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Full-Text Articles in Medical Genetics
Signaling Mechanisms Involved In The Generation Of Human Peripheral Itregs, Mary Catherine Reneer
Signaling Mechanisms Involved In The Generation Of Human Peripheral Itregs, Mary Catherine Reneer
Theses and Dissertations--Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
Maintaining balance in the human immune system is critical for the body’s ability to discriminate between foreign and self-antigens. This balance is achieved, in part, by a subpopulation of T cells known as induced regulatory T cells (iTregs). Dysregulation of this population may contribute to the onset and progression of cancer, chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, manipulation of iTreg development holds promising therapeutic potential; however, studying this vital population has proven difficult due to low numbers, heterogeneous cell populations, substantial phenotypic differences between mouse and human cells, and the high plasticity seen in iTregs. These current limitations have prevented …
Regulation Of Hepatic Gene Expression During Liver Development And Disease, Hui Ren
Regulation Of Hepatic Gene Expression During Liver Development And Disease, Hui Ren
Theses and Dissertations--Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
My first project was to investigate the role of Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1 (HNF1) and Nuclear Factor I (NFI) on alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) promoter activity during liver development. AFP is highly expressed in the fetal liver, silenced at birth, and remains at very low levels in the adult liver. A GA substitution located at -119 of the human AFP promoter is associated with hereditary persistence of AFP (HPAFP) expression in the adult liver (Hum Molec Genet, 1993, 2:379). The -120 region harbors overlapping binding sites for HNF1 and NFI. While it has been shown that the GA substitution increases HNF1 binding, …