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Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Biophysics

Assessing The Pre- And Post-Synaptic Effects Of Opioids On Inspiratory Rhythmogenesis, Jingzhi Zhao, Diego Morandi Zerpa May 2024

Assessing The Pre- And Post-Synaptic Effects Of Opioids On Inspiratory Rhythmogenesis, Jingzhi Zhao, Diego Morandi Zerpa

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Muscarinic Excitation Of Dopamine Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area Via Activation Of A Trpc-Like Cation Conductance, Yu Tzu Chen Jan 2021

Muscarinic Excitation Of Dopamine Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area Via Activation Of A Trpc-Like Cation Conductance, Yu Tzu Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play a crucial role in reward and motivational behaviors, including the development of drug addictions. VTA DA neurons receive excitatory cholinergic inputs from the mesopontine tegmentum. Blockage of the M5 muscarinic receptor in DA neurons has been shown to attenuate drug-induced DA release and abuse-related behaviors, but the molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, experiments were designed to identify the electrophysiological effects of muscarinic agonism in the modulation of action potential kinetics and firing patterns in VTA DA neurons of mice. Pharmacology of the muscarinic receptor-evoked current was also characterized. …


Interclass Gpcr Heteromerization Affects Localization And Trafficking, Rudy Toneatti Jan 2021

Interclass Gpcr Heteromerization Affects Localization And Trafficking, Rudy Toneatti

Theses and Dissertations

Class A serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) 2A (5-HT2AR) and class C metabotropic glutamate 2 receptors (mGluR2) are seven transmembrane receptors (7TMRs or G protein-coupled receptors – GPCRs) involved in multiple neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. Previous findings from our laboratory reported that 5-HT2AR and mGluR2 are dysregulated in the prefrontal cortex of patients suffering from this psychiatric condition, although 5-HT2AR’s expression was recovered in antipsychotic-medicated patients. Genome-wide association studies on schizophrenia reported that endosomal trafficking that regulates cell surface abundance of another 7TMR implicated in this disease (dopamine D2 receptor) can be altered. Ligand-activated receptors, including the …


Stochastic Modeling Of Neuronal Transport In Various Cellular Geometries, Abhishek Choudhary Mr., Peter Kramer May 2019

Stochastic Modeling Of Neuronal Transport In Various Cellular Geometries, Abhishek Choudhary Mr., Peter Kramer

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Biometal-Induced Structural Consequences Of Α-Synuclein – The Parkinson’S Disease Protein, Dinendra L. Abeyawardhane Jan 2019

Biometal-Induced Structural Consequences Of Α-Synuclein – The Parkinson’S Disease Protein, Dinendra L. Abeyawardhane

Theses and Dissertations

The pre-synaptic protein α-Synuclein (αS) is often linked to the pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD), an age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Lewy bodies, the cytopathological hallmarks of PD, are found to be rich in aggregates of misfolded αS protein. Metal dyshomeostasis has also been linked to PD due to the accumulation of iron in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and diminished copper levels reported in this same region. Metal dyshomeostasis in the brain coupled with oxidative stress can enhance the aggregation of αS. Recently, it was confirmed that mammalian αS is universally acetylated at the N-terminus, a common post-translational modification in …


Electrostatic Networks And Mechanisms Of Δph-Dependent Gating In The Human Voltage-Gated Proton Channel Hv1, Ashley L. Bennett Jan 2019

Electrostatic Networks And Mechanisms Of Δph-Dependent Gating In The Human Voltage-Gated Proton Channel Hv1, Ashley L. Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

The structure of the voltage-gated proton (H+) channel Hv1 is homologous to the voltage sensor domain (VSD) of tetrameric voltage-gated Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels (VGCs), but lacks a pore domain and instead forms a homodimer. Similar to other VSD proteins, Hv1 is gated by changes in membrane potential (V), but unlike VGCs, voltage-dependent gating in Hv1 is modulated by changes in the transmembrane pH gradient (DpH = pHo - pHi). In Hv1, pHo or pHi changes shift the open probability (POPEN)-V relation by ~40 mV per …


Inference And Control In Regulatory Genomics, Siddharth Sharma May 2018

Inference And Control In Regulatory Genomics, Siddharth Sharma

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Signaling Through Homomeric And Heteromeric Cannabinoid Cb1 Receptors, Guoqing Xiang Jan 2018

