Neurotrophins And Their Effects On Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation And Migration, 2014 Purdue University
Neurotrophins And Their Effects On Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation And Migration, Kayla Elise Minser
Open Access Theses
Cancer is a large health issue in all parts of the world. In the United States alone, approximately 1 in 4 deaths are cancer related. Breast cancer is a particularly prevalent form, accounting for a little over 14 percent of all cancer incidence. The largest obstacle to overcome for breast cancer morbidity is metastasis. Over 90 percent of all breast cancer related deaths are due to metastasis. Because metastasis is a complex, multi-step process, it is difficult to treat. A recent observation in the Kirshner lab has revealed a type of phenotypic plasticity, where migratory cancer cells have a neuronal-like …
Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products: Emerging Contaminants In Aquatic Ecosystems, 2014 Purdue University
Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products: Emerging Contaminants In Aquatic Ecosystems, Jenny E. Zenobio
Open Access Theses
In recent years, the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic systems has led to research on their fate and effects. PPCPs have been found in mixture in wastewater effluents, surface, ground, and drinking water at low concentrations from areas of intense urbanization. Although adverse effects to human health from the current environmental concentrations are unlikely, the impacts to ecological receptors are not clear. We performed field and laboratory studies to quantify and evaluate effects of PPCPs on fish. First, a field study was conducted at the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado (2010-2012) because a portion of …
Carbon Source-Dependent Alteration Of Puf3p Activity Mediates Rapid Changes In The Stabilities Of Mrnas Involved In Mitochondrial Function, 2014 University of Missouri–St. Louis
Carbon Source-Dependent Alteration Of Puf3p Activity Mediates Rapid Changes In The Stabilities Of Mrnas Involved In Mitochondrial Function, Melanie Miller, Joseph Russo, Anthony Fischer, Florencia Leban, Wendy Olivas
Biology Department Faculty Works
The Puf family of RNA-binding proteins regulates gene expression primarily by interacting with the 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR) of targeted mRNAs and inhibiting translation and/or stimulating decay. Physical association and computational analyses of yeast Puf3p identified >150 potential mRNA targets involved in mitochondrial function. However, only COX17 has been established as a target of Puf3p-mediated deadenylation and decapping. We have identified 10 new targets that are rapidly degraded in a Puf3p-dependent manner. We also observed changes in Puf3p activity in response to environmental conditions. Puf3p promotes rapid degradation of mRNA targets in the fermentable carbon source dextrose. However, Puf3p-mediated …
Carbon Source-Dependent Alteration Of Puf3p Activity Mediates Rapid Changes In The Stabilities Of Mrnas Involved In Mitochondrial Function, 2014 University of Missouri–St. Louis
Carbon Source-Dependent Alteration Of Puf3p Activity Mediates Rapid Changes In The Stabilities Of Mrnas Involved In Mitochondrial Function, Melanie A. Miller, Joseph Russo, Anthony D. Fischer, Florencia A. Lopez Leban, Wendy M. Olivas
Wendy Olivas
Pathogenic Mechanisms And Signaling Pathways In Plasmodium Falciparum, 2014 University of South Florida
Pathogenic Mechanisms And Signaling Pathways In Plasmodium Falciparum, Jennifer L. Sedillo
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Plasmodium falciparum is a human intracellular parasite that is the causative agent of a deadly form of malaria. This species alone is responsible for 200 million cases of malaria annually resulting in over 1 million deaths worldwide. The excessive mortality due to P. falciparum infection is due to its ability to cause severe pathogenesis through hyperparasitemia and cytoadherence defined as the ability of infected red blood cells to adhere to host vasculature. Cytoadherence is mediated through the export of parasite proteins to the surface of the infected red blood cell (RBC). Exported proteins have been identified but the pathway for …
Molecular Evidence For Vector Implication Of Onchocerca Lupi In Los Angeles County, Ca, 2014 University of South Florida
