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The Image Of Camels In The Arabic Novel: The Novel Of A Good Camel By Saud Alsanousi As A Model - A Descriptive And Analytical Study, Yasser Ahmed Hamed Marzouq

University of Tabuk Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper deals with the image of camels in the Arabic novel, focusing on the novel A Good Camel by Saud Alsanousi as an analytical model. It explores the use of camels and their artistic connotations in the novel, and how they interact with the narrative structure, relying on a descriptive and analytical approach to uncover the dimensions of this use and connotation. One of the most notable findings was that camels in the novel transcend being merely animals or means of transportation, becoming a central character with profound dimensions, symbolizing patience, endurance, and resistance-values inherent in the desert environment …

Motor And Phonic Tic Severity And Its Relationship To Social, Emotional, And School Functioning In Children With Tourette Syndrome From The Caregivers’ Perspective, Courtney C. Thompson

Dissertations

Abstract

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor and phonic tics that is frequently associated with functional impairments. The present study examined the relationship between motor and phonic tic severity, comorbid conditions, academic accommodations, and the social, emotional, and school functioning of children with TS. Caregiver data were collected on tic severity, comorbid conditions, social, emotional, and school functioning, academic accommodations, and grades. Overall, social, emotional, and school functioning fell within the moderate range, with school functioning positively associated with social and emotional functioning. Phonic tics were linked to social functioning, whereas both motor and overall tic …

“No Man Is An Island:” A Critical Discourses Analysis Of Newspaper Reporting On The Marshallese Community In Northwest Arkansas, Johana Vazquez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine local newspaper coverage of the Marshallese community in Northwest Arkansas from 1998 to 2017 and analyze discourses that could be attributed to linguistic bias, stereotypes, and Pacific transnationalism. This analysis examines how marginalized immigrants are portrayed in local news coverage using a critical discourse analysis (CDA). The study analyzes the labels and metaphors used in the coverage of Marshallese immigration, adapts the Stereotype Content Model for a discourse analysis, and compares the experiences of Marshallese in the area with larger scholarly work on Pacific transnationalism. The researcher analyzed 11 published pieces from …

Abca4-Mutant Human Retinal Organoids Sequencing Reveals Organoids Application In Inherited Retinal Diseases, Yourong Bao, Sujung Soh, Jean Li, Zhen Zuo, Salma Ferdous, Xinye Qian, Jin Li, Jiaxiong Lu, Xuesen Cheng, Anna Matynia, Yumei Li, Rui Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In the studies of Inherited Retinal Diseases (IRDs), the knockout of traditional animal models like mice often fails to accurately replicate human phenotypes due to genetic and anatomical differences. Human retinal organoids (ROs) derived from stem cells have emerged as promising developmental models in retinal studies to delineate cell growth, but their ability to represent the characteristics of late-onset IRDs remains unclear. This study aims to validate ROs as a disease model for Stargardt's Disease (STGD) caused by ABCA4 mutations. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, ROs from 2 STGD patients were compared with healthy control-derived ROs at two developmental stages on …

Bypassing Cisplatin Resistance In Nrf2 Hyperactivated Head And Neck Cancer Through Effective Pi3kinase Targeting, Pedram Yadollahi, Kelli A Mccord, Yang Li, Hussam Dayoub, Kalil Saab, Fonma Essien, Sean Hyslop, Emerald Kan, Kazi M Ahmed, Parker R Kirby, Vasanta Putluri, Chandra Shekar R Ambati, Karthik Reddy Kami Reddy, Patricia Castro, Heath D Skinner, Cristian Coarfa, William K Decker, Abdullah A Osman, Rutulkumar Patel, Jeffrey N Myers, Stephen Y Lai, Nagireddy Putluri, Faye M Johnson, Mitchell J Frederick, William H Hudson, Vlad C Sandulache

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: For patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), failure of definitive radiation combined with cisplatin nearly universally results in death. Although hyperactivation of the Nrf2 pathway can drive radiation and cisplatin resistance along with suppressed anti-tumor immunity, treatment-refractory HNSCC tumors may retain sensitivity to targeted agents secondary to synergistic lethality with other oncogenic drivers (e.g., NOTCH1 mutations).

