Physiology Commons^™

Is Trimethylamine N-Oxide A Friend, Foe, Or Hormetic Agent In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease: A Focused Review Of One Microbial Metabolite, Abraham B. Alton

Student Works

This review synthesizes recent literature examining trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) synthesis and its potential role in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) pathology. An increase in TMAO plasma and CSF concentration is associated with PD progression and severity. TMAO biosynthesis is a two-step process. First, precursors including carnitine and choline are converted to trimethylamine (TMA) by gut microbes. Second, TMAO is oxidized to TMAO in the liver. Once absorbed into circulation TMAO crosses the blood brain barrier and may influence PD disease pathology by increasing neuroinflammation and astrocyte activation and damaging the cerebral lymphatic system. These mechanisms may contribute to the cognitive and motor …

Alphasperm Data, Seth J. Parks, Timothy G. Jenkins

ScholarsArchive Data

Data from a prospective cohort study of sperm DNA methylation, semen analysis, and DNA fragmentation in fertile and infertile men before and after treatment with a male fertility antioxidant supplement.

Myofiber Necrosis To Electrical Stimulation-Induced Damage: Influence Of Menstrual Cycle Phase, Collin Deshler, Brandon Pfeifer, Mohadeseh Ahmadi, Werner N. Hunter, Madeline N. Nielsen, Krista S. Shimizu, Robert D. Hyldahl

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Estrogen plays important roles in women's overall health, including cardiovascular health, metabolism, bone, connective tissue, and skeletal muscle.
• Existing evidence, mostly based on studies with ovariectomized rodents or post-menopausal women suggests that estrogen is essential for normal muscle recovery, growth, and function.
• Evidence indicates that estrogen plays a role in facilitating skeletal muscle regeneration by activating satellite cells.
• There is a lack of research on the impact of estrogen levels on skeletal muscle damage and recovery in premenopausal populations who have fluctuating levels of estrogen throughout their menstrual cycle.
• The purpose of this study was to determine how menstrual cycle …

Valproic Acid Alters Larval Behavior And Neuronal Composition Within The Optic Tectum Of Zebrafish, Bailey J. Calder, Jacquelyne C. Howell, Michael J. Zeyer, Annalie Martin, Sierra C. Dixon, Shane M. Lilya, Jason M. Hansen, Arminda Suli

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

The mammalian superior colliculus (SC) and its non-mammalian homolog–the optic tectum (OT)–are midbrain structures that integrate multimodal sensory inputs and guide involuntary movements in response to relevant environmental cues. Recent work has drawn strong connections between the functions of the SC/OT and behavioral deficits observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), thus implicating this structure as a possible site affected in ASD. Since fetal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) has been associated with increased prevalence of ASD in humans, and ASD-like phenotypes in animal models, we exposed embryonic zebrafish to VPA to investigate the connection between ASD and OT development. In …

Exploring The Role Of Dopamine And Atp In Microglial Motility, Derek Langford, Jordan Yorgas, Christopher Galbraith, Channing Syme, Brayden Parker, Savannah Evans, Derek Langford, Eliza White, Erin Taylor, Lauren Ford, Hillary Wadsworth

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

►Recent studies from our laboratory have identified that dopamine and ATP in the Nucleus Accubmens (NAc) are co-released.

►ATP is a chemoattractant for macrophages in general, and microglia specifically, suggesting that dopamine and ATP corelease may function to alter microglia activity.

►The present work characterizes the effects of microglia activation via lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on dopamine terminal function, and the effects of dopamine and ATP on microglia motility.