Molecular Evidence For Vector Implication Of Onchocerca Lupi In Los Angeles County, Ca, Shanna June Bolcen
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Onchocerca is a genus of roundworm most commonly associated with the human infection onchocerciasis, or river blindness. While typically a zoonotic infection of ungulate populations, canine cases (Onchocerca lupi) have been identified in the United States and Greece. In 2012, Los Angeles County, Veterinary Public Health Program identified 3 cases of Onchocerca spp. infections in domestic canines. Samples from the ensuing blackfly collections were sent to the Global Health Infectious Disease Research Unnasch Laboratory for parasite isolation and vector species identification. Species-specific primers were designed and optimized for O. lupi using a non- specific cytochrome oxidase (COI) gene target (689bp) …
Highly Dynamic Animal Contact Network And Implications On Disease Transmission, 2014 University of Tennessee - Knoxville
Highly Dynamic Animal Contact Network And Implications On Disease Transmission, Shi Chen, Brad J. White, Michael W. Sanderson, David E. Amrine, Amiyaal Ilany, Cristina Lanzas
Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Contact patterns among hosts are considered as one of the most critical factors contributing to unequal pathogen transmission. Consequently, networks have been widely applied in infectious disease modeling. However most studies assume static network structure due to lack of accurate observation and appropriate analytic tools. In this study we used high temporal and spatial resolution animal position data to construct a high-resolution contact network relevant to infectious disease transmission. The animal contact network aggregated at hourly level was highly variable and dynamic within and between days, for both network structure (network degree distribution) and individual rank of degree distribution in …
Sigma Factor N: A Novel Regulator Of Acid Resistance And Locus Of Enterocyte Effacement In Escherichia Coli O157:H7, 2014 University of South Florida
Sigma Factor N: A Novel Regulator Of Acid Resistance And Locus Of Enterocyte Effacement In Escherichia Coli O157:H7, Avishek Mitra
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) sigma factor N (σN) regulates glutamate-dependent acid resistance (GDAR) and the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE), discrete genetic systems required for transmission and virulence of this intestinal pathogen. Regulation of these systems requires nitrogen regulatory protein C, NtrC, and is a consequence of NtrC/σN-dependent reduction in the activity of sigma factor S (σS). This study elucidates pathway components and stimuli for σN-directed regulation of GDAR and the LEE in EHEC. Deletion of fliZ, the product of which reduces σS activity, phenocopies rpoN (σN) …
Transcriptional Control Of Toxoplasma Development, 2014 University of South Florida
Transcriptional Control Of Toxoplasma Development, Joshua Byran Radke
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite of animals and man. The asexual life cycle of Toxoplasma involves three very distinct, but tightly coordinated developmental stages. In nature, the sporozoite (contained within an oocyst) and bradyzoite (contained within a tissue cyst) initiate infection of the intermediate host, followed by rapid differentiation into the actively replicating tachyzoite. When countered by an effective host response, the tachyzoite differentiates back into the latent bradyzoite and this unique ability of Toxoplasma to interconvert between the replicating tachyzoite and the latent bradyzoite within a single host is the cause of life long infection. The …
Novel Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Regulation Of Tyrosine Kinase Receptors By Ras Interference 1, 2014 Florida International University
Novel Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Regulation Of Tyrosine Kinase Receptors By Ras Interference 1, Adriana Galvis
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Receptor-tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are membrane bound receptors characterized by their intrinsic kinase activity. RTK activities play an essential role in several human diseases, including cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. RTK activities have been regulated by the expression or silencing of several genes as well as by the utilization of small molecules.
