Cell Biology Commons^™

Characterization Of A Hypothetical Protein Critical For The Symbiotic Interaction Of Aeromonas Veronii And Hirudo Verbana, Kaitlin Vaughan

Honors Scholar Theses

The digestive tract symbiosis of the medicinal leech, Hirudo verbana, is a model system for studying the genes required for microbial colonization of digestive tracts, as H. verbana has only two species of bacteria that dominate the crop microbiota, Aeromonas veronii and a Rikenella-like bacterium. Signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) of the A.

veronii strain, HM21R, revealed genes required for the colonization of the digestive tract. One of these mutants, JG573, has an interrupted gene that is predicted to encode a hypothetical protein. The region flanking the transposon insertion of this mutant was sequenced by primer walking.

Comparison of the flanking DNA …

Knockdown Of Kiaa0319 Reduces Dendritic Spine Density, Daniel Young Kim

Honors Scholar Theses

Developmental Dyslexia is a reading disorder that affects individuals that possess otherwise normal intelligence. Until the four candidate dyslexia susceptibility genes were discovered, the cause of cortical malformations found in post mortem dyslexic brains was unclear. Normal brain development is crucial for the proper wiring of the neural circuitry that allow an individual to perform cognitive tasks like reading. For years, familial and twin studies have suggested that there was a genetic basis to the causation of dyslexia. Kiaa0319 was among the candidate dyslexia susceptibility genes that were ascertained. KIAA0319 is located on Chromosome 6p22.2-22.3 and has been found to …

Optimization Of Protein Expression Of Four Transcription Factors Using Chaperone Proteins, Kaitlin Wilson

Honors Scholar Theses

Embryonic stem cells are unique in their ability to grow indefinitely while maintaining both pluripotency and self-renewal capabilities. These stem cells could be the answer to solving many of the debilitating and devastating diseases suffered by humans. Recently, the use of human derived embryonic stem cells has been effective in animal models in the treatment of spinal cord injuries (Kierstead et al., 2005).

Although the study of embryonic stem cells has become increasingly popular in the last decade, there is still much research to be done to increase the expression of valuable embryonic proteins which will induce pluripotency in the …

Analysis Of The Phosphorylated Forms Of Protein Kinase R, Christine Quartararo

Honors Scholar Theses

Protein Kinase R (PKR) is induced by interferon and activated by dsRNA. Subsequent autophosphorylation and phosphorylation of eIF2alpha inhibits viral replication. In the latent state PKR exists as an unphosphorylated monomer. Work in the Cole laboratory has shown two additional states, a phosphorylated monomeric state (pPKRm) and a phosphorylated dimeric state (pPKRd). RNA serves as a scaffold bringing two PKRs together allowing dimerization and autophosphorylation to occur. The contribution of each state to the function of PKR remains unclear. Western blots were performed to examine the phosphorylation states of the essential residues,

T446 and T451. Activity assays have shown activation …

Characterizing The Role Of Phaeobacter In The Mortality Of The Squid, Euprymna Scolopes, Brian Shawn Wong Won

Honors Scholar Theses

The subject of our study is the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, which is known for its model symbiotic relationship with the bioluminescent bacterium, Vibrio fischeri. The interactions between E. scolopes and V. fischeri provide an exemplary model of the biochemical and molecular dynamics of symbiosis since both members can be cultivated separately and V. fischeri can be genetically modified 1. However, in a laboratory setting, the mortality of embryonic E. scolopes can be a recurrent problem. In many of these fatalities, the egg cases display a pink-hued biofilm, and rosy pigmentation has also been noted in the deaths of …

Effects Of Estrogen On Muscle Damage In Response To An Acute Resistance Exercise Protocol, Megan R. Wolf

Honors Scholar Theses

Creatine Kinase (CK) is used as a measure of exercise-induced muscle membrane damage. During acute eccentric (muscle lengthening) exercise, muscle sarcolemma, sarcoplasmic reticulum, and Z-lines are damaged, thus causing muscle proteins and enzymes to leak into the interstitial fluid.

