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Translational Medical Research Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Translational Medical Research

Targeting Metabolic Alterations Associated With Smooth Muscle Α-Actin Pathogenic Variant Attenuates Moyamoya-Like Cerebrovascular Disease, Anita Kaw May 2023

Targeting Metabolic Alterations Associated With Smooth Muscle Α-Actin Pathogenic Variant Attenuates Moyamoya-Like Cerebrovascular Disease, Anita Kaw

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Heterozygous pathogenic variants in ACTA2, encoding smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA), predispose to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. De novo missense variants disrupting ACTA2 arginine 179 (p.Arg179) cause a multisystemic disease termed smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (SMDS), which is characterized by early onset thoracic aortic disease and moyamoya disease-like (MMD) cerebrovascular disease. The MMD-like cerebrovascular disease in SMDS patients is marked by bilateral steno-occlusive lesions in the distal internal carotid arteries (ICAs) and their branches. To study the molecular mechanisms that underlie the ACTA2 p.Arg179 variants, a smooth muscle-specific Cre-lox knock-in mouse model of the heterozygous Acta2 R179C variant, termed …


Ankyrin-B And Mtor Complex 1 In The Regulation Of Electrical Activities In The Heart, Henry C. Wu, Henry C. Wu Aug 2015

Ankyrin-B And Mtor Complex 1 In The Regulation Of Electrical Activities In The Heart, Henry C. Wu, Henry C. Wu

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) activity is paramount in the regulation of electrical activities in the brain and the heart. In the brain, the tumor suppressor gene TSC2 encodes the protein product tuberin that interacts with hamartin to form a heterodimer Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) that regulates mTORC1. When TSC2 is disrupted, mTORC1 activity becomes dysregulated resulting in abnormal electrical activities in the brain manifesting in the form of epileptic seizures. In the heart, mTORC1 activity is triggered by a sustained increase in hemodynamic pressure causing the heart to electrically remodel. A likely candidate serving as the …