Cells Commons^™

Enhancing Bone Regeneration Using Kaempferol As An Osteoprotective Compound: Signaling Mechanisms, Delivery Strategies, And Potential Applications, Mojdeh Salehi Namini, Sanam Mohandesnezhad, Sadaf Mohandesnezhad, Vahid Mansouri, Lobat Tayebi, Nima Beheshtizadeh

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Various plants, including fruits, vegetables, and spices, contain kaempferol, a bioflavonoid compound with diverse medicinal effects, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory characteristics. Furthermore, this compound exhibits multiple health-promoting properties, including osteoprotection and osteogenesis, primarily by modulating various cell-signaling pathways. This review aims to illustrate the medical advantages of kaempferol and its role in regulating bone metabolism through cell signaling mechanisms. Numerous studies have demonstrated the bone-protective properties of kaempferol and its encapsulated form. Further research is needed to clarify the optimal dosages, toxicity, safety, and other potential mechanisms of action. This review demonstrates that several signaling pathways, including nuclear …

"Deep Learning For Microscope Image Denoising", Nasreen Buhn, Sriya Adunur, Guy Hagen, Jonathan Ventura

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

In order to avoid damaging live cells, optical microscope imaging must be conducted under low-excitation light intensity and/or short exposure times, resulting in low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Deep learning methods offer an effective solution for removing microscope noise, utilizing algorithms that are able to reconstruct finer features in low SNR images. This research explores the denoising capability of several deep learning methods based on PSNR and SSIM. Tested methods include traditional approaches (BMED), supervised learning (CARE and Restormer), and unsupervised methods (Noise2Fast, N2V, SSD-Unsupervised, and SASSID). The Restormer model, which employs an encoder-decoder transformer architecture and progressive learning, stood out …

Health Matters! Coloring And Activity Book (80-Pages), Your Very Favorite, Children's Health, Lorraine Sheldon, May Bressler

English

Health Matters! is a English-language health literacy resource designed for pediatric patients and their families. Written at an approximately 6th-grade reading level, it supports patient education through engaging coloring and activity pages.

The content covers a wide range of health and wellness topics, including body systems, nutrition, mental wellness, patient safety, and social-emotional skills such as building friendships and navigating conversations when returning to school. Developed for use in both hospital settings and the broader community, the resource promotes learning through interactive, age-appropriate activities.

This printable PDF version contains the complete collection of activities and comprises 80 pages. The resource …

La Salud Es Importante: Libro De Actividades (80-Pages), Your Very Favorite, Children's Health, Lorraine Sheldon, May Bressler

Spanish

Health Matters! is a Spanish-language health literacy resource designed for pediatric patients and their families. Written at an approximately 6th-grade reading level, it supports patient education through engaging coloring and activity pages.

The content covers a wide range of health and wellness topics, including body systems, nutrition, mental wellness, patient safety, and social-emotional skills such as building friendships and navigating conversations when returning to school. Developed for use in both hospital settings and the broader community, the resource promotes learning through interactive, age-appropriate activities.

This printable PDF version contains the complete collection of activities and comprises 80 pages. The resource …

Deciphering The Contribution Of Microglia To Neurodegeneration In Friedreich's Ataxia, Sydney N. Gillette

Master's Theses

Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is the most prevalent inherited ataxia, affecting one in every 50,000 individuals in the United States. This hereditary condition is caused by an abnormal GAA trinucleotide repeat expansion within the first intron of the frataxin gene resulting in decreased levels of the frataxin protein (FXN). Insufficient cellular frataxin levels results in iron accumulation, increased reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial dysfunction. Tissues most heavily impacted are those most dependent on oxidative phosphorylation as an energy source and include the nervous system and muscle tissue. This is evident in the clinical phenotype which includes muscle weakness, ataxia, neurodegeneration …

Using Rapid Protein Degradation To Determine The Effect Of Runx1 Loss-Of- Function On Dna Damage Accumulation And Repair., Jackriel Pina Morales