A Descriptive Analysis Of Severe Maternal Morbidities In Southern Arizona, Joseph Sherman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction

Maternal morbidities and maternal deaths are rising at an alarming rate throughout the United States, despite advances in medicine and technology (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). In 2020, maternal deaths climbed to its highest peak in thirty years, at 23.8 deaths per 100,000 births (CDC 2020; CDC 2022b). Maternal morbidities have also increased by nearly 200% from 1993 to 2014 (CDC, 2021). The startling rise in both maternal morbidities and maternal deaths is likely exacerbated by limited access to healthcare and the pervasiveness of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease (Carroll, 2017; Geller …

Staying Hydrated: A Comparative Analysis Of Humectants In Human Skin, Ayden Olsen, Rachel Prince, Craig Reeves, Cassie Peterson, Jason Adams

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Humectants are an important class of compounds that attract and retain water within a cell. When mixed with water to create wetting solutions, humectants can prevent desiccation of cadaveric specimens. Recognizing a relative scarcity of comparative studies analyzing the effects of various wetting solutions on post preservation cadaveric maintenance, we utilized wet-dry analysis in order to compare the effects of four common humectants on water retention in human skin tissue. We created a concentration gradient for each humectant to identify the optimal concentrations of each compound for water retention, after which we compared water retention in tissue at the optimal …

A Ketogenic Diet Enhances Hippocampal Mitochondrial Efficiency, Cali E. Warren, Erin R. Saito, Benjamin T. Bikman

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Mitochondrial dysfunction and cognitive impairment are common symptoms in many neurologic disorders, as well as in nonpathological aging. Ketones have been suggested as therapeutic for their relevance in epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder.

New Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis Could Halt Disease Progression Without Weakening Immune System, Carter Helquist, Dario Mizrachi

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurological and autoimmune disease in which immune cells cause demyelination of axons in nervous tissue.
• Current treatments for the disease are principally aimed at weakening the immune system to therefore weaken the autoimmune attack on the brain. This leaves patients prone to other sicknesses.
• We seek a treatment that prevents the immune cells from entering the central nervous system (CNS) thereby protecting its cells.
• We can prevent immune cells from entering the CNS by strengthening the blood brain barrier through targeting claudin 5 proteins in the tight junctions.
• This new treatment could mean increased …

Chimeric Claudins Reveal Role In Neural Tube Defects, Wesley Allen, Nathan Beckett, Emma Brenchley, Jacob Wengler, Lauren Hall, Cailey Winn, Meredith Mann, Sion Jung, Spencer Thacker, Rachel May, Dario Mizrachi, Micheal Stark

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Claudins (CLDN), a family of proteins found in the tight junction, play a major role in membrane permeability. While claudin disruption is known to contribute to the formation of neural tube defects (NTD), current research methods rely heavily on a non-specific toxin, CPE, when exploring the importance of CLDNs within neural tube formation. This makes it difficult to identify individual CLDN’s contribution to NTD formation, creating a need for a more specific method.

The Effect Of Wearable Activity Monitor Presence On Step Counts, William B. Tayler, James D. Lecheminant, Jospeh Price, Christian P. Tadje

Faculty Publications

Objective: In this study, we tested the effect of wearable activity monitors and tracking on physical activity over 2 weeks.

Methods: Ninety young adults participated. Prior to initiation of the study, each participant was asked to download an iPhone app that tracked physical activity level (step counts) but were not told the app’s purpose. Each participant was then randomly assigned to one of 3 groups (N=30/group): (1) measurement awareness, (2) measurement awareness+track/record, or (3) control. Participants in the measurement awareness and the measurement awareness+track/record groups were given a pedometer to wear for 2 weeks. Additionally, participants in the measurement awareness+track/ …

Identifying And Knocking Out Non-Visual Opsins In The Optic Tectum Of Zebrafish Larvae, Sarah Jarrett

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Deep brain photoreceptors (DBPs) are non-visual photoreceptors found in the brains of non-mammalian vertebrates like zebrafish. While using optogenetic techniques in our lab to photo-activate the ear (by expressing the light-gated channel: channelrhodopsin) in efforts of identifying optic tectum (OT) neurons that respond to and integrate auditory and visual stimuli, we found that violet light was able to elicit OT neuronal activity. OT activity was also detected in cases when visual and auditory stimulation was not possible due to removal of the eyes and absence of the exogenously expressed channelrhodopsin, respectively. Analyzing OT single-cell sequencing data of 7day post fertilization …

