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Full-Text Articles in Genetics and Genomics
Do Innexins Function In The Extreme Cold Response Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Madison A. Ward
Do Innexins Function In The Extreme Cold Response Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Madison A. Ward
Masters Theses, 2020-current
Nociception is an organism’s ability to detect, process and reflexively respond to potentially damaging stimuli. While the process of nociception has clear, protective advantages, inappropriate and prolonged signaling can lead to chronic pain in humans. Nociception is a vital and genetically conserved process, thus cold nociception in Drosophilaprovides a model for identifying molecular components required for nociceptor function in vertebrates. Drosophila Class III dendritic arborization (da) neurons have previously been shown to be involved in the cold nociceptive response. Due to the importance of fast response to damaging stimuli, we hypothesize that electrical synapses are involved in cold nociception. …
Detecting The Cold: Do Innexins Function In Cold Nociception?, Rachel Barborek
Detecting The Cold: Do Innexins Function In Cold Nociception?, Rachel Barborek
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Nociception is the perception of and response to harmful stimuli. Nociception is essential for minimizing tissue damage, but aberrant nociceptive pathways can result in chronic pain. Chronic pain in the U.S. is commonly managed with wide-acting opioids, and precisely defining the components of nociceptive pathways could uncover novel targets for pain therapies. I hypothesize that the vitally quick process of nociception would utilize electrical synapses because they transmit signals between neurons more quickly than chemical synapses do. This study, therefore, aims to uncover the potential role of the eight Drosophila melanogaster gap junction proteins, the Innexins, in cold nociception. Wild …