Theses and Dissertations

Germline mutations in RUNX1 are associated with familial platelet disorder with a predisposition to myeloid malignancy (RUNX1-FPDMM), in which patients present with low platelet counts,excessive bleeding and bruising, and an increased risk of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)/Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) development throughout their lifetime. To understand how these loss-of-function mutations in RUNX1 drive predispose to malignancy, it is important to develop a detailed understanding of the molecular basis of RUNX1 function. While RUNX1 is a transcription factor, preliminary data from our group and work from others suggests that RUNX1 also interacts with proteins that are critical for DNA damage …

Towards A New Role Of Mitochondrial Hydrogen Peroxide In Synaptic Function, Cliyahnelle Z. Alexander

Student Theses and Dissertations

Aerobic metabolism is known to generate damaging ROS, particularly hydrogen peroxide. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules containing oxygen that have the potential to cause damage to cells and tissues in the body. ROS are highly reactive atoms or molecules that rapidly interact with other molecules within a cell. Intracellular accumulation can result in oxidative damage, dysfunction, and cell death. Due to the limitations of H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide) detectors, other impacts of ROS exposure may have been missed. HyPer7, a genetically encoded sensor, measures hydrogen peroxide emissions precisely and sensitively, even at sublethal levels, during …

Overexpression Of Fatty Acid Synthase Upregulates Glutamine–Fructose-6-Phosphate Transaminase 1 And O-Linked N-Acetylglucosamine Transferase To Increase O-Glcnac Protein Glycosylation And Promote Colorectal Cancer Growth, James Drury, Mariah E. Geisen, Josiane Weber Tessmann, Piotr G. Rychahou, Courtney O. Kelson

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Fatty acid synthesis has been extensively investigated as a therapeutic target in cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key enzyme of de novo lipid synthesis, is significantly upregulated in CRC, and therapeutic approaches of targeting this enzyme are currently being tested in multiple clinical trials. However, the mechanisms behind the pro- oncogenic action of FASN are still not completely understood. Here, for the first time, we show that overexpression of FASN increases the expression of glutamine–fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 1 (GFPT1) and O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT), enzymes involved in hexosamine metabolism, and the level of O-GlcNAcylation in vitro …

Oxidative Stress And Ion Channels In Neurodegenerative Diseases, Razan Orfali, Adnan Z. Alwatban, Rawan S. Orfali, Liz Lau, Noble Chea, Abdullah M. Alotaibi, Young-Woo Nam, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Numerous neurodegenerative diseases result from altered ion channel function and mutations. The intracellular redox status can significantly alter the gating characteristics of ion channels. Abundant neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative stress have been documented, including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, spinocerebellar ataxia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species compounds trigger posttranslational alterations that target specific sites within the subunits responsible for channel assembly. These alterations include the adjustment of cysteine residues through redox reactions induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitration, and S-nitrosylation assisted by nitric oxide of tyrosine residues through peroxynitrite. Several ion channels have been directly …

Synergistic Effects Of Nanosecond Pulsed Plasma And Electric Field On Inactivation Of Pancreatic Cancer Cells In Vitro, Edwin A. Oshin, Zobia Minhas, Ruben M. L. Colunga Biancatelli, John D. Catravas, Richard Heller, Siqi Guo, Chunqi Jiang

Bioelectrics Publications

Nanosecond pulsed atmospheric pressure plasma jets (ns-APPJs) produce reactive plasma species, including charged particles and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), which can induce oxidative stress in biological cells. Nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) has also been found to cause permeabilization of cell membranes and induce apoptosis or cell death. Combining the treatment of ns-APPJ and nsPEF may enhance the effectiveness of cancer cell inactivation with only moderate doses of both treatments. Employing ns-APPJ powered by 9 kV, 200 ns pulses at 2 kHz and 60-nsPEF of 50 kV/cm at 1 Hz, the synergistic effects on pancreatic cancer cells (Pan02) …

The Role Of Liver-Specific Transcription Factor Hnf4 In Reprogramming Of Fibroblasts, Mary Odubote

Masters Theses

The mammalian liver, a vital organ with complex functions, relies on a network of transcription factors to regulate gene expression. Fusion of hepatoma cells with fibroblasts often leads to gene extinction, silencing approximately 400 liver-enriched genes, including critical transcription factors such as HNF4. Previous studies revealed that ectopic expression of HNF4 in fibroblasts failed to prevent the extinction of SERPINA1, a liver-specific gene, upon subsequent fusion with hepatoma cells. Here, we sought to investigate the extent to which ectopic expression of HNF4 can reprogram fibroblast cells and prevent gene extinction in hybrid cells.

