Biotechnology Commons^™

On Thacker's Biomedia (2004), Nicholas Ruiz Iii

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Only we could have done it. The Code (DNA and its analogs, etc.) that we perhaps only narrate, never forgetting all of the fictions that narration portends, today consciously edits the text that evolution has edited unconsciously for eons. Thacker considers how humans -- perhaps little more than interactive Code, manipulate the Code -- with the technology of the Code. No other faction of Code has yet to make such heady ‘gains.’ Where posthumanity was always a literary endeavor, a literary bypass, out of instrumental science and into fictive states, it now is a technical endeavor, encompassing a …

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, & Modernization Act Of 2003: Are We Playing The Lottery With Healthcare Reform?, Melissa Ganz

Duke Law & Technology Review

With millions of Americans unable to cope with the rising costs of prescription drugs, and many even forced to go without health insurance, the mounting pressure on Congress to enact major healthcare reform culminated in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, & Modernization Act of 2003. This iBrief examines this legislation, and concludes that it provides elusive benefits for seniors and merely creates a windfall for the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

The Bvg Virulence Control System Regulates Biofilm Formation In Bordetella Bronchiseptica, Yasuhiko Irie, Seema Mattoo, Ming H. Yuk

Biology Faculty Publications

Bordetella species utilize the BvgAS (Bordetella virulence gene) two-component signal transduction system to sense the environment and regulate gene expression among at least three phases: a virulent Bvg⁺ phase, a nonvirulent Bvg⁻ phase, and an intermediate Bvgⁱ phase. Genes expressed in the Bvg⁺ phase encode known virulence factors, including adhesins such as filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and fimbriae, as well as toxins such as the bifunctional adenylate cyclase/hemolysin (ACY). Previous studies showed that in the Bvgⁱ phase, FHA and fimbriae continue to be expressed, but ACY expression is significantly downregulated. In this report, we determine …

Synthesis, Characterisation And Biological Activity Of Transition Metal Complexes Of Thiabendazole, Rachel Kelly

Masters

A series of transition metal complexes of 2-(4’-thiazolyl)benzimidazole{thiabendazole}(TBZH) have been prepared and their ability to prevent the growth of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans has been assessed. The compounds were synthesised using the Chloride, Nitrate, Sulfate and Acetate salts of MN(II), Fe(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Ag(1) resulting in the formation of 29 metal complexes. The complexes were formulated on the basis of their physico-chemical data. Reaction of Fe(NO3)3.9H2) with TBZH yielded the unusual nitrate salt [TBZH2NO3], a compound which could not be generated using simple acid –base chemistry. The X-ray crystal structure of [TBZH2NO3] was determined. TBZH, [TBZH2NO3], …

Drosophila As An Emerging Model To Study Metastasis, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Georg Halder

Biology Faculty Publications

Metastasis is the primary cause of human cancer-related deaths. Two recent studies describe a system for testing how multiple genetic events synergize to promote neoplastic growth and metastasis in Drosophila, paving the way for systematic approaches to understanding metastasis using the powerful tools of Drosophila genetics.

The Identity Of Proteins Associated With A Small Heat Shock Protein During Heat Stress In Vivo Indicates That These Chaperones Protect A Wide Range Of Cellular Functions, Eman Basha, Garrett J. Lee, Linda A. Breci, Andrew C. Hausrath, Nicole R. Buan, Kim C. Giese, Elizabeth Vierling

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are a ubiquitous class of ATP-independent chaperones believed to prevent irreversible protein aggregation and to facilitate subsequent protein renaturation in cooperation with ATP-dependent chaperones. Although sHSP chaperone activity has been studied extensively in vitro, understanding the mechanism of sHSP function requires identification of proteins that are sHSP substrates in vivo. We have used both immunoprecipitation and affinity chromatography to recover 42 proteins that specifically interact with Synechocystis Hsp16.6 in vivo during heat treatment. These proteins can all be released from Hsp16.6 by the ATP-dependent activity of DnaK and cochaperones and are heat-labile. Thirteen …

