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Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons™
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Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
Characterization Of Pathological Tau Mutants, Charles J. Mcdonald
Characterization Of Pathological Tau Mutants, Charles J. Mcdonald
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Tau is a protein expressed exclusively in glia and neurons in the central nervous system and implicated in several neurogenerative diseases called “tauopathies”. Among all the tauopathies, one third is characterized by the presence of genetic mutations leading to the synthesis of tau proteins with single amino acid substitutions at specific locations and affecting protein function. While most of the initial studies have emphasize the functional role of tau as modulator of the axonal cytoskeleton, it has recently been well accepted that tau is also an intrinsically disordered protein that tends to form membraneless organelles called coacervates, due to a …
Translational Fidelity And Its Role In Neuronal Homeostasis, Markus Terrey
Translational Fidelity And Its Role In Neuronal Homeostasis, Markus Terrey
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The process of translation, which refers to decoding genetic information from mRNA to protein, is vital for all cellular function. Translational fidelity starts at the level of aminoacylation of transfer RNAs (tRNA). This reaction is catalyzed by aminoacyl tRNA synthetases where each amino acid is transferred to its corresponding cognate tRNA. Because tRNAs harbor the anticodon sequence to decodes a particular mRNA codon, the specific aminoacylation of the tRNA with a cognate amino acid establishes the rules of decoding genetic code into proteins. Aminoacylated tRNAs are then delivered to ribosomes, where ribosomes in a highly organized manner need to accurately …
Tamalin/Gras-1 Connects Glutamate Receptor Activity To The Insulin/Igf Signaling Cascade To Regulate Neuroprotection In A Nematode Model Of Excitotoxicity, Ayesha Chowdhury
Tamalin/Gras-1 Connects Glutamate Receptor Activity To The Insulin/Igf Signaling Cascade To Regulate Neuroprotection In A Nematode Model Of Excitotoxicity, Ayesha Chowdhury
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Brain ischemia is a major cause of debilitation and death in the United States. Excitotoxicity, a condition that arises from the accumulation of glutamate (Glu) in the synapse that leads to overactivation of Glu receptors (GluRs), is the major mechanism of neuronal damage in brain ischemia / stroke. Although it is commonly acknowledged that over activation of GluRs leads to neurodegeneration, it has been recently shown that even during excitotoxicity Glu has a concurrent important role in regulating neuroprotection. GluR-activated transcription factors seem to mediate this neuroprotection, but it remains unclear which signaling cascades and transcription factors are regulated by …
Investigating Autophagy Dysfunction Induced By A Parkinson's Disease-Causing Mutation In Vps35, Abir Ashfakur Rahman
Investigating Autophagy Dysfunction Induced By A Parkinson's Disease-Causing Mutation In Vps35, Abir Ashfakur Rahman
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is an idiopathic disorder with no known cure. With number of cases steadily rising around the world, it is imperative to turn to the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the disease manifestation and neurodegeneration to craft novel modes of therapy. VPS35 is one of the few genes that have identified and definitively linked to familial PD. The particular mutation that has been associated is known to cause dysfunction of a key cellular process known as autophagy. This process is primarily responsible for clearance of unwanted, damaged or misfolded proteins, among other things. Our study reveals an …
The Role Of Daf-19 In Non-Ciliated Neurons: How Is Neural Development Regulated By Different Daf-19 Isoforms?, Zabdiel Ek Vazquez
The Role Of Daf-19 In Non-Ciliated Neurons: How Is Neural Development Regulated By Different Daf-19 Isoforms?, Zabdiel Ek Vazquez
Lawrence University Honors Projects
A degenerative disease-like phenotype, specifically reduction in synaptic protein levels in adult worms, is correlated with loss-of-function of the only RFX transcription factor gene, daf-19, in C. elegans. This gene encodes four known transcription factor isoforms, two of which are correlated with particular functions. The DAF-19C isoform activates genes responsible for cilia development, while DAF-19M is needed for cilia specification in males. A comparison of the transcriptome of daf-19 null and isogenic wild type adult worms suggests both positive and negative regulation of gene expression is correlated with the presence of DAF-19 proteins. We have assessed DAF-19 regulation …
Activation Of Target Gene Expression In Neurons By The C. Elegans Rfx Transcription Factor, Daf-19, Katherine P. Mueller
Activation Of Target Gene Expression In Neurons By The C. Elegans Rfx Transcription Factor, Daf-19, Katherine P. Mueller
Lawrence University Honors Projects
DAF-19, the only RFX transcription factor found in C. elegans, is required for the formation of neuronal sensory cilia. Four isoforms of the DAF-19 protein have been reported, and the m86 nonsense (null) mutation affecting all four isoforms has been shown to prevent cilia formation. Transcriptome analyses employing microarrays of L1 and adult stage worms were completed using RNA from daf-19(m86) worms and an isogenic wild type strain to identify additional putative DAF-19 target genes. Using transcriptional fusions with GFP, we compared the expression patterns of several potential gene targets using fluorescence confocal microscopy. Expression patterns were characterized in …