Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Characterization Of Cardiomyopathy In A Mouse Model Of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (Dmd) Using Echocardiography, Dce-Ct, And Pet-Fdg, Seyed Hamed Moazami

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive neuromuscular disease that is the result of a loss of functional dystrophin, which causes cardiomyocyte fibrosis and death, leading to cardiomyopathy. In this thesis, I have utilized dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (DCE-CT), positron emission tomography-fluorodeoxyglucose (PET-FDG), echocardiography, and traditional histology to longitudinally assess disease progression and degree of cardiomyopathy in a murine model of DMD (mdx:utrn-/-). No significant changes were observed in the blood flow, blood volume, or cardiac volume measured via DCE-CT, nor in standard uptake value (SUV) of glucose as measured by PET-FDG in the left myocardium between and within …

Applications Of Rapid Cardiac Micro-Ct, Sarah A. Detombe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mouse models are an important tool in cardiovascular disease research and a non-invasive imaging method is an advantageous way of monitoring disease progression. Cardiac micro-CT is rapid imaging technique capable of quantifying changes in cardiac structure and function in mice. The goal of this thesis was to demonstrate the utility of this technique in monitoring disease progression in a longitudinal study, as well as its capability for evaluating other methods of measuring cardiac function in mice.

In a longitudinal study, a mouse model of myocardial infarction was scanned weekly for four weeks; left ventricular volume and ejection fraction were measured …

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Of Peptide-Mineral Interactions, Susanna Hug

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We present molecular dynamics (MD) simulations providing information about the mechanisms of biomineralization. We focus on osteopontin-related peptides, which inhibit the growth of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) the primary constituent of kidney stones.

First, we performed two ab initio MD simulations: aspartic acid (Asp) and the dimer of aspartic acid and phosphoserine (Asp-pSer) interacting with a fully hydrated COM crystal slab exposing the {100} face. For Asp we found that one of the carboxyl and the amine group both interact with the crystal surface but neither forms a stable contact during the simulation. Asp-pSer interacts preferably with its carboxyl groups …