Ras Interference 1 (Rin1) is a multifunctional protein that becomes associated with activated RTKs upon ligand stimulation. Rin1 plays a key role in receptor internalization and in signal transduction via activation of Rab5 and association with active form of Ras. This study has two main objectives: (1) It determines …
Exploration Of Mutations In Erythroid 5-Aminolevulinate Synthase That Lead To Increased Porphyrin Synthesis, 2014 University of South Florida
Exploration Of Mutations In Erythroid 5-Aminolevulinate Synthase That Lead To Increased Porphyrin Synthesis, Erica Jean Fratz
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
5-Aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS; EC 2.3.1.37) is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step of heme biosynthesis in animals, the condensation of glycine and succinyl-CoA yielding 5-aminolevuliante (ALA), CoA, and CO2. Murine erythroid-specific ALAS (mALAS2) variants that cause high levels of PPIX accumulation provide a new means of targeted, and potentially enhanced, photosensitization. Transfection of HeLa cells with expression plasmids for mALAS2 variants, specifically for those with mutated mitochondrial presequences and a mutation in the active site loop, caused significant cellular accumulation of PPIX, particularly in the membrane. Light treatment of HeLa cells expressing mALAS2 variants revealed …
Structural Insights Into The Interaction Between A Potent Anti-Inflammatory Protein, Viral Cc Chemokine Inhibitor (Vcci), And The Human Cc Chemokine, Eotaxin-1, 2014 University of California, Merced
Structural Insights Into The Interaction Between A Potent Anti-Inflammatory Protein, Viral Cc Chemokine Inhibitor (Vcci), And The Human Cc Chemokine, Eotaxin-1, Nai-Wei Kuo, Yong-Guang Gao, Megan Schill, Nancy Isern, Cynthia Dupureur, Patricia Liwang
Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Works
Chemokines play important roles in the immune system, not only recruiting leukocytes to the site of infection and inflammation but also guiding cell homing and cell development. The soluble poxvirus-encoded protein viral CC chemokine inhibitor (vCCI), a CC chemokine inhibitor, can bind to human CC chemokines tightly to impair the host immune defense. This protein has no known homologs in eukaryotes and may represent a potent method to stop inflammation. Previously, our structure of the vCCI·MIP-1β (macrophage inflammatory protein-1β) complex indicated that vCCI uses negatively charged residues in β-sheet II to interact with positively charged residues in the MIP-1β N …
Structural Insights Into The Interaction Between A Potent Anti-Inflammatory Protein, Viral Cc Chemokine Inhibitor (Vcci), And The Human Cc Chemokine, Eotaxin-1, 2014 University of California, Merced
Structural Insights Into The Interaction Between A Potent Anti-Inflammatory Protein, Viral Cc Chemokine Inhibitor (Vcci), And The Human Cc Chemokine, Eotaxin-1, Nai-Wei Kuo, Yong-Guang Gao, Megan S. Schill, Nancy Isern, Cynthia M. Dupureur, Patricia J. Liwang
Cynthia Dupureur
A Lipid-Rich Gestational Diet Predisposes Offspring To Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Potential Sequence Of Events, 2014 Boise State University
A Lipid-Rich Gestational Diet Predisposes Offspring To Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Potential Sequence Of Events, Alexandria N. Hughes, Julia Thom Oxford
Biomolecular Research Center Publications and Presentations
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. It affects 20%–30% of the US population, and it is increasing worldwide. Recently, the role of lipid-rich maternal gestational nutrition in spurring the development of NAFLD among offspring has been indicated. Fetal predisposition to NAFLD involves numerous physiological reroutings that are initiated by increased delivery of nonesterified fatty acids to the fetal liver. Hampered ß-oxidation, uncontrolled oxidative stress, increased triacylglycerol synthesis, and the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response are all implicated in sculpting a hepatic phenotype with a propensity to develop NAFLD in the postnatal state. This review …
Immature Myeloid Cells Promote Tumor Formation Via Non-Suppressive Mechanism, 2014 University of South Florida
Immature Myeloid Cells Promote Tumor Formation Via Non-Suppressive Mechanism, Myrna Lillian Ortiz
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
ABSTRACT