Using whole-genome expression analysis, we compared RAT1 …

Dynamics Of Cell Membrane Lesions And Adaptive Conductance Under The Electrical Stress, Mantas Silkunas, Olga N. Pakhomova, Giedre Silkuniene, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Exceeding physiological limits of the cell membrane potential compromises structural integrity, enabling the passage of normally impermeant solutes and disrupting cell function. Electropermeabilization has been studied extensively at the cellular scale, but not at the individual membrane lesion level. We employed fast total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) imaging of Ca(2+) entry transients to discern individual lesions in a hyperpolarized cell membrane and characterize their focality, thresholds, electrical conductance, and the lifecycle. A diffuse and momentary membrane permeabilization without a distinct pore formation was observed already at a -100 mV threshold. Polarizing down to -200 mV created focal pores with a …

Zebrafish Drug Screening Identifies Erlotinib As An Inhibitor Of Wnt/ Β-Catenin Signaling And Self-Renewal In T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Majd A. Al-Hamaly, Anna H. Cox, Meghan G. Haney, Wen Zhang, Emma C. Arvin, Shilpa Sampathi, Mary Wimsett, Chunming Liu, Jessica S. Blackburn

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The Wnt/β-catenin pathway’s significance in cancer initiation, progression, and stem cell biology underscores its therapeutic potential. However, the clinical application of Wnt inhibitors remains limited due to challenges posed by off-target effects and complex cross-talk of Wnt signaling with other pathways. In this study, we leveraged a zebrafish model to perform a robust and rapid drug screening of 773 FDA-approved compounds to identify Wnt/β-catenin inhibitors with minimal toxicity. Utilizing zebrafish expressing a Wnt reporter, we identified several drugs that suppressed Wnt signaling without compromising zebrafish development. The effi- cacy of the top hit, Erlotinib, extended to human cells, where it …

The Delineation Of Platelet Pathology In Cardiometabolic Disease, Chi Peng

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Obesity is a multifactorial disease with many comorbidities leading to multiorgan dysfunction. Current studies point towards dysregulation of platelet signaling as a driver for increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. The exact mechanisms remain elusive due to the complex interplay of factors involved, warranting the need to further understand how platelets are affected. Our preliminary data evaluating changes in platelet and coagulation parameters from bariatric patients showed that obesity did not affect platelet count or clotting time as demonstrated in INR values. However, female patients had increased bleeding events before surgery that were decreased after surgery. Due to limitations …

Enhancement Of Antitumor Effects Of Berberine Chloride With A Copper(Ii) Complex Against Human Triple Negative Breast Cancer: In Vitro Studies, Duaa R. Alajroush, Brittney F. Anderson, Janae A. Bruce, Christian I. Lartey, Dazonte A. Mathurin, Sean T. Washington, Tanaya S. Washington, Sidy Diawara, Sakariyau A. Waheed, Kaylin L. Thomas, Stephen J. Beebe, Alvin A. Holder

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

In this study, the copper(II) complex [Cu(chromoneTSC)Cl₂]•0.5H₂O•0.0625C₂H₅OH (where chromoneTSC = (E)-N-Ethyl-2-((4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methylene)-hydrazinecarbothioamide) was synthesized and characterized; then used to carry out in vitro studies in combination with berberine chloride (BBC). The ligand and complex were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectroscopy, and conductivity measurements. The cytotoxic effect was analyzed by using the CCK-8 viability assay in cancer MDA-MB-231 VIM RFP and non-cancer MCF-10A cell lines. The IC₅₀ values for the complex and BBC were 21.2 ± 1.6 and 48.3 ± 2.4 μM, respectively at 24 h incubation, while the IC₅₀ value of the combination treatment …

