Biology Commons^™

Mouse Oocyte Maturation And Embryo Development After Exposure To Vemurafenib (Plx4032), An Anti-Melanoma B-Raf V600e Inhibitor, Bo Liu

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Vemurafenib is a selective B-Raf^V600E inhibitor in melanoma targeted therapy which also inhibits the wild type B- and C-Raf. In oocyte maturation, the C-Raf/MAPK pathway acts as an important self-enhancing and promoting system, w hereas in embryo development, the C-Raf/M APK pathway participates in pre- and post- implantation embryo proliferation and differentiation.

The hypothesis: Vemurafenib has detrimental effects on oocyte maturation and/or embryo development. Mouse oocytes and one cell (1C) mouse embryos were tested by ex vivo culturing with Vemurafenib in serial dilution. Oocytes were evaluated by cell cycle morphology, spindle formation and chromosomal alignment by im munofluorescence (IF) …

Treatment Of Aortic Heart Valve Conduit With Glutamine And Heat Shock As A Means To Deter The Constituent Cellular Population From Becoming Apoptotic, Alyce Marie Linthurst Jones

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Cryopreserved allograft heart valves represent the best solution for a patient with a failing heart valve. However, the constituent cells become apoptotic and within months of transplant the heart valve becomes acellular and the recipient's cells do not repopulate the allograft (3, 51). A strategy to prevent this situation would be to minimize or prevent apoptosis from occurring by strategically altering steps during heart valve processing. Recently it has been demonstrated that: 1) Heat shock protein 70 is a negative modulator of the apoptotic cascade; 2) Cells in culture exposed to hypothermic conditions produce heat shock protein 70 upon rewarming; …

Arterial Wall Hypertrophy And Pdgf-A Expression In One-Kidney, One-Clip Hypertension And Angiotensin Ii Infusion Are Mediated By Elevated Arterial Pressure, Sheri Blair Parker

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

These studies were designed to characterize the relative roles of angiotensin II (ANG II) and pressure in the structural alterations that occur in experimental hypertension. Two separate studies were performed in order to differentiate these two mechanisms. First, male Wistar rats were subjected to one-kidney, one-clip (1K1C) hypertension or sham operation. Losartan, an AT1 receptor antagonist, was administered chronically to half of each surgical group beginning one day before the operation and continued until the end of the study. In a second experiment, rats were implanted with osmopumps delivering either ANG II or saline. To maintain pressure in the normotensive …

Vitellogenesis In Hyalomma Dromedarii (Acari: Ixodidae): A Model For Analysis Of Endocrine Regulation In Ixodid Ticks, Martin E. Schriefer

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

The egg yolk proteins, vitellins, and their hemolymph precursors, vitellogenins, were characterized in the ixodid tick Hyalomma dromedarii. Three vitellins were identified. The high molecular weight vitellins, VN A and VN B, were composed of seven homologous molecular weight subunit polypeptides, VN 1-7. VN A appears to be a dimeric form of VN B. VN C was composed of single polypeptide. Low levels of vitellogenin, were identified in western immunoblots utilizing antibody raised against purified vitellin. Adult protein and polypeptide profiles, including vitellin and vitellogenin, were characterized as a function of sex, tissue and reproductive development. Quantitative assessment of the …

Mounting Sex Pheromone: A Novel Pheromone Responsible For Mate Recognition In The Ixodidae, Jgc Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Cholesterol oleate was demonstrated to be the cuticular contact sex pheromone of Dermacentor variabilis. This pheromone which has been termed the Mounting Sex Pheromone (MSP) was also demonstrated to be present on the surface of D. andersoni, Amblyomma maculatum and A. americanum. This contact sex pheromone enables males excited and attracted by 2,6-dichlorophenol to identify the female as a potential mating partner. The MSP is the second in the series of three sex pheromones guiding the hierarchy of behavioral responses which constitute tick courtship behavior. Tests with D. variabilis and D. andersoni showed that this pheromone …

Microsurgical Fertilization Of Mammalian Eggs: An Assessment Of Clinical Utilization, Susan E. Lanzendorf

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Microsurgical fertilization is the technique in which a spermatozoon or sperm nucleus is injected into the cytoplasm of an egg. To establish a foundation for the use of microsurgical fertilization as a means of treating infertility, this study evaluated the procedure in hamster and human eggs. Hamster sperm nuclei were microinjected into hamster eggs to determine the rate of abnormal fertilization and to ultrastructurally assess cellular damage by transmission electron microscopy. Hamster eggs were also injected with human spermatozoa obtained from fertile and infertile men to evaluate the fertilizing potential of the sperm cells. In addition, human eggs donated by …

Protein Contributions Of The Male Accessory Organs To The Composition Of Human Seminal Plasma As Determined By High Resolution Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis, Edward E. Gaunt

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Human Seminal Plasma was evaluated using a High Resolution Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis technique adapted by this laboratory. Seminal plasma from healthy volunteers with recently proven fertility were characterized using this technique to establish "normal" protein distribution patterns in the two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel slab. In addition, time studies were performed on selected specimens to determine the effects of liquefaction on seminal plasma protein composition within the first several hours after collection. Split ejaculates were collected for identification and elaboration of accessory organ components in the whole seminal plasma specimen. A more direct approach to accessory organ component analysis involved electrophoresis of semen …