Digital Commons Network^™

Role Of Poly [Adp-Ribose] Polymerase 1 In Retroviral Infection, Vanessa E. Rodriguez ^, Manuel Llano *

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Spring 2012

No abstract provided.

Myelin Gene Expression: Implications For Alcohol Abuse And Dependence, Sean Farris

Theses and Dissertations

Acute behavioral responses to ethanol have predictive value for determining an individual's risk of long-term drinking behavior. Although the neurobiology of alcohol abuse is complex, prior studies from our laboratory demonstrated differential myelin-associated gene expression (MAGE) in medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) as one potential mechanism influencing acute ethanol behaviors between C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) mice. Our laboratory and others have also shown MAGE is reduced in PFC of alcoholics. Herein, I have extended these findings through expression profiling of PFC into chronic models of ethanol self-administration from non-human primates and mice. Together, these results suggest that regulation of MAGE …

Characterization Of Species C Human Adenovirus Serotype 6 (Ad6), Eric A. Weaver, Reeti Khare, Mathew L. Hillestad, Donna Palmer, Philip Ng, Michael A. Barry

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Adenovirus serotype (Ad5) is the most studied Ad. Ad1, 2, and 6 are also members of species C Ad and are presumed to have biologies similar to Ad5. In this work, we have compared the ability of Ad1, 2, 5, and 6 to infect liver and muscle after intravenous and intramuscular injection. We found that Ad6 was surprisingly the most potent at liver gene delivery and that Ad1 and Ad2 were markedly weaker than Ad5 and 6. To understand these differences, we sequenced the Ad6 genome. This revealed that the Ad6 fiber protein is surprisingly three shaft repeats shorter than …

Antioxidant, Antimicrobial Properties And Phenolics Of Different Solvent Extracts From Bark, Leaves And Seeds Of Pongamia Pinnata (L.) Pierre, Zahid Iqbal Sajid, Farooq Anwar, Ghulam Shabir, Ghulam Rasul, Khalid M. Alkharfy, Anwarul Hassan Gilani

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

This study appraises the antioxidant and antimicrobial attributes of various solvent extracts (absolute methanol, aqueous methanol, absolute ethanol, aqueous ethanol, absolute acetone, aqueous acetone, and deionized water) from bark, leaves and seeds of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre. Maximum extraction yield of antioxidant components from bark (16.31%), leaves (11.42%) and seeds (21.51%) of P. pinnata was obtained using aqueous methanol (20:80). Of the extracts tested, the bark extract, obtained with aqueous methanol, exhibited greater levels of total phenolics [6.94 g GAE/100 g dry weight (DW)], total flavonoids (3.44 g CE/100 g DW), inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation (69.23%) and DPPH radical …

Antinociceptive Effects Of Monoamine Reuptake Inhibitors In Assays Of Pain-Stimulated And Pain-Depressed Behaviors, Marisa Rosenberg

Theses and Dissertations

ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECTS OF MONOAMINE REUPTAKE INHIBITORS IN ASSAYS OF PAIN-STIMULATED AND PAIN-DEPRESSED BEHAVIOR By Marisa B. Rosenberg A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Advisor: Sidney Stevens Negus, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Pharmacology/Toxicology Noxious stimuli can produce pain-related stimulation of some behaviors (e.g. withdrawal responses) and depression of other behaviors (e.g. feeding, locomotion, responding maintained by many types of positive reinforcement). Monoamine reuptake inhibitors are used clinically to treat depression and to manage some types of pain. This study examined the antinociceptive properties …

Effects Of Restricted Fructose Access On Body Weight And Blood Pressure Circadian Rhythms, Danielle Senador, Swapnil Vijay Shewale, Maria Claudia Irigoyen, Khalid M. Elased, Mariana Morris

Pharmacology and Toxicology Faculty Publications

High-fructose diet is known to produce cardiovascular and metabolic pathologies. The objective was to determine whether the timing of high fructose (10% liquid solution) intake affect the metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes. Male C57BL mice with radiotelemetric probes were divided into four groups: (1) 24 h water (control); (2) 24 h fructose (F24); (3) 12 h fructose during the light phase (F12L); (4) 12 h fructose during the dark phase (F12D). All fructose groups had higher fluid intake. Body weight was increased in mice on restricted access with no difference in total caloric intake. Fasting glycemia was higher in groups with …