Methods: Using state of the science mechanistic, metabolomic and spatial transcriptomic approaches combined with preclinical models of HNSCC, we tested whether a novel PI3K inhibitor, gedatolisib, can bypass hyperactivation of the Nrf2 pathway.

Results: The PI3K pathway is activated in …

Method For Generation And Ex Vivo Expansion Of Genetically Edited Mouse Tregs, Yosef Gilad, Adam M Dean, Yan Xia, Sang Jun Han, David M Lonard, Bert W O'Malley

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a crucial role in the immune system, and their dysfunction can lead to the development of autoimmune conditions. In cancer, tumors frequently hijack the immunosuppressive function of Tregs to evade immune responses. Due to their central role in key pathological processes, Tregs have gained increasing attention as promising targets for various clinical applications. However, their relative scarcity (∼5% to 10% of CD4+ T cells) and instability presents a technical challenge for research and therapeutic development. In congenic animal models used to investigate autologous cell transfer-based therapies, this challenge is even greater, as Treg donor animals …

Rbm8a Deficiency Causes Hematopoietic Defects By Modulating Wnt/Pcp Signaling, Agnese Kocere, Elena Chiavacci, Charlotte Soneson, Seth T Jacobson, Emma N Harrison, Kevin Manuel Méndez-Acevedo, Jacalyn S Macgowan, Harrison H Wells, Max S Hiltabidle, Azhwar Raghunath, Jordan A Shavit, Daniela Panáková, Margot L K Williams, Mark D Robinson, Christian Mosimann, Alexa Burger

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Thrombocytopenia-Absent Radius (TAR) syndrome is a rare congenital condition with reduced platelets, forelimb anomalies, and variable heart and kidney defects. TAR syndrome is caused by mutations in RBM8A/Y14, a component of the exon junction complex. How perturbing a general mRNA-processing factor causes the selective TAR Syndrome phenotypes remains unknown. Here, we connect zebrafish rbm8a perturbation to early hematopoietic defects via attenuated non-canonical Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) signaling. In hypomorphic rbm8a zebrafish, we observe a reduction of cd41-positive thrombocytes. rbm8a-mutant zebrafish accumulate mRNAs with retained introns, including non-canonical Wnt/PCP pathway components resulting in convergent extension defects. We found that reduced rbm8a …

A Multimodal Non-Invasive Approach For Intracranial Pressure Assessment: A Single-Center Study, Dana Klavansky, Helaina Lehrer, Aris Desai, Gabriela Keeton, Neha Dangayach, Alexandra Reynolds, Spyridoula Tsetsou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is an integral part of acute brain injury management. While invasive ICP monitoring is the gold standard, there are several medical conditions that preclude its placement. The aim of the present study is to validate a multimodal approach for increasing ICP detection.

Material and methods: In this retrospective study, patients with acute brain injury who had an external ventricular drain (EVD) placement were included. We measured bilateral optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) and assessed for optic nerve disk elevation (ONDE) by using ocular ultrasound, bilateral middle cerebral artery pulsatility index (PI) by using transcranial Doppler, …

Exploration Of Zileuton Protective Mechanisms Against Vancomycin-Associated Nephrotoxicity, Cole S Hudson, James E Smith, Rongjin Sun, Linh T Vuong, Luan D Truong, David Sheikh-Hamad, Masayuki Nigo, Ming Hu, Vincent H Tam

