Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Early Onset Alzheimer’S Disease Markers In Mouse Hippocampus Unveiled By Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Following Cranial Radiotherapy, Tuba Aksoy

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Cranial radiation therapy plays an integral role in the treatment of brain tumors but can lead to progressive cognitive deficits in survivors by mechanisms that are poorly understood. To develop preventive or mitigative strategies, it is crucial to better understand the underlying pathogenesis of radiation-induced cognitive impairments. The study investigated single-cell transcriptomics and DNA methylation changes as potential drivers of persistent cellular dysfunction after radiation exposure, specifically concentrating on the CA1-3 regions of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex due to their role in cognitive functions. Thirteen-week-old mice underwent whole-brain radiation at clinically relevant doses. Following whole-brain radiation, an assessment …

Placental Co-Transcriptional Activator Vestigial-Like 1 (Vgll1) Drives Tumorigenesis Via Increasing Transcription Of Proliferation And Invasion Genes, Heather Sonnemann

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Vestigial-like 1 (VGLL1) is a co-transcriptional activator that binds to TEA domain containing transcription factors (TEADs). Its expression is upregulated in a variety of aggressive cancer types, including pancreatic and basal-like breast cancer, and increased transcription of VGLL1 is strongly correlated with poor prognosis and decreased overall patient survival. In normal tissues, VGLL1 is most highly expressed within placental trophoblast cells, which share the common attributes of rapid cellular proliferation and invasion with tumor cells. The impact of VGLL1 in cancer has not been fully elucidated and no VGLL1-targeted therapy currently exists. The aim of this study was to evaluate …

Vesicle-Associated Membrane Proteins In Airway Mucin Secretion, Boxuan Yang

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Mucus plays a vital role in shielding the lungs against harmful substances such as particles, pathogens, and chemicals inhaled from the environment. It captures these harmful elements, and ciliary action helps to expel them from the lungs. Paradoxically, malfunctioning of mucus induces the development of various respiratory illnesses, including asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and interstitial lung diseases. Despite extensive research on controlling mucin production and hydration, the process of secretion is not yet fully comprehended.

Mucin undergoes regulated secretion at two rates: a low baseline rate and a high stimulated rate. Over the past 25 years, …

Nutrient Intake And Nutritional Status Of Blood Cancer Patients At A Tertiary Hospital In India: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Analysis Of Leukemia, Lymphoma And Multiple Myeloma, Enock Topisia, Loise Wamahiga Wang’Ondu

Haematology and Oncology, East Africa

In 2018, there were an estimated 18 million cancer cases worldwide, with lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia contributing to a significant portion of these cases. Lymphoma accounted for 79,990 cases, multiple myeloma for 159,985 cases, and leukemia for 437,033 cases globally (AICR, 2018). In the United States alone, approximately 30,770 people are diagnosed with multiple myeloma each year. Multiple myeloma comprises about 1.8% of all cancers and around 10% of all “blood cancers,” which includes leukemia (Penn Medicine, 2020). India ranks third in the highest reported cases of blood cancer, following the United States and China, affecting more than 70,000 …

Differential Effect Of An Evolving Amyloid And Tau Pathology On Brain Phospholipids And Bioactive Lipid Mediators In Rat Models Of Alzheimer-Like Pathology, Sonia Do Carmo, Marie Audrey I. Kautzmann, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, Bokkyoo Jun, Carolyn Steinberg, Joshua T. Emmerson, Janice C. Malcolm, Quentin Bonomo, Nicolas G. Bazan, A. Claudio Cuello

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Background: Brain inflammation contributes significantly to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, and it is manifested by glial cell activation, increased production of cytokines/chemokines, and a shift in lipid mediators from a pro-homeostatic to a pro-inflammatory profile. However, whether the production of bioactive lipid mediators is affected at earlier stages, prior to the deposition of Aβ plaques and tau hyperphosphorylation, is unknown. The differential contribution of an evolving amyloid and tau pathology on the composition and abundance of membrane phospholipids and bioactive lipid mediators also remains unresolved. Methods: In this study, we examined the cortical levels of DHA- and AA-derived bioactive …

Diesel Exhaust Particles Alter Mitochondrial Bioenergetics And Camp Producing Capacity In Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells, Isabella Cattani-Cavalieri, Marina Trombetta-Lima, Hong Yan, Ana L. Manzano-Covarrubias, Hoeke A. Baarsma, Asmaa Oun, Melissa Mol Van Der Veen, Emily Oosterhout, Amalia M. Dolga, Rennolds S. Ostrom, Samuel Santos Valenca, Martina Schmidt

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Introduction: Air pollution from diesel combustion is linked in part to the generation of diesel exhaust particles (DEP). DEP exposure induces various processes, including inflammation and oxidative stress, which ultimately contribute to a decline in lung function. Cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling is critical for lung homeostasis. The impact of DEP on cAMP signaling is largely unknown.

