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Molecular Mechanisms Of Amphetamine Abuse, Samuel James Mabry Jan 2023

Molecular Mechanisms Of Amphetamine Abuse, Samuel James Mabry

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Amphetamine (AMPH), a psychostimulant commonly prescribed for the treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, has a high liability for abuse. The stimulant properties of AMPH are primarily associated with its ability to increase dopamine (DA) neurotransmission. This increase is mediated by non-vesicular DA release (DA efflux). This DA efflux is the result of the reversal of the DA transporter (DAT), which is promoted by AMPH. Syntaxin 1 (Stx1), a SNARE protein, interacts with the DAT N-terminus. Stx1 is phosphorylated at Ser14 by casein kinase II (CK2). This phosphorylation site contributes to the DAT/Stx1 interaction and is critical for allowing DAT …

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Effects Of Dietary R, S-1, 3-Butanediol Diacetoacetate On Components Of Energy Balance And Hepatic Health, Kelsey A. Rushing Jan 2023

Effects Of Dietary R, S-1, 3-Butanediol Diacetoacetate On Components Of Energy Balance And Hepatic Health, Kelsey A. Rushing

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Objective: Exogenous ketone administration presents a possible treatment strategy for obesity and obesity-related diseases. The exogenous ketone ester, R,S-1,3-butanediol diacetoacetate (BD-AcAc2) decreases adiposity and hepatic steatosis in high-fat dietinduced obese mice. In our previous work, carbohydrate energy was removed and replaced with the ketone ester to produce isocaloric diets. The current investigation aimed to determine whether BD-AcAc2 decreases markers of hepatic steatosis and inflammation in lean mice on a high-fat, high-sugar (HFHS) diet without removing carbohydrate energy. Methods: Sixteen 11-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomized to one of two groups for 9 weeks (n = 8 per group): 1) Control …

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Plasticity Characteristics Of Cxcr5+ Cd4+ T Memory Cells And Cxcr5- Non-Tfh Memory Cells, Ching-En Lee Jan 2023

Plasticity Characteristics Of Cxcr5+ Cd4+ T Memory Cells And Cxcr5- Non-Tfh Memory Cells, Ching-En Lee

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iv ability to differentiate into CXCR5- and CXCR5+ effector cells between the CCR7- and CCR7+ CXCR5+ CD4+ T memory cells, between WT and μMT CXCR5+ CD4+ T memory cells, as well as between Bcl6- and Bcl6+ CXCR5- non-Tfh memory cells. This finding did not support the hypothesis that the heterogeneous characteristics within CXCR5- non-Tfh memory cells and CXCR5+ CD4+ T memory cells significantly affect their abilities to differentiate into CXCR5- and CXCR5+ effector cells during recall responses.

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An In Vitro Assessment Of The Antibacterial Activity, Biocompatibility, And Mineralization Inducing Potential Of Biodentine®Xp, Chandani Arjun Mantri Jan 2023

An In Vitro Assessment Of The Antibacterial Activity, Biocompatibility, And Mineralization Inducing Potential Of Biodentine®Xp, Chandani Arjun Mantri

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the in-vitro antibacterial activity, biocompatibility, and mineralization-inducing potential of Biodentine® XP. Methods: Four contemporary pulp capping materials, namely Dycal®, a calcium hydroxide, Theracal® LC, a resin calcium silicate and, tricalcium silicates namely Biodentine®, and Biodentine® XP were compared in the study. The antibacterial activity of the pulp capping materials included in the study was evaluated against Streptococcus mutans UA159 and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and were determined by the direct culture test. The biocompatibility of these materials in preodontoblastic 17IIA11 cells were compared by the MTT assay and mineralization-inducing potential in …

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Optimization Of Progranulin Gene Therapy, A Potential Treatment For Frontotemporal Dementia, Shreya Natesh Kashyap Jan 2023

Optimization Of Progranulin Gene Therapy, A Potential Treatment For Frontotemporal Dementia, Shreya Natesh Kashyap

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Heterozygous loss of function mutations in the progranulin gene cause frontotemporal dementia, characterized by deficits in social behavior, language comprehension and motor function. Almost every frontotemporal dementia-related progranulin mutation is loss of function and results in progranulin haploinsufficiency. For this reason, progranulin replacement is a conceptually straightforward therapeutic strategy for patients with frontotemporal dementia caused by progranulin mutations. Here, we outline progranulin biology, progranulin deficient mouse models of frontotemporal dementia and preclinical interventions centered around increasing brain progranulin levels. We have demonstrated that blocking the progranulin C-terminus, which harbors the sortilin binding site, improves the cross-correctional capacity of neurotropic progranulin …