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vancomycin is one of the most commonly used parenteral antibiotics for treating drug-resistant bacterial infections, however, it is hindered by nephrotoxicity. We previously demonstrated that zileuton could delay the onset of vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity in rats. Here, we sought to understand the mechanism(s) of zileuton renal protection. Sprague-Dawley rats were administered vancomycin (200 mg/kg) and zileuton (1 and 4 mg/kg) daily for 10 days. After 3 days, kidneys were collected from select animals for histopathological analysis of renal injury. Single-dose vancomycin serum pharmacokinetics and renal tissue spatial distribution with adjuvant zileuton were evaluated. In vitro, proximal tubular cells were exposed …

Addressing Critiques Refines Global Estimates Of Reforestation Potential For Climate Change Mitigation, Kurt A. Fesenmeyer, Erin E. Poor, Drew E. Terasaki Hart, Joseph W. Veldman, Forrest Fleischman, Pooja Choksi, Sally Archibald, Mohammed Armani, Matthew E. Fagan, Evan C. Fricke, César Terrer, Natalia Hasler, Christopher A. Williams, Peter W. Ellis, Susan Cook-Patton

Geography

Reforestation is a prominent climate change mitigation strategy, but available global maps of reforestation potential are widely criticized and highly variable, which limits their ability to provide robust estimates of both the locations and total area of opportunity. Here we develop global maps that address common critiques, build on a review of 89 reforestation maps created at multiple scales, and present eight reforestation scenarios with varying objectives, including providing ecosystem services, minimizing social conflicts, and delivering government policies. Across scenarios, we find up to 195 Mha (million hectares) are available (2225 TgCO2e (teragrams of carbon dioxide equivalent) per year total …

Real-Time Malaria Detection In The Amazon Rainforest Via Drone-Collected Edna And Portable Qpcr, Yin Cheong Aden Ip, Luca Montemartini, Jia Jin Marc Chang, Andrea Desiderato, Nicolás D. Franco-Sierra, Christian Geckeler, Mailyn Adriana Gonzalez Herrera, Michele Gregorini, Meret Jucker, Steffen Kirchgeorg, Martina Lüthi, Elvira Mächler, Frederik Bendix Thostrup, Guglielmo Murari, Marina Mura, Paola Pulido-Santacruz, Florencia Sangermano, Tobias Schindler, Claus Melvad, Stefano Mintchev, Kristy Deiner

Geography

Zoonotic malaria risk at human-wildlife-environment interfaces requires surveillance that integrates signals from reservoirs, vectors and the environment. We coupled a drone-based environmental DNA (eDNA) canopy swabbing approach with portable quantitative PCR (qPCR) to detect Plasmodium DNA in situ during a 24-h field exercise in the Amazon rainforest. Drone-lowered sterile swabs into the canopy, which were then extracted and subjected to a multiplex pan-Plasmodium assay targeting five human-infecting Plasmodium species (limit of detection 0.2 parasites μL−1). Of 12 samples (10 canopy swabs, 2 field blanks; 13 total runs including repeats), one canopy swab amplified in duplicate (Ct = 28.7 and 29.23), …

Loss Of The Lysosomal Protein Cln3 Triggers C-Abl-Dependent Yap1 Pro-Apoptotic Signaling, Neuza Domingues, Alessia Calcagni', Sofia Freire, Joana Pires, Ricardo Casqueiro, Ivan L Salazar, Niculin Joachim Herz, Tuong Huynh, Katarzyna Wieciorek, Tiago Fleming Outeiro, Henrique Girão, Ira Milosevic, Andrea Ballabio, Nuno Raimundo

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Batten disease is characterized by early-onset blindness, juvenile dementia and death within the second decade of life. The most common genetic cause are mutations in CLN3, encoding a lysosomal protein. Currently, no therapies targeting disease progression are available, largely because its molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. To understand how CLN3 loss affects cellular signaling, we generated human CLN3 knock-out cells (CLN3-KO) and performed RNA-seq analysis. Our multi-dimensional analysis reveals the transcriptional regulator YAP1 as a key factor in remodeling the transcriptome in CLN3-KO cells. YAP1-mediated pro-apoptotic signaling is also increased as a consequence of CLN3 functional loss in retinal pigment …

Charity Begins With Zoning Reforms, Mark D. Bjelland

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

When my family moved to Michigan over a decade ago, we were looking for something more than a three-bedroom house in our price range. We wanted a place of beauty, refreshment, and welcome for our children and guests. As newcomers to the state, we took the location seriously. Our previous house lost value due to its small-town setting, so we worried about future property values. As an urban geographer, I mapped changes in demographics and housing prices and created bike and bus travel-time maps from work and schools.