Methods: We exposed human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells to DEP for 24–72 h and evaluated mitochondrial bioenergetics, markers of oxidative stress and inflammation and the components of cAMP signaling. Mitochondrial bioenergetics was measured at 72 h to capture the potential and accumulative effects of …

Genetics Of Mdh In Humans, Adam Haberman, Celeste N. Peterson

Biology: Faculty Scholarship

Malate dehydrogenase (MDH) performs key roles in metabolism, but little is known about its function specifically in human health and disease. In this minireview, we describe the incomplete state of our knowledge of human MDH genetics. Humans have three MDH genes with a total of four validated isoforms. MDH1 and MDH2 are widely expressed, while MDH1B is only expressed in a small subset of tissues. Many mutations in MDH1 and MDH2 have been identified in patients, but only a few have been studied to determine what symptoms they cause. MDH1 has been associated with cancer and a neurodevelopmental disorder. MDH2 …

Functional And Structural Analysis Of The Neimann-Pick Disease Type C Pathway To Include Caveolin-1, Anthony Michael Seat

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Human disease is often thought of as an all or nothing prospect, either one has the disease or one does not. This does not bear out in clinical or personal experiences, instead demonstrating that disease occurs within a spectrum ranging from presumed unaffected to demonstrably and detrimentally affected.Neimann-Pick disease is one example of this spectrum look into diseased states, with multiple named versions of a phenotypically similar disease. We focus on Neimann-Picktype C (NPC), which is the result of a disruption in the efflux of cholesterol and sphingolipids from the endocytic pathway. NPC demonstrates this concept of a spectrum of …

Role Of Sds-22/Pp1 Phosphatase In Polarizing The Germplasm Of Caenorhabditis Elegans Embryo, Aparna Nurni Ravi

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

During asymmetric cell division, cell polarity and cell cycle are tightly coupled to ensure robust segregation of cell fate determinants and generation of cellular diversity. In the one-cell C. elegans embryo, multiple cell cycle kinases regulate cell polarization and posterior segregation of germline fate determinants (germplasm). For example, PLK-1 kinase inhibits the retention of its germplasm substrate POS-1 in the anterior, driving POS-1 segregation to the posterior (Han et al., 2018). Additionally, MBK-2 kinase disassembles P granules in the anterior through phosphorylation of the P granule scaffold MEG-3, helping to drive P granule segregation to the posterior (Wang et al., …

Evidence-Based Prostate Cancer Screening Interventions For Black Men: A Systematic Review, Abigail Lopez, Jared T. Bailey, Dorothy Galloway, Leanne Woods-Burnham, Susanne B. Montgomery, Rick Kittles, Dede K. Teteh-Brooks

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death for men in the U.S. and Black men are twice as likely to die from the disease. However, prostate cancer, if diagnosed at an earlier stage, is curable. The purpose of this review is to identify prostate cancer screening clinical trials that evaluate screening decision-making processes of Black men.

Methods

The databases PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, and PsychInfo were utilized to examine peer-reviewed publications between 2017 and 2023. Data extracted included implementation plans, outcome measures, intervention details, and results of the study. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme was used …

Five Side Populations Isolated From Rat Bone Marrow‑Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Dalia Al Saied Moustafa Ahmed, Mahmoud Elhussiny Salama, Ahmed Abdou Emam, Sara Mohamed Farrag, Basma Hamed Othman, Shaimaa Hassan Haiba, Mohamed Mosaad Salama

Faculty Journal Articles

Over the past decade, there has been marked enthusiasm surrounding the potential application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as universally compatible donor cells in the field of regenerative medicine. Due to their distinctive immune-tolerant characteristics, these entities hold promise for potential applications in cell replacement, gene therapy and immunomodulatory therapy. MSCs have been defined and characterized based on adhesion properties and different surface markers that are negative for hematopoietic stem cells and positive for MSCs, and their capacity for differentiation into osteocyte, chondrocyte and adipocyte is observed under suitable circumstances. However, this protocol is costly and time-consuming and cannot confirm …

Use Of Cobalt(Iii) And Copper(Ii) Complexes With Thiosemicarbazone Ligands And Berberine Chloride As Anti-Cancer Agents Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Duaa Rashad Alajroush

