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The Role Of Gonadal Hormones On Opioid Receptor Protein Density In Arthritic Rats, Matthew Kren

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of research on the endogenous opioid system has focused on various pain assays and the efficacy of different opioid agonists. However, minimal attention has been focused on the effects of gonadal hormones and their impact on the opioid peptide system. The present study was designed to determine the effects of modulation of gonadal hormones on the opioid receptor protein levels in Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA)-treated arthritic and non-arthritic male and female Lewis rats. Midbrain and spinal cord tissues were collected for comparison of the μ, δ, and κ receptor protein levels in arthritic and non-arthritic animals. Male gonadectomy …

A Critical Review Of Telomerase Biology And Model Systems For The Study Of Telomerase, Jeremy Charles Aisenberg

Theses and Dissertations

The study of telomere and telomerase biology holds substantial promise in uncovering the molecular process of aging and the treatment of cancers. Studies have shown that telomere shortening is directly linked to cellular aging and that telomerase expression is found in over 85% of human cancers, including 95% of all advanced malignancies. Development of effective model systems to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of telomeres and telomerase in the processes aging and cancer is of particular importance. While inbred strains of mice have provided a wealth of information for a variety of pathways and diseases, the mouse model …

Faculty Publications 2005, Lsu Health Sciences Center New Orleans

Historical Faculty Publications

This Faculty bibliography contains 952 publications.

Smc3 Knockdown Triggers Genomic Instability And P53-Dependent Apoptosis In Human And Zebrafish Cells., Giancarlo Ghiselli

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The structural maintenance of chromosome 3 (SMC3) protein is a constituent of a number of nuclear multimeric protein complexes that are involved in DNA recombination and repair in addition to chromosomal segregation. Overexpression of SMC3 activates a tumorigenic cascade through which mammalian cells acquire a transformed phenotype. This has led us to examine in depth how SMC3 level affects cell growth and genomic stability. In this paper the effect of SMC3 knockdown has been investigated. RESULTS: Mammalian cells that are SMC3 deficient fail to expand in a clonal population. In order to shed light on the underlying mechanism, experiments …

No Vaccine Against Hiv Yet--Are We Not Perfectly Equipped?, Mahender Singh

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Enormous effort has been devoted to the development of a vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). But it is proving to be an unprecedented challenge to create an effective vaccine mainly due to the high genetic variability of the virus and the necessity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) for containing the infection. Currently pursued vaccine strategies appear to induce CTL in nonhuman primate models but in the early clinical trials, these strategies fail to fully control the viral infection. New strategies that can cover the vast genetic diversity of HIV are needed for the development of a potent vaccine.

Orally Delivered, Plant-Produced Tat Protein Primes Mice For A Challenge Dna Vaccine Expressing Tat, A V. Karasev, S Foulke, C Wellens, I Zwierzynski, R Baldwin, H Koprowski, M S. Reitz Jr

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Oral Presentation.

The Effects Of Usda Farm-Bill Restoration Programs On Prairie Voles (Microtus Ochrogaster) In The Barrens Region Of Kentucky, Jestin Clark

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Much of the area that is now west-central Kentucky historically existed as grass dominated ecosystems. Unfortunately, most of those grasslands are gone due mostly to disturbance suppression and conversion to agricultural lands. Federal, state, and nongovernmental agencies have, particularly within the last several decades, undertaken the responsibility and goal of preserving and attempting to restore many of North America's lost grasslands. The USDA in conjunction with local landowners has initiated the CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) and the CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program); two popular farm bill-based conservation programs. Among the many conservation practices that these programs fund is grassland restoration. …

Mechanisms Of Hbo-Induced Neuroprotection In A Neonatal Hypoxia-Ischemia Model, John Winter Calvert

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

With an incidence approaching 1/4000 live births and as high as 60% in low birth weight infants, cerebral hypoxia-ischemia during the perinatal period is the single most important cause of acute mortality and chronic disability in newborns. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that following a hypoxic-ischemic insult hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment can restore high energy metabolite levels in the affected regions of the brain and through this increase in energy levels ameliorate the spread of cell death following the insult. We also investigated if an additional mechanism by which HBO affords its neuroprotection is by altering the expression of the …