Strenuous eccentric exercise produces an elevation of oxygen free radicals, which further increases muscle damage. Muscle soreness and fatigue can be attributed to this membrane damage. Estradiol, however, may preserve membrane stability post-exercise (Brancaccio, Maffulli, & Limongelli, 2007; Carter, Dobridge, & Hackney, 2001; Tiidus, 2001). Because estradiol has a similar structure to Vitamin E, which is known to have antioxidant properties, …

Delayed Anesthetic Preconditioning And Metallothioneins I+Ii: Novel Mediators Of Anesthetic-Induced Protection, Scott David Edmands

Open Access Dissertations

Ischemic injury is a common and debilitating outcome of natural illness and as a complication of commonly performed medical procedures. Whereas naturally occurring ischemic insults are often the result of unpredictable events, such as in the case of stroke or heart attack, the risk of operative and perioperative ischemia is somewhat better characterized in the clinical setting. Given the prevalence and severity of outcomes in ischemic injury, there is significant interest in developing better pharmacological and procedural approaches to improve patient outcomes. One approach that has shown significant promise in the laboratory setting, particularly in the context of planned medical …

Modulation Of Macrophage Responses To Borrelia Burgdorferi In Acute Murine Lyme Carditis, Chris Martin Olson

Open Access Dissertations

The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi is the only known human pathogen that directly activates invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. The number and activation kinetics of iNKT cells vary greatly among different strains of mice. Here, we report the role of the iNKT cell response in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease using C57BL/6 (B6) mice, a strain with optimal iNKT cell activation that is resistant to the development of spirochetal-induced inflammation. During experimental infection of B6 mice with B. burgdorferi , iNKT cells localize to the inflamed heart where they are activated by CD1d-expressing macrophages. Activation of iNKT cells …

The Conformational Gymnastics Of The Escherichia Coli Seca Molecular Machine And Its Interactions With Signal Sequences, Jenny Lynn Maki

Open Access Dissertations

Protein secretion is a selective and regulated process that is essential in all organisms. In bacteria the preprotein translocase SecA, either free in the cytosol or associated with the SecYEG translocon, recognizes and binds most post-translational secretory proteins containing an N-terminal signal sequence. In Gram-negative bacteria, the molecular chaperone SecB binds many of the preproteins to keep them in a translocation-competent state. Subsequently, SecB delivers the preproteins to the translocon-associated SecA, which binds the signal sequence and also interacts with mature regions of the preprotein. After the preprotein/SecA/SecYEG complex has formed, the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis by SecA coupled …

Preparation, Separation, Purification, Characterization And Human Cell Line Anti-Cancer Evaluation Of Rice Bran Peptides, Arvind Kannan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bioactive compounds are revolutionizing the nutritional and medicinal world with their inherent disease-fighting properties. A wide range of functional groups fall under the category of imparting health benefits. Compounds from both animal and plant origins have been generated as bioactive agents that have opened up new vistas for alternative medicine and natural healing. For example, in a debilitating disease like cancer, these compounds can act to suppress or delay the underlying pathology over and above the conventional treatment strategies involving drugs or chemotherapy. In other words conventional and invasive therapy, although still considered appropriate at certain stages of cancer, their …

The Membrane Interface Of Chloroplast Signal Recognition Particle-Dependent Protein Targeting, Naomi Jane Marty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A novel signal recognition particle (SRP) found in the chloroplast (cpSRP) works in combination with the cpSRP receptor, cpFtsY, to facilitate the post-translational targeting of a family of nuclear-encoded thylakoid proteins to the Alb3 translocase in thylakoid membranes. Work here focused on understanding events at the membrane that take place to ensure targeting of the cpSRP-dependent substrate to Alb3. Specifically, we sought to understand the structural and functional role of membrane binding by cpFtsY, a protein that exhibits the ability to partition between the membrane (thylakoid) and soluble (stroma) phase during protein targeting. We also sought to understand whether a …

Functional Interaction Of Racf2 And The Wasp Family Protein, Scar, In The Rab8 Signaling Pathway Of The Social Amoeba, Dictyostelium Discoideum, Terri Bruce