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

It is a worrying fact that chemotherapeutic options for treating triple negative breast cancer are limited in nature, including the use of inorganic pharmaceuticals such as cisplatin and its analogues. It has been reported that cisplatin has undesirable side effects when used as a chemotherapeutic drug. As such, there is a need to use non-platinum-containing complexes as chemotherapeutic agents. Based on that issue, it has been reported by our research group and others that cobalt- and copper-containing complexes have shown great potential in anti-cancer properties when compared to cisplatin. In this research project, the cytotoxic effects of the following complexes: …

Development Of Anti-Fibrotic Agents For Potential Use In Glaucoma Filtration Surgery To Prevent Scar Formation, Nikhala Shree S

Theses and Dissertations

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness with irreversible vision loss. It is marked by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells, which results in optic nerve head damage. Intraocular pressure (IOP) is a prime risk factor of glaucoma controlled by various treatment regimens i.e., medication, laser, and/ or surgery. It is reported that longterm exposure to anti-glaucoma medications (AGM) may subtle the surgical success rate leading to postoperative fibrosis. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is a growth factor that plays an important role in the development of glaucoma and promotes fibrosis.

This study is aimed at developing peptides to …

Burnout Among Medical Residents, Coping Mechanisms And The Perceived Impact On Patient Care In A Low/ Middle Income Country, Charles Muteshi, Elizabeth Ochola, Dorothy Kamya

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: Burnout is a syndrome that result from chronic workplace stress and it characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low personal accomplishments. Studies report higher burnout levels in medical personnel compared to the general population. Workplace burnout has been directly linked to medical errors and negative coping strategies such as substance abuse. The aims of this study were to assess the level of burnout in medical residents, evaluate their impressions about coping mechanisms and assess perceived impact on patient care in a low/ middle income country setting.

Methods: This was a cross sectional, mixed methods survey carried out at Aga …

Interleukin 24 Induces Apoptosis Through Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 Beta Inactivation In Prostate Cancer Cells, Sual J. Lopez, Moira Sauane

Theses and Dissertations

Interleukin 24 (IL-24) is a tumor-suppressing protein currently in clinical trials. IL-24 induces cancer-specific apoptosis by activating endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and mitochondria dysfunction. We have previously demonstrated that IL-24 leads to apoptosis in cancer cells by protein kinase A (PKA) activation in human breast cancer cells. To further understand the mechanism by which IL-24 induces apoptosis, I analyzed the role of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3), a highly conserved and normally active serine/threonine kinase in cancer cells and downstream target of PKA. The work reported here provides direct evidence that GSK3 was inhibited following IL-24 treatment in human prostate cancer …

Ceramide-Mediated Orchestration Of Oxidative Stress Response Through Filopodia-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles, Zainuddin Quadri, Ahmed Elsherbini, Simone M. Crivelli, Salim S. El-Amouri, Priyanka Tripathi, Zhihui Zhu, Xiaojia Ren, Liping Zhang, Stefka D. Spassieva, Mariana N. Nikolova‑Karakashian, Erhard Bieberich

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are shed from the plasma membrane, but the regulation and function of these EVs remain unclear. We found that oxidative stress induced by H 2 O 2 in Hela cells stimulated filopodia formation and the secretion of EVs. EVs were small (150 nm) and labeled for CD44, indicating that they were derived from filopodia. Filopodia-derived small EVs (sEVs) were enriched with the sphingolipid ceramide, consistent with increased ceramide in the plasma membrane of filopo- dia. Ceramide was colocalized with neutral sphingomyelinase 2 (nSMase2) and acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), two sphingomyelinases generating ceramide at the plasma membrane. Inhibition of …

Soxb1 Transcription Factors Are Essential For Initiating And Maintaining Neural Plate Border Gene Expression, Elizabeth Schock, Joshua R. York, Austin P. Li, Ashlyn Y. Tu, Carole Labonne

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

SoxB1 transcription factors (Sox2/3) are well known for their role in early neural fate specification in the embryo, but little is known about functional roles for SoxB1 factors in non-neural ectodermal cell types, such as the neural plate border (NPB). Using Xenopus laevis, we set out to determine whether SoxB1 transcription factors have a regulatory function in NPB formation. Here, we show that SoxB1 factors are necessary for NPB formation, and that prolonged SoxB1 factor activity blocks the transition from a NPB to a neural crest state. Using ChIP-seq, we demonstrate that Sox3 is enriched upstream of NPB genes in …

A Probabilistic Approach To Estimate The Temporal Order Of Pathway Mutations Accounting For Intra-Tumor Heterogeneity, Menghan Wang, Yanqi Xie, Jinpeng Liu, Austin Li, Li Chen, Arnold Stromberg, Susanne Arnold, Chunming Liu, Chi Wang

