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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology

Pigment Dispersing Factor: Transcriptional Regulation And Its Role In Metabolism In Drosophila Melanogaster, Sudershana Nair Aug 2016

Pigment Dispersing Factor: Transcriptional Regulation And Its Role In Metabolism In Drosophila Melanogaster, Sudershana Nair

Doctoral Dissertations

Almost all living organisms have circadian clocks coordinating physiology and behavior, and an innate molecular clock drives rhythmic changes by integrating environmental and metabolic stimuli to generate 24 hour timing. Drosophila melanogaster has proved to be an excellent model organism with a well-characterized circadian clock and the neural circuits underlying clock have been intensely investigated. The neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) plays an essential role in maintaining circadian rhythmicity and synchronizes circadian clock neurons. However, the regulation of Pdf has been a black box with no known protein identified that directly regulates it, and its role in metabolism hasn’t been looked …


Functional Role Of Each Component In Gamma Secretase Complex, Chen Hu May 2016

Functional Role Of Each Component In Gamma Secretase Complex, Chen Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

Amyloid hypothesis is widely accepted as the centerpiece of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. It is believed that the accumulation of amyloid beta (Ab) is the major deterministic factor of AD and the most important causative factor is the ratio of Ab42/Ab40. Gamma(g)-secretase defines the length of Ab and is composed of at least four subunits: presenilins (PS1 or PS2), nicastrin (NCT), anterior pharynx-defective 1 (Aph-1), and presenilin enhancer 2 (Pen-2). They have been reported to have different roles in g-secretase. For example, PS were believed as the catalytic components in g-secretase; NCT was recognized as a substrate receptor; Pen-2 was …