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2020

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Adapting New Technologies For Evaluating The Ecology And Distribution Of The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin) In Alabama, Nicole Mckim Conner Jan 2020

Adapting New Technologies For Evaluating The Ecology And Distribution Of The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys Terrapin) In Alabama, Nicole Mckim Conner

All ETDs from UAB

The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), an emydid turtle that plays an important ecological role in salt marsh ecosystems, has declined over the last century and is listed as a Priority One Species (highest conservation concern) in Alabama. Traditional surveying techniques have been employed to monitor diamondback terrapins on the coast of Alabama throughout the last decade; yet, these techniques can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and disruptive to terrapins and their habitats. This study evaluated the potential for UAS technology and eDNA methodologies to effectively monitor diamondback terrapin presence, abundance, and/or distribution in salt marsh habitats. UAS-based surveys were conducted in 2017 …


An Evaluation Of Ontogenetic Allometry Of Defensive And Nutrient Acquisition Properties Of Select Skeletal Components Of The Regular Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Raven Amber Edwards Jan 2020

An Evaluation Of Ontogenetic Allometry Of Defensive And Nutrient Acquisition Properties Of Select Skeletal Components Of The Regular Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Raven Amber Edwards

All ETDs from UAB

Ontogenetic allometric analyses can provide novel insights into aspects of evolution, ecology, and conservation. For example, a recent study found marine fish exhibit hyperallometric scaling of reproductive output in relation to body size. Accordingly, to sustain fish populations the largest size class of fish should be protected. The present study exploits a model sea urchin to explore allometry to evaluate the ontogeny of skeletal defense and feeding efficiency (Aristotle's lantern). Lytechinus variegatus were sampled from St. Joseph Bay, Florida. A range of different sized late juvenile to adult individuals were measured and then dissected into skeletal components. Skeletal defense was …


Nutrition Transition And Ses As A Fundamental Cause: An Integrative Approach To Examine Weight Status Among Women In Nepal, Sanjeev Acharya Jan 2020

Nutrition Transition And Ses As A Fundamental Cause: An Integrative Approach To Examine Weight Status Among Women In Nepal, Sanjeev Acharya

All ETDs from UAB

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in developing countries is a public health problem. Globally and in Nepal, women have higher burden of overweight and obesity. Over the recent years, Nepal has made progress in human development and is also experiencing nutrition transition. In this context, the goal of this study is to investigate the change in association between socioeconomic status (SES) and body weight over time, examine whether SES – body mass index (BMI) varies across region and occupation, and test for the double burden of malnutrition among adult women. Using a novel framework that integrates nutrition transition …


Genome-Wide Mirna Regulation Of Stress Susceptibility Across The Brain In A Rodent Model Of Early Life Stress, Lauren Alexis Allen Mckibben Jan 2020

Genome-Wide Mirna Regulation Of Stress Susceptibility Across The Brain In A Rodent Model Of Early Life Stress, Lauren Alexis Allen Mckibben

All ETDs from UAB

Early life stress (ELS) affects a significant portion of the US population in the form of various types of abuse and neglect, as well as household dysfunction and loss of a loved one, among others. Although these experiences happen early in life, they increase risk for mental health disorders, especially major depression (MDD), across the lifespan. MDD is a debilitating psychiatric disorder marked by periods of depressed mood and loss of pleasure in once enjoyable activities. Patients with MDD also report trouble sleeping, unintentional weight loss or gain, feelings of worthlessness, and suicidal ideation. MDD is associated with annual $100 …


T Cells In Synucleinopathies, Gregory Paul Williams Jan 2020

T Cells In Synucleinopathies, Gregory Paul Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Synucleinopathies, which include Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), are a collection of neurodegenerative diseases that are in major part defined by the presence of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) rich protein aggregates in the brain. Increasing evidence has highlighted a neuroinflammatory phenotype also associated with these synucleinopathies. This neuroinflammatory phenotype includes the activation of central nervous system (CNS) microglia, increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, and the infiltration of peripheral T cells into the CNS. We sought to further explore the T cell responses associated with PD and MSA. Using two preclinical mouse models of PD and MSA, …


