Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Retrocyclin Rc-101 Overcomes Cationic Mutations On The Heptad Repeat 2 Of Hiv-1 Gp41, Christopher Fuhrman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retrocyclin RC-101, a θ-defensin with lectin-like properties, potently inhibits infection by many HIV-1 subtypes by binding to the heptad repeat (HR)-2 region of gp41 and preventing six-helix bundle formation. In the present study, we used in silico computational exploration to identify residues of HR2 that interacted with RC-101 and then analyzed the HIV-1 Sequence Database at LANL for residue variations in the HR1 and HR2 segments that could plausibly impart in vivo resistance. Docking RC-101 to gp41 peptides in silico confirmed its strong preference for HR2 over HR1, and implicated residues crucial for its ability to bind HR2. We mutagenized …

Optimization Of Porcine Buccal Mucosa For In Vitro Evaluation, Upendra D. Kulkarni

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Porcine buccal mucosa has been extensively used as in vitro model to study the permeability of drugs and assess their potential to deliver through buccal route. Porcine buccal mucosa is found to be very similar to human oral mucosa in structure and function. However, the in vitro permeation studies across porcine buccal mucosa show high variability which is mostly due to the various experimental and biological variables that are often overlooked while conducting such studies.

The precise nature of the permeability barrier offered by the various tissue layers of buccal mucosa was investigated in this study. It was observed that …

Increasing Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D As A Possible Deterrent To The Onset Of Multiple Sclerosis, Nicholas J. Perretti

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Phenotypic Properties And Intrinsic Currents Of Neurons Involved In The Neural Generation Of Mammalian Breathing, John A. Hayes

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Breathing is essential for mammalian life. Although there is an emerging consensus that the inspiratory respiratory rhythm is generated in a lower brainstem region known as the preBotzinger Complex (preBotC), the mechanism of rhythmogenesis is still unclear. Additionally, the modulation of intrinsic currents within preBotC neurons has yet to be fully elucidated. This dissertation addresses both of these issues and relies on imaging, electrophysiological, and modeling techniques. The first chapter examines the size and composition of the preBotC. The chapter also decribes the means by which substance P (SP) excites the vast majority of preBotC neurons by illustrating the characteristics …