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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology
Targeting Of The Hedgehog Signaling Pathway In Cancer Treatment, Andrew J. Hawes
Targeting Of The Hedgehog Signaling Pathway In Cancer Treatment, Andrew J. Hawes
The Cardinal Edge
The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is a developmental pathway that is highly conserved evolutionarily. While typically only displaying high activity during embryogenesis, overactivation of the Hh pathway in adults has been linked to multiple forms of cancer including acute myeloid leukemia, myelofibrosis, basal-cell carcinoma, pancreatic ductal adrenal carcinoma, and triple negative breast cancer. The prevalence of Hh activation in many different cancers has made it a prime target for inhibition of these cancers through novel therapies. This literature review sought to assess the current state of cancer treatment through inhibition of Hh signaling. Most current clinical trials involving the pathway …
The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Accumulation Of Driver Mutations In B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Mia P. Sams
The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Accumulation Of Driver Mutations In B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Mia P. Sams
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most prevalent type of cancer in young children and is associated with recurrent mutations and high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine was tested for its ability to prolong lifespan of a mouse model of B-ALL and reduce frequency of mutations. Mice treated with 1g/L of N-acetylcysteine in drinking water were found to have delayed onset of B-ALL at 11 weeks of age and changes in gene expression relating to B cell development, calcium-apoptosis signaling, and pathways in cancer, although no differences in lifespan were observed. Tumours from treated …
Cop9 Signalosome Component Csn-5 Promotes Accumulation And Function Of Stem Cell Regulators Fbf-1 And Fbf-2, Emily Osterli
Cop9 Signalosome Component Csn-5 Promotes Accumulation And Function Of Stem Cell Regulators Fbf-1 And Fbf-2, Emily Osterli
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
RNA-binding proteins FBF-1 and FBF-2 (FBFs) are required for stem cell maintenance in C. elegans, although the mechanisms by which FBFs protein levels are regulated remain unknown. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified an interaction between both FBFs and CSN-5, a component of the COP9 (constitutive photomorphogenesis 9) signalosome. This highly conserved COP9 complex can affect protein stability through a range of mechanisms including deneddylation, deubiquitination, and phosphorylation (Wolf et al., 2003). Mapping protein-protein interactions between FBFs and CSN-5 suggested that the MPN (Mpr1/Pad1 N-terminal) metalloprotease domain of CSN-5 interacts with the RNA-binding domain of FBFs at physiologically …
Phosphorylation Impairs Dicer1 Function To Accelerate Aging And Tumorigenesis In Vivo, Neeraj Aryal
Phosphorylation Impairs Dicer1 Function To Accelerate Aging And Tumorigenesis In Vivo, Neeraj Aryal
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Altered DICER1 protein levels are associated with developmental disorders, infertility, macular degenerative blindness, aging, and cancer in humans. Recently, post-translational regulation of Dicer1 via phosphorylation has been described in C. elegans. Oscillation of Dicer1 phosphorylation to regulate its activity is essential for germ cell development and embryogenesis in worms. These observations led us to posit that Dicer1 protein levels and activity are under tight regulation for normal mammalian homeostasis. To test whether phosphorylation of Dicer1 regulates its activity in mammals, I generated phospho-mimetic knock-in mouse models by replacing Serines 1712 and 1836 with Aspartic acids individually or together (dual …
The Role Of T-Box Proteins In Vertebrate Germ Layer Formation And Patterning, Sushma Teegala
The Role Of T-Box Proteins In Vertebrate Germ Layer Formation And Patterning, Sushma Teegala
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
All of the tissues in triploblastic organisms, with the exception of the germ cells, arise from the three germ layers, ectoderm, mesoderm and the endoderm. The identification of the genes that underlie the differentiation of these layers is crucial to our understanding of development. T-box family proteins are DNA-binding transcriptional regulators that play important roles during germ layer formation in the early vertebrate embryo. Well-characterized members of this family, including the transcriptional activators Brachyury and VegT, are essential for the proper formation of mesoderm and endoderm, respectively. To date, T-box proteins have not been shown to play a role in …
The Dlk1-Meg3 Locus In Malignant Cells Of Proposed Primordial Germ Cell Origins., Zachariah Payne Sellers
The Dlk1-Meg3 Locus In Malignant Cells Of Proposed Primordial Germ Cell Origins., Zachariah Payne Sellers
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are hypothesized to deposit hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) along their migration route through the embryo during the early stages of embryogenesis. PGCs also undergo global chromatin remodeling, including the erasure and reestablishment of genomic imprints, during this migration. While PGCs do not spontaneously form teratomas, their malignant development into germ cell tumors (GCTs) in vivo is often accompanied by the retention of hypomethylation at the IGF2-H19 imprinting control differentially methylated region (DMR). Previous studies in bimaternal embryos determined that proper genomic imprinting at two paternally imprinted loci was necessary for their growth and development: Igf2-H19 and …
