Biochemistry Commons^™

Water Chemistry Dynamics In Four Vernal Pools In Maine, Usa, Lydia H. Kifner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vernal pools are small seasonal wetlands that are a common landscape feature that contribute to biodiversity in northeastern North American forests. However, even basic information about their biogeochemical functions, such as carbon cycling, is limited. Dissolved gas concentrations (CH₄, CO₂) and other water chemistry parameters were monitored weekly at the bottom and surface of four vernal pools in central and eastern Maine, USA, from April to August 2016. The vernal pools were supersaturated with respect to CH₄ and CO₂ at all sampling dates and locations. Concentrations of dissolved CH₄ and CO₂ ranged …

Role Of Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 (Cb2) In Late Stage Atherosclerosis, Makenzie Fulmer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of medium and large vessels. Immune signaling and dyslipidemia are two of several processes which influence lesion development in atherosclerosis. Cannabinoids, such as those found in marijuana, exert their effects through two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2. Recent studies using CB2 knockout mice and CB2-selective ligands have shed light on a protective role of CB2 in early stages of atherosclerosis. However, the role of CB2 in advanced stages of atherosclerosis remains unclear. To determine if CB2 plays a role in advanced atherosclerotic lesion composition and progression, we investigated the effects of systemic CB2 gene …

Type Ix Secretion System : Characterization Of An Effector Protein And An Insight Into The Role Of C-Terminal Domain Dimeration In Outer Membrane Translocation., Lahari Koneru

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia are two of the primary pathogens that are associated in the etiology and progression of chronic periodontitis. In T. forsythia, KLIKK proteases are the recently identified group of proteolytic enzymes that are secreted through Type IX secretion system (T9SS). Among, these KLIKK proteases a synergistic relationship was observed between karilysin and mirolysin in invading the host complement system for the survival of the bacteria. Since, karilysin has been already characterized, in this study we propose to study about mirolysin through structural, biochemical and biological characterization. The obtained results from the experiments has shown the …

A Novel Method For Synthesis Of Hydroxytyrosol, Emmanuel Onobun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydroxytyrosol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenolethanol, a naturally occurring polyphenol most common in olive tree (Olea europaea), is one of the most effective member of the polyphenols family, because of its remarkable antioxidant activity, its ability to inhibit oxidation of low density lipids (LDL), and its protection against DNA oxidative damage. Hydroxytyrosol, which is widely used in cosmetics and food supplements industries, can be purchased as an olive oil extract that contains low concentration of hydroxytyrosol besides other polyphenols. The price and low natural abundance of hydroxytyrosol make alternative synthetic sources very attractive. In this research, a novel method for the synthesis of pure …

Characterizing Reactive Glutamines In Fibrinogen And Elucidating Factor Xiii Substrate Specificity., Kelly Njine Mouapi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fibrinogen is the most abundant protein involved in blood coagulation and has been associated with many pathological implications in cardiovascular disease. At the final stages of blood clot formation, the transglutaminase Factor XIIIa introduces γ-glutamyl-ε-lysinyl covalent bonds between reactive glutamines and lysines in fibrin, which results in a tighter clot network that is resistant to fibrinolysis. Factor XIIIa crosslinks specific reactive glutamines on fibrinogen, selecting more reactive glutamines in the αC region of fibrinogen than any other chain. Although crosslinking pairs in the αC region have been identified, little is known about the extent of crosslinking and the role played …

Mechanism Investigation Of Pseudouridine Synthases Trub And Rlua With Rna Containing 5-Fluorouridine And 4-Thiouridine., Uyen T. Duong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pseudouridine synthases (Ψ synthases) are the enzymes that catalyze the isomerization of uridine (U) to pseudouridine (Ψ), which is the most prevalent post-transcriptional modification of RNA. The Ψ synthases fall into six different families that share no significant global sequence similarity; however, they all involve a conserved aspartic acid residue which is absolutely essential for activity. Tyrosine is a conserved residue in the active site in five of the six families of Ψ synthases (phenylalanine in the TruD family) and was hypothesized as the general base for the isomerization reaction. To confirm the function of Tyr-96, Y96F RluA was assayed …