Navigating Ai-Nature Frictions: Autonomous Vehicle Testing And Nature-Based Constraints, Prerona Das, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

In cities, the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being directed towards transforming different aspects of urban life. These applications take material form in urban spaces, with autonomous vehicles (AVs) providing a prominent example. AI systems rely on large volumes of data on their surroundings to refine the algorithms and enhance the accuracy of prediction for operational efficiency and safety. However, such algorithmic learning and execution can present challenges when dealing with the unpredictable, complex, and dynamic aspects of urban spaces. Nature is a paradigmatic example of such unpredictability, because natural phenomena usually defy consistent patterns and precise data-based modelling. …

Surgical Removal Of Implanted Microchips To Correct Mri Susceptibility Artifacts In Mice, Elizabeth Hipskind, Nicole Hernandez, Sydney Fox, Tina Manirambona, Rita Schack, Brian Gibson, Robia G Pautler

Center on Aging Staff Publications

Purpose: Implanted microchips are becoming increasingly common in research for animal identification and have been adopted by commercial vendors for some mouse strains. However, they often contain metal components, which generate magnetic susceptibility artifacts on MR images. Despite this, some microchips are marketed as MR-compatible, even though they are likely to affect image quality.

Methods: We assessed the impact of a radiofrequency identification microchip on MR images of the mouse brain and present a method for precise surgical removal. A handheld magnet was used to locate and stabilize the microchips during removal. Mice were imaged before and after microchip removal. …

Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated Activation Mediates Transforming Growth Factor Beta Signaling In Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury In Mice, Matthew Mcmillin, Christopher S Chu, Elaina Williams, Juliet Venter, Kiersten Bell, Anca D Petrescu, Patrick Mireles, Sharon Demorrow

Faculty and Staff Publications

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is associated with increased transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) signaling and elevated oxidative stress, which exacerbate DNA damage. TGFβ1 has been shown to regulate ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) signaling and DNA repair in other cell types. This study investigates the DNA damage response (DDR) during APAP-induced liver injury, focusing on ATM-mediated regulation of TGFβ1 signaling. APAP administration in vitro and in vivo resulted in DNA damage, increased ATM signaling, accumulation of γH2AX, and activation of phosphorylated ataxia telangiectasia mutated (pATM) and phosphorylated checkpoint kinase 2 (pChk2). Pretreatment with an ATM inhibitor, KU55933, attenuated APAP-induced hepatocyte damage and …

The Microstructure Of Metastatic Bone Lesions Suggests Tumor Mediated Alterations In Bone Mineralization, Hanwen Fan, Zhan Xu, Carla Berrospe Rodriguez, Noah Dover, Andrei Demkov, Morgan Lilly, Guillermo Aguilar, Larry J Suva, Xiang H-F Zhang, Yuxiao Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Breast, prostate and lung cancer cells frequently metastasize to bone, leading to disruption of the bone microstructure. This study utilized mechanical testing coupled with micro-CT imaging, digital volume correlation (DVC), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanomechanical testing to examine the mechanical property variations in mouse long bones (tibia) with metastatic lung cancer cell involvement, spanning from the whole-bone scale to the microstructural level. In addition, we also investigated how metastatic invasion alters the morphology of hydroxyapatite nanocrystals in bone at the nanometer scale. The biochemical composition within metastatic lesions was assessed using Raman spectroscopy and correlated with AFM mechanical testing …

