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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology
Inducible Gene Expression In Cell Cultures And In Microencapsulated Cells, Yong Yu
Inducible Gene Expression In Cell Cultures And In Microencapsulated Cells, Yong Yu
Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects
The mifepristone-regulated transcriptional activation system provides a means to exogenously control gene expression in transformed mammalian cells in a temporal and spatial fashion. Such a promoter activation system consists of three components: The first of these is a steroidal inducer drug, mifepristone. This drug binds to the second component, a chimeric transcription factor complex, consisting of the mutant human progesterone receptor fused to the yeast GAL4 DNA-binding domain and the Herpes simplex virus protein VP 16 activation domain. The third component is a synthetic promoter, consisting of a series of GAL4 recognition sequences upstream of the adenovirus major late E1B …
Determination Of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B Activation In Cultured Renal Epithelial Cells And Cardiac Myocytes Exposed To Cocaine And Morphine, David Angeles Tiangco
Determination Of Nuclear Factor-Kappa B Activation In Cultured Renal Epithelial Cells And Cardiac Myocytes Exposed To Cocaine And Morphine, David Angeles Tiangco
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) is an important transcription factor that participates in the genetic regulation of inflammation in many tissues. Cocaine and heroin are drugs of abuse associated with renal and cardiac pathology. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that exposure to cocaine or morphine (a metabolite of heroin) would activate NF-kB in renal epithelial cells (COS-7) and cardiac myocytes (H9c2) grown in culture. COS-7 and H9c2 cells were co-transfected with an experimental reporter specific for NF-kB activation and a control reporter with constitutive activity. A dual-luciferase assay was used to determine levels of NF-kB activation …
Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (Psma): Immunoassay Development And Characterization Of Transcriptional Regulation, Zhen Xiao
Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences
Prostate cancer (PCA) is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of death among American men. The high mortality is greatly attributed to the lack of early detection tools and effective treatment for metastasis and relapses. Biomarkers that can discriminate benign from malignant tumor and signal the development of androgen independent and metastatic tumor are needed. A biomarker designated prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has the potential to fulfill this need. The objective of this study is to develop a clinically useful immunoassay for quantitation of serum PSMA and to study the molecular mechanism underlying the upregulation of …
A Mechanistic Study Of Myoglobin Nephrotoxicity, Jennifer L. Minigh
A Mechanistic Study Of Myoglobin Nephrotoxicity, Jennifer L. Minigh
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Myoglobin is an endogenous protein that can become nephrotoxic under certain conditions such as crush injuries, drug overdose, and seizures where prolonged contraction of muscle leads to cell death and leakage of myoglobin. The mechanism of myoglobin-induced nephrotoxicity is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to characterize the sequence and mechanistic events associated with the in vitro toxicity of myoglobin in renal cortical slices. Renal tissue was isolated from Fischer 344 rats. Slices of renal cortex were prepared by freehand. These slices were then incubated for 60-180 minutes with myoglobin (0-12 mg/mL) pretreated with 4 mM ascorbic …
Pkcα Translocation And Actin Remodeling In Contracting A7r5 Smooth Muscle Cells, Chenwei Li
Pkcα Translocation And Actin Remodeling In Contracting A7r5 Smooth Muscle Cells, Chenwei Li
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Recent research indicates that protein kinase C (PKC) plays an important role in smooth muscle contraction. Because PKC activation and specificity of substrate phosphorylation is believed to be associated with the relocalization of the enzyme to specific cell sites, we first investigated the subcellular translocation of PKCα in A7r5 smooth muscle cells by confocal microscopy through use of standard immunohistologic staining and PKCα - enhanced green fluorescent protein (PKCα -EGFP) fusion protein expression. PKCα was diffusely distributed throughout the cytosol in the unstimulated A7r5 cell. Upon stimulation with phorbol 12, 13 dibutyrate (PDBu), PKCα was translocated primarily to either the …