Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Honey: A Natural Recipe For The Management Of Pancreatic Cancer, Aun A. Bangash, Muhammad A. Bangash, Georgina Villanueva, Haider Ahsan, Shiza Khan, Rida Shareef, Mudassier Ahmad, Dae J. Kim, Sahir S. Alvi, Bilal B. Hafeez

Research Colloquium

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PanCa) is the fourth deadliest cancer worldwide and expected to become the second deadliest cancer by 2030. In the USA, the National Cancer Institute put forth a grim prediction stating that there will be 64,050 new cases in 2023 alone and about 50,000 of these patients will die. The first line treatment for pancreatic cancer is Folfrinox, a three-drug regimen consisting of 5-Fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin. The second line treatment is gemcitabine combined with paclitaxel. Only 19% of patients who are prescribed the former regimen survive past 18 months of treatment while just 6% of patients survive …

Omani Camels From A Cultural And Genomics Perspective, Al Muatasim Al Zadjali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Dromedarian camel, Camelus dromedarius, is native to the Arabian Peninsula, including the Sultanate of Oman. These camels are used for food, milk, as well as show and racing competitions. Despite their economic and cultural importance research on camels in Oman is limited. The goal of this study was to examine their genomic variation, relationship with camels in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and to determine if selective breeding has led to the establishment of distinct breeds in Oman. Information was compiled from multiple sources to produce a comprehensive review on the breeding, management, economic and cultural use, …

Vitamin C Contributes To Epigenetic Regulation Of Genes Related To Diabetic Retinopathy In Retinal Endothelial Cells, Elizabeth L. Turner, Jonathon Reynolds, Walker Kay, Marianne Becnel, Matthew Conway, Alexander Kim, John A. Kriak, Kyle B. Bills, David W. Sant

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Marks A Novel Population Of Adult Stem Cells In The Mouse Brain That Respond To Metabolic Interventions By Modulating Adult Brain Plasticity, Gabriel S. Jensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is expressed by quiescent adult stem cells (qASC) in numerous adult murine and human tissues but has never been explored in the adult brain. Here, these data demonstrate that TERT+ cells in the adult mouse brain represent a novel population of multipotent qASCs. TERT+ cells were localized to numerous classical neuro/gliogenic niches including the ventricular-subventricular zone, hypothalamus and olfactory bulb, as well as newly discovered regions of adult tissue plasticity such as the meninges and choroid plexus. TERT+ cells expressed neural stem cell markers such as Nestin and Sox2, but not markers of activated stem/progenitor cells, …

Metabolism In The Colonocyte: Where Bacteria And Diet Meet, Bohye Park

Doctoral Dissertations

The host-microbiome interaction and the functions of microbial-derived metabolites, including butyrate, are important in colon health. Butyrate is the preferred energy source in colonocytes and has multiple physiological functions in the colon. A metabolic shift in colonocytes toward increased glucose utilization from butyrate oxidation is followed by several critical genetic modifications in cancerous colonocytes. Moreover, it has been suggested that the gut-microbiota composition is influenced by environmental factors, such as diets and the host's physiological status. Therefore, an understanding of the role of colonocyte metabolism toward impacting the host-microbiota commensal relationship would be an important step in understanding the functional …

Characterization Of Gangliosides And Fatty Acids In Extracellular Vesicles From Human Milk, Aliya Amin

Food Science (MS) Theses

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are bioactive components of human milk that may impact functionality to regulate growth, cognitive development, metabolism, and immunity in newborns. The biogenesis of EVs and the mechanism by which EVs elicit biologic effects in vivo have not been characterized entirely. Gangliosides and fatty acids are integral in the formation, release, stability, and functionalities of EVs. Presumably, EV function is related to EV composition and lipids in EVs influence the bioavailability of EV cargo and downstream functions of EVs. The objective of this research was to characterize the fatty acid and ganglioside composition of EVs in human milk. …

Investigating Therapeutic Strategies To Target Metabolic Vulnerabilities Of Nsclc Tumors With Mutant Keap1 Gene, Pranavi Koppula