The Caenorhabditis Elegans Heterochronic Regulator Lin-14 Is A Novel Transcription Factor That Controls The Developmental Timing Of Transcription From The Insulin/Insulin-Like Growth Factor Gene Ins-33 By Direct Dna Binding, Marta Hristova, Darcy Birse, Yang Hong, Victor Ambros

Dartmouth Scholarship

A temporal gradient of the novel nuclear protein LIN-14 specifies the timing and sequence of stage-specific developmental events in Caenorhabditis elegans. The profound effects of lin-14 mutations on worm development suggest that LIN-14 directly or indirectly regulates stage-specific gene expression. We show that LIN-14 can associate with chromatin in vivo and has in vitro DNA binding activity. A bacterially expressed C-terminal domain of LIN-14 was used to select DNA sequences that contain a putative consensus binding site from a pool of randomized double-stranded oligonucleotides. To identify candidates for genes directly regulated by lin-14, we employed DNA microarray hybridization to compare …

Seventeen Amino Acid Peptide (Peptide P) For Treating Ischemia And Reperfusion Injury, Peter R. Oeltgen, Mark S. Kindy

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Patents

Peptide P, having the amino acid sequence Tyr-D-Ala-Phe-Ala-Asp-Val-Ala-Ser-Thr-Ile-Gly-Asp-Phe-His-Ser-Ile-NH2-SEQ ID NO:1, is useful to treat ischemia.

Mammalian Micrornas: A Small World For Fine-Tuning Gene Expression, Cinzia Sevignani, George A. Calin, Linda D. Siracusa, Carlo M. Croce

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

The basis of eukaryotic complexity is an intricate genetic architecture where parallel systems are involved in tuning gene expression, via RNA-DNA, RNA-RNA and RNA-protein and DNA-protein interactions. In higher organisms, about 97% of the transcriptional output is represented by non-coding RNA (ncRNA) encompassing not only rRNA, tRNA, introns, 5’ and 3’-untranslated regions, transposable elements and intergenic regions, but also a large rapidly emerging family, named microRNAs. MicroRNAs are short 20-22 nucleotide RNA molecules that have been shown to regulate the expression of other genes in a variety of eukaryotic systems. MicroRNAs are formed from larger transcripts that fold to produce …

Effects Of Gramicidin-A On The Adsorption Of Phospholipids To The Air–Water Interface, Samares C. Biswas, Shankar B. Rananavare, Stephen B. Hall

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prior studies suggest that the hydrophobic surfactant proteins, SP-B and SP-C, promote adsorption of the lipids in pulmonary surfactant to an air–water interface by stabilizing a negatively curved rate-limiting structure that is intermediate between bilayer vesicles and the surface film. This model predicts that other peptides capable of stabilizing negative curvature should also promote lipid adsorption. Previous reports have shown that under appropriate conditions, gramicidin-A (GrA) induces dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC), but not dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC), to form the negatively curved hexagonal-II (HII) phase. The studies reported here determined if GrA would produce the same effects on adsorption of DMPC and …

Encephalopathy Caused By Bartonella Henselae Following Cat Scratch, Joseph L. Yozviak Do, Facp, John Margraf Md, Marcelo Gareca Md

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Which Drugs Cause Cancer?, Andrew Knight, Jarrod Bailey, Jonathan Balcombe

Experimentation Collection

Animal tests yield misleading results.