Co-Factors In Fgf Signaling, Christopher Yanucil Jan 2020

Co-Factors In Fgf Signaling, Christopher Yanucil

All ETDs from UAB

The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family consists of a group of proteins whose diverse biological functions are mediated by receptor tyrosine kinases, termed FGF receptors (FGFR) 1-4. While paracrine FGFs require heparin sulfate as a co-factor for FGFR bind-ing and signaling, it has been assumed that endocrine FGFs, such as FGF23, do not bind heparin but instead require klotho, a family of transmembrane proteins, as a co-receptor on specific target cells. FGF23 acts as bone-derived hormone that targets tubular epitheli-al cells in the kidney via FGFR1 and α-klotho to reduce renal phosphate uptake. In chron-ic kidney disease (CKD), the kidney …


Epigenetic Regulation In Cancer And Development, Theodore Busby Jan 2020

Epigenetic Regulation In Cancer And Development, Theodore Busby

All ETDs from UAB

Feedback loops between cellular cues and changes in gene expression mediate the interactions between a multitude of regulatory events that promote development and cancer. Vesicular trafficking is an important process in carrying out signaling events by transporting receptors and ligands to and from the cell surface. GBF1 and BIG1 are large guanine-exchange factors (GEFs) that activate GTPase mediated shuttling of cargo through the Golgi apparatus. This dissertation demonstrates that GBF1 localizes to the cytoplasmic membrane in glioblastoma multiform cells to maintain cell shape and promote migration. Reports have shown that BIG1translocates to the nucleus is hepatocyte carcinoma cell lines in …


Enhancer Rnas As Regulators Of Gene Expression And Neuronal Function, Nancy Verena Nicole Carullo Jan 2020

Enhancer Rnas As Regulators Of Gene Expression And Neuronal Function, Nancy Verena Nicole Carullo

All ETDs from UAB

Genomic enhancers are cis-regulatory elements in the DNA that exhibit spatial and temporal control over intricate gene expression programs shaping fate and function of heterogeneous cell populations in the developing and adult brain. In addition to their role in cellular development and maintenance, enhancer activity drives transcriptional changes in response to stimulation. Active enhancers are subject to bidirectional transcription that yields non-coding enhancer RNAs (eR-NAs). However, the functional role of eRNAs in transcriptional regulation remains controversial. Therefore, we used primary neuronal cultures to investigate en-hancers and eRNAs in the rat genome. We identified and verified enhancer-gene pairs, characterized their response …


Obesity-Induced Immune Dysfunction: Implications For Anti- Tumor Immunity And Immunotherapeutic Efficacy, Justin Tyler Gibson Jan 2020

Obesity-Induced Immune Dysfunction: Implications For Anti- Tumor Immunity And Immunotherapeutic Efficacy, Justin Tyler Gibson

All ETDs from UAB

In the US, nearly 40% of adults have obesity. Further, obesity is known toincrease the risk for development, recurrence, and mortality associated with multiple types of cancer. However, despite such high prevalence, the impact of excess body weight on anti-tumor immunity and response to immunotherapeutics remains poorly and incompletely understood. In order to address these deficiencies, we have utilized multiple approaches to study obesity-associated perturbations in the immunogenetic, soluble protein, and cellular profiles of mice bearing mammary tumors and treatment naive human subjects with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). In a pre-clinical murine model of breast cancer, we find …


Denervation Supersensitivity Of Βeta-Adrenergic Receptors In A Prodromal Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, The Tgf344-Ad Rat, Anthoni Goodman Jan 2020

Denervation Supersensitivity Of Βeta-Adrenergic Receptors In A Prodromal Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, The Tgf344-Ad Rat, Anthoni Goodman

All ETDs from UAB

The central noradrenergic (NA) system is critical for maintenance of attention, behavioral flexibility, spatial navigation, and learning and memory, those cognitive functions lost first in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In fact, the locus coeruleus (LC), the major source of norepinephrine (NE) in brain, is the first site of pathological tau accumulation in human AD associated with axon loss throughout forebrain, including hippocampus. The dentate gyrus (DG) is heavily innervated by LC-NA axons, where released norepinephrine (NE) acts on β adrenergic receptors (ARs) at excitatory synapses from entorhinal cortex (EC) to facilitate long-term synaptic plasticity and memory formation. These synapses show …


