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Medical Biochemistry Commons™

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2024

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Full-Text Articles in Medical Biochemistry

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Vitamin D Deficiency On Liver And Kidney Functions Of Iraqi Type Ii Diabetic Patients, Alaa Matar, Sarah Al-Tamimi, Jamilah Borjac Dec 2024

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Vitamin D Deficiency On Liver And Kidney Functions Of Iraqi Type Ii Diabetic Patients, Alaa Matar, Sarah Al-Tamimi, Jamilah Borjac

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is widespread across different age groups globally, linking to conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders, and notably type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Investigating the impact of vitamin D on T2DM and associated kidney and liver functions has gained recent attention.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the effect of vitamin D deficiency on kidney and liver functions in T2DM Iraqi patients.

Methods: Fifty T2DM patients and 50 controls were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were analyzed for glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), vitamin D, urea, creatinine, bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline …


Mnsod Gene Knockout Promotes Apoptosis In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Bt-549 Cells Through Survivin Inhibition And Caspase-3 And Caspase-9 Modulation, Niken Rahmah Ghanny, Septelia Inawati Wanandi, Sekar Arumsari, Rafika Indah Paramita, Resda Akhra Syahrani, Putu Indah Paramita Adi Putri Dec 2024

Mnsod Gene Knockout Promotes Apoptosis In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Bt-549 Cells Through Survivin Inhibition And Caspase-3 And Caspase-9 Modulation, Niken Rahmah Ghanny, Septelia Inawati Wanandi, Sekar Arumsari, Rafika Indah Paramita, Resda Akhra Syahrani, Putu Indah Paramita Adi Putri

Makara Journal of Science

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype characterized by the lack of estro-gen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptors. TNBC cells are becoming more aggressive due to the high expression of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) antioxidants to suppress reactive oxygen species-induced apoptosis and promote oncogenic signaling. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of MnSOD knockout (KO) on TNBC cell apoptosis by assessing the survivin, caspase-9, and caspase-3 expressions. BT-549 TNBC cells containing the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas9-edited MnSOD gene were used to evaluate the messenger RNA (mRNA) …


Targeting The Cholesterol Storage Enzyme Acat1/Soat1 In Brain Cells And Mouse Model: A Novel Approach To Address Aging And Apoe4-Related Neuroinflammation, Thao Nguyen Phuong Huynh Krumeich Dec 2024

Targeting The Cholesterol Storage Enzyme Acat1/Soat1 In Brain Cells And Mouse Model: A Novel Approach To Address Aging And Apoe4-Related Neuroinflammation, Thao Nguyen Phuong Huynh Krumeich

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that significantly impacts nearly 7 million people in the United States. AD is characterized by the deposition of amyloid beta (Ab) plaque, tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), lipids granules, and neuroinflammation. Age and apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) are the two biggest risk factors for AD. Recent AD therapeutic development has mostly benefited the patient population with milder symptoms while causing serious side effects in APOE4 carriers, leaving the most impacted patients’ group - aged APOE4 carriers with no treatment option. With the increasing aging population, there is an urgent need for a …


Blood Biomarkers In Down Syndrome: Facilitating Alzheimer's Disease Detection And Monitoring, Melissa Petersen, Lisi Flores-Aguilar, Elizabeth Head, Laia Montoliu-Gaya, Andre Strydom, Sarah Pape, Juan Fortea, Nicholas Ashton, Chinedu Momoh, Sid O'Bryant Dec 2024

Blood Biomarkers In Down Syndrome: Facilitating Alzheimer's Disease Detection And Monitoring, Melissa Petersen, Lisi Flores-Aguilar, Elizabeth Head, Laia Montoliu-Gaya, Andre Strydom, Sarah Pape, Juan Fortea, Nicholas Ashton, Chinedu Momoh, Sid O'Bryant

Brain and Mind Institute

Blood-based biomarkers continue to be explored for disease detection, monitoring of progression, and therapeutic outcomes as the diagnostic determination of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome (DS-AD) remains challenging in clinical settings. This perspective highlights the current status of this effort. Overall, amyloid (A), tau (T), and neurodegeneration (AT[N]) blood-based biomarkers have been shown to increase with disease pathology for individuals with DS. Phosphorylated tau biomarkers (p-tau217, p-tau181) have been consistently shown to track disease progression for DS-AD and are likely good candidates for use in clinical settings. Biomarkers of inflammation (glial fibrillary acidic protein) also show promise; however, additional work …