Identification Of Bovine Leukemia Virus Tax Function Associated With Host Cell Transcription, Signaling, Stress Response And Immune Response Pathway By Microarray-Based Gene Expression Analysis., Mariluz Araínga, Eri Takeda, Yoko Aida

Journal Articles: Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience

BACKGROUND: Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is associated with enzootic bovine leukosis and is closely related to human T-cell leukemia virus type I. The Tax protein of BLV is a transcriptional activator of viral replication and a key contributor to oncogenic potential. We previously identified interesting mutant forms of Tax with elevated (TaxD247G) or reduced (TaxS240P) transactivation effects on BLV replication and propagation. However, the effects of these mutations on functions other than transcriptional activation are unknown. In this study, to identify genes that play a role in the cascade of signal events regulated by wild-type and mutant Tax proteins, we …

Heme Oxygenase-1 Regulates The Immune Response To Influenza Virus Infection And Vaccination In Aged Mice, Nathan W. Cummins, Eric A. Weaver, Shannon M. May, Anthony J. Croatt, Oded Foreman, Richard B. Kennedy, Gregory A. Poland, Michael A. Barry, Karl A. Nath, Andrew D. Badley

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

Underlying mechanisms of individual variation in severity of influenza infection and response to vaccination are poorly understood. We investigated the effect of reduced heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression on vaccine response and outcome of influenza infection. HO-1-deficient and wild-type (WT) mice (kingdom, Animalia; phylum, Chordata; genus/species, Mus musculus) were infected with influenza virus A/PR/8/34 with or without prior vaccination with an adenoviral-based influenza vaccine. A genome-wide association study evaluated the expression of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the HO-1 gene and the response to influenza vaccination in healthy humans. HO-1-deficient mice had decreased survival after influenza infection compared to WT mice (median …

Hyccin, The Molecule Mutated In The Leukodystrophy Hypomyelination And Congenital Cataract (Hcc), Is A Neuronal Protein., Elisabetta Gazzerro, Simona Baldassari, Caterina Giacomini, Veronica Musante, Floriana Fruscione, Veronica La Padula, Roberta Biancheri, Sonia Scarfì, Valeria Prada, Federica Sotgia, Ian D Duncan, Federico Zara, Hauke B Werner, Michael P Lisanti, Lucilla Nobbio, Anna Corradi, Carlo Minetti

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

"Hypomyelination and Congenital Cataract", HCC (MIM #610532), is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by congenital cataract and diffuse cerebral and peripheral hypomyelination. HCC is caused by deficiency of Hyccin, a protein whose biological role has not been clarified yet. Since the identification of the cell types expressing a protein of unknown function can contribute to define the physiological context in which the molecule is explicating its function, we analyzed the pattern of Hyccin expression in the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS and PNS). Using heterozygous mice expressing the b-galactosidase (LacZ) gene under control of the Hyccin gene regulatory elements, …

Caveolae, Fenestrae And Transendothelial Channels Retain Pv1 On The Surface Of Endothelial Cells, Eugene Tkachenko, Dan Tse, Olga Sideleva, Sophie J. Deharvengt, Marcus R. Luciano, Yan Xu, Caitlin L. Mcgarry, John Chidlow, Paul F. Pilch, William C. Sessa, Derek K. Toomre, Radu V. Stan

Dartmouth Scholarship

PV1 protein is an essential component of stomatal and fenestral diaphragms, which are formed at the plasma membrane of endothelial cells (ECs), on structures such as caveolae, fenestrae and transendothelial channels. Knockout of PV1 in mice results in in utero and perinatal mortality. To be able to interpret the complex PV1 knockout phenotype, it is critical to determine whether the formation of diaphragms is the only cellular role of PV1. We addressed this question by measuring the effect of complete and partial removal of structures capable of forming diaphragms on PV1 protein level. Removal of caveolae in mice by knocking …

