Life Sciences Commons^™

Multiple Sensory Modalities Used By Squid In Successful Predator Evasion Throughout Ontogeny, Carly A. York, Ian K. Bartol, Paul S. Kruger

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Squid rely on multiple sensory systems for predator detection. In this study we examine the role of two sensory systems, the lateral line analogue and vision, in successful predator evasion throughout ontogeny. Squid Doryteuthis pealeii and Lolliguncula brevis were recorded using high-speed videography in the presence of natural predators under light and dark conditions with their lateral line analogue intact or ablated via a pharmacological technique. Paralarval squid showed reduced escape responses when ablated; however, no differences were found between light and dark conditions in non-ablated paralarvae, as was previously shown in juveniles and adults, indicating that the lateral line …

Selfish Mutations: The Genetic Basis Of The Paternal Age Effect, Eoin C. Whelan

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

As the mean age of childrearing grows, the effect of parental age on genetic disease and child health becomes ever more important. A number of autosomal dominant disorders show a dramatic paternal age effect due to selfish mutations: substitutions that grant spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) a selective advantage in the testes of the father but have a deleterious effect in offspring.

I present a mathematical model to analyse the normal function of the stem cell compartment, which provides a framework for SSC renewal and accommodates differences between animal systems. In order to model the SSC mutation accumulation, a Markov chain …

Cell Electrosensitization Exists Only In Certain Electroporation Buffers, Janja Dermol, Olga N. Pakhomova, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Damijan Miklavčič

Bioelectrics Publications

Electroporation-induced cell sensitization was described as the occurrence of a delayed hypersensitivity to electric pulses caused by pretreating cells with electric pulses. It was achieved by increasing the duration of the electroporation treatment at the same cumulative energy input. It could be exploited in electroporation-based treatments such as electrochemotherapy and tissue ablation with irreversible electroporation. The mechanisms responsible for cell sensitization, however, have not yet been identified. We investigated cell sensitization dynamics in five different electroporation buffers. We split a pulse train into two trains varying the delay between them and measured the propidium uptake by fluorescence microscopy. By fitting …

Cytosolic Dna Sensor Upregulation Accompanies Dna Electrotransfer In B16.F10 Melanoma Cells, Katarina Znidar, Masa Bosnjak, Maja Cemazar, Loree C. Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

In several preclinical tumor models, antitumor effects occur after intratumoral electroporation, also known as electrotransfer, of plasmid DNA devoid of a therapeutic gene. In mouse melanomas, these effects are preceded by significant elevation of several proinflammatory cytokines. These observations implicate the binding and activation of intracellular DNA-specific pattern recognition receptors or DNA sensors in response to DNA electrotransfer. In tumors, IFN β mRNA and protein levels significantly increased. The mRNAs of several DNA sensors were detected, and DAI, DDX60, and p204 tended to be upregulated. These effects were accompanied with reduced tumor growth and increased tumor necrosis. In B16. F10 …

The Cytotoxic Synergy Of Nanosecond Electric Pulses And Low Temperature Leads To Apoptosis, Claudia Muratori, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Elena C. Gianulis, Sarah D. Jensen, Olga N. Pakhomova

Bioelectrics Publications

Electroporation by nanosecond electric pulses (nsEP) is an emerging modality for tumor ablation. Here we show the efficient induction of apoptosis even by a non-toxic nsEP exposure when it is followed by a 30-min chilling on ice. This chilling itself had no impact on the survival of U-937 or HPAF-II cells, but caused more than 75% lethality in nsEP-treated cells (300 ns, 1.8-7 kV/cm, 50-700 pulses). The cell death was largely delayed by 5-23 hr and was accompanied by a 5-fold activation of caspase 3/7 (compared to nsEP without chilling) and more than 60% cleavage of poly-ADP ribose polymerase (compared …

Anticancer, Biophysical And Computational Investigations Of Half-Sandwich Ruthenium(Ii) Thiosemicarbazone Complexes: The Effect Of Arene Versus Thiacrown Face-Cap, Floyd A. Beckford, Alyssa Stott, P. Canisius Mbarushimana, Marc-Andre Leblanc, Kinsey Hall, Samantha Smith, Jimmie L. Bullock, Dennis J. Houghton, Alvin A. Holder, Nikolay Gerasimchuk, Antonio Gonzalez-Sarrías

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

A series of half-sandwich ruthenium complexes, two containing an arene face-cap and the other a thiacrown ether face-cap were synthesized to investigate the necessity of the arene for anticancer activity in this class of compounds. The complexes are formulated as [(h⁶-p-cymene)Ru(dmabTSC)Cl]PF₆, [(h⁶-benzene)Ru(dmabTSC)Cl]PF₆ (arene complexes), and [([9]aneS₃(dmabTSC)Cl]PF₆ (dmabTSC = dimethylaminobenzaldehye thiosemicarbazone). It was observed that none of the complexes showed good anticancer activity in vitro against HCT-116 and Caco-2 (colon adenocarcinoma) cells. All three complexes can bind strongly to calf-thymus DNA with binding constants on the order of 10 …

Effect Of Twisted Fiber Anisotropy In Cardiac Tissue On Ablation With Pulsed Electric Fields, Fei Xie, Christian W. Zemlin

Bioelectrics Publications

Background: Ablation of cardiac tissue with pulsed electric fields is a promising alternative to current thermal ablation methods, and it critically depends on the electric field distribution in the heart.

Methods: We developed a model that incorporates the twisted anisotropy of cardiac tissue and computed the electric field distribution in the tissue. We also performed experiments in rabbit ventricles to validate our model. We find that the model agrees well with the experimentally determined ablation volume if we assume that all tissue that is exposed to a field greater than 3 kV/cm is ablated. In our numerical analysis, we considered …

Radio-Frequency Plasma Polymerized Biodegradable Carrier For In Vivo Release Of Cis-Platinum, Sudhir Bhatt, Fatemeh Valamanesh, Jerome Pulpytel, Rea Lo Dico, Aliby Baiyukha, Iman Al-Dybiat, Marc Pocard, Farzaneh Arefi-Khonsari, Massoud Mirshahi

Bioelectrics Publications

A low pressure plasma process based on plasma deposition has been used to develop a drug delivery strategy. In this study, a drug delivery system based on different layers of plasma co-polymerized Poly ε-caprolactone-Polyethylene glycol (PCL-PEG) co-polymers was deposited on biocompatible substrates. Cis-platinum (118 μgm/cm²) was used as an anti-cancer drug and incorporated for local delivery of the chemotherapeutic agent. The co-polymer layers and their interaction with cancer cells were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Our study showed that the plasma-PCL-PEG coated cellophane membranes, in which the drug, was included did not modify the flexibility and appearance of …

Mfge8 Regulates Tgf-Β-Induced Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition In Endometrial Epithelial Cells In Vitro, Liang Yu, Rong Hu, Claretta Sullivan, R. James Swanson, Sergio Oehninger, Ying-Pu Sun, Silvina Bocca

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

This study investigated the role of milk fat globule-epidermal growth factor-factor 8 (MFGE8) in TGF-β-induced epithelial– mesenchymal transition (EMT) of endometrial epithelial cells. These were in vitro studies using human endometrial epithelial cells and mouse blastocysts. We investigated the ability of TGF-β to induce EMT in endometrial epithelial cells (HEC-1A) by assessment of cytological phenotype (by light and atomic force microscopy), changes in expression of the markers of cell adhesion/differentiation E- and N-cadherin, and of the transcription factor Snail (by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting), and competence to support embryo attachment in a mouse blastocyst outgrowth assay. We also studied the effects …