Rosenzweig's Messianic Aesthetics, Jules Simon

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Sterol Carrier Protein-2 Directly Interacts With Caveolin-1 In Vitro And In Vivo, Minglong Zhou, Rebecca D. Parr, Anca D. Petrescu, H. Ross Payne, Barbara P. Atshaves, Ann B. Kier, Judith M. Ball, Friedhelm Schroeder

Faculty Publications

HDL-mediated reverse-cholesterol transport as well as phosphoinositide signaling are mediated through plasma membrane microdomains termed caveolae/lipid rafts. However, relatively little is known regarding mechanism(s) whereby these lipids traffic to or are targeted to caveolae/lipid rafts. Since sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2) binds both cholesterol and phosphatidylinositol, the possibility that SCP-2 might interact with caveolin-1 and caveolae was examined. Double immunolabeling and laser scanning fluorescence microscopy showed that a small but significant portion of SCP-2 colocalized with caveolin-1 primarily at the plasma membrane of L-cells and more so within intracellular punctuate structures in hepatoma cells. In SCP-2 overexpressing L-cells, SCP-2 was detected …

A Method Based On Conserved Multiple Amino Acid Properties To Predict Amino Acid Substitutions Which Maintain The Protein Structure, Avinash M. Baktula

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A METHOD BASED ON CONSERVED MULTIPLE AMINO ACID PROPERTIES TO PREDICT AMINO ACID SUBSTITUTIONS WHICH MAINTAIN THE PROTEIN STRUCTURE Avinash M. Baktula September 16, 2004 1-117 Directed by: Claire A. Rinehart, Doug McElroy and Sigrid Jacobshagen Department of Biology Western Kentucky University Proteins often contain several domains, each with a distinct structure. Such domains have evolved as units that, when combined in various arrangements, produce proteins of unique structure. This study was conducted to identify amino acid substitutions that don’t change structure. Amino acid properties which were conserved in proteins with identical structures were used to predict a set of …

Interactions Between Small Heat Shock Protein Subunits And Substrate In Small Heat Shock Protein-Substrate Complexes, Kenneth L. Friedrich, Kim C. Giese, Nicole R. Baun, Elizabeth Vierling

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are dynamic oligomeric

proteins that bind unfolding proteins and protect

them from irreversible aggregation. This binding results

in the formation of sHSP-substrate complexes from

which substrate can later be refolded. Interactions between

sHSP and substrate in sHSP-substrate complexes

and the mechanism by which substrate is transferred to

ATP-dependent chaperones for refolding are poorly defined.

We have established C-terminal affinity-tagged

sHSPs from a eukaryote (pea HSP18.1) and a prokaryote

(Synechocystis HSP16.6) as tools to investigate these issues.

We demonstrate that sHSP subunit exchange for

HSP18.1 and HSP16.6 is temperature-dependent and

rapid at the optimal growth …

The Identity Of Proteins Associated With A Small Heat Shock Protein During Heat Stress In Vivo Indicates That These Chaperones Protect A Wide Range Of Cellular Functions, Eman Basha, Garrett J. Lee, Linda A. Breci, Andrew C. Hausrath, Nicole R. Baun, Kim C. Giese, Elizabeth Vierling

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are a ubiquitous

class of ATP-independent chaperones believed to

prevent irreversible protein aggregation and to facilitate

subsequent protein renaturation in cooperation

with ATP-dependent chaperones. Although sHSP chaperone

activity has been studied extensively in vitro, understanding

the mechanism of sHSP function requires

identification of proteins that are sHSP substrates in

vivo. We have used both immunoprecipitation and affinity

chromatography to recover 42 proteins that specifically

interact with Synechocystis Hsp16.6 in vivo during

heat treatment. These proteins can all be released from

Hsp16.6 by the ATP-dependent activity of DnaK and cochaperones

and are heat-labile. …

Morphological Characteristics And Species Separation Of Hawaiian Postlarval Amphidromous Fishes, M. Eric Benbow, Albert J. Burky, Carl M. Way