Investigating The Essential Roles Of Dprl-1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Alex Lee
Investigating The Essential Roles Of Dprl-1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, Alex Lee
Summer Research
Phosphatase of Regenerating Liver (PRL) proteins regulate a number of important cellular processes, including cell growth and division. Humans have three PRL proteins: PRL-1, PRL-2, and PRL-3. An accumulation of evidence has shown that elevated levels of PRLs are strongly correlated with uncontrollable growth and metastasis of tumors. However, contradictory findings have arisen indicating that PRLs instead function to halt cell division thereby preventing uncontrollable tumor growth. In light of these results, the underlying mechanisms regarding how PRLs function within cellular processes remains unclear. To investigate the functions of PRLs, we will create transgenic fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) …
Investigating The Roles Of Δnp63 As A Suppressor Of Migration, Invasion, And Metastasis, Ramon E. Flores Gonzalez
Investigating The Roles Of Δnp63 As A Suppressor Of Migration, Invasion, And Metastasis, Ramon E. Flores Gonzalez
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and disease in the world. Considerable resources are spent to study and understand cancer, with the hope of developing new treatments and eventually cures that will help millions of people. Efforts to understand cancer are hindered by its inherent complexity and instability. Nonetheless, understanding the basics of tumor development and progression are the key to focused on studying the role of ΔNp63 in cancer, a p53 family member known to be involved in epithelial development, microRNA biogenesis, and stem cell maintenance. Using the strength of in vivo mouse models, we found …
Detection Of Ubiquitination On Syk And Documenting Syk Stability, Izabela Mazur, Wen Horng Wang, Robert J. Geahlen
Detection Of Ubiquitination On Syk And Documenting Syk Stability, Izabela Mazur, Wen Horng Wang, Robert J. Geahlen
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium
Post-translational modifications regulate the activities of proteins important to numerous diseases. Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk) is particularly interesting to researchers because it modifies many targets and plays multiple roles in regulating cells in our bodies and its abnormal modifications may contribute to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and allergies. In an attempt to study these modifications of Syk, we first looked at detecting ubiquitination on Syk protein. Ubiquitin, a small 8 kDa molecule, attaches to lysine residues on protein. The attachment of ubiquitin to Syk may cause Syk to either propagate signals onwards to activate other proteins or signal it to undergo …
Environmental Stimuli And Intragenerational Epigenetics, Nicholas J. Napier
Environmental Stimuli And Intragenerational Epigenetics, Nicholas J. Napier
Student Scholarship
Epigenetics is the study of any change in gene expression that is not mediated by DNA sequence. The effects of environmental stimuli on epigenetic changes have been studied extensively in recent years. Multiple reviews have provided comprehensive summations of the effects of environmental stimuli on transgenerational epigenetic changes, but few reviews have focused upon environment-induced intragenerational epigenetic changes. This review will summarize current knowledge of the intragenerational epigenetic changes that are induced by two groups of well-studied environmental stimuli: nutritional deficiencies and carcinogens. This survey of intragenerational epigenetic changes will focus upon the mechanisms behind them, the disorders associated with …
Examining The Functional Role Of Dprl-1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, John Valenzuela
Examining The Functional Role Of Dprl-1 In Drosophila Melanogaster, John Valenzuela
Summer Research
The Phosphatase of Regenerating Liver (PRL) family of proteins control cell growth, motility and proliferation. They have been shown to elevate the levels of these functions, leading to an increase in cancer metastasis (“malignancy”), when they are overexpressed. The goal of this experiment is to knockout PRL gene expression to examine the general function of PRL proteins. Drosophila melanogaster have only one copy of the PRL gene (dPRL-1), as opposed to humans and other mammals, which have 3. Thus, using P-element imprecise excision to create mutant strains either fully lacking or with decreased function of the dPRL-1 protein, …
Developmental Deregulation And Tumorigenesis Inhibition In 14-3-3zeta Knockout Mouse, Jun Yang
Developmental Deregulation And Tumorigenesis Inhibition In 14-3-3zeta Knockout Mouse, Jun Yang
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Cancer is second leading cause of death in the United States. Improving cancer care through patient care, research, education and prevention not only saves lives, but reduces health care cost as well. Breast cancer is the most leading cause of cancer incidence and cancer related death in women of the United States. 14-3-3s are a family of conserved proteins ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotic organisms. They form complexes with hundreds of proteins by binding to specific phospho-serine/threonine containing motifs. In this way they regulate a variety of cellular processes and are involved in many human diseases especially cancer to our …