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Full-Text Articles in Biotechnology

Engineering Surface Functionality Of Nanoparticles For Biological Applications, Yi-Cheun Yeh Nov 2014

Engineering Surface Functionality Of Nanoparticles For Biological Applications, Yi-Cheun Yeh

Doctoral Dissertations

Engineering the surface functionality of nanomaterials is the key to investigate the interactions between nanomaterials and biomolecules for potent biological applications such as therapy, imaging and diagnostics. My research has been orientted to engineer both of the surface monolayers and core materials to fabricate surface-functionalized nanomaterials through the synergistic multidisciplinary approach that combine organic chemistry, materials science and biology. This thesis illustrates the design and synthesis of the surface-funcitonalized quantum dots (QDs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for the fundamental studies and practical applications. For QDs, A new class of cationic QDs with quaternary ammonium derivatives was synthesized to provide permanent …


Understanding The Transcriptional Regulation Of Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis In The Model Grass Brachypodium Distachyon, Pubudu Handakumbura Nov 2014

Understanding The Transcriptional Regulation Of Secondary Cell Wall Biosynthesis In The Model Grass Brachypodium Distachyon, Pubudu Handakumbura

Doctoral Dissertations

Secondary cell wall synthesis occurs in specialized cell types following completion of cell enlargement. By virtue of mechanical strength provided by a wall thickened with cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, these cells can function as water-conducting vessels and provide structural support. Several transcription factor families regulate genes encoding wall synthesis enzymes. Certain NAC and MYB proteins directly bind upstream of structural genes and other transcription factors. The most detailed model of this regulatory network is established predominantly for a eudicot, Arabidopsis thaliana. In grasses, both the patterning and the composition of secondary cell walls are distinct from that of eudicots. …


Cd4 Silencing In Thymocytes Is Opposed By The Enforced Association Of P300 Hat, Hdac1 Or Suv39h1 With Runx Transcription Factors, Christyne Ayne Kane Apr 2014

Cd4 Silencing In Thymocytes Is Opposed By The Enforced Association Of P300 Hat, Hdac1 Or Suv39h1 With Runx Transcription Factors, Christyne Ayne Kane

Doctoral Dissertations

The transcription factors Runx1 and Runx3 are required for permanent silencing of CD4 in maturing CD8+ thymocytes. Runx binding to consensus sites within the CD4 silencer region is required for CD4 silencing post-positive selection. The Runx nuclear matrix targeting sequence (NMTS) is required for CD4 silencing and is implicated in binding to the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) p300, histone deacetylases (HDAC), and histone methyltransferase (HMT) SUV39H1 proteins. Epigenetic modifications of chromatin or post-translational modifications of Runx itself as a result of Runx association with these enzymes may be important for establishment of long-term CD4 silencing. In this study, we show that …


Genetic Modification Of Plants, Alice Cheung, Hen-Ming Wu Jan 2014

Genetic Modification Of Plants, Alice Cheung, Hen-Ming Wu

Science and Engineering Saturday Seminars

No abstract provided.


Systematic Screen Of Chemotherapeutics In Drosophila Stem Cell Tumors, Michele Markstein, Samantha Detorree, Julio Cho, Ralph Neumüller, Soren Craig-Müller, Norbert Perrimon Jan 2014

Systematic Screen Of Chemotherapeutics In Drosophila Stem Cell Tumors, Michele Markstein, Samantha Detorree, Julio Cho, Ralph Neumüller, Soren Craig-Müller, Norbert Perrimon

Michele Markstein

Here we report the development of an in vivo system to study the interaction of stem cells with drugs using a tumor model in the adult Drosophila intestine. Strikingly, we find that some Food and Drug Administration-approved chemotherapeutics that can inhibit the growth of Drosophila tumor stem cells can paradoxically promote the hyperproliferation of their wild-type counterparts. These results reveal an unanticipated side effect on stem cells that may contribute to tumor recurrence. We propose that the same side effect may occur in humans based on our finding that it is driven in Drosophila by the evolutionarily conserved Janus kinase-signal …