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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Mushroom Body-Specific Gene Regulation By The Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Kevin Cj Nixon
Mushroom Body-Specific Gene Regulation By The Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Kevin Cj Nixon
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Over the lifetime of an organism, neurons must establish, remodel, and maintain precise connections in order to form neural circuits that are required for proper nervous system functioning. Disruptions in these processes can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder. Mutations in genes encoding subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex have been implicated in ID, yet the role of this complex in neurons is poorly understood. In this project, I established cell-type specific methods to examine the effect of SWI/SNF subunit knockdowns on gene transcription and chromatin structure in the memory-forming neurons of …
Nucleoporin-Mediated Regulation Of The Kcnq1ot1 Imprinted Domain, Saqib Sachani
Nucleoporin-Mediated Regulation Of The Kcnq1ot1 Imprinted Domain, Saqib Sachani
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that restricts gene expression to one parental allele while the other copy is silent. How this duality is regulated is not fully understood. Using the Kcnq1ot1 imprinted domain as a model, previous work in the laboratory identified nucleoporin 107 as a candidate regulator of imprinted domain regulation. Within the Kcnq1ot1 domain resides the imprinting control region, the paternally expressed Kcnq1ot1 (Kcnq1 opposite transcript 1) noncoding RNA, nine maternal-expressed protein-coding genes, as well as genes that escape imprint regulation. On the maternal allele, the Kcnq1ot1 imprinting control region is methylated, silencing the embedded Kcnq1ot1 …
Characterization Of The Anti-Apoptotic Function Of The Lysine Demethylase Plant Homeodomain Finger Protein 8 (Phf8), Kimberly Muranko
Characterization Of The Anti-Apoptotic Function Of The Lysine Demethylase Plant Homeodomain Finger Protein 8 (Phf8), Kimberly Muranko
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Apoptosis is an essential process in development and tissue maintenance. The tumor suppressor protein p53 initiates apoptosis through transactivation of pro-apoptotic genes when cellular stress is detected. This study identifies a regulatory role for the lysine demethylase, PHF8, in the p53-mediated apoptosis pathway. We initially suspected PHF8 of demethylating the adaptor protein Numb, however found this to be untrue. PHF8 has been found to have oncogenic properties including an anti-apoptotic effect, however how PHF8 negatively affects apoptosis has not been previously investigated. We found PHF8 inhibits translation of the pro-apoptotic genes TP53, BAX and CASP3. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed …
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying The Early Life Programming Of The Liver, Gurjeev Sohi
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying The Early Life Programming Of The Liver, Gurjeev Sohi
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Clinical studies have demonstrated that intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) offspring, faced with a nutritional mismatch postpartum, have an increased risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. The maternal protein restriction (MPR) rat model has been extensively studied to investigate the adverse effects of a nutritional mismatch in postnatal life of IUGR offspring. Previous studies have demonstrated that MPR leads to impaired function of the liver, an important metabolic organ. However the underlying mechanisms which predispose these offspring to the metabolic syndrome remain elusive. In the following studies, low protein diet during pregnancy and lactation led to IUGR offspring with decreased liver …
The Effects Of Superovulation And Embryo Culture On Genomic Imprinting In A Mouse Model System, Brenna A. M. Velker
The Effects Of Superovulation And Embryo Culture On Genomic Imprinting In A Mouse Model System, Brenna A. M. Velker
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Genomic imprinting is a specialized transcriptional mechanism resulting in the unequal expression of alleles based on their parent-of-origin. Imprinted genes are critical for embryonic and fetal development and their dysregulation is linked to a group of human diseases called imprinting disorders, including Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome and Silver-Russell Syndrome. Two critical phases of genomic imprinting exist. The acquisition phase occurs in developing germ cells, asynchronously for different imprinted loci, while the maintenance phase takes place during preimplantation development, while the rest of the genome is undergoing demethylation. Increased frequencies of human imprinting disorders are observed in children following the use …