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Spatial/Temporal Zonation, Diversification, And Evolutionary Conservation Of Kidney Resident Macrophage Subpopulations In Mice And Humans After Kidney Injury, Elise Nicole Erman Jan 2023

Spatial/Temporal Zonation, Diversification, And Evolutionary Conservation Of Kidney Resident Macrophage Subpopulations In Mice And Humans After Kidney Injury, Elise Nicole Erman

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In the United States, acute kidney injury (AKI) affects nearly 20% of all intensive care unit patients. Additionally, over a third of Americans aged 50 or older suffer from stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD) or higher. AKI and CKD are encompassing terms for many etiologies and pathological processes that affect different regions of the kidney but converge at tissue inflammation and fibrosis. Macrophages perform vital homeostatic functions and can initiate or ameliorate inflammation and fibrosis. As the largest component of the kidney immune system, kidney resident macrophages (KRMs) have been implicated in both disease propagation and mitigation, yet the …

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Inkjet-Printed Reseroir Computing Network For In Situ Sensor Predictions, Steven D. Gardner Jan 2023

Inkjet-Printed Reseroir Computing Network For In Situ Sensor Predictions, Steven D. Gardner

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The technological achievements made with silicon-based transistors have led to nearly all the computing seen today, complete with benefits such as maximized operating speeds, parallel/tensor processing, minimized power overhead, etc. The silicon electronics industry is foundational to scientific progression with its profound impact on modeling, simulations, and fast/reliable computing. However, silicon-based transistors have evolved to meet their physical limitations and have saturated fields of innovation. New fields in computing outside of silicon-based methods have emerged as exotic materials enter the research domain. The suite of super-performing materials like Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes, and Molybdenum Disulfide have chaotic, non-linear behaviors that make …

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Impact Of Streptococcus Parasanguinis-Generated Reactive Nitrogen Species On Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Virulence And The Host Response, Joshua J. Baty Jan 2023

Impact Of Streptococcus Parasanguinis-Generated Reactive Nitrogen Species On Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Virulence And The Host Response, Joshua J. Baty

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Streptococcus parasanguinis is an oral commensal bacterium that produces hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide can react with endogenous molecules such as nitrite to form reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI). These S. parasanguinis-mediated RNI have been shown to inhibit oral pathogens such as Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. As such, S. parasanguinis plays a protective role in the oral microbial ecosystem by antagonizing and preventing colonization by oral pathogens. In addition to being an important organism for the health of the oral cavity, S. parasanguinis has also been associated with improved outcomes for people with cystic fibrosis. There are two explanations …

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Exploring The Regulatory Mechanisms Of Ire1 Signaling In Biotic And Abiotic Stress Responses In Arabidopsis, Taiaba Afrin Jan 2023

Exploring The Regulatory Mechanisms Of Ire1 Signaling In Biotic And Abiotic Stress Responses In Arabidopsis, Taiaba Afrin

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Given their immobility, plants have various survival strategies, including the critical ability to recognize and respond to stressors. Exposure to different environmental and intracellular signals triggers significant modifications in stress response regulators' expression. These changes often occur in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where a rise in protein synthesis can overwhelm the system, accumulating misfolded proteins and activating a mechanism known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). UPR is a complex regulatory network with three primary branches in eukaryotic systems. The IRE1-mediated pathway is the most conserved among UPR signaling branches. In Arabidopsis, IRE1 splices bZIP60 mRNA and produces a functional …

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Gain Of Keratinized Muscosa Around Dental Implants Using A Combination Of Strip Gingival Graft And Acellular Dermal Matrix - A Prospective Case Study, Louai Haddad Jan 2023

Gain Of Keratinized Muscosa Around Dental Implants Using A Combination Of Strip Gingival Graft And Acellular Dermal Matrix - A Prospective Case Study, Louai Haddad

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Several surgical techniques have been described to increase keratinized tissue (KT) around implants and teeth. Despite various methods, the bulk of evidence reported that the use of keratinized autogenous graft (i.e., Free Gingival Grafts (FGG)), harvested from the patient’s palate, remained the gold standard in soft tissue augmentation procedures and provided more predictable results. However, soft tissue autograft supply can be limited, and its harvesting is associated by increased patient morbidity. Several clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of using allogenic soft tissue grafts such as Acellular Dermal Matrix Allograft (ADMA) instead of FGG to augment keratinized tissue (KT). This …