Listeria Adhesion Protein Orchestrates Caveolae-Mediated Apical Junctional Remodeling Of Epithelial Barrier For Listeria Monocytogenes Translocation, Rishi Drolia, Donald B. Bryant, Shivendra Tenguria, Zuri A. Jules-Culver, Jessie Thind, Breanna Amelunke, Donqi Liu, Nicholas L. F. Gallina, Krishna K. Mishra, Manalee Samaddar, Manoj R. Sawale, Dharmendra K. Mishra, Abigail D. Cox, Arun K. Bhunia

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The cellular junctional architecture remodeling by Listeria adhesion protein-heat shock protein 60 (LAP-Hsp60) interaction for Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) passage through the epithelial barrier is incompletely understood. Here, using the gerbil model, permissive to internalin (Inl) A/B-mediated pathways like in humans, we demonstrate that Lm crosses the intestinal villi at 48 h post-infection. In contrast, the single isogenic (lap− or ΔinlA) or double (lap−ΔinlA) mutant strains show significant defects. LAP promotes Lm translocation via endocytosis of cell-cell junctional complex in enterocytes that do not display luminal E-cadherin. In comparison, InlA facilitates …

Nano-Pulse Treatment Overcomes The Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment To Elicit In Situ Vaccination Protection Against Breast Cancer, Anthony Nanajian, Megan Scott, Niculina I. Burcus, Brittney L. Ruedlinger, Edwin A. Oshin, Stephen J. Beebe, Siqi Guo

Bioelectrics Publications

We previously reported that nano-pulse treatment (NPT), a pulsed power technology, resulted in 4T1-luc mammary tumor elimination and a strong in situ vaccination, thereby completely protecting tumor-free animals against a second live tumor challenge. The mechanism whereby NPT mounts effective antitumor immune responses in the 4T1 breast cancer predominantly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) remains unanswered. In this study, orthotopic 4T1 mouse breast tumors were treated with NPT (100 ns, 50 kV/cm, 1000 pulses, 3 Hz). Blood, spleen, draining lymph nodes, and tumors were harvested at 4-h, 8-h, 1-day, 3-day, 7-day, and 3-month post-treatment intervals for the analysis of frequencies, death, …

Tim/Tam Receptors: A Potential Biomarker For Predicting Sensitivity To Zika Virus-Induced Oncolysis In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers, Shankari Somasekar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) constitute 80-85% of lung cancers and are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. The most common cause is prolonged smoking. Current treatment options for NSCLC include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy, and immunotherapy. Although these medications are effective in the short term, patients often face issues of drug resistance and debilitating side effects with prolonged use. Currently, the use of Zika virus (ZIKV) is being researched as a possible alternative treatment for cancer, which minimizes side effects and the risk of drug resistance. TIM/TAM proteins are identified as the putative ZIKV receptors on …

Identification And Characterization Of Two Novel Kcnh2 Mutations Contributing To Long Qt Syndrome, Anthony Owusu-Mensah, Jacqueline Treat, Joyce Bernardi, Ryan Pfeiffer, Robert Goodrow, Bright Tsevi, Victoria Lam, Michel Audette, Jonathan M. Cordeiro, Makarand Deo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We identified two different inherited mutations in KCNH2 gene, or human ether-a-go-go related gene (hERG), which are linked to Long QT Syndrome. The first mutation was in a 1-day-old infant, whereas the second was in a 14-year-old girl. The two KCNH2 mutations were transiently transfected into either human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells or human induced pluripotent stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes. We performed associated multiscale computer simulations to elucidate the arrhythmogenic potentials of the KCNH2 mutations. Genetic screening of the first and second index patients revealed a heterozygous missense mutation in KCNH2, resulting in an amino acid change (P632L) in the …

Sccad: Cluster Decomposition-Based Anomaly Detection For Rare Cell Identification In Single-Cell Expression Data, Yunpei Xu, Shaokai Wang, Qilong Feng, Jiazhi Xia, Yaohang Li, Hong-Dong Li, Jianxin Wang

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies have become essential tools for characterizing cellular landscapes within complex tissues. Large-scale single-cell transcriptomics holds great potential for identifying rare cell types critical to the pathogenesis of diseases and biological processes. Existing methods for identifying rare cell types often rely on one-time clustering using partial or global gene expression. However, these rare cell types may be overlooked during the clustering phase, posing challenges for their accurate identification. In this paper, we propose a Cluster decomposition-based Anomaly Detection method (scCAD), which iteratively decomposes clusters based on the most differential signals in each cluster to effectively separate …