Microrna Regulation Of Post-Injury Cardiac Remodeling And Heart Failure, John Clark Henderson Jan 2020

Microrna Regulation Of Post-Injury Cardiac Remodeling And Heart Failure, John Clark Henderson

All ETDs from UAB

Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline, is a widely used chemotherapy agent against various forms of cancer; however, it is also known to induce dose-dependent cardiotoxicity leading to adverse outcomes. Investigating the underlying molecular signaling might have clinical implications. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to mediate many diseases and are used as biomarkers for chemotherapy; but currently their role in the regulation of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity is not well understood. Our previous study has shown upregulation of miRNA-377 in the cardiomyocytes (CMs) after cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice. In this dissertation, we discovered that miR-377 was upregulated in the myocardium after DOX treatment, …


Il-17 Producing Cd4 T Cells In Spontaneous Germinal Center And Autoantibody Formation In Murine Lupus, Huixian Hong Jan 2020

Il-17 Producing Cd4 T Cells In Spontaneous Germinal Center And Autoantibody Formation In Murine Lupus, Huixian Hong

All ETDs from UAB

IL-23 promotes autoimmune disease, including Th17 CD4 T-cell development and autoantibody (autoAb) production. Here, we show that a deficiency of the p19 component of IL-23 in the autoimmune BXD2 (BXD2-p19−/−) mouse leads to a shift of the follicular T-helper cell program from Tfh-IL-17 to Tfh-IFN-ɣ. Although the germinal center (GC) size and the number of GC B cells remained the same, BXD2-p19−/− mice exhibited a lower class-switch recombination (CSR) in the GC B cells, leading to lower serum levels of IgG2b. Single-cell transcriptomics analysis of GC B cells revealed that while Ifngr1, Il21r and Il4r genes exhibited a synchronized expression …


Examining The Role Of Neighborhood Quality On The Association Of Mammography Adherence Among Racial/Ethnic Groups, Roman Johnson Jan 2020

Examining The Role Of Neighborhood Quality On The Association Of Mammography Adherence Among Racial/Ethnic Groups, Roman Johnson

All ETDs from UAB

Although several racial/ethnic minority women groups (e.g., Latina, Black, Asian-American, and Native-American women) have lower breast cancer incidence than white women, they are more likely to die from breast cancer. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is racial/ethnic differences in mammography use. Mammography has been shown to contribute to the discovery of tumor proliferation earlier which translates to less breast cancer complications like greater risk of breast cancer-related mortality. Previous studies on racial/ethnic differences in mammography adherence (e.g., annual and biannual mammography adherence) have been inconclusive, and they generally overlook important contextual factors, namely neighborhood quality and geographic location (e.g., …


Pharmacodynamic Responses And Efficacies Associated With Lrrk2 Inhibition, Kaela Kelly Jan 2020

Pharmacodynamic Responses And Efficacies Associated With Lrrk2 Inhibition, Kaela Kelly

All ETDs from UAB

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related, progressive, movement disorder pathologically characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and the presence of proteinaceous aggregates, termed Lewy bodies, that are largely comprised of αSynuclein (αSyn). Missense mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase (LRRK2) gene are the most common genetic cause of PD and lead to gain-of-function increases in kinase activity. The G2019S-LRRK2 mutation is the most frequent mutation and elevates kinase activity by ~2-3 fold. Genetic and biochemical evidence suggest elevated LRRK2 kinase activity plays a pathogenic role in the development of PD, implicating LRRK2 …


A Preliminary Analysis On The Effects Of Acute Beetroot Juice Intake On Glycemic And Blood Pressure Control In Type 2 Diabetes, Braxton Linder Jan 2020

A Preliminary Analysis On The Effects Of Acute Beetroot Juice Intake On Glycemic And Blood Pressure Control In Type 2 Diabetes, Braxton Linder