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Pharmacologic Proteasome Activators Ameliorate Alzheimer's-Like Pathology In Ad Fly Models, Mehar Bano Jan 2023

Pharmacologic Proteasome Activators Ameliorate Alzheimer's-Like Pathology In Ad Fly Models, Mehar Bano

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The proteasome is a large multi-subunit protease responsible for the degradation and removal of oxidized, misfolded, and polyubiquitinated proteins. The proteasome plays a critical role in nervous system processes. This includes the maintenance of cellular homeostasis in neurons (1). It also includes synaptic efficacy and plasticity as well as protein turnover, presynaptic vesicle transport, and neuronal protesostasis. Proteasome function is impaired as a consequence of aging, which is aggravated by conditions like Alzheimer's Disease and Related-Dementias (AD, ADRD) (2). According to earlier work from our lab the proteasome is critical to how quickly AD progresses. In Drosophila, human cells, and …

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The Role Of Runx2 And Sp7 In Ameloblast Differentiation And Postnasal Enamel Synthesis, Reem Alhefdhi Jan 2023

The Role Of Runx2 And Sp7 In Ameloblast Differentiation And Postnasal Enamel Synthesis, Reem Alhefdhi

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In mammals, the mineralized tissues include bone, dentin, enamel, and cementum. Runx2 and its downstream target Sp7 are essential transcription factors for the osteoblast differentiation and formation of bone tissue. However, transcription factors that regulate ameloblast differentiation and enamel secretion are less understood. To uncover the role of Runx2 and Sp7 in ameloblasts differentiation and enamel synthesis, we established a colony of Runx2 and Sp7 floxed mice. Both genes were deleted specifically in ameloblasts using K14-Cre transgenic mice. The successful deletion of Runx2 and Sp7 genes in the epithelium, including ameloblasts, was confirmed using Td-Tomato and GFP reporter, respectively. Histological …

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Investigating The Electrostatics Of Mucins As Key Contributors To Mucus Stasis In Cystic Fibrosis, Elex Skylar Rose Jan 2023

Investigating The Electrostatics Of Mucins As Key Contributors To Mucus Stasis In Cystic Fibrosis, Elex Skylar Rose

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Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, which encodes a channel responsible for the transport of chloride and bicarbonate ions across the apical cell surface. In the respiratory tract, defective CFTR results in viscous and adherent mucus that becomes static within the airway, which leads to chronic infections, progressive lung damage, and early mortality. Historically, CF mucus stasis has been attributed to significant airway dehydration; however, growing evidence has demonstrated that aberrant electrostatic properties of mucins also contribute to mucus stasis in CF. Mucins are large, polymeric glycoproteins …

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Cardiomyocyte-Specific Modified Mrna For Myocardial Regeneration In A Porcine Myocardial Infarction Model, Jiacheng Sun Jan 2023

Cardiomyocyte-Specific Modified Mrna For Myocardial Regeneration In A Porcine Myocardial Infarction Model, Jiacheng Sun

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The inability of adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs) to undergo cell renewal following ischemic injury stands as a major impediment to heart function recovery and contributes to heart failure (HF). Current therapeutic approaches do not offer an effective approach of reactivating CM cell division to prevent HF in humans. Recognizing this challenge, gene therapy has emerged as a promising approach to promote CM proliferation and enhance cardiac repair. A particularly notable approach is the utilization of modified mRNA (modRNA), which provides a safe, controlled, transient, non-viral, and clinically relevant means of gene delivery. The study was conducted using a novel cardiomyocyte …

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The Genetic Epidemiology Of Complex Lung Diseases, Ava Claire Wilson Jan 2023

The Genetic Epidemiology Of Complex Lung Diseases, Ava Claire Wilson

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This research utilizes precision medicine techniques to advance our understanding of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) with the overall goal of improving the etiology of and identifying molecular targets and pathways in COPD and IPF to help improve patient outcomes. We aimed to 1) identify novel drug targets and uncover potential mechanisms by which pirfenidone and nintedanib attenuate fibrosis by performing an integrative ‘omics analysis of transcriptomics and proteomic responses to TGFb1-stimulated lung fibroblasts; 2) define a skeletal muscle fiber shift phenotype in both males and females with COPD and begin to disentangle underlying mechanisms …