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The metabolic vulnerability of cancers has long been envisaged as an attractive window to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Metabolic flexibility at the cellular level encompasses the efficient rerouting of anabolic and catabolic pathways in response to varying environmental stimuli to maintain cellular homeostasis and sustain proliferation. The primary objective of this study is to identify metabolic vulnerabilities bestowed by KEAP1/NRF2 signaling axis through SLC7A11. SLC7A11 is a transcriptional target of NRF2, an essential regulator of cellular anti-oxidant response. Under unstressed basal conditions, NRF2 interacts with KEAP1, a tumor suppressor gene and a substrate adaptor protein of the Cullin3-dependent ubiquitin ligase …

Anatomy And Physiology Preparatory Course Textbook (2nd Edition), Carlos Liachovitzky

Open Educational Resources

The goal of this preparatory textbook is to give students a chance to become familiar with some terms and some basic concepts they will find later on in the Anatomy and Physiology course, especially during the first few weeks of the course.

Organization and functioning of the human organism are generally presented starting from the simplest building blocks, and then moving into levels of increasing complexity. This textbook follows the same presentation. It begins introducing the concept of homeostasis, then covers the chemical level, and later on a basic introduction to cellular level, organ level, and organ system level. This …

The Analysis Of Folate-Dependent Transcription Factor Zinc Finger Protein 410, Feifan Xu

Senior Honors Theses

A previous study that introduced dietary folate to mice in the form of folic acid to determine if gene activity would be altered based on this biological molecule demonstrated that mice without folic acid had cognition deficits, and this phenomenon was correlated with altered gene expression in their brains. The included bioinformatic analysis revealed two main transcription factors that bind to proteins in the nucleus, and one is known as the Zinc Finger Protein 410 (Zfp410). Due to the lack of literature explaining the function of this transcription factor, this project is intended to analyze Zfp410 in detail from scratch. …

Effect Of Supplemental Garlic On The Incidence Of Anemia In Horses, Victoria Willis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a spice that has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes or flavoring in food. Garlic has also been commonly used as a fly and pest control for horses and is still commonly used for that purpose today. Recent research has shown garlic may cause Heinz body anemia in horses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of Heinz body anemia in horses supplemented with varying rates of garlic. This study included 12 horses divided into 4 groups (control and 3 supplement rates: low (0.0625 g/kg), medium (0.125 g/kg), high (0.1875 g/kg)) …

Association Of Dietary Total Antioxidant Capacity With Bone Mass And Osteoporosis Risk In Korean Women: Analysis Of The Korea National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2011, Donghyun Kim, Anna Han, Yongsoon Park

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

Antioxidant intake has been suggested to be associated with a reduced osteoporosis risk, but the effect of dietary total antioxidant capacity (TAC) on bone health and the risk of osteoporosis remains unclear. We aimed to assess the hypothesis that dietary TAC is positively associated with bone mass and negatively related to the risk of osteoporosis in Korean women. This cross-sectional study was performed using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Dietary TAC was estimated using task automation and an algorithm with 24-h recall data. In total, 8230 pre-and postmenopausal women were divided into four groups according …

Translating Evidence-Based Guidelines Into Practice—Are We Getting It Right? A Multi-Centre Prospective International Audit Of Nutrition Care In Patients With Foregut Tumors (Inform), Merran Findlay, Judith D. Bauer, Rupinder Dhaliwal, Marian De Van Der Schueren, Alessandro Laviano, Adrianne Widaman, Lisa Martin, Andrew G. Day, Leah M. Gramlich

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Malnutrition is highly prevalent in patients with foregut tumors comprising head and neck (HNC) and esophageal (EC) cancers, negatively impacting outcomes. International evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) for nutrition care exist; however, translation of research evidence into practice commonly presents considerable challenges and consequently lags. This study aimed to describe and evaluate current international nutrition care practices compared with the best-available evidence for patients with foregut tumors who are at high risk of malnutrition. A multi-centre prospective cohort study enrolled 170 patients commencing treatment of curative intent for HNC (n = 119) or EC (n = 51) in 11 cancer …

