14 had one of nine and S17 had one of seven. However, there were two …