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Mechanisms Linking The Circadian Clock To Cardiac Physiology, Lamario J. Williams Jan 2023

Mechanisms Linking The Circadian Clock To Cardiac Physiology, Lamario J. Williams

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Rationale: Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in America. Many aspects of both cardiovascular physiology (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate) and pathophysiology (e.g., myocardial infarctions, sudden cardiac death) exhibit time-of-day dependent fluctuations (termed diurnal variations). Circadian clocks consist of transcriptional feedback cascades directly modulating expression of genes involved in processes such as metabolism, signaling, and ion transport. Interestingly, genetic deletion of a core circadian clock component in the heart (cardiomyocyte-specific Bmal1 knockout mice) leads to chronic induction of the transcriptional repressor E4 Promoter-Binding Protein 4 (E4BP4) associated with early-onset dilated cardiomyopathy, metabolic inflexibility, and electrophysiologic disturbances. …

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Investigating The P53 Tumor-Suppressive Network And The Dynamics/Mechanism Of P53 Loss Of Heterozygosity, Jun Wang Jan 2023

Investigating The P53 Tumor-Suppressive Network And The Dynamics/Mechanism Of P53 Loss Of Heterozygosity, Jun Wang

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Tumor suppressor gene TP53 is the most frequently mutated gene across human cancers (~50%). Patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) who carry germline p53 mutations exhibit a diverse spectrum of childhood- and adult-onset malignancies. Despite over 40 years of dedicated studies to understand the role of p53 in tumor prevention, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the underlying mechanisms of p53. Previous studies have supported the notion that p53 exerts its tumor-suppressive function through its transcriptional activities. Therefore, strategies to enhance p53’s functions in tumor suppression via manipulating of downstream target gene activities in cancers show promising. To better investigate …

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Characterization And Application Of Radiolabeled Peptides For Pet Imaging Of Cd206 Positive Macrophages In Cancer, Candace Ciera Parker Jan 2023

Characterization And Application Of Radiolabeled Peptides For Pet Imaging Of Cd206 Positive Macrophages In Cancer, Candace Ciera Parker

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Positron emission tomography (PET) is a form of molecular imaging that allows for a noninvasive assessment of physiologic information by utilizing radioactive contrast agents. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are large phagocytic cells that play numerous roles in cancer biology and are an important component of the relationship between immune system response and tumor progression. Macrophages are broadly classified into two main groups with differing roles in immune defense and immune surveillance: classically activated macrophages (M1-like) and alternatively activated macrophages (M2-like). TAMs can influence chemoresistance, immune regulation, tumor initiation, and tumor growth, both directly and indirectly, and the presence of TAMS can …

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Examining Associations Between Sources Of Stress And Experimental Pain Sensitivity In Pediatric Patients With Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders, Corinne Taylor Evans Jan 2023

Examining Associations Between Sources Of Stress And Experimental Pain Sensitivity In Pediatric Patients With Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders, Corinne Taylor Evans

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Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) are one of the most common pain complaints among children and adolescents. Research demonstrates a relationship between multiple sources of stress and pain responses. However, research has not yet explored the role of stress in pain processing and sensitivity in youth with FAPDs. Thus, the present study aimed to examine associations between biopsychosocial sources of stress and experimental pain sensitivity in pediatric patients with FAPDs. Additionally, racial differences in clinical and experimental pain responses were explored. Analytical findings did not support hypotheses as the biological, social, and psychological sources of stress did not predict experimental …

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Expression Of St6gal1 Imparts Stem-Like Cell Behaviors, Thereby Promoting Neoplasia, Sejal Sanjay Shinde Jan 2023

Expression Of St6gal1 Imparts Stem-Like Cell Behaviors, Thereby Promoting Neoplasia, Sejal Sanjay Shinde

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Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal malignancies with a five-year survival of ~10%. Recent studies in the US population suggest PDAC as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in 2022. ST6 β-galactoside α2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GAL1) is a glycosyltransferase which is known to be upregulated in cancer. It acts as a master regulator of a cell by being the predominant sialyltransferase catalyzing the addition of a bulky negatively charged sialic acid to the galactose sugar in an α2,6-linkage. Due to this, the sialic acid changes the structure and function of cell surface receptor proteins and regulates signal …

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Investigating The Effects Of Immune Checkpoint Inhibition And Combined Treatment With Evofosfamide On The Tumor Microenvironment Through Hypoxia Imaging, Kaytlyn Carter Mcneal Jan 2023

