Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Nup211 Plays An Important Role In Regulating Mrna Export And Stress Response, Ayana Ikenouchi

Theses and Dissertations

Nup211 is a nuclear pore basket component in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and roles in the gating functions of NPCs. Using RT-qPCR, I found that in nup211-shutoff cells, the transcript levels of genes in mRNA export and stress-response pathways were significantly changed, suggesting nup211 is involved in regulating stress response pathways.

Mechanisms Of Carbapenemase-Mediated Resistance Among High-Risk Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Lineages In Peru, Isabella A. Tickler, Juan Carlos Gomez De La Torre, Luis Alvarado, Anne E. Obradovich, Fred C. Tenover

Biology Faculty Publications

Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading causes of healthcare-associated infections globally. High-risk carbapenemase-encoding P. aeruginosa clones are disseminating in many regions. The aim of this study was to learn more about the lineages and mechanisms of resistance of P. aeruginosa circulating in Peru.

Methods: A total of 141 carbapenemase-producing isolates recovered from hospitalized and ambulatory patients in Lima were sequenced and analyzed to infer their lineages through whole-genome sequence typing (wgST) and to identify their antimicrobial resistance genes.

Results: wgST identified nine sequence types (STs); ST111 and ST357 were the most frequently encountered (44.0% and 38.3%, respectively), followed …

Ewing Sarcoma Transcriptome: Identification Of Foxn3 As A Novel Target Of Ews-Fli1, Natasha Kreiling

Theses & Dissertations

Ewing Sarcoma is an aggressive cancer characterized by a fusion gene formed from a chromosomal translocation between a RNA binding protein and a transcription factor. The most common fusion gene is EWS-FLI1 a potent oncogenic transcription factor responsible for initiating genome instability. EWS-FLI1 promotes tumor growth by dysregulating several genes and pathways. We have identified FOXN3, an important gene in cell cycle control and development, as being suppressed by EWS-FLI1. In the future, a better understanding of FOXN3 and its ability to act as a tumor suppressor in EWS will unravel novel mechanisms of EWS pathogenesis, potential biomarker and drug …

Engineering Of Ideal Systems For The Study And Direction Of Stem Cell Asymmetrical Division And Fate Determination, Martina Zamponi

Biomedical Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The cellular microenvironment varies significantly across tissues, and it is constituted by both resident cells and the macromolecules they are exposed to. Cues that the cells receive from the microenvironment, as well as the signaling transmitted to it, affect their physiology and behavior. This notion is valid in the context of stem cells, which are susceptible to biochemical and biomechanical signaling exchanged with the microenvironment, and which plays a fundamental role in establishing fate determination and cell differentiation events. The definition of the molecular mechanisms that drive stem cell asymmetrical division, and how these are modulated by microenvironmental signaling, is …

N6-Methyladenosine Rna Modifications In Myogenesis / Narrative Competence And Cognitive Mapping As A Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In The Education Of Emergent Bilinguals, Marina Danielle Infantado

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Myogenesis involves skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) that produce and regenerate skeletal muscle during regular growth and repair. However, when this system fails to function normally, it can lead to musculoskeletal diseases like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Therefore, it is important to study the molecular mechanisms behind this developmental process in order to seek therapies and solutions for these types of diseases. Our interest lies in the field of epitranscriptomics, which focuses on post-transcriptional ribonucleic acid (RNA) modifications, particularly N6-methyladenosine (m6A), which involves the addition of a methyl group to the adenosine nucleotide, a process that is mediated by the …

Parallel Networks That Govern The Transcriptional Response To Stress, Serene Anne Durham

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The transcription factor, p53, plays a pivotal role in the oversight of many stimulus-dependent pathways. Its ability to respond to a wide variety of cellular stress stimuli by activating a broad range of target genes has led it to be characterized as a stress-dependent transcription factor. Our research focuses on deconvoluting the varied transcriptional response to distinct stress signals in an attempt to define the regulatory strategies leading to gene activation after cell stress. We have found that distinct stress response networks, some of which are p53-independent, are converging at activation of a common set of target genes. Our data …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, July & August 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 5

