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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology

Roles For B-Raf Kinase In The Specific Regulation Of Α4Β1 Integrin In T Cells, Wells S. Brown Aug 2014

Roles For B-Raf Kinase In The Specific Regulation Of Α4Β1 Integrin In T Cells, Wells S. Brown

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The regulation of integrin-mediated adhesion is of vital importance to adaptive and innate immunity. Integrins are versatile proteins and mediate T cell migration and trafficking by binding to ECM or other cells, as well as initiating intracellular signaling cascades promoting survival or activation. The mitogen activated-protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is known to be downstream from integrins and regulate survival, differentiation, and motility. However, secondary roles for canonical MAPK pathway members are being discovered. We show chemical inhibition of RAF by Sorafenib or shRNA-mediated knockdown of B-Raf reduces T cell resistance to shear stress to α4β1 integrin ligands vascular cell adhesion …


Pathogenic Mechanisms And Signaling Pathways In Plasmodium Falciparum, Jennifer L. Sedillo Mar 2014

Pathogenic Mechanisms And Signaling Pathways In Plasmodium Falciparum, Jennifer L. Sedillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plasmodium falciparum is a human intracellular parasite that is the causative agent of a deadly form of malaria. This species alone is responsible for 200 million cases of malaria annually resulting in over 1 million deaths worldwide. The excessive mortality due to P. falciparum infection is due to its ability to cause severe pathogenesis through hyperparasitemia and cytoadherence defined as the ability of infected red blood cells to adhere to host vasculature. Cytoadherence is mediated through the export of parasite proteins to the surface of the infected red blood cell (RBC). Exported proteins have been identified but the pathway for …


Linking Molecular, Electrical And Anatomical Properties Of Human Epileptic Brain, Shruti Bagla Jan 2014

Linking Molecular, Electrical And Anatomical Properties Of Human Epileptic Brain, Shruti Bagla

Wayne State University Dissertations

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder of recurrent unprovoked seizures. It affects almost 1% of the world population. Although there is a wide range of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) available, they only treat the seizure symptoms and do not cure the disease itself. The poor role of AEDs can be attributed to the lack of knowledge of exact mechanisms and networks that produce epileptic activities in the neocortex. At present, the best cure for epilepsy is surgical removal of electrically localized epileptic brain tissue. Surgically removed brain tissue presents an excellent opportunity to discover the molecular and cellular basis of human …