Investigating The Effects Of Immune Checkpoint Inhibition And Combined Treatment With Evofosfamide On The Tumor Microenvironment Through Hypoxia Imaging, Kaytlyn Carter Mcneal

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent and deadly cancer worldwide. While immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibition, shows promise in various cancers, its efficacy in CRC and other tumor types is limited. Hypoxia, characterized by inadequate tissue oxygenation, critically drives cancer progression, promoting tumor growth, metastasis, chemotherapy resistance, and poor prognosis. Evofosfamide, a hypoxia-activating prodrug, is being evaluated in clinical trials for combined use with checkpoint blockade as a potential therapeutic strategy. This study investigates the impact of hypoxia on immune checkpoint inhibition, evofosfamide, and combination therapy, while utilizing non-invasive molecular imaging to develop analytical methods for quantifying and characterizing tumor …

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The Long Non-Coding Rna Neat1 Mediates Astrocyte Gene Expression And Hippocampus-Dependent Memory In Aging And Alzheimer's Disease, Ashleigh Burns Irwin Jan 2023

The Long Non-Coding Rna Neat1 Mediates Astrocyte Gene Expression And Hippocampus-Dependent Memory In Aging And Alzheimer's Disease, Ashleigh Burns Irwin

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Dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is increasingly associated with cognitive dysfunction and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The highly evolutionarily conserved lncRNA Nuclear-Enriched Abundant Transcript 1 (NEAT1) is expressed not only in a tissue- and temporally-specific manner, but also celltype specific manner. Despite the predominance of NEAT1 in glial populations, and the significant role astrocytes play in memory, relatively little is known about Neat1 regulation of astrocyte transcriptomics during age-related memory. Here, we report a crucial role of the lncRNA Neat1 in astrocyte dysfunction and memory deficits associated with both normal aging and AD. Expression of Neat1 …

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An Examination Of Clinical Pain Severity, Sleep Quality, And Neighborhood Disadvantage In A Racially/Ethically Diverse Sample Of Adults With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis, Cesar Emmanuel Gonzalez Jan 2023

An Examination Of Clinical Pain Severity, Sleep Quality, And Neighborhood Disadvantage In A Racially/Ethically Diverse Sample Of Adults With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis, Cesar Emmanuel Gonzalez

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Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is often accompanied by insomnia symptoms, character-ized by difficulty falling asleep, maintaining sleep, or both. Among individuals with knee OA, up to 31% report significant difficulty falling asleep, 81% have difficulties staying asleep, and up to 77% report any sleep problem. However, the sleep and pain relationship has also rarely been evaluated using objective and subjective sleep measures. Thus, this study attempted to characterize objective and subjective sleep variables in a diverse sam-ple of individuals with symptomatic knee OA. Further, the impact of objective and sub-jective sleep quality on clinical pain severity, movement-evoked pain, and physical func-tion …

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Application Of Machine Learning And Network Approaches To Prioritize Safe And Efficacious Drug Repurposing Candidates, Jennifer L. Fisher Jan 2023

Application Of Machine Learning And Network Approaches To Prioritize Safe And Efficacious Drug Repurposing Candidates, Jennifer L. Fisher

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Only ten percent of drugs in clinical trials are ultimately approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). With many diseases and disorders needing therapeutic options, computational drug repurposing methodologies are great alternatives to some drug discovery methods due to quicker FDA approval and lower cost. We sought to gain insights to improve the identification of drug repurposing candidates that will be safe and effective to increase the success of computational drug repurposing approaches. In regards to identifying safe drug candidates, pharmacovigilance studies of adverse event case reports identified that women are more likely to experience an adverse event, and …

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The Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Variants And Ligands On The Structure And Function Of Trem2, Hunter Byron Dean Jan 2023

The Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Variants And Ligands On The Structure And Function Of Trem2, Hunter Byron Dean

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating, complex form of dementia. Contributions from genetics make up almost 70% of a person’s risk of developing AD, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are not well understood. Attempts to tease apart the risk contributions from individual genes have identified lipid processing and activation of innate immunity as convergent pathways for many of the known genetic risk factors. One of the strongest known risk factors, TREM2, codes for a transmembrane receptor that activates a protective immune response when it detects bound lipids. Variants in TREM2 that control AD risk have been identified, but …

