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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology

Mediation Of Recurrent Hypoglycemia's Physiological And Behavioral Effects In The Hippocampus By Glucocorticoids, Danielle Osborne Jan 2014

Mediation Of Recurrent Hypoglycemia's Physiological And Behavioral Effects In The Hippocampus By Glucocorticoids, Danielle Osborne

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Recurrent hypoglycemia (RH) occurs with the over administration of insulin resulting in severe hypoglycemia on a repetitive basis. This occurs most commonly among Type I Diabetics who rely on exogenous insulin replacement for management of their disease; however it is becoming increasingly common among Type II Diabetics. Although cognitive deficits are reported during hypoglycemia, the period following restoration of euglycemia has been denoted by improved hippocampally-mediated short-term and working memory in humans and rodents, respectively. RH is also associated with an altered glucocorticoid secretion profile in response to hypoglycemia. In vitro and in vivo approaches were utilized with the goal …


Regulation Of Ty1 Retrovirus-Like Transposon Rna Localization And Translation, Ryan Joseph Palumbo Jan 2014

Regulation Of Ty1 Retrovirus-Like Transposon Rna Localization And Translation, Ryan Joseph Palumbo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Replication of the Ty1 retrovirus-like transposon of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is stringently regulated to reduce the frequency of deleterious retrotransposition events. However, under stress conditions, Ty1 retrotransposition can lead to adaptive genomic alterations. To characterize host regulation of Ty1 retrotransposition, I analyzed ribosome profiling data and showed that Ty1 RNA is efficiently translated. Moreover, the ribosome biogenesis factors BUD21, DBP7, HCR1, LOC1, MRT4, and PUF6 are required for optimal expression of the Ty1 protein Gag.


Crosstalk Between Vitamin D₃- And Testosterone-Mediated Signaling In Prostate Cancer Cells, Wei-Lin Winnie Wang Jan 2014

Crosstalk Between Vitamin D₃- And Testosterone-Mediated Signaling In Prostate Cancer Cells, Wei-Lin Winnie Wang

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Contrary to the common belief that prostate cancer is a hormone dependent disease, the incidence of prostate cancer and associated mortality actually increases significantly after serum androgen levels decline. This led us to hypothesize that androgen depletion in elder men is an underlying cause for the development and progression of prostate cancer. In addition, serum vitamin D3 levels also decline in older men. Epidemiological and experimental data support an anti-neoplastic activity of vitamin D3 in colorectal and breast cancers through regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell differentiation and metastasis. The effects of vitamin D3 on prostate cancer …


Molecular Actions Of The Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Cg-1521 In Models Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Namita Chatterjee Jan 2014

Molecular Actions Of The Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Cg-1521 In Models Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Namita Chatterjee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare and particularly lethal form of breast cancer. Despite aggressive therapeutic approaches, the 5-year survival rate is only 34%. As this disease is severely understudied, we have investigated the therapeutic potential of the novel hydroxamic acid-derived histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), CG-1521 in comparison to a structurally similar compound, Trichostatin A (TSA) in two IBC cell lines: SUM149PT and SUM190PT. In these cells, CG-1521 and TSA induce dose- and time-dependent induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis regardless of the presence of 17β-estradiol (E2). Interestingly, the cell lines have considerably different sensitivities to these treatments …


Improving The Microbial Source Tracking Toolbox : Evaluating The Use Of Selective Enrichments And Artificial Sweeteners In A Multi-Tiered Approach, Stacey A. Helming Jan 2014

Improving The Microbial Source Tracking Toolbox : Evaluating The Use Of Selective Enrichments And Artificial Sweeteners In A Multi-Tiered Approach, Stacey A. Helming

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Microbial contamination of surface waters is a public health concern world-wide, with non-point source fecal input contributing to millions of cases of waterborne illness annually. Numerous techniques have been proposed to monitor for non-point source fecal contamination, but few studies have explored the correlation of multiple chemical and microbial fecal source tracking markers in ambient waters. Therefore, the purpose of these studies was to evaluate the use of multiple "ideal" markers of fecal contamination and improve upon any analytical techniques required to identify species-specific fecal contamination in surface waters. The use of selective enrichments to improve the sensitivity of end-point …


Molecular Actions Of The Vitamin D Receptor In Breast Cancer, Erika Laporta Jan 2014

Molecular Actions Of The Vitamin D Receptor In Breast Cancer, Erika Laporta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D) exerts anti-cancer actions through the vitamin D receptor (VDR) but the specific targets that mediate these effects remain to be defined. In these studies, growth and genomic responses to 1,25D were evaluated in a cellular model system derived from mammary tumors generated in VDR knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) mice. WT145 cells (derived from WT tumors) expressed VDR and were growth inhibited by 1,25D, whereas KO240 cells (derived from VDRKO tumors) lacked VDR and were not growth inhibited by 1,25D. KO240 cell clones stably expressing VDR (KOhVDR cells) were sensitized to 1,25D mediated growth arrest. Genomic profiling …


Mechanisms Of Age-Related Inflammation And Cancer : The Synergistic Effect Of Oxidants And Calcium, Donald A. Mccarthy Jan 2014

Mechanisms Of Age-Related Inflammation And Cancer : The Synergistic Effect Of Oxidants And Calcium, Donald A. Mccarthy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The accumulation of senescent cells during the process of aging has been implicated as causal in numerous age-related pathologies. Senescent cells adopt a secretory phenotype consisting of many factors including matrix remodeling enzymes, growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines. Their secretory nature is the primary reason that they are associated with disease, but it remains unclear why they become so inflammatory. Using primary human fibroblasts cultured to senescence, we mechanistically determined why senescent cells are such potent inducers of inflammation. Our findings indicate that the early production of the cytokine Interleukin 1-α (IL-1α) is central to this transition. We found that …