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Resources for Student Success
Page 4 Welcome to New Faculty & Staff
Page 5 Summer Activities in CNS
Page 9 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 10 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 12 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 13 Snaps from he start of the semester
Page 14 Science as Art Competition

Yap And Taz Are Required For Neural Crest-Derived Cardiovascular Development, Shannon Erhardt

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common human birth defect, occurring in ~1/100 newborns, and are a leading cause of early infant death. Cardiac neural crest cells (NCCs) are a migratory and multipotent cell population known to aid in the development of the cardiac outflow tract (OFT), valves, and interventricular septum, during embryogenesis. Yap and Taz are downstream effectors of the fundamental Hippo signaling pathway and are vital for proper organ and tissue development, yet their role in neural crest (NC)-derived heart formation is still largely unknown. We generated Yap and Taz conditional knockout (CKO) mice using a Cre-lox …

Non-Photic Mechanisms Of Entrainment In Bmal1 Deficient Conditions, Jamie Tran

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Maintaining our internal circadian (i.e. 24 -hour) clock is imperative to our daily biological and mental well-being. Large epidemiological studies have shown that disruptions of our circadian rhythms can lead to poor mental health, metabolic diseases, and various types of cancer. Various external cues that have become a part of the modern times such as electricity, shift -work, rapid travel across various time zones, easier access to nutritionally unbalanced food items, and various rigid social demands have deleterious effects on our internal clock, and generally reduce robustness of the circadian clock. The two following projects aim to examine two fundamental …

Neonatal Islet-1+ Cardiovascular Progenitor Cell-Derived Exosomes And Their Functional Ability To Regulate Proliferation, Lourdes Ceja

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Heart failure affects many people around the world and can lead to disease progression and death. Consequently, new stem and exosome-based therapies are needed to address this major health issue and to provide therapeutic options that will improve outcomes for the increasing number of patients with heart disease. Stem cell-derived exosomes have captivated researchers’ attention over the past couple of years based on their functional role in cellular signaling which highlights the vital component of the secretome of stem and progenitor cells. Since neonates have significantly enhanced regenerative ability, we hypothesized that exosomes isolated from Islet-1+ expressing neonatal human cardiovascular …

Investigating Conserved Mechanisms For Embryonic Eye Regrowth In Xenopus Laevis, Cindy Kha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Regeneration is a complex process to replace or restore tissue after damage. However, animals vary in their ability to regenerate tissue, and humans are limited in their abilities. Understanding how regeneration occurs in highly regenerative vertebrates, such as in Xenopus laevis frogs will lead to defining common regeneration mechanisms. In recent years, eye regeneration research in Xenopus laevis tadpoles provided new promising insight into the mechanisms necessary for repair of damaged eye tissue. Much progress has been made towards understanding the regenerative capability of the complex eye since Xenopus tadpoles can regenerate mature eye tissues, including: the optic nerve, retina, …

Screening Tcf19 And Kif18b To Determine Co-Regulation With Mybl1 In Triple Negative Breast Cancer Patient Tissues, Tyra Sharda Ivory

Theses (2016-Present)

The aggressive behavior in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is due to genetic signaling events, which call for the comprehensive analyses of genes differentially regulated in the cancers. Our laboratory previously found that MYBL1 was over-expressed in a fraction of the TNBC, compared to some luminal, and other breast cancer subtypes. The MYBL1 gene is a proto-oncogene that serves as a strong transcriptional activator. The gene is involved in signaling events related to cell cycle signaling, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis, all which are differentially regulated in cancers. Because MYBL1 is a transcription regulator, involved in cancer-related mechanisms and differentially expressed in …