All Dissertations

The small GTPase, Rab8, has been shown to play a role in cell-cell adhesion and restructuring of the actin cytoskeleton in both mammalian cells and the lower eukaryote, Dictyostelium discoideum. In D. discoideum, cells expressing constitutively activated Rab8 (Rab8CA) display reduced cell-cell adhesion and increased actin-rich protrusions as well as delayed aggregation. Rab8 has been implicated in the restructuring of the actin cytoskeleton, but no specific pathway for this action has been identified. In other systems, actin-rich membrane extension formation is regulated by WASp family proteins, including SCAR. Here we provide evidence of a functional relationship between the WASp family …

Construction And Characterization Of A Novel Fusion Protein From The Extracellular Domain Of Mult1 And Transmembrane And Intracellular Domains Of Fas And Its Therapeutic Evaluation For Cancer Treatment Using An Adenoviral Delivery System, Hari Shankar Kotturi Rajeshwar

All Dissertations

One of the strategies that tumor cells adopt to evade immunosurveillance mounted by elements of the innate immune system, such as NK cells, is to down-regulate certain cell surface molecules through a process also called shedding. Mouse UL16-binding protein-like transcript 1 (MULT1), which can activate NK cells through NK cell receptor NKG2D, is one of such molecules. Tumor cells can also avoid Fas mediated apoptosis by down-regulating its expression, secreting antagonistic `decoy' receptors, or expressing anti-apoptotic molecules. In this study, we report the design and evaluation of the antitumor activity of a novel fusion protein MULT1E/FasTI, consisting of the extracellular …

Common-Path Multimodal Optical Microscopy, Marla Tipping, Chandra S. Yelleswarapu, Sri-Rajasekhar Kothapalli, Alexey Veraksa, D.V.G.L.N. Rao

Biology Faculty Publications

We have developed a common-path multimodal optical microscopy system that is capable of using a single optical source and a single camera to image amplitude, phase, and fluorescence features of a biological specimen. This is achieved by varying either contrast enhancement filters at the Fourier plane and/or neutral density/fluorescence filters in front of the CCD camera. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated by obtaining brightfield, fluorescence, phase-contrast, spatially filtered, brightfield + fluorescence, phase +fluorescence, and edge-enhanced+fluorescence images of the same Drosophila embryo without the need for image registration and fusion. This comprehensive microscope has the capability of providing both …

Increases In Cytosolic Calcium Ion Levels In Human Natural Killer Cells In Response To Butyltin Exposure, Rhonda Lane, Sabah O. Ghazi, Margaret M. Whalen

Chemistry Faculty Research

This study investigated whether exposures to butyltins (BTs), tributylin (TBT), and dibutyltin (DBT) were able to alter cytosolic calcium levels in human natural killer (NK) cells. Additionally, the effects of cytosolic calcium ion increases on the activation state of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in NK cells were also investigated. NK cells are an intital immune defense against the development of tumors or viral infections. TBT and DBT are widespread environmental contaminants, due to their various industrial applications. Both TBT and DBT have been shown to decrease the ability of NK cells to lyse tumor cells (lytic function). TBT has also …

Modeling Brain Injury: Expression Of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein In Stretch-Injured Astrocytes, Lindsey Cooke

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in individuals under 45. Individuals who survive TBI may be disabled for the rest of their lives and suffer from cognitive, physical, social and financial problems. Following TBI it has been shown that astrocytic gene expression of many proteins, including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), increases. These “reactive” astrocytes are thought to have both beneficial and detrimental effects on neuronal survival and function. The current study uses an in vitro model of injury which grows astrocytes on deformable silastic membranes to allow for dynamic stretch of cultured cells …

Altered Regulation Of Aquaporin Gene Expression In Allergen And Il-13-Induced Mouse Models Of Asthma, Carissa M. Krane, Bijia Deng, Venkateshwar Mutyam, Casey A. Mcdonald, Stephen Pazdziorko, Lawrence Mason, Samuel Goldman, Marion Kasaian, Divya Chaudhary, Cara Williams, Melisa W.Y. Ho