Space: An Open-Source, Single-Cell Analysis Of Cell Painting Data, Fabio Stossi, Pankaj K Singh, Michela Marini, Kazem Safari, Adam T Szafran, Alejandra Rivera Tostado, Christopher D Candler, Maureen G Mancini, Elina A Mosa, Michael J Bolt, Demetrio Labate, Michael A Mancini Nov 2024

Space: An Open-Source, Single-Cell Analysis Of Cell Painting Data, Fabio Stossi, Pankaj K Singh, Michela Marini, Kazem Safari, Adam T Szafran, Alejandra Rivera Tostado, Christopher D Candler, Maureen G Mancini, Elina A Mosa, Michael J Bolt, Demetrio Labate, Michael A Mancini

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Phenotypic profiling by high throughput microscopy, including Cell Painting, has become a leading tool for screening large sets of perturbations in cellular models. To efficiently analyze this big data, available open-source software requires computational resources usually not available to most laboratories. In addition, the cell-to-cell variation of responses within a population, while collected and analyzed, is usually averaged and unused. We introduce SPACe (Swift Phenotypic Analysis of Cells), an open-source platform for analysis of single-cell image-based morphological profiles produced by Cell Painting. We highlight several advantages of SPACe, including processing speed, accuracy in mechanism of action recognition, reproducibility across biological …


Small Molecule Mcl-1 Inhibitor For Triple Negative Breast Cancer Therapy, Shengli Dong, Suresh K. Alahari Sep 2024

Small Molecule Mcl-1 Inhibitor For Triple Negative Breast Cancer Therapy, Shengli Dong, Suresh K. Alahari

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved cell death pathway that plays a crucial role in maintaining tissue homeostasis, orchestrating organismal development, and eliminating damaged cells. Dysregulation of apoptosis can contribute to the pathogenesis of malignant tumors and neurodegenerative diseases. Anticancer drugs typically possess the capacity to induce apoptosis in tumor cells. The Bcl-2 protein family, consisting of 27 members in humans, serves as the key regulator of mitochondrial function. This family can be divided into two functional groups: anti-apoptotic proteins (e.g., Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, Mcl-1) and pro-apoptotic proteins (e.g., Bad, Bax). Mcl-1 exerts its function by binding pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins thereby preventing …


Curcumin Alleviates Inflammatory Effects Of Ketamine Anesthesia In Postnatal Rats, Soroush Afshar Ghahremani, Abbas Raisi, Sohrab Minaei Beirami, Houman Kahroba, Mahnaz Mardani, Omid Dezfoulian, Vahideh Tarhriz Sep 2024

Curcumin Alleviates Inflammatory Effects Of Ketamine Anesthesia In Postnatal Rats, Soroush Afshar Ghahremani, Abbas Raisi, Sohrab Minaei Beirami, Houman Kahroba, Mahnaz Mardani, Omid Dezfoulian, Vahideh Tarhriz

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Curcumin has been employed in traditional medicine for over a millennium to treat various ailments, and its global use is now widespread. Chinese medicine relies heavily on curcumin as a primary element and uses it to cure infectious diseases, skin disorders, depression, and stress. It has cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and anti-diabetic properties, as well as pharmacological effects on disorders like type II diabetes, atherosclerosis, and human immunodeficiency virus replication. The anti-cancer activity of curcumin has been studied extensively with notable improvements in gastrointestinal, melanoma, urogenital, breast, and lung malignancies. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin on expression of tumor necrosis …


Characterizing The Monomer-Dimer Equilibrium Of Ubch8/Ube2l6: A Combined Saxs And Nmr Study, Kerem Kahraman, Scott A. Robson, Oktay Göcenler, Cansu M. Yenici, Cansu D. Tozkoparan Ceylan, Jennifer M. Klein, Volker Dötsch, Emine Sonay Elgin, Arthur L. Haas, Joshua J. Ziarek, Çağdaş Dağ Sep 2024

Characterizing The Monomer-Dimer Equilibrium Of Ubch8/Ube2l6: A Combined Saxs And Nmr Study, Kerem Kahraman, Scott A. Robson, Oktay Göcenler, Cansu M. Yenici, Cansu D. Tozkoparan Ceylan, Jennifer M. Klein, Volker Dötsch, Emine Sonay Elgin, Arthur L. Haas, Joshua J. Ziarek, Çağdaş Dağ

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Interferon-stimulated gene-15 (ISG15) is an interferon-induced protein with two ubiquitin-like (Ubl) domains linked by a short peptide chain and is a conjugated protein of the ISGylation system. Similar to ubiquitin and other Ubls, ISG15 is ligated to its target proteins through a series of E1, E2, and E3 enzymes known as Uba7, Ube2L6/UbcH8, and HERC5, respectively. Ube2L6/UbcH8 plays a central role in ISGylation, underscoring it as an important drug target for boosting innate antiviral immunity. Depending on the type of conjugated protein and the ultimate target protein, E2 enzymes have been shown to function as monomers, dimers, or both. UbcH8 …