Inverse Relationship Between Psa And Il-8 In Prostate Cancer: An Insight Into A Nf-Κb-Mediated Mechanism, Yong Xu, Daret K. St. Clair, Fang Fang, William H. St. Clair

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is traditionally used as an indicator for the presence of prostate cancer (PCa) and radiotherapy is generally used to treat inoperable and locally advanced PCa. However, how cellular PSA level is associated with sensitivity of PCa to radiotherapy is unknown. The previous finding that the RelB-based NF-κB alternative pathway differentially regulates PSA and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in aggressive PCa has directed our attention to the role of RelB in the response of PCa to radiotherapy.

Methodology/Principal Findings: RelB and its targets PSA and IL-8 in PCa cells were manipulated by ectopic expression in PCa …

Development Of A Humanized Hla-A2.1/Dp4 Transgenic Mouse Model And The Use Of This Model To Map Hla-Dp4-Restricted Epitopes Of Hbv Envelope Protein, Zhitao Ru, Wenjun Xiao, Anthony Pajot, Zhihua Kou, Shihui Sun, Benard Maillere, Guangyu Zhao, David M. Ojcius, Yu-Chun Lone, Yusen Zhou

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

A new homozygous humanized transgenic mouse strain, HLA-A2.1^+/+HLA-DP4^+/+ hCD4^+/+mCD4^−/−IAβ^−/−β2m^−/− (HLA-A2/DP4), was obtained by crossing the previously characterized HLA-A2^+/+β2m−/− (A2) mouse and our previously created HLA-DP4^+/+ hCD4^+/+mCD4^−/−IAβ^−/− (DP4) mouse. We confirmed that the transgenes (HLA-A2, HLA-DP4, hCD4) inherited from the parental A2 and DP4 mice are functional in the HLA-A2/DP4 mice. After immunizing HLA-A2/DP4 mice with a hepatitis B DNA vaccine, hepatitis B virus-specific antibodies, HLA-A2-restricted and HLA-DP4-restricted responses were observed to be similar to those in naturally infected humans. Therefore, the present …

Structural Insights Into Initial And Intermediate Steps Of The Ribosome-Recycling Process, Takeshi Yokoyama, Tanvir R. Shaikh, Nobuhiro Iwakura, Hideko Kaji, Akira Kaji, Rajendra K. Agrawal

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

The ribosome recycling factor (RRF) and elongation factor G (EF-G) disassemble the 70S post-termination complex (PoTC) into mRNA, tRNA, and two ribosomal subunits. We have determined cryo-EM structures of the PoTC•RRF complex, with and without EF-G. We find that domain II of RRF initially interacts with universally conserved residues of the 23S rRNA helices 43 and 95, and protein L11 within the 50S ribosomal subunit. Upon EF-G binding, both RRF and tRNA are driven toward the tRNA-exit (E) site, with a large rotational movement of domain II of RRF toward the 30S ribosomal subunit. During this intermediate step of the …

Conformational Melding Permits A Conserved Binding Geometry In Tcr Recognition Of Foreign And Self Molecular Mimics, Oleg Y. Borbulevych, Kurt H. Piepenbrink, Brian M. Baker

Food for Health: Publications

Molecular mimicry between foreign and self antigens is a mechanism of T cell receptor cross reactivity and is thought to contribute to the development of autoimmunity. The αβ TCR A6 recognizes the foreign antigen Tax from the virus HTLV-1 when presented by the class I MHC HLA-A2. In a possible link with the autoimmune disease HAM/TSP, A6 also recognizes a self peptide from the neuronal protein HuD in the context of HLA-A2. We found here that the complexes of the HuD and Tax epitopes with HLA-A2 are close but imperfect structural mimics, and that in contrast with other recent structures …

