Life Sciences Commons^™

Cortisol Receptor Sensitivity As A Risk Factor For Depression, Michela Michielli

Honors Theses

In 2020, the World Health Organization reported over 264 million people across the world were suffering from depression. Studies have demonstrated that one source of depression is a hormonal imbalance involved in the stress response. Cortisol is a stress hormone regulated by the Hypothalamic-Anterior-Pituitary (HPA) Axis. Its effects on the stress response and other metabolic activities in the body are exerted through the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR respectively).

Our research has examined mutations known as single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) relating to cortisol-receptor sensitivity and the behavior of cortisol in the body to investigate the link between cortisol activity and …

Quantification Of Hfshr Signaling To Determine Lipid Raft Residency, Gregory Geisel

Honors Theses

Human follicle stimulating hormone (hFSH) is a gonadotropin responsible for regulating reproductive systems by stimulation of Sertoli cells in males and granulosa cells in females. The hFSH receptor (hFSHR) is a seven transmembrane receptor that belongs to the G protein coupled receptor family. The receptor is functionally connected to a G protein on the inside of the cell. Once FSH activates its receptor, a cascade of signaling begins, resulting in the activation of adenylyl cyclase, which increases the intracellular levels of cAMP. In addition, hFSHR stimulation also activates the p44/42 MAP kinase. The spike in cAMP activates the enzyme protein …

Use Of Crispr To Develop A Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Knockout In Human Granulosa Cells To Study Lipid Raft Residency, Jenna Pradhuman

Honors Theses

Human follicle stimulating hormone (hFSH) is a protein hormone responsible for stimulating the gonads and is necessary for regulating reproductive systems in both females and males. The actions of hFSh are carried out by the hFSH receptor (hFSHR), a seven transmembrane receptor that belongs to the G protein-coupled receptor family. Once FSH activates its receptor, the G protein inside the cell that is associated with the receptor is activated and starts a cascade of signaling that results in activation of protein kinase A (PKA) and the p44/42 MAP kinase (MAPK). The activation of these secondary proteins is responsible for follicular …

Investigating The Colocalization Of The Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor With Caveolin In Lipid Rafts, David Wood

Honors Theses

Located in the brain and stimulated by releasing hormones from the hypothalamus, the anterior pituitary gland secretes hormones into the blood stream that get dispersed throughout the body resulting in a physiological change. One of those hormones is the human follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which is a glycoprotein that is essential for reproduction in both males and females (Dias, James). FSH is a dimeric protein made up of two pieces, an alpha subunit, and a beta subunit. The alpha subunit is familiar to all glycoprotein hormones, such as luteinizing hormone, and the thyroid-stimulating hormone. The beta subunit is specific to FSH …

Interaction Of Human Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor With Caveolin Within The Cell Membrane, Jordan Pereira

Honors Theses

The human FSH receptor is a g protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) expressed on the surface of granulosa cells in the ovary and Sertoli cells in the testes. FSHR has a sequence of amino acids consistent with a caveolin interaction motif (φXφXXXXφXXφ) found between amino acids 479-489 in the primary receptor sequence in the putative 4th transmembrane domain. Caveolin is a protein found in cell membrane micro domains such as lipid rafts. These densely packed regions of the membrane are enriched for sphingolipids and cholesterol and are thought to be involved in signal transduction. Caveolin can be found in caveolae, flask-like structures …

Investigating The Use Of Aptamers In Binding To The Human Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor, Ayon Ibrahim

Honors Theses

Oral contraceptive pills use high doses of hormone to suppress the reproductive arm of the endocrine system in women. However, these drugs can have harmful long term side effects such as increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and breast cancer. Therefore, it has become an important public health goal to look for alternative ways of providing contraception. Aptamers, oligonucleotides that bind to specific molecules due to their unique 3-dimensional structure, are one alternative that has yet to be explored. The goal of our research is to develop an RNA aptamer that will bind selectively to the hFSHR. We first incubated …

Fsh Treated Cells And The Effects On Cell Signaling, Brian H. Goldman

Honors Theses

The endocrine system is essential to the management of homeostasis (source 1). The endocrine system is such an integral part of human survival and homeostasis because it involves almost every cell, tissue, and organ within the body. The endocrine system functions by the secretion of chemical signals, referred to as hormones, by a collection of cells called glands. These hormones are passed through the blood stream to reach their target, which possesses a receptor specific to a given hormone. These endocrine glands are not to be confused with exocrine glands, which secretes chemical signals through a gland’s duct opening to …

Follicle Stimulating Hormone Receptor Resides In Detergent Resistant Membrane Microdomains, Johanna Geoghegan

Honors Theses

Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is an anterior pituitary glycoprotein hormone crucial for proper spermatogenesis in males and oocyte development in females. The follicle stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) is a G-protein coupled receptor found exclusively on the membranes of Sertoli cells in the testes and granulosa cells in the ovaries. It has been proposed that FSHR localizes to detergent resistant portions of the membranes called lipid rafts, which are membrane microdomains that contain a high percent composition of cholesterol and sphingolipids. To determine if FSHR resides in these membrane microdomains, strong detergents were used to extract and isolate detergent resistant membranes. …