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The development of cancer involves the accumulation of somatic mutations in several essential biological pathways. Delineating the temporal order of pathway mutations during tumori- genesis is crucial for comprehending the biological mechanisms underlying cancer development and identifying potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Several computational and statistical methods have been introduced for estimating the order of somatic mutations based on mutation profile data from a cohort of patients. However, one major issue of current methods is that they do not take into account intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH), which limits their ability to accurately discern the order of pathway mutations. To address this …

Causes And Consequences Of Mitotic Chromosome Missegregation In Human Pluripotent Stem Cells, Chenhui Deng

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Mitosis is a fundamental process that ensures the equal distribution of replicated chromosomes, which carry an organism's genetic material, into two daughter cells. The fidelity of mitosis is paramount, as errors in chromosome segregation result in aberrant chromosome numbers, including gains or losses, a state termed aneuploidy. Aneuploidy impacts a broad range of human conditions, including being one of the major hurdles in early human development where it is the primary cause of miscarriages and birth defects. Strikingly, more than 70% of human preimplantation embryos are aneuploid with mitotic chromosome segregation errors being the most common source of aneuploidy. However, …

Wee1 And Cell Size Control In Fission Yeast By The Protein Kinase Cdr2, Rachel Berg-Murante

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The mechanisms that govern cell size have long been topics of study in the field of cell biology. In eukaryotic cells this size control is tied to checkpoints, a set threshold of minimum necessary growth linked to cyclin dependent kinase activity regulation. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the Cdk1 regulatory network is conserved, and G2/M represents the major size checkpoint. Prior to mitosis, Cdk1 is inhibited by phosphorylation applied by Wee1 during G2 phase. Once S. pombe cells have satisfied the size checkpoint, Cdk1 is activated through dephosphorylation by Cdc25. Wee1 is a dose-dependent regulator of mitotic entry …

T. Boudieri Extract Potentiates The Effects Of Capecitabine Treatment In Human Colon Cancer Cells, Katia Sawaya, Mahmoud Khalil, Ghada Khawaja

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Resistance to chemotherapy remains a major challenge for colorectal cancer patients worldwide, hence the persistent need to uncover alternative treatments as well as new adjunct therapies in the fight against cancer. Natural extracts constitute an excellent source of bioactive substances that have a promising potential in that regard, with minimal negative side effects. We have previously demonstrated that both the ethanolic as well as the water extracts of Terfezia boudieri, a black desert truffle abundant in and part of the cuisine of the Mediterranean region, have significant antiproliferative effects against colon cancer cells. Our aim in this study was …

Functional Studies Of Dcaf14 In Replication Fork Stability And Genome Integrity, Neysha Tirado-Class

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The response to replication stress is critical for ensuring the stability of replication forks and preserving genome integrity. To aid this response, several factors are recruited to stalled replication forks to prevent irreversible collapse of the replication machinery. Replication fork proteomic analyses of stalled forks reveal enrichment of DCAF14, a component of the Cullin4-RING (CRL4) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, that mediates replication fork protection by blocking nuclease-mediated digestion of nascent DNA. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism by which DCAF14 functions in the context of replication stress. Notably, loss of function mutations in DCAF14 are associated with a …

Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells And Their Derived Epidermal Progenitor Cells Conditioned Media Ameliorate Skin Aging In Rats, Mohamed M. Kamal, Omar Ibrahim Badr, Tasnim Mahmoud

Pharmacy

BACKGROUND: Skin alterations are among the most prominent signs of aging, and they arise from both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that interact and mutually influence one another. The use of D-galactose as an aging model in animals has been widely employed in anti-aging research. Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs) are particularly promising for skin anti-aging therapy due to their capacity for effective re-epithelization and secretion of various growth factors essential for skin regeneration. Accordingly, we aimed to examine the potential utility of Ad-MSCs as a therapy for skin anti-aging. METHODS: In this study, we isolated and characterized adipose-derived mesenchymal …

Altered Extracellular Matrix Correlates With An Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment And Disease Progression In Younger Adults With Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Leonard Estephan, Gaurav Kumar, Matthew Stewart, Raphael Banoub, Alban Linnenbach, Larry Harshyne, Ubaldo Martinez-Outshoorn, My Mahoney, Joseph Curry, Jennifer Johnson, Andrew South, Adam Luginbuhl

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) occurs most frequently in patients >60 years old with a history of tobacco and alcohol use. Epidemiological studies describe increased incidence of OSCC in younger adults (years). Despite its poor prognosis, knowledge of OSCC tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics in younger adults is scarce and could help inform possible resistance to emerging treatment options.