Gene Therapy Cm-Yapon Protects The Mouse Heart From Myocardial Infarction, Fansen Meng, Jeffrey D Steimle, Elizabeth Straight, Rich G Li, Yuka Morikawa, Zohaib Iqbal, Bing Xie, Jun Wang, Wyatt G Paltzer, Yi Zhao, Chang-Ru Tsai, Lin Liu, Maggie Lim, Rita A Schack, Daniel Ramirez, Katherine Carlson, Vaibhav Deshmukh, Jason M Karch, Robia G Pautler, Xiao Li, James F Martin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Myocardial infarction (MI) affects millions of people worldwide, causing irreversible injury to the heart and impairing cardiac function1. In both mouse and pig MI models, activating YAP in cardiomyocytes (CMs) stimulates regenerative repair2,3. Here we developed an adeno-associated virus 9 (AAV9)-based therapy, termed CM-YAPon, which enables transient expression of an active YAP variant (YAP5SA) in CMs following exposure to the small molecule LMI070. A single LMI070 dose in mice triggers YAP5SA expression, CM cell cycle re-entry, and reprogramming of the cardiac microenvironment. YAP5SA induction after MI rapidly improves cardiac function while pre-MI induction confers …

Alternative Splicing Of The Snap23 Microexon Is Regulated By Mbnl, Qki, And Rbfox2 In A Tissue-Specific Manner And Is Altered In Striated Muscle Diseases, Gabrielle M Gentile, R Eric Blue, Grant A Goda, Bryan B Guzman, Rachel A Szymanski, Eunice Y Lee, Nichlas M Engels, Emma R Hinkle, Hannah J Wiedner, Aubriana N Bishop, Jonathan T Harrison, Hua Zhang, Xander H T Wehrens, Daniel Dominguez, Jimena Giudice

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The reprogramming of alternative splicing networks during development is a hallmark of tissue maturation and identity. Alternative splicing of microexons (small, genomic regions ≤ 51 nucleotides) functionally regulate protein-protein interactions in the brain and is altered in several neuronal diseases. However, little is known about the regulation and function of alternatively spliced microexons in striated muscle. Here, we investigated alternative splicing of a microexon in the synaptosome-associated protein 23 (Snap23) encoded gene. We found that inclusion of this microexon is developmentally regulated and tissue-specific, as it occurs exclusively in adult heart and skeletal muscle. The alternative region is …

Reply To Chaïbi And Tandjaoui-Lambiotte And To Young And Scott, Joan B Soriano, Francesca Polverino

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Emerging Tick-Borne Disease Risk In An Urban Center Of Harris County, Texas, Alisa Nelson, Michelle Downey, Maya Murry, Brianna Weber, Erik Aguirre, Richard Scott Mccrea, Jerrod Mims, Max Vigilant, Courtney Standlee, Kristy O Murray, Alex Kneubehl, Eric L Brown, Heather T Essigmann, Sarah M Gunter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Tick-borne diseases are an endemic and emerging public health concern in the United States. Ongoing tick range expansion, invasive species, and newly identified pathogens are rapidly altering disease epidemiology. Surveillance is critical to understanding vector ecology and disease risk. Harris County, Texas, with nearly five million residents and diverse ecological zones, offers a unique setting to study local tick dynamics.

Methods: From January 2021 to December 2022, we conducted weekly tick surveillance across 63 sites in Harris County (City of Houston), Texas. Ticks were morphologically identified and tested for Rickettsia, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma via real-time PCR. Samples positive …

Unmasking Hidden Clues In Cutaneous Viral Infections: Histopathological Insights Into Keratinocytic Features Of Herpes Simplex Virus, Varicella Zoster Virus, And Molluscum Contagiosum, Tania Platero Portillo, Dilshad Dhaliwal, Sepideh Mehravaran, Megan Ketcham, Julie Wu, Nisha Ramani, Abdul Hafeez Diwan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: This case study aimed to explore primarily the keratinocytic changes of cutaneous viral infections caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and molluscum contagiosum (MC). The focus was on identifying features and diagnostic clues in cases without typical findings.