Racial And Ethnic Minority Groups Are Under-Represented And Under-Reported In Guideline-Informing Heart Failure Clinical Trials, Gerardo Gamino

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Heart failure (HF) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States that may disproportionately affect certain racial/ethnic groups. Compared with White individuals, HF may affect Black individuals at a younger age with less favorable prognosis, and this excess risk may be partially explained by differences in HF risk factor burden. It is crucial for guideline informing HF clinical trials to adequately reflect the racial/ethnic diversity in the population. We assessed the extent of reporting and representation of race/ethnicity in HF clinical trials referenced in the 2013 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure and the …

Biological Pretreatment Of Biomass For Enhanced Biogas Production, Skylar F. Van Horne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The biogas output efficiency of controlled anaerobic digestion (AD) can be enhanced by several different pretreatment methods to produce renewable energy. According to the literature, there are pros and cons to each pretreatment method. Biological pretreatment provides environmentally safe and renewable means for enhancing biodegradability and net energy output. Current research has yet to reliably demonstrate the ability of bacterial strains, such as Caldicellulosiruptor bescii (C. bescii), to digest common waste substrates in efficient ways. Novel methods in key intermediate molecular quantification and alkalinity tracking are used here to explore C. bescii’s ability to digest lignocellulosic material in …

Hydroxychloroquine Prophylaxis For Covid-19, David D. Busath

Faculty Publications

It is common in medicine that simple, inexpensive remedies are held hostage to medical prejudice, financial or political interest, and legal precedent. The purpose of this review is to take the point of view of the victims of COVID-19 and address whether scientific information, including randomized-control trials, can answer whether the hydroxychloroquine should be dispensed for those testing positive and their immediate recent contacts at the point of testing. Although the FDA in the United States is yet to be convinced, the demonstration of positive effects in clinical trials cannot be ignored and there is a large amount of information …

Low-Cost Diagnostics: Using Paper As A Material And Pens As An Instrument, Annie Armitstead

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lateral flow immunoassays (LFIs) are equipment-free tests that produce results quickly using small sample volumes. Colored lines appear as the test runs, indicating the presence of a biomarker. LFIs are ideal in a variety of settings. Development of these assays can be complicated for small team operations, and tests are not sufficiently adaptable for low resource settings. If robust point-of-care tests can be developed on site, they can expand the reach of global diagnostics, improving health around the world. We report a simple empowering LFI (seLFI) that only requires treated printer paper and a plastic backing card. This eliminates the …

Role Of Transient Receptor Potential Channels In Epithelial Morphogenesis In Chick Embryo, Trinity Q. Waddell

Theses and Dissertations

Transient Receptor Potential channels (TRP) are a superfamily of cationic specific ionchannels that are regulated by various stimuli such as temperature, pH, mechanical stress, ligandsand ion concentration. The role of TRP channels in disease states such as autosomal dominantpolycystic kidney disease, cancer metastasis, and developmental defects lend credence to thebelief that they play an important part in epithelial morphogenesis events. The development ofsomites, neural tube closure and migration of neural crest cells to form things such as the faceand heart is a good developmental model for the aforementioned cellular processes. We haveshown that TRP channels can be found in the …

Rage And Sage: Therapeutic Modalities For Copd, Paul Reynolds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Funding available through this MEG award has provided an opportunity for me to meet many academic objectives I’ve determined to be important at BYU. We have been successful in conducting pilot studies that reveal possible roles for SAGEs in ameliorating mechanisms of lung inflammation induced by and cigarette smoke (CS). Despite improvement in personal air quality during the past few decades, the rationale for studying mechanisms leading to adverse health effects remains important. This MEG award specifically provided opportunities for students to conduct meaningful research that led to the observation that alveolar epithelial cells and bronchiolar epithelial cells experience elevated …

Regulation Of Trophoblast Invasion By Pyruvate Kinase Isozyme M2 (Pkm2): Preemptive To Pkm2 Activation Decreases Iugr Symptoms In Mice Exposed To Second-Hand Smoke, Juan Mejia, Juan Arroyo, Ph.D.

