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Full-Text Articles in Medical Molecular Biology

Development Of Novel Antifungal Peptides Based On A Natural Model Of Histatin-5 Peptide, Duy Tu Nguyen Dec 2013

Development Of Novel Antifungal Peptides Based On A Natural Model Of Histatin-5 Peptide, Duy Tu Nguyen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our research group is working toward the development of novel antifungal peptides based on a natural model of peptide histatin-5. Histatin-5 is found in human saliva and known to protect our body against oral infections by Candida species. Candidiasis, or an infection caused by Candida species, is considered one of the most medically important fungal infections worldwide. Blood stream infections caused by Candida species are the fourth leading cause of hospital-acquired fungal infections that is associated with high mortality rates and high costs of treatment. This study investigated the modes of action of histatin-5 with the use of one 16-mer …


Enhanced Pancreatic Beta-Cells Proliferation And Functionality, Hanan Abdulaziz Alismail Dec 2013

Enhanced Pancreatic Beta-Cells Proliferation And Functionality, Hanan Abdulaziz Alismail

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biologically functional beta-cells proliferate at an extremely low rate with limited turnover capacity. This cellular property hinders cell-based therapy for clinical applications. Many attempts have been made to develop techniques that allow large quantities of production of clinically relevant islet β-cells in vitro. A line of studies demonstrates that functional beta-cells can proliferate under certain circumstances, providing hope for generating and expanding these cells in vitro and transplanting them into the recipient. In this study, we showed that a membrane substrate offers a better niche for beta cell proliferation and insulin secretion. Mouse beta cells were grown on a tissue …