Cloning, Purification, And Biochemical Characterization Of Human Prolyl Endopeptidase, Travis K. Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eurygaster integriceps Puton, common name sunn Pest, is one of the primary sources of wheat crop wastes in North Africa, Middle East, and Eastern Europe. It feeds by injecting the wheat grain with an enzyme characterized as prolyl endoprotease (spPEP) that breaks down Gluten, the wheat’s main constitutive protein necessary for bread production (Darkoh et al., 2010). Previously, it has been shown that peptides isolated from Lactobacillus hydrolysates of caseins in bovine milk are able to inhibit mammalian PEP in colon cells, as well as bacterial PEP (Juillerat-Jeanneret et al., 2010). While recombinant versions of these peptides are also potential …

Evaluation Of Different Probiotic Strains Supplemented In Commercial Broiler Rations And Their Influences On Performance, Yield, And Intestinal Microbiota., Justin M. Glasscock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to evaluate Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus subtilis, as probiotic strains compared to Bacitracin Methylene Disalicylate (BMD) 50 as the antibiotic growth promotor, supplemented in commercial broiler rations and their influences on performance, yield, and intestinal microbiota. This trial was completed as a randomized-block design with 4,800 birds split into 96, 5’x10’ pens, and randomly assigned to one of eight treatment groups. The birds were placed at a stocking density of 1.00 ft²/bird, (50 birds/pen), and reared on used pine shaving for 55 days. Throughout the study, bird …

Role Of Mir-29b-1 And Mir-29a In Endocrine-Resistant Breast Cancer., Penn Muluhngwi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Therapies targeting estrogen receptor α (ERα) including selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), e.g., tamoxifen (TAM); selective estrogen receptor downregulators (SERDs), e.g., fulvestrant (ICI 182,780); and aromatase inhibitors (AI), e.g., letrozole, are successfully used in treating breast cancer patients whose initial tumor expresses ERα. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of endocrine therapies is limited as ~ 40% of breast cancer patients will eventually acquire resistance to them. The role of miRNAs in the progression of endocrine-resistant breast cancer is of keen interest in developing biomarkers and therapies to counter metastatic disease. This dissertation begins with a review on miRNAs implicated …

Primate Proteomic Composition Of Seminal Plasma And Prostate-Specific Transglutaminase Activity In Relation To Sexual Selection., Amanda M.C. Zielen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Humans (Homo sapiens), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) have diverse mating systems with varying levels of sperm competition. Several seminal plasma genes have been claimed to evolve under positive selection, while others are altered or lost. This study aims to identify biologically relevant differences among seminal plasma proteomes of primates in relation to mating systems and previous genomic studies. Seminal plasma from three individuals of each species were run in triplicate in shotgun liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and confirmed with Western blots. Over 7,000 peptides were identified across all …

Neuronal Gq Structures In Neurodegeneration, Damian S. Mcaninch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates protein nucleic acid interactions between various proteins and G quadruplex (GQ) forming messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in human neurological disorders. GQ structures are formed in DNA/RNA, when four guanine residues form planar tetrads stabilized by Hoogsteen base pairing, that stack forming a GQ structure stabilized by potassium ions. These GQ structures are targeted by the arginine-glycine-glycine (RGG) repeat domain containing RNA-binding domain.

Three RGG domain containing RNA-binding proteins, all of which have been implicated in neurological disorders, and their interactions with GQ forming mRNAs, were investigated in this study: fused in sarcoma (FUS), fragile X mental retardation protein …

Contribution Of Specific Amino Acids To Calcium-Dependent Dimerization Of Epithelial Cadherin, Xiaoyun Z. Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cadherins are calcium-dependent molecules that play essential roles in embryonic development, tissue morphogenesis, and cancer progression. Epithelial (E-) cadherin is present at adherens junctions, structures that are important for maintaining tissue integrity. At adherens junctions, cell–cell adhesion complexes are formed as clusters of cadherin dimers through strand-swapped dimerization between two interacting protomers from adherent cells. Recently, a number of studies of dimer formation of E-cadherin supported a two-step adhesive binding model. First, an inter-molecular initial encounter complex (X-dimer) forms at the linker region of the first two extracellular domains, EC1 and EC2. Next, strand-swap dimerization occurs via exchange or ''swap'' …

