Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Light-Limited Access To Fructose Alters Metabolic Function And Adipose Tissue Catecholaminergic Activity In Mice, Naima Salem Rodwan

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Consumption of high levels of fructose produces glucose intolerance, sympathetic nervous system activation, and renal dysfunction. A diet high in fructose may play a role in the worldwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that time (light/dark) limited access to fructose influences body fat, metabolic function, and adipose tissue catecholaminergic activity in mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were given standard chow and assigned to one of three groups: Control (n=10, water 24h); FL (n=11, 10% fructose solution during 12h light period); and FD (n=10, 10% fructose solution during 12h dark period). Metabolic …

Elucidating Transcription Factor Regulation By Tcdd Within The Hs1,2 Enhancer, Sharon D. Ochs

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) expression and Ig secretion is inhibited by the environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-ρ-dioxin (TCDD). Within the IgH gene, the 3' IgH regulatory region (3'IgH RR) has been identified as a transcriptional target of TCDD. The 3'IgH RR, which in part regulates transcription of the IgH gene, is composed of four enhancers in the mouse: hs3a; hs1,2; h3b; hs4 and three enhancers in the human: hs3a; hs1,2; hs4. In humans the hs1,2 enhancer has an invariant sequence (IS) containing a DRE, NF-κB, NF1 and AP-1 binding site. Also, the enhancer has an AP1.ETS and Oct …

Evaluation Of Cm-2,525 As A Neuroprotectant Against Sarin: A Comparison With 8-Oh-Dpat, Amanda R. Furman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to the chemical warfare agent sarin produces long term neurological deficits. The long term medical consequences could be averted with the development of neuroprotectants to preserve brain function. In our mouse model, the combination of the carboxylesterase inhibitor 2-(o-cresyl)-4H-1:3:2-benzodioxaphosphorin-2-oxide (CBDP) with the organophosphorus (OP) nerve agent sarin was used to render mice more sensitive to poisoning and reduce the amount of hydrogen fluoride cleaved from sarin during binding to esterases. Since carboxylesterase acts as a scavenger, reducing the levels causes sarin to have a greater inhibition effect on acetylcholinesterase. These smaller doses permitted the use of doses similar to …

Use Of Phage Display Libraries To Select For B-Cell Receptor-Specific Peptides Of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells, Richard M. Chou

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Peptides with high affinity to the B-cell receptor (BCR) fused to a toxin could be an effective therapy for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients. We screened captured BCR of a CLL patient with peptides from 7 and 12-mer phage display libraries, using two strategies. Lymphocytes from two patients diagnosed with CLL expressing two different unmutated VH genes (VH 1-3 and VH4-34, respectively) were used. Membrane BCRs were obtained from patient CLL cells by lysis, identified by western blot, semi-quantified and screened with phage libraries. The first strategy involved using patient VH4-34 BCRs which were captured using goat anti-human IgM to …

Enhanced Angiotensin Ii-Induced Cardiac And Aortic Remodeling In Ace2 Knockout Mice, Mahmoud Alghamri

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Activation of the renin angiotensin system (RAS) is a well-known driving force, governing the aggravation and progression of CVD and associated target organ damage. Angiotensin (Ang) converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a new member within the RAS family, was first cloned from the ventricle of patient with heart failure. ACE2 was shown to be upregulated under pathological conditions. We hypothesize that loss of ACE2 negatively affects cardiac function and exacerbates hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and aortic remodeling in response to Ang II. Eight weeks old ACE2 knock out (KO) and wild type (WT) mice were infused with Ang II s.c. (1000 ng/kg/min for …

Role Of Na+K+2cl- Co-Transporters In Insulin Secretion, Saeed Alshahrani

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl^-]i) in insulin secretion in vivo and in vitro.

The maintenance of high [Cl^-]i in insulin-secreting pancreatic β-cells plays an important role in glucose-induced depolarization and insulin secretion. Insulinotropic glucose concentrations i.e., >6 mM induces electrical activity in β-cells which results in insulin secretion. This electrical activity is mainly due to electrogenic efflux of Cl^- from β-cells through volume-regulated anion channels (VRAC). The solute carrier family 12 group A member 1 (Slc12a1) and 2 (Slc12a2) encode several splice variants of the …