All ETDs from UAB

Cardiometabolic diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent in modern society due to low activity lifestyles and poor nutrition. Inorganic dietary nitrate (diNO3) has shown to potentially improve cardiometabolic health in a number of different populations but remains to be corroborated in humans with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This preliminary analysis aimed to determine the effects of consuming an acute, concentrated dose of diNO3 containing beetroot juice (BRJ) on hemodynamic and glycemic responses in humans with T2D while controlling for pharmacological influences. Three participants with a clinical diagnosis of T2D were recruited into this study. Pulsewave Velocity (PWV) was used to assess …


Protective Host Responses During Acute And Chronic Lung Exposure To Aspergillus Fumigatus, Joseph Mackel Jan 2020

Protective Host Responses During Acute And Chronic Lung Exposure To Aspergillus Fumigatus, Joseph Mackel

All ETDs from UAB

Aspergillus fumigatus is an environmental airborne fungus that acts as both an opportunistic pathogen and an allergen. In immunocompromised hosts, A. fumigatus can germinate in the lung, cause tissue damage and pneumonia, and disseminate to other organs, causing a disease termed invasive aspergillosis (IA). In severe asthma, sensitization to fungi such as A. fumigatus is associated with more severe disease. Determination of host and fungal factors that drive immunoprotection versus immunopathogenesis in both of these settings will ultimately enable therapeutic modulation of immune responses to improve disease outcomes. In this body of work, we build on recent findings that implicate …


The Role Of The Β-Catenin Signaling Pathway In Modulating The Nucleolar Proteome Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Shannon E. Meier Jan 2020

The Role Of The Β-Catenin Signaling Pathway In Modulating The Nucleolar Proteome Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Shannon E. Meier

All ETDs from UAB

Previously, abnormal nucleoli were noted as indicators of cancerous lesions andused as a pathologic readout of neoplasia. Nucleolar hypertrophy and increased nucleolar number have been correlated with increased breast cancer (BC) mortality rates. Although various functions of the nucleolus have been investigated, it remains widely understudied in the context of cancer. The nucleolus was initially thought to be solely the site of ribosome biogenesis. However, over half of the proteins found in the nucleolus are associated with other biological functions. It is evident that the nucleolus plays major roles in stress response, DNA repair, and critical cellular aspects that influence …


Advancing Single Cell And Crispr/Dcas9 Technologies For The Study Of Reward Learning And Addiction, Corey Grant Duke Jan 2020

Advancing Single Cell And Crispr/Dcas9 Technologies For The Study Of Reward Learning And Addiction, Corey Grant Duke

All ETDs from UAB

Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing condition inflicting tremendous harm to individuals and society with ineffective treatment options available to most people. Drugs of abuse elevate dopamine levels in a brain region known as the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and activate gene programs considered essential for producing lasting synaptic and cell state changes which underlie the generation of addictive behavior. These gene expression changes remain poorly understood due to a complex heterogenous cellular architecture, and the rapidly fluctuating nature of the transcriptional processes themselves which make investigation difficult. Recent technical advances increase access to both profiling and manipulating these transcriptional changes …


An Augmented Framework For Validating Neural Network Predictions Based On Statistical Modeling, William Stonewall Monroe Jan 2020

An Augmented Framework For Validating Neural Network Predictions Based On Statistical Modeling, William Stonewall Monroe

All ETDs from UAB

The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) dataset (which includes several types of imaging datasets) was created to generate biomarkers for diagnosing the presence and severity of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Unlike some conditions, PD is not intuitively diagnosed directly from brain imaging. As such, it is vital to understand as well as classify PD. Deep learning techniques are becoming increasingly prevalent in medical imaging workflows. In some cases, deep learning outperforms human diagnostic ability. However, the black-box nature of many machine learning models can be troubling, particularly in a medical context since the results could imply alternate treatments and a human …


Deficiency Of Tumor Suppressor Merlin Induces Metabolic Reprogramming In Breast Cancer, Mateus Mota Jan 2020

Deficiency Of Tumor Suppressor Merlin Induces Metabolic Reprogramming In Breast Cancer, Mateus Mota