Biology Faculty Publications

IL-13 is known to affect many processes that contribute to an asthmatic phenotype, including inflammation, fibrosis, and mucus production. Members of the aquaporin (AQP) family of transmembrane water channels are targets of regulation in models of lung injury and inflammation. Therefore, we examined AQP mRNA and protein expression in allergen and IL-13-induced mouse models of asthma. Lungs from ovalbumin sensitized and ovalbumin challenged (OVA/OVA) and IL-13 treated mice showed airway thickening, increased mucus production, and pulmonary eosinophilia. Pulmonary function tests showed a significant increase in methacholine-induced airway hyperreactivity in OVA/OVA and IL-13-treated mice as compared with controls. Quantitative PCR analysis …

Study Of The Dna Damage Complexes Within The Htlv-1 Tax Oncoprotein Interactome, Sidi Mehdi Belgnaoui

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a transforming retrovirus that can give rise to adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Tax is a virally encoded oncoprotein that is involved in HTLV-1 mediated cellular transformation. It has been hypothesized that Tax induces genomic instability via repression of the cellular DNA damage repair response. Our laboratory has previously shown that the interaction between Tax and various proteins involved in the DNA-damage response pathway impairs the ability of these proteins to mount an efficient repair response. As part of these observations, we proposed that Tax induces …

Comparison Of Gene Ontology Term Annotations Between E.Coli K12 Databases, Reddysailaja Marpuri

Student Research Conference Select Presentations

The objective of this project was to get up-to-date functional information on all genes of E.coli K12 strains based on Genome Ontology terms. Gene Ontology is described by a defined library of terms related the biological process, cellular components and molecular functions of a gene in an organism. The genome sequence of an organism gains its value when it is annotated with gene ontology terms, which bridges the gap from the sequence to the biology of an organism. Since we use annotated gene database in the prediction of the function of newly sequenced genes, it is important to have databases …

E-Science @ The University Of Massachusetts, Maxine G. Schmidt, Rebecca Reznik-Zellen, Raquel Rivera, Cecilia P. Mullen

Maxine G Schmidt

e-Science @ the University of Massachusetts Abstract: What is e-Science and how can libraries and librarians support it? The University of Massachusetts takes a proactive approach to support network-enabled research on its campuses and provides examples where e-Science is already at work. Statement: “e-Science” is a term commonly used to describe research in a networked environment, a growing trend not only in the sciences, but the arts and humanities as well. e-Science creates both opportunities and challenges for academic libraries. The opportunities lie in leveraging the basic skill set that libraries and librarians already possess: the knowledge of and practical …

Food Entrainment Of Circadian Gene Expression Altered In Pparα-/- Brown Fat And Heart, Brian Chun Kim Goh

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Naloxone's Pentapeptide Binding Site On Filamin A Blocks Mu Opioid Receptor–Gs Coupling And Creb Activation Of Acute Morphine, Hoau-Yan Wang, Lindsay H. Burns

Publications and Research

Chronic morphine causes the mu opioid receptor (MOR) to switch its coupling from Gi/o to Gs, resulting in excitatory signaling via both Gαs and its Gβγ dimer. Ultra-low-dose naloxone (NLX) prevents this switch and attenuates opioid tolerance and dependence. This protective effect is mediated via a high-affinity interaction of NLX to a pentapeptide region in c-terminal filamin A (FLNA), a scaffolding protein interacting with MOR. In organotypic striatal slice cultures, we now show that acute morphine induces a dose-dependent Go-to-Gs coupling switch at 5 and 15 min that resolves by 1 hr. The acute Gs coupling induced by 100 µM …

Glutathione Diminishes Tributyltin- And Dibutyltin-Induced Loss Of Lytic Function In Human Natural Killer Cells, Jeralyn J. Powell, Mclisa V. Davis, Margaret M. Whalen

Chemistry Faculty Research

This study investigated whether reduced glutathione (GSH) was able to alter the negative effects of tributyltin (TBT) or dibutyltin (DBT) on the lytic function of human natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells are an initial immune defense against the development of tumors or viral infections. TBT and DBT are widespread environmental contaminants, due to their various industrial applications. Both TBT and DBT have been shown to decrease the ability of NK cells to lyse tumor cells (lytic function). The results indicated that the presence of GSH during the exposure of NK cells to TBT or DBT diminished the negative effect …

Hydroxyl Radical Is Produced Via The Fenton Reaction In Submitochondrial Particles Under Oxidative Stress: Implications For Diseases Associated With Iron Accumulation, Carin Thomas, Melissa M. Mackey, Amy A. Diaz, David P. Cox