Do Inhalation General Anesthetic Drugs Induce The Neuronal Release Of Endogenous Opioid Peptides?, Raymond M. Quock, Linda K. Vaughn

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The antagonism of some effects of inhalation general anesthetic agents by naloxone suggests that there may be an opioid component to anesthetic action. There is evidence that this opioid action component is due to neuronal release of endogenous opioid peptides. The strongest evidence is provided by studies that monitor changes in the concentration of opioid peptides in the perfused brain following inhalation of the anesthetic. Indirect or circumstantial evidence also comes from studies of anesthetic effects on regional brain levels of opioid peptides, antagonism of selected anesthetic effects by antisera to opioid peptides and anesthetic-induced changes radioligand binding to opioid …

Murine Monoclonal Anti-Idiotype Antibody 11d10 And Methods Of Use Thereof, Malaya Chatterjee, Kenneth A. Foon, Sunil K. Chatterjee

Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics Faculty Patents

The present invention provides a monoclonal anti-idiotype antibody 11D10 that elicits an immune response against a specific epitope of a high molecular weight mucin of human milk fat globule (HMFG) and a hybridoma that produces 11D10. The hybridoma that produces 11D10 was selected by specific procedures. 11D10 induces an immunological response to HMFG in nice, rabbits, monkeys and patients with advanced HMFG-associated tumors. This invention provides compositions derived from polynucleotide sequences encoding the variable light and/or variable heavy regions of monoclonal anti-idiotype antibody 11D10, as well as polypeptides encoded thereby. The invention also provides compositions which can be used in …

Selective Role For Superoxide In Insp3 Receptor-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction And Endothelial Apoptosis., Muniswamy Madesh, Brian J Hawkins, Tatyana Milovanova, Cunnigaiper D Bhanumathy, Suresh K Joseph, Satish P Ramachandrarao, Kumar Sharma, Tomohiro Kurosaki, Aron B Fisher

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a divergent role in both cell survival and cell death during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and associated inflammation. In this study, ROS generation by activated macrophages evoked an intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) transient in endothelial cells that was ablated by a combination of superoxide dismutase and an anion channel blocker. [Ca2+]i store depletion, but not extracellular Ca2+ chelation, prevented [Ca2+]i elevation in response to O2*- that was inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) dependent, and cells lacking the three InsP3 receptor (InsP3R) isoforms failed to display the [Ca2+]i transient. Importantly, the O2*--triggered Ca2+ mobilization preceded a loss in mitochondrial membrane …

A Drosophila Deg/Enac Channel Subunit Is Required For Male Response To Female Pheromones, Heping Lin, Kevin J. Mann, Elena Starostina, Ronald D. Kinser, Claudio W. Pikielny

Dartmouth Scholarship

Odorants and pheromones as well as sweet- and bitter-tasting small molecules are perceived through activation of G protein-coupled chemosensory receptors. In contrast, gustatory detection of salty and sour tastes may involve direct gating of sodium channels of the DEG/ENaC family by sodium and hydrogen ions, respectively. We have found that ppk25, a Drosophila melanogaster gene encoding a DEG/ENaC channel subunit, is expressed at highest levels in the male appendages responsible for gustatory and olfactory detection of female pheromones: the legs, wings, and antennae. Mutations in the ppk25 gene reduce or even abolish male courtship response to females in the dark, …

Angiogenesis And Myogenesis In A Chronic Ischemic Heart., Esha Ibrahim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Miniswine underwent procedures to evaluate treating chronic ischemia with the implantation of autologous satellite cells and laser transmyocardial revascularization (TMR). The objective was to combine two therapies to restore cardiac function. This experiment involved three surgical procedures: (1) placing a constrictor on the coronary artery; (2) producing channels and implanting cells; (3) obtaining samples. The swine were divided into groups: Group 1, Ischemia; Group 2, Ischemia + Laser TMR; Group 3, Ischemia + Laser TMR+ Cells; Group 4, Ischemia + Cells. Sonomicrometry and Millar pressure transducers were used to determine contractility, left ventricular pressure, and pressure-volume loops. There were no …

C-Jun N-Terminal Kinase (Jnk) Is Required For Survival And Proliferation Of B-Lymphoma Cells, Murali Gururajan, Roger Chui, Anbu K. Karuppannan, Jiyuan Ke, C. Darrell Jennings, Subbarao Bondada