Microrna-532-3p Modulates Colorectal Cancer Cell Proliferation And Invasion Via Suppression Of Foxm1, Ketakee Mahajan, Ani V. Das, Suresh K. Alahari, Ramesh Pothuraju, S. Asha Nair Sep 2024

Microrna-532-3p Modulates Colorectal Cancer Cell Proliferation And Invasion Via Suppression Of Foxm1, Ketakee Mahajan, Ani V. Das, Suresh K. Alahari, Ramesh Pothuraju, S. Asha Nair

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease and classified into various subtypes, among which transcriptional alterations result in CRC progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Forkhead-box M1 (FOXM1) is a proliferation-associated transcription factor which is overexpressed in CRC and the mechanisms of FOXM1 regulation have been under investigation. Previously, we showed that FOXM1 binds to promoters of certain microRNAs. Database mining led to several microRNAs that might interact with FOXM1 3’UTR. The interactions between shortlisted microRNAs and FOXM1 3’UTR were quantitated by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. MicroRNA-532-3p interacted with the 3’UTR of the FOXM1 mRNA transcript most efficiently. MicroRNA-532-3p was ectopically …


Combination Therapy Of Ido1 Inhibition And Anti-Pd1 Mediates Anti-Tumor Immunity By Promoting Memory Immunity Development And Cytotoxicity Of Γδ T And Nk Cells Via Il-2 Signaling And By Overcoming Pro-Tumor Effects Of Tgf-Β Signaling, Hyuk Jee Aug 2024

Combination Therapy Of Ido1 Inhibition And Anti-Pd1 Mediates Anti-Tumor Immunity By Promoting Memory Immunity Development And Cytotoxicity Of Γδ T And Nk Cells Via Il-2 Signaling And By Overcoming Pro-Tumor Effects Of Tgf-Β Signaling, Hyuk Jee

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Cutaneous melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer even though it takes only about 1% of all skin cancers. Even among all cutaneous melanomas, NRAS-mutant melanoma is more aggressive than any other, and about 10-25% of all cutaneous melanoma cases have mutations in NRAS. NRAS is a member of the RAS family of proto-oncogenic GTPase proteins, and it plays a key role in signal transduction pathways responsible for cellular survival, proliferation, and metabolism. Immunotherapy is the first line of defense against NRAS-mutant melanoma because, despite tremendous efforts made for decades, it has not been successful to develop small …


Znf397 Deficiency Triggers Tet2-Driven Lineage Plasticity And Ar-Targeted Therapy Resistance In Prostate Cancer, Yaru Xu, Yuqiu Yang, Zhaoning Wang, Martin Sjöström, Yuyin Jiang, Yitao Tang, Siyuan Cheng, Su Deng, Choushi Wang, Julisa Gonzalez, Nickolas A Johnson, Xiang Li, Xiaoling Li, Lauren A Metang, Atreyi Mukherji, Quanhui Xu, Carla R Tirado, Garrett Wainwright, Xinzhe Yu, Spencer Barnes, Mia Hofstad, Yu Chen, Hong Zhu, Ariella B Hanker, Ganesh V Raj, Guanghui Zhu, Housheng H He, Zhao Wang, Carlos L Arteaga, Han Liang, Felix Y Feng, Yunguan Wang, Tao Wang, Ping Mu Aug 2024

Znf397 Deficiency Triggers Tet2-Driven Lineage Plasticity And Ar-Targeted Therapy Resistance In Prostate Cancer, Yaru Xu, Yuqiu Yang, Zhaoning Wang, Martin Sjöström, Yuyin Jiang, Yitao Tang, Siyuan Cheng, Su Deng, Choushi Wang, Julisa Gonzalez, Nickolas A Johnson, Xiang Li, Xiaoling Li, Lauren A Metang, Atreyi Mukherji, Quanhui Xu, Carla R Tirado, Garrett Wainwright, Xinzhe Yu, Spencer Barnes, Mia Hofstad, Yu Chen, Hong Zhu, Ariella B Hanker, Ganesh V Raj, Guanghui Zhu, Housheng H He, Zhao Wang, Carlos L Arteaga, Han Liang, Felix Y Feng, Yunguan Wang, Tao Wang, Ping Mu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cancer cells exhibit phenotypical plasticity and epigenetic reprogramming that allows them to evade lineage-dependent targeted treatments by adopting lineage plasticity. The underlying mechanisms by which cancer cells exploit the epigenetic regulatory machinery to acquire lineage plasticity and therapy resistance remain poorly understood. We identified zinc finger protein 397 (ZNF397) as a bona fide coactivator of the androgen receptor (AR), essential for the transcriptional program governing AR-driven luminal lineage. ZNF397 deficiency facilitates the transition of cancer cell from an AR-driven luminal lineage to a ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2)-driven lineage plastic state, ultimately promoting resistance to therapies inhibiting AR signaling. Intriguingly, our …