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are often implicated in diseases involving oxidative stress and elevated iron. As mitochondria produce ATP by oxidative phosphorylation, ROS by-products are generated from the electron transport chain. Although superoxide and hydrogen peroxide have been thoroughly investigated, little evidence documents hydroxyl radical (HO•) production in mitochondria. In order to determine whether HO• is generated under oxidative stress conditions by a Fenton-type mechanism, bovine heart submitochondrial particles were examined for HO• in the presence and absence of iron ligands, antioxidant enzymes and HO• scavengers. HO• was measured as 2,3- and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA), using HPLC …

A Microrna Imparts Robustness Against Environmental Fluctuation During Development, Xin Li, Justin J. Cassidy, Catherine A. Reinke, Stephen Fischboeck, Richard W. Carthew

Faculty Publications

The microRNA miR-7 is perfectly conserved from annelids to humans, and yet some of the genes that it regulates in Drosophila are not regulated in mammals. We have explored the role of lineage restricted targets, using Drosophila , in order to better understand the evolutionary significance of microRNA-target relationships. From studies of two well characterized developmental regulatory networks, we find that miR-7 functions in several interlocking feedback and feedforward loops, and propose that its role in these networks is to buffer them against perturbation. To directly demonstrate this function for miR-7, we subjected the networks to temperature fluctuation and found …

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer In Zebrafish, Kannika Siripattarapravat, Patrick J. Venta, C C. Chang, Jose B. Cibelli

Jose Cibelli

We developed a method for somatic cell nuclear transfer in zebrafish using laser-ablated metaphase II eggs as recipients, the micropyle for transfer of the nucleus and an egg activation protocol after nuclear reconstruction. We produced clones from cells of both embryonic and adult origins, although the latter did not give rise to live adult clones.

Silencing Of Nadph-Dependent Oxidoreductase Genes (Yqhd And Dkga) In Furfural-Resistant Ethanologenic Escherichia Coli, Elliot N. Miller, Laura R. Jarboe, L. P. Yomano, S. W. York, K. T. Shanmugam, L. O. Ingram

Laura R. Jarboe

Low concentrations of furfural are formed as a side product during the dilute acid hydrolysis of hemicellulose. Growth is inhibited by exposure to furfural but resumes after the complete reduction of furfural to the less toxic furfuryl alcohol. Growth-based selection was used to isolate a furfural-resistant mutant of ethanologenic Escherichia coli LY180, designated strain EMFR9. Based on mRNA expression levels in the parent and mutant in response to furfural challenge, genes encoding 12 oxidoreductases were found to vary by more than twofold (eight were higher in EMFR9; four were higher in the parent). All 12 genes were cloned. When expressed …

Umass Libraries 2009, Maxine G. Schmidt

Maxine G Schmidt

No abstract provided.

Characterization And Differentiation Of Peripheral Blood Derived Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells, Hari Satya Shankar Addagarla

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Stem cells are populations of undifferentiated cells that are found in most tissues and act as precursors for regeneration and maintenance. In the future, they could provide promising therapies for diseases which are to date incurable. Our lab developed a novel cell line from the peripheral blood of adult transgenic green fluorescent protein swine and designated them as Peripheral Blood Derived Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells (PBD-MAPCs). In this study we characterized the mRNA and protein expression profiles of PBD-MAPCs before and after neural differentiation and investigated the potential of PBD-MAPCs to differentiate into myocardial or neural lineages in vitro. We …

Bibliography Of The Frogs Of The Leptodactylus Clade – Adenomera, Hydrolaetare, Leptodactylus, Lithodytes (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae) Volume 2. Indices, Miriam H. Heyer, W. Ronald Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The bibliography (Volume 1) is organized alphabetically by last name of the first author. The Species Index, Keyword Index, and Geographic Index are organized by the unique number that EndNote® assigns to each record. To find a reference from the three indices, one must utilize the References by EndNote® Number, listed in numerical order. There is sufficient information associated with the EndNote® numerical order entry to find the specific reference involved in Volume 1 – References.

Complete authors names are used in the EndNote® Number index for the EndNote® records that contain such information. Note that there are some “missing” …