Methods: A retrospective analysis encompassing 14 HSV/VZV cases (January 2000 to October 2023) and 22 MC cases (January 2013 to December 2015) was conducted.

Results: In HSV/VZV cases, 71% (10 of 14) exhibited distinctive histopathological features in the adjacent keratinocytes, including nucleolar enlargement and atypical features. Immunohistochemical studies in 40% of the cases (4 of 10) revealed positive …

The Neonatal Gut Microbiome In Health And Disease, Geoffrey A Preidis

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Adrenomedullin Overexpression Protects Mice From Experimental Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia And Associated Pulmonary Hypertension, Shyam Thapa, Poonam Sarkar, M Waleed Gaber, Roberto Barrios, Madhulata Chauhan, Chandrasekhar Yallampalli, Binoy Shivanna

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) associated pulmonary hypertension (PH) or BPD-PH is a lung disease of infants with significant morbidity. Adrenomedullin (Adm) is an angiogenic peptide that signals through calcitonin receptor-like receptor (Calcrl) and receptor activity modifying protein 2 (RAMP2). Adm deficiency potentiates hyperoxia-induced experimental BPD-PH in mice; however, whether Adm overexpression can mitigate this lung disease is unclear. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that Adm overexpression attenuates hyperoxia (HO)-induced murine experimental BPD-PH by using a novel transgenic mouse that overexpresses Adm globally (Admhi/hi mice). One-day-old Admhi/hi mice or their wild-type littermates (Adm+/+ mice) were exposed to …

Administration Of A Novel Reprogramming Formula Improves Cardiac Function And Decreases Cardiac Fibrosis In A Myocardial Infarction Model, Megumi Mathison, Saliha S Pathan, Aliya Lackan, Jianchang Yang, Tamer M A Mohamed, Todd K Rosengart

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: The reprogramming of fibroblasts into (induced) cardiomyocytes offers a direct myocardial regeneration strategy for improving postinfarction myocardial function. Compared to lower-order species, human cells are relatively resistant to such reprogramming. We previously found that p63-transactivation inhibitory domain (TID; the portion of p63 that physical interacts and interferes with its activation of the epigenetic repressor HDAC1) combined with the cardio-differentiation factors Hand2 and Myocardin (HM) enhanced rat and human cell transdifferentiation. The present study sought to determine the in vivo effects of this reprogramming strategy in a rat myocardial infarction model.

Methods: Adult male and female rats underwent left anterior …

Part Ii Common Questions And Misconceptions About Creatine Supplementation: What Does The Scientific Evidence Really Show?, Jose Antonio, Ann F Brown, Darren G Candow, Philip D Chilibeck, Stacey J Ellery, Scott C Forbes, Bruno Gualano, Andrew R Jagim, Chad Kerksick, Richard B Kreider, Sergej M Ostojic, Eric S Rawson, Michael D Roberts, Hamilton Roschel, Abbie E Smith-Ryan, Jeffrey R Stout, Mark A Tarnopolsky, Trisha A Vandusseldorp, Darryn S Willoughby, Tim N Ziegenfuss

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Creatine monohydrate supplementation (CrM) is a safe and effective intervention for improving certain aspects of sport, exercise performance, and health across the lifespan. Despite its evidence-based pedigree, several questions and misconceptions about CrM remain. To initially address some of these concerns, our group published a narrative review in 2021 discussing the scientific evidence as to whether CrM leads to water retention and fat accumulation, is a steroid, causes hair loss, dehydration or muscle cramping, adversely affects renal and liver function, and if CrM is safe and/or effective for children, adolescents, biological females, and older adults. As a follow-up, the purpose …