A Biallelic Variant Of The Rna Exosome Gene, Exosc4, Associated With Neurodevelopmental Defects Impairs Rna Exosome Function And Translation, Milo B Fasken, Sara W Leung, Lauryn A Cureton, Maha Al-Awadi, Adila Al-Kindy, Ambro Van Hoof, Sohail Khoshnevis, Homa Ghalei, Almundher Al-Maawali, Anita H Corbett Aug 2024

A Biallelic Variant Of The Rna Exosome Gene, Exosc4, Associated With Neurodevelopmental Defects Impairs Rna Exosome Function And Translation, Milo B Fasken, Sara W Leung, Lauryn A Cureton, Maha Al-Awadi, Adila Al-Kindy, Ambro Van Hoof, Sohail Khoshnevis, Homa Ghalei, Almundher Al-Maawali, Anita H Corbett

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The RNA exosome is an evolutionarily conserved complex required for both precise RNA processing and decay. Pathogenic variants in EXOSC genes, which encode structural subunits of this complex, are linked to several autosomal recessive disorders. Here, we describe a missense allele of the EXOSC4 gene that causes a collection of clinical features in two affected siblings. This missense variant (NM_019037.3: exon3:c.560T>C) changes a leucine residue within a conserved region of EXOSC4 to proline (p.Leu187Pro). The two affected individuals show prenatal growth restriction, failure to thrive, global developmental delay, intracerebral and basal ganglia calcifications, and kidney failure. Homozygosity for the …


Addendum: A Small Molecule Produced By Lactobacillus Species Blocks Candida Albicans Filamentation By Inhibiting A Dyrk1-Family Kinase, Jessie Macalpine, Martin Daniel-Ivad, Zhongle Liu, Junko Yano, Nicole M. Revie, Robert T. Todd, Peter J. Stogios, Hiram Sanchez, Teresa R. O'Meara, Thomas A. Tompkins, Alexei Savchenko, Anna Selmecki, Amanda O. Veri, David R. Andes, Paul L. Fidel, Nicole Robbins, Justin Nodwell, Luke Whitesell, Leah E. Cowen Aug 2024

Addendum: A Small Molecule Produced By Lactobacillus Species Blocks Candida Albicans Filamentation By Inhibiting A Dyrk1-Family Kinase, Jessie Macalpine, Martin Daniel-Ivad, Zhongle Liu, Junko Yano, Nicole M. Revie, Robert T. Todd, Peter J. Stogios, Hiram Sanchez, Teresa R. O'Meara, Thomas A. Tompkins, Alexei Savchenko, Anna Selmecki, Amanda O. Veri, David R. Andes, Paul L. Fidel, Nicole Robbins, Justin Nodwell, Luke Whitesell, Leah E. Cowen

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Adaptative Survival Of Aspergillus Fumigatus To Echinocandins Arises From Cell Wall Remodeling Beyond Β−1,3-Glucan Synthesis Inhibition, Malitha C. Dickwella Widanage, Isha Gautam, Daipayan Sarkar, Frederic Mentink-Vigier, Josh V. Vermaas, Shi You Ding, Andrew S. Lipton, Thierry Fontaine, Jean Paul Latgé, Ping Wang, Tuo Wang Jul 2024

Adaptative Survival Of Aspergillus Fumigatus To Echinocandins Arises From Cell Wall Remodeling Beyond Β−1,3-Glucan Synthesis Inhibition, Malitha C. Dickwella Widanage, Isha Gautam, Daipayan Sarkar, Frederic Mentink-Vigier, Josh V. Vermaas, Shi You Ding, Andrew S. Lipton, Thierry Fontaine, Jean Paul Latgé, Ping Wang, Tuo Wang

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Antifungal echinocandins inhibit the biosynthesis of β−1,3-glucan, a major and essential polysaccharide component of the fungal cell wall. However, the efficacy of echinocandins against the pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is limited. Here, we use solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) and other techniques to show that echinocandins induce dynamic changes in the assembly of mobile and rigid polymers within the A. fumigatus cell wall. The reduction of β−1,3-glucan induced by echinocandins is accompanied by a concurrent increase in levels of chitin, chitosan, and highly polymorphic α−1,3-glucans, whose physical association with chitin maintains cell wall integrity and modulates water permeability. The rearrangement of …