All ETDs from UAB

The tumor suppressor Merlin is encoded by Neurofibromin 2 (NF2) gene. Merlin is predominantly located in the cell cortex where regulates cell proliferation by mediating cell contact-dependent growth inhibition. Metastatic breast cancer tissues presented with a remarkable loss of Merlin protein, revealing clinical relevance of Merlin. In order to examine the cellular effect of Merlin deficiency, breast cancer cell lines were silenced for NF2. Additionally, to assess the impact of Merlin loss at the organismal level, a mammary-specific NF2 knockout mouse mammary tumor model was engineered. Merlin deficiency induced a metabolic shift from mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis. Furthermore, …


Mendicant Enterprise And Human Rights In New Spain, Elliot Nicholson-Cox Jan 2020

Mendicant Enterprise And Human Rights In New Spain, Elliot Nicholson-Cox

All ETDs from UAB

In 1521, the destruction of Aztec leadership created a disjointed network of native communities in what is now Mexico but would come to be known as New Spain. Until 1572 New Spain was an open and contested space for political, economic, and religious dominance among various Spanish factions. This dominance was predicated upon an evangelical mission in service to the conversion of native people from “pagans” to Christians. Religious education and evangelization by mendicant friars may have, either as a deliberate or consequential outcome, promoted or enforced collaboration and minimized direct and violent conflict during this period. Some religious friars …


Protective Effects Of Thioredoxin Reductase Inhibition In The Murine Lung: The Regulation And Contribution Of Heme Oxygenase-1, Katelyn Louise Dunigan-Russell Jan 2020

Protective Effects Of Thioredoxin Reductase Inhibition In The Murine Lung: The Regulation And Contribution Of Heme Oxygenase-1, Katelyn Louise Dunigan-Russell

All ETDs from UAB

Endogenous antioxidant responses defend the lung against oxygen toxicity. In premature neonates, oxygen toxicity and impaired antioxidant defenses contribute to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the leading cause of long-term morbidity among premature infants. In adults, oxygen toxicity and impaired antioxidant defense contributes to the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI). Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a severe form of ALI, can cause permeant lung damage and mortality. Our lab has established that pharmacologic thioredoxin reductase-1 (TXNRD1) inhibition attenuates lung injury in murine BPD and ALI models. The protective effects of TXNRD1 inhibition are mediated by the activation of …


The Non-Protostegid Cretaceous Marine Turtles Of Alabama And Their Bearing On The Evolution Of Extant Chelonioids, Andrew Gentry Jan 2020

The Non-Protostegid Cretaceous Marine Turtles Of Alabama And Their Bearing On The Evolution Of Extant Chelonioids, Andrew Gentry

All ETDs from UAB

The non-protostegid marine turtle fossils recovered from the Late Cretaceous of Alabama may represent some of the most recent common ancestors of modern marine turtles. Despite their evolutionary significance, almost no formal studies have been conducted on these animals for more than 60 years. Many of these species are known from incomplete holotypes which has led to decades of systematic ambiguity and made specific referrals of recently collected fossil material exceedingly challenging. The aim of this study is to review and describe the specimens of Cretaceous marine turtles collected from Alabama to determine if this material can be used to …


Immunopathogenesis In Fungal Asthma, Matthew Stephen Godwin Jan 2020

Immunopathogenesis In Fungal Asthma, Matthew Stephen Godwin

All ETDs from UAB

Asthma patients are increasingly presenting with asthma that is more difficult to control and treat than in years past. A subset of these patients who are sensitive to fungal species are described as having severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS). Given the severity of disease, there is ever increasing interest in identifying the immune processes underlying SAFS disease pathology and the development of novel therapeutics to improve management. While sensitivity to multiple fungal species has been described in SAFS, none is more common than Aspergillus fumigatus. Here, we describe two previously unrecognized contributors to the amelioration of disease pathology in …


Quantifying Operational Impacts Of Various Work Zone Setups, Traffic Composition, And Driving Behaviors, A B M Tausif Ullah Chy Jan 2020

Quantifying Operational Impacts Of Various Work Zone Setups, Traffic Composition, And Driving Behaviors, A B M Tausif Ullah Chy