Ionic Mechanism Of Lysosomal Function And Cell Metabolism, Jian Xiong

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Two Pore Channels (TPCs) are endolysosomal ion channels that are permeable to sodium and calcium. Defects in TPCs have been implicated to impair vesicle trafficking, autophagy and cell metabolism control; however, the detailed mechanism remains largely unknown. In this study, I show that TPCs are critical for appropriate cargo delivery to the lysosomes and deletion of either TPC1 or TPC2 leads to delayed clearance of autophagosomes, resulting in enlarged lysosomes and accumulated contents inside the lysosomes. Cells with both TPC deleted also exhibit 50% reduction in lysosomal amino acids under normal culture conditions, leading to reduced homeostatic mTORC1 activation.

Glutamine …

State-Level Income Inequality And The Odds For Meeting Fruit And Vegetable Recommendations Among Us Adults, Masako Horino, Sze Yan Liu, Eun-Young Lee, Ichiro Kawachi, Roman Pabayo

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Previous research indicates that income inequality is associated with risk for mortality, self-rated health status, chronic conditions, and health behavior, such as physical activity. However, little is known about the relationship between income inequality and dietary intake, which is a major risk factor for common chronic diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancers. The objective of this study is to determine the association between US state income inequality and fruit and vegetable consumption among adults.

Methods

Cross-sectional data on 270,612 U.S. adults from the U.S. 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System was used. Fruit and …

Developmental Programming Effects Of Maternal Obesity, Carolle J. Kassab

University Honors Theses

Population studies within the United States indicate increasing rates of obesity, considerably prominent for women within reproductive age. Maternal obesity is associated with the offspring’s hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, which have chronic consequences. Obesity in pregnancy causes metabolic and epigenetic perturbations within the fetal environment, disrupting future health of offspring. This phenomenon is known as developmental programming. Although the relationship between maternal undernutrition and developmental programming has been demonstrated, its relationship to maternal obesity remains understudied.

Efficient Conditional Inactivation Of Rdh10 Reveals Important Role Of Retinoic Acid During Lung Branching Morphogenesis., Nhut Quang Huy Tran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Birth defects are complicated pathological processes. Many birth defects can be traced back to disrupted regulation of molecular signaling pathways during embryogenesis. One of the most important gene regulatory factors during embryo development is retinoic acid (RA). However, studying the specific roles of RA in each organ during embryogenesis in vivo is challenging. The Sandell laboratory has a conditional mutant mouse model that can potentially be used for studying the role of RA during embryogenesis by inducing stage-specific RA deficiency. This model allows retinol dehydrogenase 10 (Rdh10), a gene required for RA production, to be inactivated at a …

Nutritional Supplementation And Skeletal Muscle Health In Chronic Diseases, Hexirui Wu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prevalence of chronic diseases in the United States keeps increasing in recent years. There are approximately four in ten adults having chronic diseases in America. Chronic diseases include obesity, aging, heart diseases, cancer and many others. This thesis mainly focuses on obesity and aging. Skeletal muscle performance is impaired in obesity and aging conditions. One common reason causing this could be higher fat mass and lower muscle mass. However, there is no study showing what pathways are involved in the imbalance of body composition. Therefore, the first objective of the thesis is to determine gene expression of selected pathways in …

An Analysis Of Crispr-Cas Gene Editing In Agriculture, Ashley Laliberte

Honors Scholar Theses

The CRISPR-Cas system is a promising form of gene editing, especially for the agriculture industry. The ability to make single-nucleotide edits within a gene of interest, without the need to introduce foreign DNA, is a powerful tool for designing healthier and more efficient crops and food animals. This system provides opportunity for increased nutritional value, decreased food waste, and more economically and environmentally sustainable food production. Though this biotechnology is facing mechanistic limitations due to off-target effects and inefficient homology-directed repair, vast improvements have already been made to improve its efficacy. The CRISPR-Cas system is already the most advanced form …