Challenges Of Spatially Resolved Metabolism In Cancer Research, Andrew N. Lane, Richard M. Higashi, Teresa W-M Fan Jul 2024

Challenges Of Spatially Resolved Metabolism In Cancer Research, Andrew N. Lane, Richard M. Higashi, Teresa W-M Fan

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Stable isotope-resolved metabolomics comprises a critical set of technologies that can be applied to a wide variety of systems, from isolated cells to whole organisms, to define metabolic pathway usage and responses to perturbations such as drugs or mutations, as well as providing the basis for flux analysis. As the diversity of stable isotope-enriched compounds is very high, and with newer approaches to multiplexing, the coverage of metabolism is now very extensive. However, as the complexity of the model increases, including more kinds of interacting cell types and interorgan communication, the analytical complexity also increases. Further, as studies move further …


Genetic Diversity Of 1,845 Rhesus Macaques Improves Genetic Variation Interpretation And Identifies Disease Models, Jun Wang, Meng Wang, Ala Moshiri, R Alan Harris, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Tracy Nguyen, Soohyun Kim, Laura Young, Keqing Wang, Roger Wiseman, David H O'Connor, Zach Johnson, Melween Martinez, Michael J Montague, Ken Sayers, Martha Lyke, Eric Vallender, Tim Stout, Yumei Li, Sara M Thomasy, Jeffrey Rogers, Rui Chen Jul 2024

Genetic Diversity Of 1,845 Rhesus Macaques Improves Genetic Variation Interpretation And Identifies Disease Models, Jun Wang, Meng Wang, Ala Moshiri, R Alan Harris, Muthuswamy Raveendran, Tracy Nguyen, Soohyun Kim, Laura Young, Keqing Wang, Roger Wiseman, David H O'Connor, Zach Johnson, Melween Martinez, Michael J Montague, Ken Sayers, Martha Lyke, Eric Vallender, Tim Stout, Yumei Li, Sara M Thomasy, Jeffrey Rogers, Rui Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Understanding and treating human diseases require valid animal models. Leveraging the genetic diversity in rhesus macaque populations across eight primate centers in the United States, we conduct targeted-sequencing on 1845 individuals for 374 genes linked to inherited human retinal and neurodevelopmental diseases. We identify over 47,000 single nucleotide variants, a substantial proportion of which are shared with human populations. By combining rhesus and human allele frequencies with established variant prediction methods, we develop a machine learning-based score that outperforms established methods in predicting missense variant pathogenicity. Remarkably, we find a marked number of loss-of-function variants and putative deleterious variants, which …


Successful Management Of Chromoblastomycosis Utilizing Conventional Antifungal Agents And Imiquimod Therapy, Jinjin Zheng, Shougang Liu, Zhenmou Xie, Yangxia Chen, Liyan Xi, Hongfang Liu, Yinghui Liu Jun 2024

Successful Management Of Chromoblastomycosis Utilizing Conventional Antifungal Agents And Imiquimod Therapy, Jinjin Zheng, Shougang Liu, Zhenmou Xie, Yangxia Chen, Liyan Xi, Hongfang Liu, Yinghui Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM), a chronic fungal infection affecting the skin and subcutaneous tissues, is predominantly caused by dematiaceous fungi in tropical and subtropical areas. Characteristically, CBM presents as plaques and nodules, often leading to scarring post-healing. Besides traditional diagnostic methods such as fungal microscopy, culture, and histopathology, dermatoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy can aid in diagnosis. The treatment of CBM is an extended and protracted process. Imiquimod, acting as an immune response modifier, boosts the host's immune response against CBM, and controls scar hyperplasia, thereby reducing the treatment duration. We present a case of CBM in Guangdong with characteristic reflectance confocal …


Aging-Related Changes In The Mechanical Properties Of Single Cells, Amarnath Singam, Chandrabali Bhattacharya, Seungman Park Jun 2024

Aging-Related Changes In The Mechanical Properties Of Single Cells, Amarnath Singam, Chandrabali Bhattacharya, Seungman Park

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Mechanical properties, along with biochemical and molecular properties, play crucial roles in governing cellular function and homeostasis. Cellular mechanics are influenced by various factors, including physiological and pathological states, making them potential biomarkers for diseases and aging. While several methods such as AFM, particle-tracking microrheology, optical tweezers/stretching, magnetic tweezers/twisting cytometry, microfluidics, and micropipette aspiration have been widely utilized to measure the mechanical properties of single cells, our understanding of how aging affects these properties remains limited. To fill this knowledge gap, we provide a brief overview of the commonly used methods to measure single-cell mechanical properties. We then delve into …