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Several primary murine and human B lymphomas and cell lines were found to constitutively express high levels of the activated form of c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), a member of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family. Proliferation of murine B lymphomas CH31, CH12.Lx, BKS-2, and WEHI-231 and the human B lymphomas BJAB, RAMOS, RAJI, OCI-Ly7, and OCI-Ly10 was strongly inhibited by SP600125, an anthrapyrazolone inhibitor of JNK, in a dose-dependent manner. The lymphoma cells underwent apoptosis and arrested at the G2/M phase of cell cycle. Furthermore, JNK-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited the growth of both murine and human B lymphomas. …

Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Is Critical For Ischemic Remodeling, Mural Cell Recruitment, And Blood Flow Reserve, Jun Yu, Ebu D. Demuinck, Zhenwu Zhuang, Mary Drinane

Dartmouth Scholarship

The genetic loss of endothelial-derived nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in mice impairs vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and ischemia-initiated blood flow recovery resulting in critical limb ischemia. This result may occur through impaired arteriogenesis, angiogenesis, or mobilization of stem and progenitor cells. Here, we show that after ischemic challenge, eNOS knockout mice [eNOS (-/-)] have defects in arteriogenesis and functional blood flow reserve after muscle stimulation and pericyte recruitment, but no impairment in endothelial progenitor cell recruitment. More importantly, the defects in blood flow recovery, clinical manifestations of ischemia, ischemic reserve capacity, and pericyte recruitment into the growing neovasculature can …

Flow Reversal Events Increase The Abundance Of Nontroglobitic Fish In The Subterranean Rivers Of Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, Michael Ruhl

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP) is home to the longest cave system in the World and is dissected by the Green River, one of the most speciose watersheds on the continent. Cave springs create a direct aquatic link between subterranean waterways and the Green River. The history of these subterranean river systems is filled with eyewitness reports of various species of surface water (nontroglobitic) fishes, including introduced rainbow trout. This study documents the occurrence of Green River fish species in the cave system of MCNP. Four sites were sampled over a two year period using a variety of gears. In …

Resting Potential–Dependent Regulation Of The Voltage Sensitivity Of Sodium Channel Gating In Rat Skeletal Muscle In Vivo, Gregory N. Filatov, Martin J. Pinter, Mark M. Rich

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology Faculty Publications

Normal muscle has a resting potential of −85 mV, but in a number of situations there is depolarization of the resting potential that alters excitability. To better understand the effect of resting potential on muscle excitability we attempted to accurately simulate excitability at both normal and depolarized resting potentials. To accurately simulate excitability we found that it was necessary to include a resting potential–dependent shift in the voltage dependence of sodium channel activation and fast inactivation. We recorded sodium currents from muscle fibers in vivo and found that prolonged changes in holding potential cause shifts in the voltage dependence of …

Factors Affecting Distribution And Abundance Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates In Autumnal Wetlands In Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, Usa, Jered Studinski

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Despite a recent surge of interest in temporary lentic systems, a strong theory linking the biota to its environment has not emerged. Data were collected from ten autumnal wetlands at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, U.S.A., in an effort to elucidate the environmental variables (EV's) that affected both between- and within-pond macroinvertebrate distribution and abundance. Canonical correspondence analyses performed with between-pond data failed to find strong relationships between the macroinvertebrates and EV's. Additionally, the theory that hydroperiod would effect richness did not apply to these ponds. Within-pond canonical correspondence analyses, however, yielded strong relationships. Further testing using regression analysis and …

Implications Of Spatial Autocorrelation And Dispersal For The Modeling Of Species Distributions, Volker Bahn

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Modeling the geographical distributions of wildlife species is important for ecology and conservation biology. Spatial autocorrelation in species distributions poses a problem for distribution modeling because it invalidates the assumption of independence among sample locations. I explored the prevalence and causes of spatial autocorrelation in data from the Breeding Bird Survey, covering the conterminous United States, using Regression Trees, Conditional Autoregressive Regressions (CAR), and the partitioning of variance. I also constructed a simulation model to investigate dispersal as a process contributing to spatial autocorrelation, and attempted to verify the connection between dispersal and spatial autocorrelation in species’ distributions in empirical …

Experimental Ocular Toxoplasmosis In Genetically Susceptible And Resistant Mice, Fangli Lu, Shiguang Huang, Mark S. Hu, Lloyd H. Kasper

