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Full-Text Articles in Cell Biology

Strategies For Preventing Age And Neurodegenerative Disease-Associated Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Vedad Delic Jan 2015

Strategies For Preventing Age And Neurodegenerative Disease-Associated Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Vedad Delic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a pivotal role in the development of aging phenotypes and aging-associated neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Strategies that restore mitochondrial dysfunction may rescue the deficits of central metabolism in these disorders and improve cell survival. For example, we found that modulating the mTOR signaling pathway in a tissue culture model of aging-induced mitochondrial DNA mutation enhanced mitochondrial function as evidenced by increased oxygen consumption. Our previous melatonin studies also led us to hypothesize that caloric restriction and the hormone melatonin would reverse brain mitochondrial dysfunction in animal …


Ikaros Deficiency Leads To An Imbalance In Effector And Regulatory T Cell Homeostasis In Murine Pancreatic Cancer, Nadine D. Nelson Jan 2015

Ikaros Deficiency Leads To An Imbalance In Effector And Regulatory T Cell Homeostasis In Murine Pancreatic Cancer, Nadine D. Nelson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers with a five-year survival rate of 6%. Pancreatic cancer is resistant to conventional chemotherapy and is usually diagnosed at late stages. Current treatment options have minimal effects in extending patients' lives beyond 10 months. One significant limitation in developing treatments to combat pancreatic cancer is its immunosuppressive microenvironment. Pancreatic cancer secretes factors that activate immunosuppressive cells, such as regulatory T cells (Tregs). These Tregs suppress effector CD4+ and CD8+ T cell anti-tumor immune responses. Therefore, novel treatment options to reduce Treg-mediated immune suppression and increase the numbers and functions of …