Analyzing Pseudomonas Aeruginosa With Bacteriophage Tags Using Photoacoustic Flow Cytometry, Jennifer C. Schinke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The number of daily bacterial infections is climbing and the CDC explains that this is due to the antibiotic-resistant threat in the United States. Finding a faster way of bacterial identification is necessary as it currently takes 1-4 days for a medical lab to culture and identify bacteria. Photoacoustic flow cytometry (PAFC) can be used as an alternative method resulting in swift identification within an hour (Edgar, 2019). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell line PA01, will be coated in up to a few hundred red dyed phages making it detectible by the photoacoustic flow cytometry system. Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that …

Control Of The Electroporation Efficiency Of Nanosecond Pulses By Swinging The Electric Field Vector Direction, Vitalii Kim, Iurii Semenov, Allen S. Kiester, Mark A. Keppler, Bennett L. Ibey, Joel N. Bixler, Ruben M. L. Colunga Biancatelli, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Reversing the pulse polarity, i.e., changing the electric field direction by 180°, inhibits electroporation and electrostimulation by nanosecond electric pulses (nsEPs). This feature, known as “bipolar cancellation,” enables selective remote targeting with nsEPs and reduces the neuromuscular side effects of ablation therapies. We analyzed the biophysical mechanisms and measured how cancellation weakens and is replaced by facilitation when nsEPs are applied from different directions at angles from 0 to 180°. Monolayers of endothelial cells were electroporated by a train of five pulses (600 ns) or five paired pulses (600 + 600 ns) applied at 1 Hz or 833 kHz. Reversing …

Investigating Sexual Dimorphism In Lateral Hypothalamic Melanin-Concentrating Hormone Neuron Subpopulations, Mahitha Juttu

Honors Scholar Theses

The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) is an area crucial for coordinating key behaviors such as sleep, wakefulness, stress, and feeding. Within this area in the brain, Melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons are exclusive to the LHA and also contribute to these key homeostatic behaviors. These neurons can be divided into two different subpopulations: MCH neurons that express cocaine amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) tachykinin-3 receptor (NK3R) and MCH neurons that do not express CART and NK3R. These neuronal subpopulations have been implicated in coordinating key behaviors but have not been well studied.

In this paper, our project seeks to analyze how the …

Combined 3d Bioprinting And Tissue-Specific Ecm System Reveals The Influence Of Brain Matrix On Stem Cell Differentiation, Martina Zamponi, Peter A. Mollica, Yara Khodour, Julie S. Bjerring, Robert D. Bruno, Patrick C. Sachs

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Publications

We have previously shown that human and murine breast extracellular matrix (ECM) can significantly impact cellular behavior, including stem cell fate determination. It has been established that tissue-specific extracellular matrix from the central nervous system has the capacity to support neuronal survival. However, the characterization of its influence on stem cell differentiation and its adaptation to robust 3D culture models is underdeveloped. To address these issues, we combined our 3D bioprinter with hydrogels containing porcine brain extracellular matrix (BMX) to test the influence of the extracellular matrix on stem cell differentiation. Our 3D bioprinting system generated reproducible 3D neural structures …

Gene Expression Under Combined Hypoxia And Acidosis In Chondrosarcoma, Michael Stacey, Kostika Vangjeli, Christopher Osgood

Bioelectrics Publications

Chondrosarcomas are the second most common cause of bone cancer and are removed surgically with wide margins. On recurrence, they are resistant to chemo and radiation therapy and new treatment options are critically required. This tumor type produces hyaline cartilage, a cartilage normally formed under hypoxic and acidic environment due to lack of vasculature in cartilage. Paradoxically, chondrosarcomas arise in the well vascularized, oxygen rich environment of the bone. Hypoxia and acidosis are two stressors where the cellular effects are typically reported separately even though cells experience combined effects of hypoxia and acidosis. Given the mechanistic links between hypoxia and …

Sound The (Smaller) Alarm: The Triphosphate Magic Spot Nucleotide Pgpp, Areej Malik, Megan A. Hept, Erin B. Purcell