Cyclin D1 Induces Chromosomal Instability., Mathew C Casimiro, Richard Pestell

Department of Cancer Biology Faculty Papers

We developed mouse model systems to investigate the potential for cyclin D1 to induce CIN in vivo. In a mammary gland specific Tet-inducible model the acute expression profile regulated by cyclin D1 after 7 days was enriched in genes that rank highly with CIN. We also used a mammary gland targeted model (MMTV) to continuously express cyclin D1. The mice started to develop mammary gland tumors at 400 days and the tumor-free incidence was 40% in MMTV-cyclin D1. The gene expression profile of the tumors showed enrichment for the CIN signature. We next compared cyclin D1 expression and the highest …

Effect Of Maternal Hypoxia On The Cerebral And Cardiac Tissue Remodeling, Wenni Tong

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Large epidemiological studies and animal studies have indicated a clear association of adverse intrauterine environment with an increased incidence of low birth weight, perinatal mortality, and cardiovascular disease in later adult life. In humans, one of the most common stresses in utero is hypoxia. The goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that fetal hypoxia causes reprogramming of MMPs and TIMPs expression patterns and activities leading to aberrant brain and heart development in the fetuses and neonates. In the first part of project, we tested the hypothesis that maternal hypoxia increases the activity of MMPs and decreases the …

The Impact Of Nucleoside Sugar Modification On Biochemical Dna Transactions, Adides Williams

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Discrimination by DNA polymerases controls the fidelity of DNA replication, and reduced fidelity results in mutations essential in the etiology of cancer. Polymerase discrimination operates at both dNTP insertion and subsequent elongation steps, and involves several energetic and structural factors that are as yet incompletely understood. While base pairing interactions have been studied extensively, substantially less is known about the role of sugar structure and conformation for polymerase incorporation and extension. In these studies we examined, systematically, the role of sugar structure and conformation on polymerase selection of the dNTP for insertion and polymerase elongation. To accomplish these goals, we …

Elevating Endogenous Cannabinoids Reduces Opioid Withdrawal In Mice, Divya Ramesh

Theses and Dissertations

Delta9-tetrahydrocannbinol (THC), the primary active constituent of Cannabis sativa, has long been known to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms. Although THC produces most of its pharmacological actions through the activation of CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, the role these receptors play in reducing opioid withdrawal symptoms remains unknown. The endogenous cannabinoids, N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), activate both cannabinoid receptors, but are rapidly metabolized by fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), respectively. The objective of this dissertation was to test whether increasing AEA or 2-AG, via inhibition of their respective hydrolytic enzymes, reduces morphine withdrawal symptoms in …

Molecular Diagnostics: The Changing Culture Of Medical Microbiology, Susan Bullman, Brigid Lucey, Roy D. Sleator

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Diagnostic molecular biology is arguably the fastest growing area in current laboratory-based medicine. Growth of the so called ‘omics’ technologies has, over the last decade, led to a gradual migration away from the ‘one test, one pathogen’ paradigm, toward multiplex approaches to infectious disease diagnosis, which have led to significant improvements in clinical diagnostics and ultimately improved patient care.

Active Site Mutations Change The Cleavage Specificity Of Neprilysin., Travis Sexton, Lisa J. Hitchcook, David W. Rodgers, Luke H. Bradley, Louis B. Hersh

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Neprilysin (NEP), a member of the M13 subgroup of the zinc-dependent endopeptidase family is a membrane bound peptidase capable of cleaving a variety of physiological peptides. We have generated a series of neprilysin variants containing mutations at either one of two active site residues, Phe⁵⁶³ and Ser⁵⁴⁶. Among the mutants studied in detail we observed changes in their activity towards leucine⁵-enkephalin, insulin B chain, and amyloid β_1-40. For example, NEP^F563I displayed an increase in preference towards cleaving leucine⁵-enkephalin relative to insulin B chain, while mutant NEP^S546E was less discriminating …

Early Versus Delayed Decompression For Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Results Of The Surgical Timing In Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (Stascis), Michael G. Fehlings, Alexander Vaccaro, Jefferson R. Wilson, Anoushka Singh, David W. Cadotte, James S. Harrop, Bizhan Aarabi, Christopher Shaffrey, Marcel Dvorak, Charles Fisher, Paul Arnold, Eric M. Massicotte, Stephen Lewis, Raja Rampersaud

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Background: There is convincing preclinical evidence that early decompression in the setting of spinal cord injury (SCI) improves neurologic outcomes. However, the effect of early surgical decompression in patients with acute SCI remains uncertain. Our objective was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of early (,24 hours after injury) versus late ($24 hours after injury) decompressive surgery after traumatic cervical SCI.