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The placenta is an organ composed of highly vascular tissue. It plays an essential role in healthy fetal development as a mediator of gases and nutrients between the mother and fetus. Many complications can occur in this stage of fetal development, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) when the placenta’s invasive and vascular roles are inhibited. IUGR is an obstetric complication that affects over 10% of the population causing harmful symptoms to the fetus and mother. Physiologically, in the first trimester, high trophoblast cell invasion occurs, and the spiral arteries dilate to create a low resistance, high capacity vessel capable …

Nrf2 In Protecting Against Valproic Acid-¬‐Induced Oxidative Injury During Cellular Differentiation, Alyssa Palmer, Jason Hansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The causes of the majority of birth defects remain largely unknown today. However, many chemicals known to cause defects are also known inducers of oxidative stress, resulting in faulty cellular function. This suggests an important link between oxidative stress and normal and abnormal embryonic development [1]. Oxidative stress is a phenomenon caused by an imbalance in the production of reactive molecules derived from oxygen called reactive oxygen species (ROS). Although basal levels of ROS are necessary in order for normal cell function to occur, an overabundance of ROS interact with molecules that they shouldn’t, disrupting vital cellular pathways. This is …

Antenatal Exposure To Secondhand Smoke Impacts Growth And Cardiopulmonary Energetics In 4-Week-Old Mice, Kaleb Egbert, Paul Reynolds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a well-established cause of respiratory illness in infants and children who live in environments where exposure is common. Recent studies have been performed to examine the potential effects of SHS exposure on fetus’s before they are born1. The data collected suggests that antenatal exposure to SHS impacts cardiovascular and respiratory function through childhood and may even have lifelong ramifications, even if the exposure is terminated shortly after birth. In our study, we sought to determine the impact of SHS exposure during development in the womb would have on 4 week-old mice, or the equivalent of an …

Microbiota Composition Trends Among High Risk Asd Individuals, Hyrum Eddington, John M. Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition which significantly affects an individual’s social behavior and ability to function in daily living. Although there is a genetic component to the disorder, current research suggests that there are other factors that influence the onset of the disease. One of these factors is the gut microbiota of the individual. Because the human microbiome is a complex system that significantly varies from person to person, finding microbial markers indicative of certain disease can be challenging and problematic. Currently, there are no established protocols that can diagnosis an individual with autism on any criteria save …

Computational Modelling Of Peptides Containing Non-Standard Amino Acids, David W. Kastner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Peptides represent a class of abundant and potent pharmaceutic compounds. Despite their appeal, the design, synthesis, and engineering of biologically relevant peptides remain a challenge. Chapter 1 introduces the various computational methods that will be used. Chapter 2 focuses on the incorporation of a special class of amino acids called bulky dehydroamino acids into the turn of β-hairpins to proteolytically stabilize peptides. Our results suggest that dehydroamino acids confer proteolytic stability by favoring a more folded state. Chapter 3 describes the structural calculations of a rare anticancer peptide called Yaku’amide using a combined molecular mechanics/quantum mechanics hybrid method. The …

Glutathione-Mediated Oxidative Response In Uvb-Irradiated Hacat Cells, Patrick Badger, Dr. Jason Hansen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Ultraviolet light (UV) plays a critical role in the etiology of skin cancer, contributing to over 95% of both melanoma and non-melanoma diagnoses. It consists of several wavelengths, among which UVB is the most harmful, causing inflammation associated with sunburn and constituting the principal cause of skin cancer-related death.