Signaling Through Homomeric And Heteromeric Cannabinoid Cb1 Receptors, Guoqing Xiang

Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis (Marijuana) has multiple effects on the human body, such as analgesia, euphoria and memory impairment. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (D9-THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, binds to cannabinoid receptors, seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that mediate a variety of physiological functions. GPCRs were believed to function only in homomeric forms, however, recent findings show that different GPCRs can also form heteromeric complexes that may expand their signaling properties. In this study, we focused on Cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) heteromers with the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and the Dopamine type 2 receptor (D2R), respectively. We utilized a variety of techniques, such as the …


Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Dependent Effects Of Nicotine On Hek293t And Hbo Cells, James D. Larsen Jan 2018

Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Dependent Effects Of Nicotine On Hek293t And Hbo Cells, James D. Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

T2R receptors are the classical bitter taste receptors which detect and transduce bitter taste in a subset of taste receptor cells (TRCs). The TRPM5-dependent T2Rs are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and are linked to G protein, gustducin to initiate an intracellular signaling cascade for the transduction of bitter tastants. Nicotine is bitter. However, at present the transduction mechanisms for the detection of nicotine in are poorly understood. Previous studies from our laboratory using TRPM5 knockout (KO) mice demonstrated that the T2R pathway is insufficient in explaining the taste perception of nicotine. TRPM5 KO mice elicited chorda tympani (CT) taste nerve …


Capacitive Memory Alters Alternans And Spontaneous Activity In A Minimal Cardiomyocyte Model, Tien Comlekoglu, Seth H. Weinberg May 2017

Capacitive Memory Alters Alternans And Spontaneous Activity In A Minimal Cardiomyocyte Model, Tien Comlekoglu, Seth H. Weinberg

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Code For "Noise-Enhanced Coding In Phasic Neuron Spike Trains", Cheng Ly, Brent D. Doiron Jan 2017

Code For "Noise-Enhanced Coding In Phasic Neuron Spike Trains", Cheng Ly, Brent D. Doiron

Statistical Sciences and Operations Research Data

This zip file contains Matlab scripts and ode (XPP) files to calculate the statistics of the models in "Noise-Enhanced Coding in Phasic Neuron Spike Trains". This article is published in PLoS ONE.


N-Alkyl 4-Methylamphetamine Enantiomers And The Implication For Potential Modulation Of Abuse Liability And Enhancement Of Psychoactive Drug Targeting., Ramsey Sitta Jan 2017

N-Alkyl 4-Methylamphetamine Enantiomers And The Implication For Potential Modulation Of Abuse Liability And Enhancement Of Psychoactive Drug Targeting., Ramsey Sitta

Theses and Dissertations

Drugs of abuse have a long history in humanity. Currently however, a subject of great interest is the phenylalkylamine family of drugs. Not only is the abuse liability of interest but also the potential therapeutic expansion of the capabilities of this family of drugs by utilizing the unique stereospecific effects of the newly discovered hybrid compounds. Based upon prior data of N-Alkyl 4-MA the enantiomers of N-Methyl, N-Ethyl, and N-Propyl were analyzed in hDAT, hNET, and hSERT. It was found that there was a negative correlation between chain length and potency and dopaminergic component. In agreement with the currently established …


Identification Of Expression And Function Of The Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor In Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle, Alexander T. May Jan 2017

Identification Of Expression And Function Of The Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor In Gastrointestinal Smooth Muscle, Alexander T. May

Theses and Dissertations

In response to ingestion of nutrients, enteroendocrine L cells secrete the incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), to enhance glucose-dependent insulin release. Therapies related to GLP-1 are approved for type 2 diabetes. The GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) is expressed in cells of the gastrointestinal tract and elsewhere. In pancreatic beta cells, GLP-1R are coupled to the Gs/cAMP/PKA pathway. The expression and function of GLP-1R in gastrointestinal smooth muscle are not known. Aim. To test the hypothesis that GLP-1 regulates smooth muscle function by acting on GLP-1R expressed on smooth muscle. Methods. Smooth muscle cells (SMC) were isolated and cultured. Expression of GLP-1R …