Methods: We performed a multicenter, international, prospective cohort study (Surgical Timing in Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study: STASCIS) in adults aged 16–80 with cervical SCI. Enrolment occurred between 2002 and 2009 at 6 North American centers. The primary outcome was …

Pathobiological Implications Of The Expression Of Egfr, Pakt, Nf-Κb And Mic-1 In Prostate Cancer Stem Cells And Their Progenies., Murielle Mimeault, Sonny L. Johansson, Surinder K. Batra

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

The progression of prostate cancers (PCs) to locally invasive, androgen-independent and metastatic disease states is generally associated with treatment resistance and disease relapse. The present study was undertaken to establish the possibility of using a combination of specific oncogenic products, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), pAkt, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) and macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1) as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for optimizing the management of patients with localized PC at earlier disease stages. The immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence data have revealed that the expression levels of EGFR, Ser(473)-pAkt, NF-κB p65 and MIC-1 proteins were significantly enhanced in the same subset of …

Gucy2c Opposes Systemic Genotoxic Tumorigenesis By Regulating Akt-Dependent Intestinal Barrier Integrity, Jieru Egeria Lin, Adam Eugene Snook, Peng Li, Brian Arthur Stoecker, Gilbert Won Kim, Michael Sullivan Magee, Alex Vladimir Mejia Garcia, Michael Anthony Valentino, Terry Hyslop, Stephanie Schulz, Scott Arthur Waldman

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Faculty Papers

The barrier separating mucosal and systemic compartments comprises epithelial cells, annealed by tight junctions, limiting permeability. GUCY2C recently emerged as an intestinal tumor suppressor coordinating AKT1-dependent crypt-villus homeostasis. Here, the contribution of GUCY2C to barrier integrity opposing colitis and systemic tumorigenesis is defined. Mice deficient in GUCY2C (Gucy2c^−/−) exhibited barrier hyperpermeability associated with reduced junctional proteins. Conversely, activation of GUCY2C in mice reduced barrier permeability associated with increased junctional proteins. Further, silencing GUCY2C exacerbated, while activation reduced, chemical barrier disruption and colitis. Moreover, eliminating GUCY2C amplified, while activation reduced, systemic oxidative DNA damage. This genotoxicity was associated …

Heterogeneity In Genetic Diversity Among Non-Coding Loci Fails To Fit Neutral Coalescent Models Of Population History, Jeffrey L. Peters, Trina E. Roberts, Kevin Winker, Kevin G. Mccracken

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Inferring aspects of the population histories of species using coalescent analyses of non-coding nuclear DNA has grown in popularity. These inferences, such as divergence, gene flow, and changes in population size, assume that genetic data reflect simple population histories and neutral evolutionary processes. However, violating model assumptions can result in a poor fit between empirical data and the models. We sampled 22 nuclear intron sequences from at least 19 different chromosomes (a genomic transect) to test for deviations from selective neutrality in the gadwall (Anas strepera), a Holarctic duck. Nucleotide diversity among these loci varied by nearly two …

The Mechanical Behavior Of Mutant K14-R125p Keratin Bundles And Networks In Neb-1 Keratinocytes, Daniel R. Beriault, Oualid Haddad, John V. Mccuaig, Zachary J. Robinson, David Russell, E. Birgitte Lane, Douglas S. Fudge

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS) is an inherited skin-blistering disease that is caused by dominant mutations in the genes for keratin K5 or K14 proteins. While the link between keratin mutations and keratinocyte fragility in EBS patients is clear, the exact biophysical mechanisms underlying cell fragility are not known. In this study, we tested the hypotheses that mutant K14-R125P filaments and/or networks in human keratinocytes are mechanically defective in their response to large-scale deformations. We found that mutant filaments and networks exhibit no obvious defects when subjected to large uniaxial strains and have no negative effects on the ability of human …

