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Mechanisms Of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Striated Muscle And Aorta, Stephen T. Decker
Mechanisms Of Cigarette Smoke-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction In Striated Muscle And Aorta, Stephen T. Decker
Doctoral Dissertations
Cigarette Smoke is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, accounting for over 480,000 annual deaths. Of these deaths, the most common cause of mortality in chronic smokers is cardiometabolic diseases. Likewise, a significant portion of smokers experience some form of cardiac, vascular, or metabolic dysfunction throughout their lifetime. More specifically, smoking is shown to induce mitochondrial dysfunction in these tissues, causing an increase in oxidative damage and poor overall health. However, despite the advances in the health outcomes related to cigarette smoke exposure, the mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dysfunction in striated muscle and the vasculature remain …
Controlling Myosin’S Function Via Interactions Between The Substrate And The Active Site, Mike K. Woodward
Controlling Myosin’S Function Via Interactions Between The Substrate And The Active Site, Mike K. Woodward
Doctoral Dissertations
Molecular motors, such as myosin, have evolved to transduce chemical energy from ATP into mechanical work to drive essential cellular processes, from muscle contraction to vesicular transport. Dysfunction in these motors is a root cause of many pathologies necessitating the application of intrinsic control over molecular motor function. We hypothesized that altering the myosin’s energy substrate via minor positional changes to the triphosphate portion of the molecule will allow us to control the protein and affect its in vitro function. We utilized positional isomers of a synthetic non-nucleoside triphosphate, azobenzene triphosphate, and assessed whether myosin’s force- and motion-generating capacity could …