Design, Synthesis And Biological Screening Of Novel Cucsinspired Estrone Analogues Towards Treatment Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Mater Hussen Mahnashi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cucurbitacins (CUCS) are natural products with highly oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenes produced mostly by Cucurbitaceae family plant. They are known for their therapeutic efficiency with different biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anti-cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Previous reports have shown the ability of CUCS to inhibit the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG-2) significantly. Structural activity relationship studies suggested the potential of the 23, 24 enone side chain of CUCS to bind to the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). Due to the limited quantities of CUCS upon isolation and the challenges …

Dissecting The Histone-Binding Mechanism Of A Phd Finger Subtype, Daniel Boamah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disordered tails of histones are critical information retrieval hub and thus, aberrations in the flow of information through these hubs are associated with a number of pathological consequences in human. Mechanism for retrieval of information from these hubs is achieved by protein-protein interaction, i.e. proteins dock onto histone tails to initiate chromatin signaling. Eukaryotes have a number of small peptide binding domains that have evolved to specifically interact with histone tails, and these domains called histone readers as they read the information encoded on histone tails. Plant homeodomain (hereafter PHD) finger, a binucleated zinc finger, family is one such histone …

Regulation Of Arf16-2 By Microrna160 During Soybean Root Nodule Development, Spencer Schreier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soybean is an excellent candidate for sustainable agriculture due to its production of nutritious, versatile beans and the ability to form symbiotic organs called root nodules that perform nitrogen fixation. As demand for both yield and sustainable agriculture continue to increase, root nodules offer an attractive alternative to expensive and environmentally harmful nitrogen fertilizers. Understanding root nodule formation may open genetic engineering avenues for optimizing nitrogen fixation performance and transferring the nodule-formation ability to other plants. A major determinant of nodule numbers and quality in soybean is microRNA 160 (miR160), which dictates developmental stage-specific auxin sensitivity by targeting repressor auxin …

Pretreatment, Enzymatic Hydrolysis, And Fermentation To Ethanol Using A Lignocellulosic Feedstock And Subsequent Recovery Of A Value Added Co-Product: Pure Crystalline Cellulose, Ryan J. Bouza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more demand for alternatives to petroleum and the industrial world’s love of cars increase, cellulosic ethanol will become more important. The ethanol can, of course, be used in the transportation fuel sector, but there is also a potential for co-products to be developed out of the cellulose to ethanol process. Some of these co-products have the potential to replace current petrol products. These co-products may provide the extra revenue generation needed for further investment and development of this industry. This would not only provide better energy independence, but in the United States, it would better satisfy the cellulosic ethanol …

Cbl And Cbl-B Dictate Csf-1r Endocytic Traffic And Signaling In Macrophages, Lu Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Macrophage colony stimulating factor receptor (CSF-1R or MCSFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase essential for the growth and function of macrophages. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate CSF-1R activation and deactivation will provide insights to clinical treatment of macrophage related diseases including chronic inflammation and cancer. Previously, our laboratory showed that CSF-1R undergoes a novel membrane trafficking route that involves macropinocytosis to deactivate CSF-1R signaling. This thesis makes the discovery that the ubiquitin ligases Cbl and Cbl-b cooperate to regulate CSF-1R endocytosis and traffic to macropinosome in macrophages. Macrophages were derived from mice knocked out for Cbl, Cbl-b or the double …

Nickel Reduces Calcium Dependent Dimerization In Neural Cadherin, Matthew Paul Dukes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cadherins are the primary transmembrane component in adherens junctions, structures that link the actin cytoskeleton in adjacent cells within solid tissues including neurological synapses, epithelium and endothelium. Cell-cell adhesion by cadherins requires the binding of calcium ions to specific sites in the extracellular region. Given the complexity of the cell adhesion microenvironment, we are investigating whether other divalent cations might affect calciumdependent dimerization of neural-(N-) cadherin. The first chapter focuses on studies to characterize the impact of binding physiological magnesium (II) or neurotoxic nickel (II) on calcium-dependent N-cadherin function. Physiological levels of magnesium have only a small effect on the …