The Mapk Homolog, Smk1, Promotes Assembly Of The Glucan Layer Of The Spore Wall In S. Cerevisiae, Julia Y. Lee-Soety, Gwendolyn Resch, Abhimannyu Rimal, Erica S. Johnson, Jonathan Benway, Edward Winter Jun 2024

The Mapk Homolog, Smk1, Promotes Assembly Of The Glucan Layer Of The Spore Wall In S. Cerevisiae, Julia Y. Lee-Soety, Gwendolyn Resch, Abhimannyu Rimal, Erica S. Johnson, Jonathan Benway, Edward Winter

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Smk1 is a MAPK homolog in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that controls the postmeiotic program of spore wall assembly. During this program, haploid cells are surrounded by a layer of mannan and then a layer of glucan. These inner layers of the spore wall resemble the vegetative cell wall. Next, the outer layers consisting of chitin/chitosan and then dityrosine are assembled. The outer layers are spore-specific and provide protection against environmental stressors. Smk1 is required for the proper assembly of spore walls. However, the protective properties of the outer layers have limited our understanding of how Smk1 controls this morphogenetic …


Identification And Characterization Of Cannabichromene's Major Metabolite Following Incubation With Human Liver Microsomes, Alexandra M Ward, Touraj Shokati, Jost Klawitter, Jelena Klawitter, Vu Nguyen, Laura Kozell, Atheir I Abbas, David Jones, Uwe Christians Jun 2024

Identification And Characterization Of Cannabichromene's Major Metabolite Following Incubation With Human Liver Microsomes, Alexandra M Ward, Touraj Shokati, Jost Klawitter, Jelena Klawitter, Vu Nguyen, Laura Kozell, Atheir I Abbas, David Jones, Uwe Christians

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cannabichromene (CBC) is a minor cannabinoid within the array of over 120 cannabinoids identified in the Cannabis sativa plant. While CBC does not comprise a significant portion of whole plant material, it is available to the public in a purified and highly concentrated form. As minor cannabinoids become more popular due to their potential therapeutic properties, it becomes crucial to elucidate their metabolism in humans. Therefore, the goal of this was study to identify the major CBC phase I-oxidized metabolite generated in vitro following incubation with human liver microsomes. The novel metabolite structure was identified as 2′-hydroxycannabicitran using gas chromatography–mass …


Cyp3a Mediates An Unusual C(Sp2)-C(Sp3) Bond Cleavage Via Ipso-Addition Of Oxygen In Drug Metabolism, Xuan Qin, Yong Wang, Qiuji Ye, John M Hakenjos, Jin Wang, Mingxing Teng, Lei Guo, Zhi Tan, Damian W Young, Kevin R Mackenzie, Feng Li Jun 2024

Cyp3a Mediates An Unusual C(Sp2)-C(Sp3) Bond Cleavage Via Ipso-Addition Of Oxygen In Drug Metabolism, Xuan Qin, Yong Wang, Qiuji Ye, John M Hakenjos, Jin Wang, Mingxing Teng, Lei Guo, Zhi Tan, Damian W Young, Kevin R Mackenzie, Feng Li

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Mammalian cytochrome P450 drug-metabolizing enzymes rarely cleave carbon–carbon (C-C) bonds and the mechanisms of such cleavages are largely unknown. We identified two unusual cleavages of non-polar, unstrained C(sp2)-C(sp3) bonds in the FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor pexidartinib that are mediated by CYP3A4/5, the major human phase I drug metabolizing enzymes. Using a synthetic ketone, we rule out the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation mechanism that is commonly invoked to address P450-mediated C-C bond cleavages. Our studies in 18O2 and H218O enriched systems reveal two unusual distinct mechanisms of C-C bond cleavage: one bond is cleaved by CYP3A-mediated ipso-addition of oxygen to a C(sp2) …


E6 Inhibtion-Mediated Combinatorial Therapy For Hpv+ Hnscc, Sonia Whang Jun 2024

E6 Inhibtion-Mediated Combinatorial Therapy For Hpv+ Hnscc, Sonia Whang

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the causative agents of virtually all cases of cervical cancer and up to 80% of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Current treatment options include chemo- and radiotherapy, though the effectiveness of these therapies is limited by the viral oncoprotein E6, which disrupts apoptotic pathways by binding to and accelerating the degradation of molecules such as p53 and caspase- 8. Our hypothesis was that inhibiting E6 and rescuing the apoptotic mediators would increase the effectiveness of apoptotic agents. The aims of this study were to first, develop an HPV+ HNSCC xenograft model to test …