Biology Faculty Publications

There are five Hawaiian amphidromous fishes (Gobiidae: Lentipes concolor, Awaous guamensis, Sicyopterus stimpsoni, Stenogobius hawaiiensis; Eleotridae: Eleotris sandwicensis). Amphidromous adults deposit eggs on the stream bottom. After hatching, larvae drift to the ocean for growth followed by postlarval migration back into the streams. Postlarvae were collected to construct a dichotomous identification key based on 12 morphological measures and ray counts from four fins. Overall, the presense of fused pelvic fins, standard length (SL), and fin ray numbers were the most useful in species separation. Gobies were separated from the eleotrid by the former having fused …

Computational Protein Biomarker Prediction: A Case Study For Prostate Cancer, Michael Wagner, Dayanand N. Naik, Alex Pothen, Srinivas Kasukurti, Raghu Ram Devineni, Bao-Ling Adam, O. John Semmes, George L. Wright Jr.

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Background: Recent technological advances in mass spectrometry pose challenges in computational mathematics and statistics to process the mass spectral data into predictive models with clinical and biological significance. We discuss several classification-based approaches to finding protein biomarker candidates using protein profiles obtained via mass spectrometry, and we assess their statistical significance. Our overall goal is to implicate peaks that have a high likelihood of being biologically linked to a given disease state, and thus to narrow the search for biomarker candidates.

Results: Thorough cross-validation studies and randomization tests are performed on a prostate cancer dataset with over 300 patients, obtained …

5-Hydroxydecanoate Is Metabolised In Mitochondria And Creates A Rate-Limiting Bottleneck For Β-Oxidation Of Fatty Acids, Peter J. Hanley, Stefan Dröse, Ulrich Brandt, Rachel A. Lareau, Abir L. Banerjee, D. K. Srivastava, Leonard J. Banaszak, Joseph J. Barycki, Paul P. Van Veldhoven, Jürgen Daut

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

5-Hydroxydecanoate (5-HD) blocks pharmacological and ischaemic preconditioning, and

has been postulated to be a specific inhibitor of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP)

channels. However, recent work has shown that 5-HD is activated to 5-hydroxydecanoyl-CoA

(5-HD-CoA), which is a substrate for the first step of β-oxidation. We have now

analysed the complete β-oxidation of 5-HD-CoA using specially synthesised (and purified)

substrates and enzymes, as well as isolated rat liver and heart mitochondria, and compared

it with the metabolism of the physiological substrate decanoyl-CoA. At the second step of

β-oxidation, catalysed by enoyl-CoA hydratase, enzyme kinetics were …

Mobilization Of Intracellular Copper Stores By The Ctr2 Vacuolar Copper Transporter, Erin M. Rees, Jaekwon Lee, Dennis J. Thiele

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Copper plays an essential role in processes including signaling to the transcription and protein trafficking machinery, oxidative phosphorylation, iron mobilization, neuropeptide maturation, and normal development. Whereas much is known about intracellular mobilization of ions such as calcium, little information is available on how eukaryotic cells mobilize intracellular copper stores. We describe a mechanism by which the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ctr2 protein provides bioavailable copper via mobilization of intracellular copper stores. Whereas Ctr2 exhibits structural similarity to the Ctr1 plasma membrane copper importer, microscopic and biochemical fractionation studies localize Ctr2 to the vacuole membrane. We demonstrate that Ctr2 mobilizes vacuolar copper stores …

Interactions Between Small Heat Shock Protein Subunits And Substrate In Small Heat Shock Protein-Substrate Complexes, Kenneth L. Friedrich,, Kim C. Giese, Nicole R. Buan, Elizabeth Vierling

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are dynamic oligomeric proteins that bind unfolding proteins and protect them from irreversible aggregation. This binding results in the formation of sHSP-substrate complexes from which substrate can later be refolded. Interactions between sHSP and substrate in sHSP-substrate complexes and the mechanism by which substrate is transferred to ATP-dependent chaperones for refolding are poorly defined. We have established C-terminal affinity-tagged sHSPs from a eukaryote (pea HSP18.1) and a prokaryote (Synechocystis HSP16.6) as tools to investigate these issues. We demonstrate that sHSP subunit exchange for HSP18.1 and HSP16.6 is temperature-dependent and rapid at the optimal growth temperature …