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Investigation Into The Structure And Function Of Tyrosyl-Dna Phosphodiesterase I'S N-Terminal Domain, Evan J. Brettrager Jan 2023

Investigation Into The Structure And Function Of Tyrosyl-Dna Phosphodiesterase I'S N-Terminal Domain, Evan J. Brettrager

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Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase I (Tdp1) is a eukaryotic DNA repair enzyme that removes adducts from DNA ends via hydrolysis of a phosphodiester bond. These adducts consist of damaged nucleotides or trapped protein-DNA complexes. Tdp1 hydrolyzes the phosphodiester bond utilizing two catalytic histidines and forming a Tdp1-DNA covalent intermediate. Mutations of these catalytic histidines have been shown to increase the stability of the Tdp1-DNA covalent intermediate and cause Topoisomerase I dependent toxicity in cells. We use these toxic Tdp1 mutant enzymes to study the function of Tdp1’s N-terminal domain (NTD). Full-length Tdp1 has proven difficult to purify due to degradation of the …

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Macrophage Ipla2ss-Derived Lipid Signaling Contributes To Type 1 Diabetes Development, Abdulaziz Saad Almutairi Jan 2023

Macrophage Ipla2ss-Derived Lipid Signaling Contributes To Type 1 Diabetes Development, Abdulaziz Saad Almutairi

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Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cells that leads to hyperglycemia; however, the mechanism of β-cells destruction remains elusive. Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β), which hydrolyzes membrane phospholipids at the sn-2 position and releases bioactive lipids, modulates polarization of macrophages (M ). Data from our lab suggests that selective iPLA2β-derived lipid signals (iDLs) (i.e., PGs, HETEs, DHETs, LTB4) produced by M from spontaneous-T1D prone nonobese diabetic mice (NOD) are high during the pre-diabetic phase. However, the impact of macrophage-derived iDLs in T1D remains unclear. Therefore, we generated a NOD mouse model with …

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Streptococcus Mutans Biofilm Inhibiting Small Molecules With Anticariogenic Activity, Parmanand Ahirwar Jan 2023

Streptococcus Mutans Biofilm Inhibiting Small Molecules With Anticariogenic Activity, Parmanand Ahirwar

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Dental caries, a highly prevalent disease, is characterized by the erosion of the tooth surface. This disease is caused by the oral bacteria living in complex communities called biofilms. Streptococcus mutans, among the various pathogenic bacterial species inhabiting the oral cavity, is considered to be the major etiological agent for dental caries. This bacterium forms robust biofilms capable of producing significant amounts of acid, leading to the demineralization of hydroxyapatite in the tooth enamel and subsequent erosion over time. Biofilm penetration into the dentin and pulp causes severe pain, while the entry of the bacteria into the bloodstream can result …

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Role Of Dpy30 In The Epigenetic Regulation Of Odontoblast Differentiation In Vitro, Namrata Landge Rana Jan 2023

Role Of Dpy30 In The Epigenetic Regulation Of Odontoblast Differentiation In Vitro, Namrata Landge Rana

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Purpose: Dentin is produced from odontoblasts, derived from human Dental Pulp Cells (hDPCs), which are essential for dentin formation, remodeling, and mineral hemostasis. Epigenetic mechanisms are believed to be involved in odontoblast differentiation and function, and H3K4 methylation is associated with gene activation which is fundamental to histone-based epigenetics. The SET1/MLL complexes are mammals' major histone H3K4 methylation enzymes. DPY30 is a core subunit of SET1/MII complexes, mammalian's major histone H3K4 methyltransferases. It plays an important role in regulating fundamental processes including the determination of cell lineage, growth, and differentiation. Thus, histone-based epigenetic mechanisms are involved in odontoblast differentiation and …

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Molecular Determinants Of Retroviral Gag Targeting To The Plasma Membrane For Assembly, Dominik Herrmann Jan 2023

Molecular Determinants Of Retroviral Gag Targeting To The Plasma Membrane For Assembly, Dominik Herrmann

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Human T-cell leukemia virus 1 (HTLV-1) was the first oncogenic human retrovirus to be discovered. Several serious diseases have been linked to HTLV-1 infection, such as Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Between 10-20 million people are infected with HTLV-1 making it a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A comprehensive understanding of the factors that govern retroviral replication precludes the development of efficient antiretroviral therapies (ARTs). In the example of HIV-1, atomic level structural data was paramount to developing and improving upon many of the ARTs used today, underscoring the need for structure …

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