Abnormal Morphology And Synaptogenic Signaling In Astrocytes Following Prenatal Opioid Exposure, Ethan B. Niebergall, Daron Weekley, Anna Mazur, Nathan A. Olszewski, Kayla M. Deschepper, N. Radant, Aishwarya S. Vijay May 2024

Abnormal Morphology And Synaptogenic Signaling In Astrocytes Following Prenatal Opioid Exposure, Ethan B. Niebergall, Daron Weekley, Anna Mazur, Nathan A. Olszewski, Kayla M. Deschepper, N. Radant, Aishwarya S. Vijay

Biomedical Sciences

In recent decades, there has been a dramatic rise in the rates of children being born after in utero exposure to drugs of abuse, particularly opioids. Opioids have been shown to have detrimental effects on neurons and glia in the central nervous system (CNS), but the impact of prenatal opioid exposure (POE) on still-developing synaptic circuitry is largely unknown. Astrocytes exert a powerful influence on synaptic development, secreting factors to either promote or inhibit synapse formation and neuronal maturation in the developing CNS. Here, we investigated the effects of the partial µ-opioid receptor agonist buprenorphine on astrocyte synaptogenic signaling and …


Protein Oxidation In Aging And Alzheimer’S Disease Brain, Rukhsana Sultana, D. Allan Butterfield May 2024

Protein Oxidation In Aging And Alzheimer’S Disease Brain, Rukhsana Sultana, D. Allan Butterfield

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Proteins are essential molecules that play crucial roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis and carrying out biological functions such as catalyzing biochemical reactions, structural proteins, immune response, etc. However, proteins also are highly susceptible to damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). In this review, we summarize the role of protein oxidation in normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The major emphasis of this review article is on the carbonylation and nitration of proteins in AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The oxidatively modified proteins showed a strong correlation with the reported changes in brain structure, carbohydrate …


Serine Deamination By Human Serine Racemase Synergizes With Antibiotics To Curtail The Replication Of Chlamydia Trachomatis, Patricia D. Mott, Arnold H. Zea, Jamiya Lewis, Oygul Mirzalieva, Ashok A. Aiyar May 2024

Serine Deamination By Human Serine Racemase Synergizes With Antibiotics To Curtail The Replication Of Chlamydia Trachomatis, Patricia D. Mott, Arnold H. Zea, Jamiya Lewis, Oygul Mirzalieva, Ashok A. Aiyar

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The obligate intracellular bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, has evolved to depend on its human host for many metabolites, including most amino acids and three of the four nucleotides. Given this, it is not surprising that depletion of a single amino acid in the host cell growth medium blocks chlamydial replication. Paradoxically, supra-normal levels of some amino acids also block productive replication of Chlamydia. Here, we have determined how elevated serine levels, generated by exogenous supplementation, impede chlamydial inclusion development and reduce the generation of infectious progeny. Our findings reveal that human serine racemase, which is broadly expressed in multiple tissues, potentiates …


Sex And Age Differences In Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Responses And The Resulting Influences On Cognition, Miranda K. Traylor May 2024

Sex And Age Differences In Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Responses And The Resulting Influences On Cognition, Miranda K. Traylor

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Vascular dysfunction is the earliest known marker of neurodegeneration. However, limited research has been conducted to determine if changes in peripheral vascular function track differences in brain health. Therefore, the purpose was to determine if previously reported sex differences in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) vascular occlusion test (VOT) parameters persist across the lifespan and if these differences track age- and sex-related differences in a cognitive task. Ninety-nine healthy, cognitively intact adults (50 women, 49 men) across the adult lifespan (19-81 yrs) were used for analysis. The combination of NIRS-VOT was used to quantify microvascular function. Cognition was defined as the time …


A Combination Of Generated Hydrogen Sulfide And Nitric Oxide Activity Has A Potentiated Protectant Effect Against Cisplatin Induced Nephrotoxicity, Faria Khurshid, Javeid Iqbal, Fiaz Ud Din Ahmad, Arslan Hussain Lodhi, Abdul Malik, Suhail Akhtar, Azmat Ali Khan, Marvi Imam Bux, Mohammed Younis Apr 2024