METHODS: Patients with OSCC were evaluated using TCGA-HNSC (n=121) and a stage and subsite-matched institutional cohort (n=8) to identify differential gene expression focusing on the extracellular matrix (ECM) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes in younger (≤45 years) vs. older adults …

The Role Of Edc3 In Drosophila Melanogaster Neuronal Development, Keelan Zius

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enhancer of mRNA-decay 3 (Edc3) is a component of multiple decapping complexes that regulates the transcriptome by targeting a subset of transcripts for decapping for 5’-to-3’ messenger RNA (mRNA) decay. A missense mutation in the conserved Lsm domain of Edc3 has been reported in two siblings presenting with mild, non-syndromic intellectual disability (ID), however, the role of Edc3 is neuronal development has never been evaluated. Here, we use the Drosophila melanogaster model system to investigate the effects of Edc3 disruption on neuronal development. We found Edc3 reduction leads to significant hyperplasia at the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ), providing the first …

Neuroinflammation In Alzheimer’S Disease Mouse Brain Following Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Lujain Almuhanna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a common form of head injury, with mild TBIs (mTBIs) making up 75-90% of the TBI severity scale. It’s been suggested that repetitive mild TBIs (rmTBIs) may enhance effects of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). With dementia linking TBI and AD together, we investigated the memory hub of the brain - the hippocampus. Astrocytes and microglia are two glial cells that respond to neuroinflammation and therefore imaged in hippocampal regions of the 3xTg-AD mouse brain. We hypothesized that AD brain pathology (i.e., neuroinflammation) would be accelerated in 3xTg-AD mice following rmTBIs early in life. Analyses revealed that …

Cytotoxicity, Antibacterial And Anti-Inflammatory Properties Of A Synthesized Curcumin Analog And One Of Its Novel Derivatives, Marian Amir

Theses and Dissertations

This research aims to describe the synthesis, characterization, and the biological response via investigating the cytotoxic activity, hypoxic microenvironment response, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties of the novel curcumin analog H-4073 and its succinate derivative (H-4073 SuD) in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The study also aimed to compare the effects of H-4073 and H-4073 SuD to assess their relative efficacy and potential as therapeutic agents. First, the cytotoxic effects of H-4073 and H-4073 SuD were evaluated on HEPG2 cell lines under normal conditions. Results revealed that H-4073 exhibited a significantly better cytotoxic effect than H-4073 SuD in normoxia. However, …

Aging-Related Changes In The Mechanical Properties Of Single Cells, Amarnath Singam, Chandrabali Bhattacharya, Seungman Park

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Mechanical properties, along with biochemical and molecular properties, play crucial roles in governing cellular function and homeostasis. Cellular mechanics are influenced by various factors, including physiological and pathological states, making them potential biomarkers for diseases and aging. While several methods such as AFM, particle-tracking microrheology, optical tweezers/stretching, magnetic tweezers/twisting cytometry, microfluidics, and micropipette aspiration have been widely utilized to measure the mechanical properties of single cells, our understanding of how aging affects these properties remains limited. To fill this knowledge gap, we provide a brief overview of the commonly used methods to measure single-cell mechanical properties. We then delve into …

Characterization Of Oxidized Tau Protein Aggregation And Inhibition Of Tau Aggregation Via Map2, Brad Krzesinski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) composed of the microtubule stabilizing protein Tau are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and many other dementia related diseases specified as Tauopathies. Due to alternative mRNA splicing, intrinsically disordered Tau exists as six separate isoforms in the adult human brain where they are categorized by the lack or inclusion of the second repeat in the microtubule binding domain (3R or 4R respectively). Isoforms are subcategorized by the inclusion or lack thereof, one or two N-terminal inserts. Many studies show that Tau aggregates into amyloid fibrils and these fibrils can break into small oligomeric units known …

Investigating The Regulation Of The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Interrenal Axis In Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus) Following An Acute Stressor, Liam Doherty

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This study investigated the response to acute stress in Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and HPI axis regulation of glucocorticoid production during stress by examining the expression of key genes― corticotropin-releasing hormone (crh), corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor (crhr), proopiomelanocortin (pomca/pomcb), melanocortin 2 receptor (mc2r), and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (star)―that are associated with hypothalamus/pituitary/interrenal (HPI) axis of bony fishes. Additionally, tyrosine hydrogenase (th1 and th2) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (pepck), found in catecholamine-producing cells in the head kidney of the sturgeon, were investigated …