All ETDs from UAB

The presence of work zones due to pavement repair and rehabilitation is very common in highway facilities. Lane closures associated with work zones result in capacity reduction, which in turn often leads to increased congestion at such locations. Properly set work zones can minimize the adverse operational impacts. This thesis documents part of a study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham that investigated and compared the performance of freeway facilities in the presence of work zones under various Temporary Traffic Control (TTC) and lane closure scenarios while taking under consideration traffic composition and driving behaviors. The study site was …


Introversion And Online Word-Of-Mouth Behavior : What Roles Do Review Website Design And Product Design Play?, Shu Ting Lau Jan 2020

Introversion And Online Word-Of-Mouth Behavior : What Roles Do Review Website Design And Product Design Play?, Shu Ting Lau

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

This research investigates the online review behavior of introverted customers. Introversion is a major personality trait that has been widely discussed in many personality theories. This thesis includes two essays. Essay 1 investigates how the design of an online review website can affect the willingness to do an online review of introverts. Based on the arousal theory, it is hypothesized that introverted consumers, because of their avoidance of arousal, would have a higher willingness to do online review in an environment where other users’ feedback is not allowed, but this design does not affect extroverts. These predictions are confirmed by …


Novel Methods For Establishing The Capacity For Nociception And Cognition In The Zebrafish Danio Rerio, Chris Taylor Jan 2020

Novel Methods For Establishing The Capacity For Nociception And Cognition In The Zebrafish Danio Rerio, Chris Taylor

All ETDs from UAB

Here we demonstrate the utility of a zebrafish-based model of nociception to serve as a novel screening tool for analgesic drugs. Zebrafish swimming behavior was measured following administration of various algogens used in rodent research. All compounds reduce distance traveled, thought to be an expression of nociception. Furthermore, we undertook to investigate the contribution of sex and feeding history on the acetic acid-evoked nociceptive response in zebrafish. Data suggest that male fish were more sensitive to pain than females, and that females recovered from pain faster than males. Dietary restriction increased pain sensitivity in zebrafish. We then tested the viability …


C-Reactive Protein Subverts The Myeloid Lineage: Implications For Renal Injury, Rachel Jimenez Jan 2020

C-Reactive Protein Subverts The Myeloid Lineage: Implications For Renal Injury, Rachel Jimenez

All ETDs from UAB

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an evolutionarily conserved pattern recognition molecule that was first characterized for its participation in the acute phase response to bacterial infection. In the last 90 years, knowledge of CRP biology in innate immunity has expanded significantly. CRP is known to bind and activate the classical pathway of complement, to opsonize bacteria and inflamed tissue, and to modulate myeloid cell functions. CRP is normally present in the blood at low levels with its biosynthesis and serum concentration rapidly rises upon systemic inflammation. For example, high levels of serum CRP are found following acute kidney injury (AKI) in …


Quest Towards The Development Of Human Cardiac Tissue Equivalents Made From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Cells, Wesley Labarge Jan 2020

Quest Towards The Development Of Human Cardiac Tissue Equivalents Made From Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Cells, Wesley Labarge

All ETDs from UAB

The human heart is one of the more complex organs in the body to study and understand given the structural and functional characteristics it possesses. These characteristics work in synchrony to transfer oxygen-rich blood to vital organs throughout the body and oxygen-deficient blood back to the lungs for oxygenation. Furthermore, it can be reasoned that when these complexities are compounded with disease states which negatively affect the structure and function of the heart, determining the best treatments while also limiting adverse side effects becomes increasingly more challenging. While the goal of having patient-specific therapies has not completely been realized, the …


Understanding And Targeting Glucose Transporter 3 In Glioblastoma, Catherine Jeanne Libby Jan 2020

Understanding And Targeting Glucose Transporter 3 In Glioblastoma, Catherine Jeanne Libby

All ETDs from UAB

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common adult primary malignant brain tumor with a median survival of about 15 months, even after aggressive treatment. Treatment of GBM is difficult for multiple reasons including the location of the tumor, tumor invasiveness, and the high degree of both inter-and intra-tumoral heterogeneity. Contributing to intratumoral heterogeneity are highly tumorigenic, stem-like tumor cells, with the capacity to self-renew and propagate the tumor, termed brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs). BTICs are also commonly therapy resistant, highly invasive, and metabolically plastic with elevated expression of glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) allowing them to preferentially survive in low nutrient …