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Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

Prevention Of Chronic Inflammation By Targeting Macrophage Integrin Adb2, Cady Forgey Dec 2020

Prevention Of Chronic Inflammation By Targeting Macrophage Integrin Adb2, Cady Forgey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Macrophage integrin aDb2 promotes macrophage retention and accumulation within inflamed tissue, a key event in development of chronic inflammation. Recently, the P5 peptide was identified as a specific inhibitor for integrin aDb2 interaction with 2-(ω-carboxyethyl) pyrole (CEP), a ligand at inflammatory sites. This thesis aims to identify integrin aD I-domain amino acids involved in binding P5 peptide and likewise to CEP. We propose that non-conserved, basic amino acids of the integrin aDb2 I-domain are responsible for binding to P5 peptide and likewise to CEP. Eight amino acids were analyzed by …


The Relationship Between Cell-Free Dna And Resistance Training, Henry Lang Aug 2020

The Relationship Between Cell-Free Dna And Resistance Training, Henry Lang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purposes of this dissertation were to explore relationship between cell free DNA (cf-DNA), creatine kinase (CK), C-reactive protein (CRP), vertical jump testing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in response to a high-volume resistance training protocol, and to assess the sensitivity of cf-DNA to different resistance training volume loads. The secondary purpose was to examine the relationship between cf-DNA and relative strength. Study 1 was an exploratory attempt to discover relationships between cf-DNA, CK, CRP, delayed onset muscle soreness, and performance variables. Seventeen resistance trained males were recruited, 9 were randomly assigned to receive BCAAs while 8 received a …


Protection Against Atherosclerosis By A Non-Native Pentameric Crp That Shares Its Ligand Recognition Functions With An Evolutionarily Distant Crp, Asmita Pathak May 2020

Protection Against Atherosclerosis By A Non-Native Pentameric Crp That Shares Its Ligand Recognition Functions With An Evolutionarily Distant Crp, Asmita Pathak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein of the innate immune system that has been evolutionarily conserved. Human CRP is known to exist in two different pentameric conformations; native CRP and non-native CRP that possess differential ligand recognition functions. The structure of CRP evolved from arthropods to humans, in terms of subunit composition, disulfide bonds, and glycosylation pattern. Along with change in structure, the gene expression pattern of CRP also evolved from a constitutive protein in lower invertebrates to an acute phase protein in humans. The objective of this study was to determine the function of a non-native pentameric …


A Novel Mode Of Action Of C-Reactive Protein In Protecting Against Streptococcus Pneumoniae Infection And Synergy With Antibiotics, Donald Ngwa May 2020

A Novel Mode Of Action Of C-Reactive Protein In Protecting Against Streptococcus Pneumoniae Infection And Synergy With Antibiotics, Donald Ngwa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a part of the innate immune system, is synthesized in the liver, its blood level increases in inflammatory states, and it binds to Streptococcus pneumoniae. The conformation of CRP is altered under conditions mimicking an inflammatory milieu and this non-native CRP also binds to immobilized/aggregated/pathogenic proteins. Experiments in mice have revealed that one of the functions of CRP is to protect against pneumococcal infection. For protection, CRP must be injected into mice within two hours of administering pneumococci, thus, CRP is protective against early-stage infection but not against late-stage infection. It is unknown how CRP protects …


Understanding The Implications Of Anandamide, An Endocannabinoid In An Early Land Plant, Physcomitrella Patens, Md Imdadul Haq May 2020

Understanding The Implications Of Anandamide, An Endocannabinoid In An Early Land Plant, Physcomitrella Patens, Md Imdadul Haq

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Endocannabinoid signaling is well studied in mammals and known to be involved in numerous pathological and physiological processes. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) terminates endocannabinoid signaling in mammals. In Physcomitrella patens, we identified nine orthologs of FAAH (PpFAAH1 to PpFAAH9) with the characteristic catalytic triad and amidase signature sequence. Kinetics of PpFAAH1 showed specificity towards anandamide (AEA) at 37°C and pH 8.0. Further biophysical and bioinformatic analyses revealed that, structurally, PpFAAH1 to PpFAAH4 were closely associated to the plant FAAH whereas PpFAAH6 to PpFAAH9 were more closely associated to the animal FAAH. A substrate entry gate or ‘dynamic paddle’ …