Force Generation And Contraction Of Random Actomyosin Bundles., Dietmar B. Oelz May 2016

Force Generation And Contraction Of Random Actomyosin Bundles., Dietmar B. Oelz

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


High Affinity Block Of Icl,Swell By Thiol-Reactive Small Molecules, Sung H. Park Jan 2016

High Affinity Block Of Icl,Swell By Thiol-Reactive Small Molecules, Sung H. Park

Theses and Dissertations

Ebselen (Ebs) is considered as a glutathione peroxidase (GPx) mimetic and primarily thought to function by scavenging intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Previous to our work, Deng et al. (2010a) demonstrated complete block of ICl,swell with 15 microM Ebs following endothelin-1 (ET-1) induced activation of the current in cardiomyocytes. This block was presumed to take effect mainly via the quenching of ROS. Nonetheless, our work with DI TNC1 astrocytes strongly emphasizes that Ebs might function by an alternative mechanism based on its kinetic profile in blocking ICl,swell. Our experiments showed that 45 nM Ebs can fully block …


Probing Allosteric, Partial Inhibition Of Thrombin Using Novel Anticoagulants, Stephen S. Verespy Iii Jan 2016

Probing Allosteric, Partial Inhibition Of Thrombin Using Novel Anticoagulants, Stephen S. Verespy Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Thrombin is the key protease that regulates hemostasis; the delicate balance between procoagulation and anticoagulation of blood. In clotting disorders, like deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, procoagulation is up-regulated, but propagation of clotting can be inhibited with drugs targeting the proteases involved, like thrombin. Such drugs however, have serious side effects (e.g., excessive bleeding) and some require monitoring during the course of treatment. The reason for these side effects is the mechanism by which the drugs’ act. The two major mechanisms are direct orthosteric and indirect allosteric inhibition, which will completely abolish the protease’s activity. Herein we sought an …


A Mechanistic Study Of An Ipsc Model For Leigh’S Disease Caused By Mtdna Mutataion (8993 T>G), John P. Galdun Jan 2016

A Mechanistic Study Of An Ipsc Model For Leigh’S Disease Caused By Mtdna Mutataion (8993 T>G), John P. Galdun

Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial diseases encompass a broad range of devastating disorders that typically affect tissues with high-energy requirements. These disorders have been difficult to diagnose and research because of the complexity of mitochondrial genetics, and the large variability seen among patient populations. We have devised and carried out a mechanistic study to generate a cell based model for Leigh’s disease caused by mitochondrial DNA mutation 8993 T>G. Leigh’s disease is a multi-organ system disorder that depends heavily on the mutation burden seen within various tissues. Using new reprogramming and sequencing technologies, we were able to show that Leigh’s disease patient fibroblasts …


Effects Of Pulsed Electric Fields On Mammalian Cell Membranes, Guy K. Smith Jan 1982

Effects Of Pulsed Electric Fields On Mammalian Cell Membranes, Guy K. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The effect of pulsed electric fields on cell membranes were studied to investigate the effects of an electric field, per se, on biological systems, without the densometric and other technical problems associated with other forms of nonionizing radiation. Exposure of mouse splenocytes to a high voltage pulse resulted in an increase in membrane permeability to K+ that was dependent on both the electric field strength and the pulse duration. Exposure to a 2 μsec, 3.0 kV/cm pulse elicited a 50% loss of intracellular K+ indicating that the critical transmembrane potential (Vm) at breakdown was 1.26 volts …


Effects Of Glucocorticoid Treatment On The Properties Of Single Notor Units In Cat Hindlinb Huscles, Andrew James Robinson Jan 1981

Effects Of Glucocorticoid Treatment On The Properties Of Single Notor Units In Cat Hindlinb Huscles, Andrew James Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

The administration of glucocorticoids has been shown to induce atrophy and weakness in whole skeletal muscle. These effects frequently appear to be more pronounced in pale muscle than in red muscle. The present study was undertaken to examine the effects of steroid treatment on the contractile, electrical, and fatigue properties of single meter units in pale and red cat hindlimb muscles. Single motor units in the medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus muscles were isolated using techniques developed by McPhedran, et al., (1965). The properties of a large number of motor units were examined in normal animals and were compared to …