Dartmouth Scholarship

Genetic factors determining the pathogenesis and course of ocular toxoplasmosis are poorly understood. In this study, we explored the development of experimental ocular pathogenesis in genetically dissimilar mice infected with either the RH strain, the PLK strain, or the immunodominant surface antigen 1 (SAG1 [P30])-deficient mutant of the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii. At 11 days postinfection, ocular infection of C57BL/6 mice with all of the strains of parasites resulted in severe inflammatory lesions and high numbers of parasites in eye tissue; less severe ocular lesions at earlier histopathology and prolonged survival were observed in this mouse strain infected …

Tcpf Is A Soluble Colonization Factor And Protective Antigen Secreted By El Tor And Classical O1 And O139 Vibrio Cholerae Serogroups, Thomas J. Kirn, Ronald K. Taylor

Dartmouth Scholarship

Vibrio cholerae causes diarrhea by colonizing the human small bowel and intoxicating epithelial cells. Colonization is a required step in pathogenesis, and strains defective for colonization are significantly attenuated. The best-characterized V. cholerae colonization factor is the toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP). It has been demonstrated that TCP is required for V. cholerae colonization in both humans and mice. TCP enhances bacterial interactions that allow microcolony formation and thereby promotes survival in the intestine. We have recently discovered that the TCP biogenesis apparatus also serves as a secretion system, mediating the terminal step in the extracellular secretion pathway of TcpF. TcpF was …

Heparin Stimulates Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Formation, Robert M. Q. Shanks, Niles P. Donegan, Martha L. Graber, Sarah E. Buckingham, Michael Zegans, Ambrose Cheung, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

Heparin, known for its anticoagulant activity, is commonly used in catheter locks. Staphylococcus aureus, a versatile human and animal pathogen, is commonly associated with catheter-related bloodstream infections and has evolved a number of mechanisms through which it adheres to biotic and abiotic surfaces. We demonstrate that heparin increased biofilm formation by several S. aureus strains. Surface coverage and the kinetics of biofilm formation were stimulated, but primary attachment to the surface was not affected. Heparin increased S. aureus cell-cell interactions in a protein synthesis-dependent manner. The addition of heparin rescued biofilm formation of hla, ica, and sarA …

A Role For Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (Erk1/2) Activation And Non-Selective Pore Formation In P2x7 Receptor-Mediated Thymocyte Death, Rodolphe Auger, Iris Motta, Karim Benihoud, David M. Ojcius, Jean M. Kanellopoulos

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Extracellular ATP (ATPe) binds to P2X7 receptors (P2X7R) expressed on the surface of cells of hematopoietic lineage, including murine thymocytes. Activation of P2X7R by ATPe results in the opening of cation-specific channels, and prolonged ATPe exposure leads to the formation of non-selective pores enabling transmembrane passage of solutes up to 900 Da. In the presence of ATPe, P2X7R-mediated thymocyte death is due primarily to necrosis/lysis and not apoptosis, as measured by the release of lactate dehydrogenase indicative of a loss of plasma membrane integrity. The present study is focused on the identification of P2X7R signaling mediators in ATP-induced thymocyte necrosis/lysis. …

Therapeutic Electromagnetic Field (Temf) And Gamma Irradiation On Human Breast Cancer Xenograft Growth, Angiogenesis And Metastasis, Ivan L. Cameron, Luzhe Sun, Nicholas Short, W. Elaine Hardman, C. Douglas Williams

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background

The effects of a rectified semi-sinewave signal (15 mT amplitude, 120 pulses per second, EMF Therapeutics, Inc.) (TEMF) alone and in combination with gamma irradiation (IR) therapy in nude mice bearing a human MDA MB231 breast cancer xenograft were tested. Green fluorescence protein transfected cancer cells were injected into the mammary fat pad of young female mice. Six weeks later, mice were randomly divided into four treatment groups: untreated controls; 10 minute daily TEMF; 200 cGy of IR every other day (total 800 cGy); IR plus daily TEMF. Some mice in each group were euthanized 24 hours after the …