The Effects Of Internal Physiology On Polyphenic Horn Development In The Dung Beetle Onthophagus Taurus, Naomi Garrett Williamson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

An organism’s phenotype can be affected in development by alterations to gene expression based on environmental inputs. Nutrition is one such environmental input and the central regulator of development of large horn or small horn phenotypes in the dung beetle species, Onthophagus taurus. However, little is known about the nature of chemical compounds that are critical to this plastic horn development. To better understand these compounds, we are utilizing an untargeted metabolomic approach as well as a targeted gene approach. Through the metabolomic approach, it was uncovered that environmental conditions tend to have a greater impact on metabolomic composition …

Non-Invasive Method For Leptin Supplementation In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Regan Mcnamara

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I tested the hypothesis that recombinant leptin protein can be introduced to zebrafish in vivo through non-invasive soaking in a solution containing the protein. One way to study various molecules’ effects in vivo is through intraperitoneal or intracerebroventricular injections during the embryonic or larval stage, which is invasive, difficult to administer, and can have a high mortality rate. 48 hours post fertilization (hpf) zebrafish were soaked in a His-tagged recombinant leptin protein solution at 10 nM and 100 nM concentrations (produced by Genscript). After soaking, zebrafish larvae were washed extensively to remove all recombinant protein on their exterior before homogenization. …

Developmental Mechanisms For The Diversification Of Polyphenic Morphs In The Head Horn Of Onthophagine Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae Onthophagus Taurus): Plasticity Through Nutrition, Logan Paul Zeigler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Developmental plasticity is the phenotypic variation between organisms that is caused by environmental interactions affecting the developmental systems of organisms. The research focused primarily on nutrition-responsive developmental plasticity. In this research we used the nutritionally determined head horn development of Onthophagus taurus to better understand the developmental mechanisms and genetic underpinnings of nutrition-responsive trait development. We focused specifically on altering the availability of specific nutrition-related primary metabolites, cholesterol and palmitic acid, identified in the activity of The Hedgehog pathway, a critical pathway in head horn development. By altering diet composition using cholesterol, reducing transcript expression of an acyltransferase gene, rasp …

The Effects Of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (Epa) And Docosahexaenoic Acid (Dha) On Brown Adipogenesis In Stem Cell Culture, Darynne Dahlem

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are major maternal dietary supplements due to their positive benefits on neurological tissue growth during the first 12 weeks of gestation. Previous studies show that EPA and DHA inhibit muscle formation but promote adipogenesis. However, no research has addressed the question whether high intake of EPA and DHA affects brown fat development during gestation. The objective of this study was to measure the effect of EPA and DHA supplement on brown adipogenesis and potential pathways related to mitochondrial biosynthesis using fibroblasts as in vitro model. Using Oil-Red-O staining …

Platiscity Of C. Elegans Germline Stem Cells Under Nutritional And Metabolic Stress, Kenneth Trimmer

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Stem cells are integral for tissue maintenance and fertility. Therefore, understanding how stem cells are regulated under stress is imperative. When confronted with acute starvation, stem cells must conserve energy and metabolites to cope with the lack of an external source. Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cells (GSCs) are an excellent model for studying stem cell properties and regulation as they can divide throughout the life of the organism. While GSCs are an adult stem cell population, their cell cycle structure more closely mimics mouse and human embryonic stem cells with short G1 and long S phases. In this thesis, I …

Effect Of Oil Palm Phenolics (Opp) On Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines, Inaam Abdul Karim

Wayne State University Theses

Pancreatic cancer (paca) is currently the fifth causes of cancer-related deaths in the United States. It’s an aggressive form of cancer with very low survival rates because of delayed diagnosis and limited treatment options. Gemcitabine is the chemotherapy drug that provides minimal benefits along with many side effects. The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro effects of oil palm phenolics (OPP) fraction-5, the water-soluble component of palm oil, in human pancreatic cancer cell models. Two pancreatic cancer cell lines (Panc-1 and BxPC-3) were categorized into control and treatment groups. The control group received cell culture media …

