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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Role Of Nitric Oxide Dysregulation In Tumor Maintenance, Christopher Rabender Sep 2013

The Role Of Nitric Oxide Dysregulation In Tumor Maintenance, Christopher Rabender

Theses and Dissertations

The inflammatory nature of the tumor microenvironment provides a cytokine and chemokine rich proliferative environment. Much of the responsibility of this environment is due to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). These studies examined the proliferative rich tumor environment from a new perspective of Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) dysregulation. NOS’s have the ability to become uncoupled and generate superoxide in lieu of nitric oxide (NO). A requirement of NOS for the production of NO is the cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) and when it is missing NOS becomes uncoupled and turns into a peroxynitrite synthase. Here I demonstrate that NOS is …


Osteopontin Expression During The Acute Immune Response Mediates Reactive Synaptogenesis And Adaptive Outcome, Julie Chan Aug 2013

Osteopontin Expression During The Acute Immune Response Mediates Reactive Synaptogenesis And Adaptive Outcome, Julie Chan

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide epidemic as the number of victims living with the resulting cognitive and physical impairment continues to rise, principally due to limited treatment options which fail to address its multifaceted sequelae. By approaching TBI therapy from a molecular standpoint, we have the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms which prevent effective recovery. With this information, we can move toward the identification of novel therapeutic treatments which target specific molecules to improve patient outcome following TBI. Here, we have focused on the therapeutic potential of osteopontin (OPN), an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein …


Linking Obesity To Colorectal Cancer: Recent Insights Into Plausible Biological Mechanisms, Catherine Guffey Jan 2013

Linking Obesity To Colorectal Cancer: Recent Insights Into Plausible Biological Mechanisms, Catherine Guffey

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity has emerged as a leading environmental risk factor for the development of CRC. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship have not yet been fully explained. Recent literature has focused on 1) inflammatory processes, 2) adipokines, and 3) estrogen. Obesity-enhanced inflammation is largely orchestrated by increases in adipose tissue macrophages leading to the secretion of TNF-alpha, MCP-1, and IL-6, all of which are linked to CRC. Adiponectin is decreased with obesity and has been reported to be negatively associated with CRC, while leptin, which is increased, is positively associated with the disease. Estrogen has been shown to influence CRC, although …