An Efficient Method For Generating Conditional Cell Lines For Cellular And Molecular Research, Mark Roth, Dr. Jonathan Alder

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Conditional cell lines are widely used throughout biochemical research. The basic concept is that you can delete a gene you are studying upon the addition of a drug, to cells in culture, and then use the knockout cells to study the genes effects. This process has been facilitated by the advent of the CRISPR/Cas9 system that allows a broad range of genome editing in living cells. Cas9 introduces a double strand break in DNA at a site specified by the CRISPR (guide RNA), and by changing the CRISPR sequence researchers can introduce these double strand breaks almost wherever they want. …

B-Hydroxybutyrate Favorably Alters Muscle Cell Survival And Mitochondrial Bioenergetics, Brian Parker, Benjamin Bikman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The growing worldwide incidence of obesity and its associated pathologies, like type 2 diabetes, has received much deserved attention. However, despite this attention and substantial research efforts, little meaningful progress has been made in slowing or reversing the growing cost and trends of obesity worldwide. As of 2008, almost 10% of medical costs in the United States were incurred due to obesity or other obesity-related diseases,ⁱ with the substantial amount of this cost stemming from the dramatically increased risk of diabetes with excess fat mass.ⁱⁱ According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one …

Maternal-Fetal Interactions And The Induction Of Preeclampsia By Growth Arrest-Specific 6 (Gas6)/Axl Signaling, Todd Dunaway, Paul Reynolds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Preeclampsia (PE) is a complicated obstetric complication characterized by increased blood pressure and decreased trophoblast invasion. PE is one of the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The growth arrest-specific 6 (Gas6) protein is known to induce different responses in cells including prevention of apoptosis and enhanced cell migration and invasion. This protein is secreted in response to growth arrest and it is increased in the serum of PE patients. This discovery suggests a mechanistic role for the Gas6 signaling pathway during PE progression. Gas6 binds to the AXL tyrosine kinase receptor and AXL-mediated …

Elucidating The Role Of The Transcriptional Co-Activator Camta1 In Cardiac Development, Nate Batey, Zach Frederich, Morgan Fronk, Nate Jenkins, Jonathon Hill

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common type of birth defect in the United States, causing more first-year infant deaths than any other birth defect (1). While the causes of CHD are varied, genetic defects are known to play a significant role. Identifying and studying genes involved in embryonic heart development can enhance understanding of the genetic factors in CHDs. The camta1 gene is a promising candidate due to its transient expression in heart morphogenesis and its relationship to camta2 , the only other member of its family in vertebrates and a known player in adult heart failure (2,3).

“Seeing” Beyond The Knees: Inflammation In The Eye As A Result Of Mechanical Stress, Michael Goodman, David Kooyman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A correlation between Osteoarthritis (OA), affecting over 27 million people in the US [1], and metabolic syndrome (MS), affecting over 340 million people worldwide [2], becomes strikingly important as the search for an effective treatment for OA continues. Increasing evidence has shown that OA is linked to systemic inflammation and MS. With MS comes other substantial comorbidities, including diabetic retinopathy (DR). Ocular inflammation promoted through mechanically induced OA would provide evidence that mechanical stress can be a factor leading to systemic inflammation. Such results would have profound impacts upon the way we view OA as a metabolic disorder, leading to …

Rage Functions During Secondhand Smoke-Induced Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Brent Kimber, Dr. Paul Reynolds

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is a common respiratory disease among pre-term infants or newborns exposed to harmful toxins during pregnancy or at birth. This leads to several respiratory diseases later in life such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) or asthma. However, research on the effects of cigarette smoke in utero has many gaps. This project focuses on developing a transgenic mouse model that mimics the pulmonary morphologies and characteristics of BPD. This model will then be used for further research and potentially discover new therapeutic methods for BPD. The transgenic mouse was established using a modified genetic scheme whereby the …