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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Rna Structure And Function: Biological Relevance In Neurodegenerative And Infectious Disease Pathogenesis, Joshua Imperatore
Rna Structure And Function: Biological Relevance In Neurodegenerative And Infectious Disease Pathogenesis, Joshua Imperatore
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The studies outlined in this dissertation encompass a broad focus, relating to the pathogenesis of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, fragile X syndrome, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as a novel infectious disease, COVID-19. However, all four studies detailed within this dissertation contain similar elements, namely, the coordinated role of RNA structure and function in essential molecular mechanisms. The results of these investigations allow us to speculate on various disease- related mechanisms, including dysregulated microRNA processing pathways, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling via distinct RNA-protein interactions, and fine-tuned molecular switches controlling genomic dimerization and viral hijacking of host cellular microRNAs. Taken …
Gq Noncanonical Roles In Translational Regulation, Brett Demarco
Gq Noncanonical Roles In Translational Regulation, Brett Demarco
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study investigates protein nucleic acid interactions, focusing on G-quadruplex (GQ) forming DNA/RNA in human disease. GQ structures are formed in DNA/RNA, when four guanine residues form planar tetrads stabilized by Hoogsteen base pairing, that stack forming a GQ structure stabilized by potassium ions. These GQ structures are targeted by the arginine glycine-glycine (RGG) RNA-binding domain. Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), a translation regulator protein implicated in the fragile X syndrome, has an RGG domain and has been previously shown to interact with neuronal GQ forming messenger RNA (mRNA). We have investigated three neuronal FMRP mRNA targets that we …
Cooperative Regulation Of Translational Repression By Fmrp And The Mirna Pathway, Navneeta Kaul
Cooperative Regulation Of Translational Repression By Fmrp And The Mirna Pathway, Navneeta Kaul
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited monogenic cause of intellectual disability. FXS patients exhibit social and language deficits, hyperactivity, seizures, growth abnormalities, macroorchidism, anxiety, and epilepsy. FXS is caused by the transcriptional silencing of the fragile X mental retardation gene 1 (Fmr1), resulting in the loss of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). FMRP is a selective mRNA binding protein that plays a role in translation repression. Studies suggest that FMRP utilizes the miRNA pathway to repress translation of its target mRNAs through an unknown mechanism. The aim of my thesis is to investigate …
Regulation Of Arf16-2 By Microrna160 During Soybean Root Nodule Development, Spencer Schreier
Regulation Of Arf16-2 By Microrna160 During Soybean Root Nodule Development, Spencer Schreier
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Soybean is an excellent candidate for sustainable agriculture due to its production of nutritious, versatile beans and the ability to form symbiotic organs called root nodules that perform nitrogen fixation. As demand for both yield and sustainable agriculture continue to increase, root nodules offer an attractive alternative to expensive and environmentally harmful nitrogen fertilizers. Understanding root nodule formation may open genetic engineering avenues for optimizing nitrogen fixation performance and transferring the nodule-formation ability to other plants. A major determinant of nodule numbers and quality in soybean is microRNA 160 (miR160), which dictates developmental stage-specific auxin sensitivity by targeting repressor auxin …
A Systems Biology Approach Identifies A Gene Regulatory Network In Parotid Acinar Cell Differentiation., Melissa Ann Metzler
A Systems Biology Approach Identifies A Gene Regulatory Network In Parotid Acinar Cell Differentiation., Melissa Ann Metzler
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Objective: This project sought to understand the gene regulatory networks that drive parotid salivary gland acinar cells to terminally differentiate, and drive expression of terminal differentiation genes in dedifferentiated ParC5 cells. Methodology: Laser capture microdissection was used to isolate acinar cells at multiple time points during differentiation. This important step allowed us to measure gene expression in a single and important cell type. A systems biology approach was taken to measure global mRNA and microRNA expression across acinar cell terminal differentiation in the rat parotid salivary gland. In ParC5 cells, the ER stress activator tunicamycin was used to stimulate Xbp1 …
Acute Synaptic Activity Causes Differential Mirna Expression In The Drosophila Melanogaster Larval Central Nervous System, Robert Ian Sand
Acute Synaptic Activity Causes Differential Mirna Expression In The Drosophila Melanogaster Larval Central Nervous System, Robert Ian Sand
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The primary goal of this thesis was to determine if spaced synaptic stimulation induced the differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the Drosophila melanogaster central nervous system (CNS). Prior to attaining this goal, we needed to identify and validate a spaced stimulation paradigm that could induce the formation of new synaptic growth at a model synapse, the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Both Channelrhodopsin- and high potassium-based stimulation paradigms adapted from (Ataman, et al. 2008) were tested. Once validation of these paradigms was complete, we sought to characterize the miRNA expression profile of the larval CNS by miRNA array. Following attainment …