The Effects Of A Ketone Body On Synaptic Transmission, Alexandra Elizabeth Stanback

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

The ketogenic diet is commonly used to control epilepsy, especially in cases when medications cannot. The diet typically consists of high fat, low carb, and adequate protein and produces a metabolite called acetoacetate. Seizure activity is characterized by glutamate excitotoxicity and therefore glutamate regulation is a point of research for control of these disorders. Acetoacetate is heavily implicated as the primary molecule responsible for decreasing glutamate in the synapse; it is believed that acetoacetate interferes with the transport of glutamate into the synaptic vesicles. The effects on synaptic transmission at glutamatergic synapses was studied in relation to the ketogenic diet …

Effect Of Larval Starvation On Lipid Content Of Drosophila Melanogaster Over 15 Days, Fabian Leija, Allen Gibbs

LSAMP Poster Presentations

Starvation-resistant Drosophila melanogaster, common fruit flies, deriving from 121 generations of starvation selection, have resulted in genetically, behaviorally, and physiologically different individuals compared to non-resistant counterparts. Starvation-resistant Drosophila are more obese, containing twice as much lipids as control flies.This is a result of starvation-resistant fly larva feeding for 5 days and then entering the pupa stage while non-resistant flies only feed for 4 days.

In this experiment, we hope to answer the question of whether the starvation-resistant flies are genetically predisposed to be substantially more obese than wild populations or if it is a result of this alternate behavior …

The Effect Of Wild Blueberry Bioactives On Endothelial Cell Migration And Angiogenesis: An In Vitro Mechanistic, Genomic And Proteomic Approach, Panagiotis Tsakiroglou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of wild blueberry fractions (Anthocyanins and Phenolic acids) on vascular function and physiology. More specifically the potential effects of the above fractions and their combination in physiological concentrations on endothelial cell migration, angiogenesis, gene expression and proteins synthesis of markers related to the above processes. The objectives are to study whether anthocyanins, phenolic acids and their combinations (ACNs:PAs) affect: a) cell proliferation, b) speed of endothelial cell migration, c) angiogenesis, d) gene expression of genes critical for cell migration and angiogenesis such as RAC1, RHOA, AKT1, eNOS and VEGF and …

Overexpression Of Cyb5r3 And Nqo1, Two Nad+-Producing Enzymes, Mimics Aspects Of Caloric Restriction, Alberto Diaz-Ruiz, Michael Lanasa, Joseph Garcia, Hector Mora, Frances Fan, Alejandro Martin-Montalvo, Andrea Di Francesco, Miguel Calvo-Rubio, Andrea Salvador-Pascual, Miguel A. Aon, Kenneth W. Fishbein, Kevin J. Pearson, Jose Manuel Villalba, Placido Navas, Michel Bernier, Rafael De Cabo

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Calorie restriction (CR) is one of the most robust means to improve health and survival in model organisms. CR imposes a metabolic program that leads to increased stress resistance and delayed onset of chronic diseases, including cancer. In rodents, CR induces the upregulation of two NADH‐dehydrogenases, namely NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) and cytochrome b₅ reductase 3 (Cyb5r3), which provide electrons for energy metabolism. It has been proposed that this upregulation may be responsible for some of the beneficial effects of CR, and defects in their activity are linked to aging and several age‐associated diseases. However, …

Pkm2 Influences The Metabolic Fate Of Butyrate In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Megan Louise Pence

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Obesity, Noah Rhodes

Global Issues in Public Health

Obesity is a worldwide issue that can be defined as a non-communicable condition which means that it is non-infectious and non-transmissible and it is defined as having a BMI over 30 even though BMI doesn’t account for the person’s muscle mass which causes some athletes to be considered obese just because they weigh a lot for their height. Diagnosing obesity can be a long process which includes a health history being taken, a general physical exam, calculation of BMI, and measuring waist circumference. Diagnosis of obesity also involves checking for problems such as high blood pressure, variation of cholesterol levels …