Regulation Of The Heat Shock Response Via Lysine Acetyltransferase Cbp-1 And In Neurodegenerative Disease In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Lindsey N. Barrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The decline of proteostasis is a hallmark of aging that is, in part, affected by the dysregulation of the heat shock response (HSR), a highly conserved cellular response to proteotoxic stress in the cell. The heat shock transcription factor HSF-1 is well-studied as a key regulator of proteostasis, but mechanisms that could be used to modulate HSF-1 function to enhance proteostasis during aging are largely unknown. In this study, we examined lysine acetyltransferase regulation of the HSR and HSF-1 in C. elegans. We performed an RNA interference screen of lysine acetyltransferases and examined mRNA expression of the heat-shock inducible gene …

Increasing The Resilience Of Plant Immunity To A Warming Climate, Jong Hum Kim, Christian Castroverde, Shuai Huang, Chao Li, Richard Hilleary, Adam Seroka, Reza Sohrabi, Diana Medina-Yerena, Bethany Huot, Jie Wang, Sharon Marr, Mary Wildermuth, Tao Chen, John Macmicking, Sheng Yang He

Biology Faculty Publications

Extreme weather conditions associated with climate change affect many aspects of plant and animal life, including the response to infectious diseases. Production of salicylic acid (SA), a central plant defence hormone, is particularly vulnerable to suppression by short periods of hot weather above the normal plant growth temperature range via an unknown mechanism. Here we show that suppression of SA production in Arabidopsis thaliana at 28 °C is independent of PHYTOCHROME B (phyB) and EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), which regulate thermo-responsive plant growth and development. Instead, we found that formation of GUANYLATE BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE 3 (GBPL3) defence-activated biomolecular condensates (GDACs) …

The Molecular Mechanism Of Load Adaptation By Branched Actin Networks, Tai-De Li, Peter Bieling, Julian Weichsel, R Dyche Mullins, Daniel A. Fletcher

Advanced Science Research Center

Branched actin networks are self-assembling molecular motors that move biological membranes and drive many important cellular processes, including phagocytosis, endocytosis, and pseudopod protrusion. When confronted with opposing forces, the growth rate of these networks slows and their density increases, but the stoichiometry of key components does not change. The molecular mechanisms governing this force response are not well understood, so we used single-molecule imaging and AFM cantilever deflection to measure how applied forces affect each step in branched actin network assembly. Although load forces are observed to increase the density of growing filaments, we find that they actually decrease the …

Investigating Roles Of 2 Novel Eklf Targets Involved In Erythropoiesis, Rose M. Gott

ETD Archive

Erythrocytes are primarily comprised of the oxygen carrying protein hemoglobin. Genetic mutations causing defects in the proper synthesis of hemoglobin result in various anemias. It is during the last phases of terminal erythroid differentiation that hemoglobin levels rise, making it a focus for therapeutic research. Fetal hemoglobin is comprised of ⍺-globin and gamma globin, then after a change in gene expression called hemoglobin switching which takes place after birth, adult hemoglobin is comprised of ⍺-globin and beta globin. We investigated hemoglobin switching and erythroid terminal differentiation by focusing on the master erythroid transcription factor Erythroid Krüppel-like Factor (EKLF). Data led …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, May & June 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 4

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards and Recognition
Page 3-4 The path to a Doctorate Degree
Page 4 American Indian Student Center Native Graduate Honoring Ceremony
Page 5 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 6 Media coverage of CNS
Page 7 Open PRAIRIE
Page 8-10 CNS Graduation Festivities
Page 11-14 Spring 2022 Dean's List
Page 16 Richard and Janice Vetter Endowed Professorship in Biotechnology.position

The Effects Of Aging On Wound Healing And Limb Regeneration In The Axolotl, Hande Sahin

Graduate Masters Theses

The Mexican axolotl is capable of regenerating various parts of its body and maintains this capacity throughout its entire life. Although this ability is sustained through adulthood, multiple regenerative processes appear to be negatively affected by aging. Here, we focus on evaluating the effect of aging on the rate of wound healing and limb regeneration. We have developed new in vivo, and ex vivo assays to characterize wound healing and identify differences between young and aged animals during this process. We have also characterized morphological features of mature skin from both groups of animals and although there are no obvious …