Regulation Of A Duplicated Locus: Drosophila Sloppy Paired Is Replete With Functionally Overlapping Enhancers., Miki Fujioka, James B Jaynes

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

In order to investigate regulation and redundancy within the sloppy paired (slp) locus, we analyzed 30 kilobases of DNA encompassing the tandem, coordinately regulated slp1 and slp2 transcription units. We found a remarkable array of stripe enhancers with overlapping activities surrounding the slp1 transcription unit, and, unexpectedly, glial cell enhancers surrounding slp2. The slp stripe regulatory region generates 7 stripes at blastoderm, and later 14 stripes that persist throughout embryogenesis. Phylogenetic analysis among drosophilids suggests that the multiplicity of stripe enhancers did not evolve through recent duplication. Most of the direct integration among cis-regulatory modules appears to be simply additive, …

Catecholamines In The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis Reciprocally Respond To Reward And Aversion, Robert A. Wheeler

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Traditionally, norepinephrine has been associated with stress responses, whereas dopamine has been associated with reward. Both of these catecholamines are found within the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain relay nucleus in the extended amygdala between cortical/limbic centers, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Despite this colocalization, little is known about subsecond catecholamine signaling in subregions of the BNST in response to salient stimuli.

Methods

Changes in extracellular catecholamine concentration in subregions of the BNST in response to salient stimuli were measured within the rat BNST with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry at carbon-fiber microelectrodes.

Results

A discrete subregional distribution …

Dynamics Of Substrate Interactions In Trna (M1g37) Methyltransferase: Implications For Drug Discovery, Maria Kiouppis Palesis

Theses and Dissertations

The bacterial enzyme t-RNA (m1G37) methyltransferase (TrmD) is an ideal anti-microbial drug target since it is found in all eubacteria, serves an essential role during protein synthesis, and shares very little sequence or structural homology with its eukaryotic counterpart, Trm5. TrmD, a homodimeric protein, methylates the G37 nucleotide of tRNA using S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as the methyl donor and thus enables proper codon-anticodon alignment during translation. The two deeply buried binding sites for SAM seen in X-ray crystallography suggest that significant conformational changes must occur for substrate binding and catalytic turnover. Results from molecular dynamics simulations implicate a flexible loop region …

Identification Of Functionally Distinct Traf Proinflammatory And Pi3k/Mek Transforming Activities Emanating From The Ret/Ptc Fusion Oncoprotein, Josephine H.F. Wixted, Jay L. Rothstein, Laurence C. Eisenlohr

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Thyroid carcinomas that harbor RET/PTC oncogenes are well differentiated, relatively benign neoplasms compared with those expressing oncogenic RAS or BRAF mutations despite signaling through shared transforming pathways. A distinction, however, is that RET/PTCs induce immunostimulatory programs, suggesting that, in the case of this tumor type, the additional pro-inflammatory pathway reduces aggressiveness. Here, we demonstrate that pro-inflammatory programs are selectively activated by TRAF2 and TRAF6 association with RET/PTC oncoproteins. Eliminating this mechanism reduces pro-inflammatory cytokine production without decreasing transformation efficiency. Conversely, ablating MEK/ERK or PI3K/AKT signaling eliminates transformation but not pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. Functional uncoupling of the two pathways demonstrates that …

Submicron Bioactive Glass Tubes For Bone Tissue Engineering, Jingwei Xie, Eric Blough, Chi-Hwa Wang

MIIR Faculty Research

Herein we describe a method to fabricate submicron bioactive glass tubes using of sol-gel and co-axial electrospinning techniques for applications in bone tissue engineering. Heavy mineral oil and gel solution were delivered by two independent syringe pumps during the co-axial electrospinning process. Subsequently, submicron bioactive glass tubes were obtained by removal of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and heavy mineral oil via calcination at 600 °C for 5 h. Tubular structure was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging. We examined the bioactivity of submicron bioactive glass tubes and fibers and evaluated their biocompatibility taking electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) …