Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Regulation Of C-Reactive Protein Gene Expression And Function, Avinash N. Thirumalai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human C-reactive protein (CRP) is the prototypic acute phase protein whose serum concentration increases rapidly during inflammation. CRP is also associated with atherosclerosis; it is deposited at lesion sites where it may interact with modified lipoproteins. There are 2 major questions regarding CRP: 1. How is the serum concentration of CRP regulated? 2. What are the functions of CRP in atherosclerosis?

Our first aim was to determine the role of the constitutively expressed transcription factor Oct-1 in regulating CRP gene expression. We found that Oct-1 overexpression inhibited (IL-6+IL-1β)- induced CRP gene expression; maximal inhibition required the binding of Oct-1 to …

Redesign Of Trans-Splicing Molecules For The Correction Of Dystrophia Myotonica Type 1 Toxic Rna Transcripts, Eleanor G. Harrison

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Dystrophia myotonica (DM1), one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy, is caused by a repeated trinucleotide expansion in the DMPK gene. This mutation results in the accumulation of toxic cellular RNA transcripts. Spliceosome-mediated RNA trans-splicing (SMaRT) technology is a form of gene therapy that possesses the potential to correct these toxic RNA transcripts and thus cure the disease. Despite its promise, prior research applications of SMaRT technology to DM1 have been hampered by poor efficiency and have not been validated in a relevant model of the disease. In order to improve the efficiency of trans-splicing, this study examined …

Vitamin D Status Of College Students: Implications For Health Leaders, Eileen M. Cress

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vitamin D deficiency is considered to be a pandemic with implications for compromised bone health and other chronic diseases. Few studies have examined vitamin D status in college-aged individuals where prevention of future health consequences is still possible. Serum vitamin D 25(OH)D status and vitamin D intake were examined in 98 college students ages 18-29 years during winter. BMI was classified as < 25and 25 or greater. Race was categorized as Caucasian or other. Overall, 69.5% had suboptimal serum vitamin D levels, <30ng/mL. Only 8 students (8.2%) met the EAR (400 IU) per day for vitamin D intake. t tests were used to determine if there were significant differences in serum vitamin D level and dietary intake based on gender, race and BMI. Significant differences were found in serum vitamin D level when compared by gender and race. Females tended to have a higher serum vitamin D level than males. Those representing minorities had lower serum vitamin D levels than Caucasians; One hundred percent of the minority students had suboptimal serum vitamin D levels. Based on these findings, dietitians should increase efforts to target college-aged individuals in educational programming related to factors affecting vitamin D synthesis, vitamin D intake, and health consequences of suboptimal vitamin D status, particularly in winter. Consideration should be given to vitamin D fortification of foods that meet the preferences of today’s consumer.

Neuromodulation Therapy Mitigates Heart Failure Induced Hippocampal Damage, Timothy P. Diperi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly half of the people diagnosed with heart failure (HF) die within 5 years of diagnosis. Brain abnormalities secondary to CVD have been observed in many discrete regions, including the hippocampus. Nearly 25% of patients with CVD also have major depressive disorder (MDD), and hippocampal dysfunction is a characteristic of both diseases. In this study, the hippocampus and an area of the hippocampal formation, the dentate gyrus (DG), were studied in a canine model of HF. Using this canine HF model previously, we have determined that myocardial …