Noxious Cellular Injury Triggers An Oxidative Stress Gene Response, Shawyun Khoshneviszadeh

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Wound and regeneration involves a series of complex processes that can induce oxidative stress by elevating intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. In this study, we used RNA-seq and qPCR to examine the molecular signature of Human Embryonic Kidney cells (HEK-293T) stimulated with Crotalus atrox (CA) venom. NGS data was assembled and annotated utilizing the Illumina paired-end RNA-seq approach with software packages HISAT2 and StringTie. Results showed 243 genes were differentially expressed (106 upregulated, 137 downregulated) between CA venom stimulated and non-stimulated cells (p<0.05). HEK-293T stimulated with CA venom for 4 hours showed an increase in the expression of oxidative stress response genes (e.g., TOMM6, EGR (1,2,3), HSP70 (1A, 1B), SPRY4, ETV5, and EMP1) (Fold-Change (fc) >2.0). Significantly downregulated genes were associated with many novel transcripts/proteins such as AC117378, AD000671, and AC023509. …

Genetically Explicit Model May Explain Multigenerational Control Of Emergent Turing Patterns In Hybrid Mimulus, Emily Simmons

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works: Abstracts, Emma Aggeler, Elena Arroway, Daisy T. Booker, Justin Bravo, Kyle Bucholtz, Megan Burnham, Nicole Choi, Spencer Cockerell, Rosie Contino, Jackson Garske, Kaitlyn Glover, Caroline Hamilton, Haley Hartmann, Madalyne Heiken, Colin Holter, Leah Huzjak, Alyssa Jeng, Cole Jernigan, Chad Kashiwa, Adelaide Kerenick, Emily King, Abigail Langeberg, Maddie Leake, Meredith Lemons, Alec Mackay, Greer Mckinley, Ori Miller, Guy Milliman, Katherine Miromonti, Audrey Mitchell, Lauren Moak, Megan Morrell, Gelella Nebiyu, Zdenek Otruba, Toni V. Panzera, Kassidy Patarino, Sneha Patil, Alexandra Penney, Kevin Persky, Caitlin Pham, Gabriela Recinos, Mary Ringgenberg, Chase Routt, Olivia Schneider, Roman Shrestha, Arlo Simmerman, Alec Smith, Tessa Smith, Nhi-Lac Thai, Kyle Thurmann, Casey Tindall, Amelia Trembath, Maria Trubetskaya, Zachary Vangelisti, Peter Vo, Abby Walker, David Winter, Grayden Wolfe, Leah York

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Showcase.

A Neuromuscular Look Into Genetics Of Muscle Aging, Christina Talley

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

As individuals age throughout their life, they experience muscle tissue loss that impacts their quality of life such as a decrease in their physical capabilities and sometimes even their mental capacity. The process of muscle aging is the key point of this study. This involves the individual’s muscles and the motor neurons that control them. Skeletal muscles are used daily to maintain posture, stand, walk, etc. Throughout a lifetime these muscles undergo damage and need to be repaired. When the muscles are repaired, they express physical changes. The tissue shrinks in size and eventually the composition of the tissue is …

Biol 352 Cell Biology: Journey From The Center Of The Cell, Meredith A. Rowe Ph.D.

Open Educational Resources

This project is intended to be a long-term, scaffolded project across an entire semester course. Due dates are spread throughout the semester, and points are distributed as the professor deems appropriate across the sections of the project.

Translation Control Tunes Drosophila Oogenesis, Elliot T. Martin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The decision of a stem cell to either self-renew or differentiate is controlled by specific cellularpathways that can act at the level of transcription, translation, or post-translation. To study the regulation of these pathways in-vivo, I have used the female Drosophila germline as a model system. Each of the steps from germline stem cell (GSC) to egg require changes in cellular pathways. These changes can occur at the level of transcription, post-transciption, translation, or post-translation . Decades of research has elucidated many of the changes to gene that occur during oogenesis, however, many players in this process still remain mysterious. …