Cross-Species Standardised Cortico-Subcortical Tractography, Stephania Assimopoulos, Shaun Warrington, Davide Folloni, Katherine Bryant, Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, Wei Tang, Saad Jbabdi, Sarah R Heilbronner, Rogier B Mars, Stamatios N Sotiropoulos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite their importance for brain function, cortico-subcortical white matter tracts are under-represented in diffusion magnetic resonance imaging tractography studies. Their non-invasive mapping is more challenging and less explored compared to other major cortico-cortical bundles. We introduce a set of standardised tractography protocols for delineating tracts between the cortex and various deep subcortical structures, including the caudate, putamen, amygdala, thalamus, and hippocampus. To enable comparative studies, our protocols are designed for both human and macaque brains. We demonstrate how tractography reconstructions follow topographical principles obtained from tracers in the macaque and how these translate to humans. We show that the proposed …

Transcriptional Coregulator Zmiz1 Modulates Estrogen Responses That Are Essential For Healthy Endometrial Function, Sylvia C Hewitt, Frank Orellana, Ryan M Marquardt, Myeongjin Yi, Cynthia J Willson, Mark Y Chiang, Yong Song, Goutham Venkata Naga Davuluri, Christopher Day, Ramakrishna Kommagani, Joseph Rodriguez, Asgerally T Fazleabas, John P Lydon, Francesco J Demayo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Estrogen is a critical regulator of endometrial health. Aberrant estrogen stimulation can result in infertility, endometrial cancer, and endometriosis. Here, we identified Zinc Finger MIZ-Type Containing 1 (Zmiz1) as a coregulator of uterine estrogen signaling. ZMIZ1 is colocalized with an estrogen receptor α–binding (ESR1-binding) super enhancer. ZMIZ1 mutations are found in endometrial cancer and its RNA levels trend toward reduction in endometrium of patients with endometriosis. ZMIZ1 is dynamically expressed in human endometrial tissues during the menstrual cycle. Disrupting ZMIZ1 in cultured human endometrial stromal cells resulted in impaired cell proliferation and decidual differentiation. Ablation of Zmiz1 using …

Cerebellar Purkinje Cell Stripe Patterns Reveal A Differential Vulnerability And Resistance To Cell Loss During Normal Aging In Mice, Sarah G Donofrio, Cheryl Brandenburg, Amanda M Brown, Tao Lin, Hsiang-Chih Lu, Roy V Sillitoe

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Age-related neurodegenerative diseases involve reduced cell numbers and impaired behavioral capacity. Neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits also occur during aging, and notably in the absence of disease. The cerebellum, which modulates movement and cognition, is susceptible to cell loss in both aging and disease. Here, we demonstrate that cerebellar Purkinje cell loss in aged mice is not spatially random but rather occurs in a pattern of parasagittal stripes. We also find that aged mice exhibit impaired motor coordination and more severe tremor compared to younger mice. However, the relationship between patterned Purkinje cell loss and motor dysfunction is not straightforward. Examination …

Lilrb4 Regulates Circadian Disruption-Induced Mammary Tumorigenesis Via Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway, Olajumoke Ogunlusi, Mrinmoy Sarkar, Kayla Carter, Arhit Chakrabarti, Devon J Boland, Tristan Nguyen, James Sampson, Christian Nguyen, Danielle Fails, Yava Jones-Hall, Loning Fu, Gus Wright, Da Mi Kim, James J Cai, Bani Mallick, Alex C Keene, Jeff R Jones, Tapasree Roy Sarkar

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Epidemiological studies have shown that circadian rhythm disruption (CRD) is associated with the risk of breast cancer. However, the role of CRD in mammary gland morphology and aggressive basal mammary tumorigenesis and the molecular mechanism underlying CRD-induced carcinogenesis remain unknown. To investigate the effect of CRD on aggressive tumorigenesis, a genetically engineered mouse model of aggressive breast cancer was used. The impact of CRD on the tumor microenvironment was investigated using the tumors from LD12:12 and CRD mice via scRNA-seq, flow cytometry, multiplexing immunostaining, and realtime PCR. The effect of LILRB4-immunotherapy on CRD-induced tumorigenesis was also investigated. Here we investigated …