Although there is ample evidence linking chronic inflammation with cancer, the cellular mechanisms involved in early events leading to tumor development remain unclear. Myeloid cells are an intricate part of inflammation. They consist of mature cells represented by macrophages, dendritic cells and granulocytes and a population of Immature Myeloid Cells (IMC), which in healthy individuals are cells in transition to mature cells. There is a substantial expansion of IMC in cancer and many other pathological conditions which is associated with pathologic activation of these cells. As a result, these cells acquire the ability to suppress immune responses and are …
Ube3a Role In Synaptic Plasticity And Neurodevelopmental Disorders.The Lessons From Angelman Syndrome., 2014 University of South Florida
Ube3a Role In Synaptic Plasticity And Neurodevelopmental Disorders.The Lessons From Angelman Syndrome., Irina Filonova
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1:12000 newborns. It is characterized by mental retardation, delayed major motor and cognitive milestones, seizures, absence of speech and excessive laughter. The majority of AS cases arise from deletions or mutations of UBE3A gene located on the chromosome 15q11-13. UBE3A codes for E3-ubiquitin ligase that target specific proteins for degradation. To date, a wide variety of Ube3a substrates has been identified. The accumulation of Ube3a-dependent proteins and their effect on the multitude of signal transduction pathways are` considered the main cause of the AS pathology. While the majority of research …
Computational Design Of The Affinity And Specificity Of A Therapeutic T Cell Receptor, 2014 University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester
Computational Design Of The Affinity And Specificity Of A Therapeutic T Cell Receptor, Brian G. Pierce, Lance M. Hellman, Moushumi Hossain, Nishant K. Singh, Craig W. Vander Kooi, Zhiping Weng, Brian M. Baker
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications
T cell receptors (TCRs) are key to antigen-specific immunity and are increasingly being explored as therapeutics, most visibly in cancer immunotherapy. As TCRs typically possess only low-to-moderate affinity for their peptide/MHC (pMHC) ligands, there is a recognized need to develop affinity-enhanced TCR variants. Previous in vitro engineering efforts have yielded remarkable improvements in TCR affinity, yet concerns exist about the maintenance of peptide specificity and the biological impacts of ultra-high affinity. As opposed to in vitro engineering, computational design can directly address these issues, in theory permitting the rational control of peptide specificity together with relatively controlled increments in affinity. …
The Abcs Of The Ribosome, 2014 The Ohio State University
The Abcs Of The Ribosome, Kurt Fredrick, Michael Ibba
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
An ABC protein that binds the ribosomal exit site suggests a new mechanism for direct regulation of translation in response to changing ATP levels in the cell.
Polymerase Alpha Components Associate With Telomeres To Mediate Overhang Processing, 2014 Graduate Center, City University of New York
Polymerase Alpha Components Associate With Telomeres To Mediate Overhang Processing, Raffaella Diotti
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Telomeres consist of TTAGGG repeats, which end with a 3' G-overhang and are bound by a six-protein complex, known as Shelterin. In humans, telomeres shorten at each cell division, unless telomerase is expressed and able to add telomeric repeats to the 3' G-overhang. However, for effective telomere maintenance, the DNA strand complementary to that made by telomerase must be synthesized. In this study, I focused on the Polα/primase complex, in particular the subunits p68 (POLA2, the regulatory subunit) and p180 (Polα, the catalytic subunit), and their potential roles at telomeres. I was able to detect p180, p68 and OBFC1, a …
The Sex Of The Cell Dictates Its Response, 2014 Graduate Center, City University of New York
The Sex Of The Cell Dictates Its Response, Carlos Ganesh Penaloza
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Male and female differences in frequency of occurrence in disease have perplexed scientists for some time. This in part derives from limitations in the systems in which one can evaluate sex differences. At the organismal level, differences can be hidden by a myriad of extensive and complex factors. Additional limitations exist since most biomedical studies are performed almost exclusively on male subjects, as the female hormonal milieu is intrinsically more variable and too troublesome for routine inclusion in research protocols. Research documenting sex differences continues to grow, and while most researchers suggests that sex hormones are at the core of …