Role Of H3k4 Methylation In Myogenesis, Regeneration, And Muscle Disease / Narrative Competence And Cognitive Mapping As A Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In The Education Of Emergent Bilinguals, Hannah Emily Shippas

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Muscles are a crucial part of an organism’s wellbeing, as defects in distinct types of muscles can be lethal. Our voluntary muscles, skeletal muscles, go through distinct regeneration phases before reaching maturity. With its own pool of stem cells, muscles have a large potential for regeneration. This potential has led scientists into looking closely at the steps that lead a muscle stem cell into muscle fiber, also known as myogenesis. As a muscle cell moves through myogenesis, genes are led to be turned on/off with different epigenetic mechanisms, one being histone modifications. A methylation modification on the 4th Lysine on …

Structural Formation And Functionality Of The Spoiie Protein In Clostridium Difficile, Rachel Siebenmorgen

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

My research efforts were directed toward the structure and functionality of a protein, designated SpoIIE [11], which previously has been shown to regulate C. difficile peptide utilization in addition to sporulation and toxin release. The SpoIIE protein is found in all spore-forming gram-positive bacteria and is a crucial component in activation of transcription factors and septum formation thus affecting the regulation and timing of spore development [11,12]. A truncated form of the SpoIIE protein named SpoIIE∆TM was used in an effort to determine the structure of an important but uncharacterized linker domain of the protein. If the structure and specific …

Investigating The Potential Role For The Nervous System In Controlling Regeneration In Nematostella Vectensis, Kristen Malir

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nematostella vectensis is a marine sea animal that has become a model for developmental and evolutionary research. Included in the phylum Cnidaria, N. vectensis’ was chosen as the model for this research. Not only can this animal go through asexual and sexual reproduction, but it also has the ability to regenerate. Although much research has been put forth in an effort to understand regeneration better, much is still unknown. The underlying mechanisms of regeneration in Cnidaria are illusive; however, studies within vertebrates have shown the substantial role of the nervous system. The objective of this experiment is to test if …

Functional Role Of Ppal And Potential For Moss In Industrial Applications., Susana Perez Martinez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an examination and characterization of the functional roles of PPAL. PROTEIN PRENYLTRANSFERASE ALPHA SUBUNIT-LIKE (PPAL) is a recently discovered gene. PPAL homologs are present in all plants and many animals, where its function is largely unknown. It is possible that PPAL could participate in prenylation processes since it shares similarity to the α subunits of known prenylation enzymes. Prenylation is a post-translational modification of proteins that involves the addition of a lipid moiety to proteins to facilitate membrane targeting and association and promote protein-protein interactions. Prenylation has important roles in plant growth and development, including …

Modulation Of Kras Structure And Dynamics By Kras Ubiquitination And Membrane Depolarization, Vinay Nair

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

KRAS, a 21 kDa small GTPase protein, functions as a molecular switch playing a key role in regulating cell proliferation. Dysregulation of KRAS signaling by oncogenic mutations leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation, a hallmark of cancer cells. Attempts to therapeutically target oncogenic KRAS have led to limited success resulting in a need to identify new mechanisms to targeting KRAS. The interaction of KRAS with its regulators, effectors, and the membrane present one such avenue. In this study, we investigated how post-translational covalent and environmental modifications could modulate these interactions of KRAS. Using computational molecular dynamics simulations, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy …

Effects Of 2,4-Di-Tert-Butylphenol On Osteogenic And Myogenic Differentiation Of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Thanh-Bình Dương

All Theses

Synthetic phenolic antioxidants (SPAs) are a class of compounds used to increase the durability of polymers as well as to increase the shelf-life of food, cosmetics, and other personal care items. Of these SPAs is 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4-DBP). 2,4-DBP is primarily used in polyethylene crosspolymer pipes, which are now used as a replacement for the traditional copper pipes for household water distribution. However, 2,4-DBP has been found to leach from these pipes into the water, enabling a mode of exposure to humans. 2,4-DBP has been detected in human urine, serum, but more importantly, maternal serum, placenta, and cord blood. …