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

It has recently become evident that the bacterial stringent response is regulated by a triphosphate alarmone (pGpp) as well as the canonical tetra- and pentaphosphate alarmones ppGpp and pppGpp [together, (p)ppGpp]. Often dismissed in the past as an artifact or degradation product, pGpp has been confirmed as a deliberate endpoint of multiple synthetic pathways utilizing GMP, (p)ppGpp, or GDP/GTP as precursors. Some early studies concluded that pGpp functionally mimics (p)ppGpp and that its biological role is to make alarmone metabolism less dependent on the guanine energy charge of the cell by allowing GMP-dependent synthesis to continue when GDP/GTP has been …

Enhancing The Conformational Stability Of The Cl-Par-4 Tumor Suppressor Via Site-Directed Mutagenesis, Samjhana Pandey, Krishna K. Raut, Antoine Baudin, Lamya Djemri, David S. Libich, Komala Ponniah, Steven M. Pascal

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Intrinsically disordered proteins play important roles in cell signaling, and dysregulation of these proteins is associated with several diseases. Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4), an approximately 40 kilodalton proapoptotic tumor suppressor, is a predominantly intrinsically disordered protein whose downregulation has been observed in various cancers. The caspase-cleaved fragment of Par-4 (cl-Par-4) is active and plays a role in tumor suppression by inhibiting cell survival pathways. Here, we employed site-directed mutagenesis to create a cl-Par-4 point mutant (D313K). The expressed and purified D313K protein was characterized using biophysical techniques, and the results were compared to that of the wild-type (WT). We have …

Proposing An Rna Interference (Rnai)-Based Treatment For Human Immunodeficiency Virus (Hiv) By Analyzing The Post-Transcriptional Gene Targeting Of Sars-Cov-2, Hepatitis C Virus, And A549 Lung Cancer Cells, Arjun Jagdeesh

Undergraduate Research Posters

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects CD4+ T cell lymphocytes in humans, leading to the development of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) if left untreated. While current treatment methods, including antiretroviral combination treatments, effectively limit HIV replication, HIV can evade these treatments due to its high mutation rate. Long-term antiretroviral treatment can also be toxic to patients, meaning patients would benefit from a new mechanism of HIV treatment. RNA interference (RNAi) is an antiviral pathway found in mammals, plants, and insects that involves a small-interfering RNA that is incorporated into a protein complex called the RNA-induced Silencing Complex …

Identification Of Proteins Involved In Cell Membrane Permeabilization By Nanosecond Electric Pulses (Nsep), Giedre Silkuniene, Uma Mangalanathan, Alessandra Rossi, Peter A. Mollica, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Olga N. Pakhomova

Bioelectrics Publications

The study was aimed at identifying endogenous proteins which assist or impede the permeabilized state in the cell membrane disrupted by nsEP (20 or 40 pulses, 300 ns width, 7 kV/cm). We employed a LentiArray CRISPR library to generate knockouts (KOs) of 316 genes encoding for membrane proteins in U937 human monocytes stably expressing Cas9 nuclease. The extent of membrane permeabilization by nsEP was measured by the uptake of Yo-Pro-1 (YP) dye and compared to sham-exposed KOs and control cells transduced with a non-targeting (scrambled) gRNA. Only two KOs, for SCNN1A and CLCA1 genes, showed a statistically significant reduction in …

Intergenic Transcription In In Vivo Developed Bovine Oocytes And Pre-Implantation Embryos, Saurav Ranjitkar, Mohammad Shiri, Jiangwen Sun, Xiuchun Tian

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background

Intergenic transcription, either failure to terminate at the transcription end site (TES), or transcription initiation at other intergenic regions, is present in cultured cells and enhanced in the presence of stressors such as viral infection. Transcription termination failure has not been characterized in natural biological samples such as pre-implantation embryos which express more than 10,000 genes and undergo drastic changes in DNA methylation.

Results

Using Automatic Readthrough Transcription Detection (ARTDeco) and data of in vivo developed bovine oocytes and embryos, we found abundant intergenic transcripts that we termed as read-outs (transcribed from 5 to 15 kb after TES) and …