A Combination Of Generated Hydrogen Sulfide And Nitric Oxide Activity Has A Potentiated Protectant Effect Against Cisplatin Induced Nephrotoxicity, Faria Khurshid, Javeid Iqbal, Fiaz Ud Din Ahmad, Arslan Hussain Lodhi, Abdul Malik, Suhail Akhtar, Azmat Ali Khan, Marvi Imam Bux, Mohammed Younis

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Aim: Hydrogen sulfide and nitricoxide possess cytoprotective activity and in vivo, they are generated from exogenous sodium hydrosulfide and L-arginine respectively. Cisplatin is a major chemotherapeutic agent used to treat cancer and has a high incidence of nephrotoxicity as a side effect. The study aim was to explore the effects of NaHS and L-arginine or their combination on cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Methods: Wistar Kyoto rats were given a single intraperitoneal dose of cisplatin (5 mg/kg) followed either by NaHS (56 μmol/kg, i. p.), L-arginine (1.25 g/L in drinking water) or their combination daily for 28-days. Post-mortem plasma, urine …


Exploration Of The Activity, Delivery And Activation Of Androgen Receptor Potential Indane Scaffold Antagonists For Prostate Cancer Treatment, Shengxin Zhang, Gemma K Kinsella, Tao Zhang, James Curtin Apr 2024

Exploration Of The Activity, Delivery And Activation Of Androgen Receptor Potential Indane Scaffold Antagonists For Prostate Cancer Treatment, Shengxin Zhang, Gemma K Kinsella, Tao Zhang, James Curtin

Other resources

Androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapy remains the gold standard strategy for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Several compounds of Indane derivatives have been reported to exhibit significant AR antagonist capabilities, starting at a concentration as low as 0.1 μM. However, an anti-prostate cancer lead molecule derived from Indane-related scaffold remains elusive. The project will investigate the interaction of novel bioactive indane scaffolds as androgen receptor antagonists through in silico and in vitro screening to complete the hit-to-lead, while also investigating potential drug delivery and drug activation/sensitisation mechanisms using a combination of colloid nanomaterial and cold atmospheric plasma to target AR-independent, …


Hammerhead-Type Fxr Agonists Induce An Enhancer Rna Fincor That Ameliorates Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis In Mice, Jinjing Chen, Ruoyu Wang, Feng Xiong, Hao Sun, Byron Kemper, Wenbo Li, Jongsook Kemper Apr 2024

Hammerhead-Type Fxr Agonists Induce An Enhancer Rna Fincor That Ameliorates Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis In Mice, Jinjing Chen, Ruoyu Wang, Feng Xiong, Hao Sun, Byron Kemper, Wenbo Li, Jongsook Kemper

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The nuclear receptor, farnesoid X receptor (FXR/NR1H4), is increasingly recognized as a promising drug target for metabolic diseases, including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Protein-coding genes regulated by FXR are well known, but whether FXR also acts through regulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which vastly outnumber protein-coding genes, remains unknown. Utilizing RNA-seq and global run-on sequencing (GRO-seq) analyses in mouse liver, we found that FXR activation affects the expression of many RNA transcripts from chromatin regions bearing enhancer features. Among these we discovered a previously unannotated liver-enriched enhancer-derived lncRNA (eRNA), termed FXR-induced non-coding RNA (


Nanocavity-Mediated Purcell Enhancement Of Er In Tio2 Thin Films Grown Via Atomic Layer Deposition, Cheng Ji, Michael T Solomon, Gregory D Grant, Koichi Tanaka, Muchuan Hua, Jianguo Wen, Sagar Kumar Seth, Connor P Horn, Ignas Masiulionis, Manish Kumar Singh, Sean E Sullivan, F Joseph Heremans, David D Awschalom, Supratik Guha, Alan M Dibos Apr 2024

Nanocavity-Mediated Purcell Enhancement Of Er In Tio2 Thin Films Grown Via Atomic Layer Deposition, Cheng Ji, Michael T Solomon, Gregory D Grant, Koichi Tanaka, Muchuan Hua, Jianguo Wen, Sagar Kumar Seth, Connor P Horn, Ignas Masiulionis, Manish Kumar Singh, Sean E Sullivan, F Joseph Heremans, David D Awschalom, Supratik Guha, Alan M Dibos

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The use of trivalent erbium (Er3+), typically embedded as an atomic defect in the solid-state, has widespread adoption as a dopant in telecommunication devices and shows promise as a spin-based quantum memory for quantum communication. In particular, its natural telecom C-band optical transition and spin-photon interface make it an ideal candidate for integration into existing optical fiber networks without the need for quantum frequency conversion. However, successful scaling requires a host material with few intrinsic nuclear spins, compatibility with semiconductor foundry processes, and straightforward integration with silicon photonics. Here, we present Er-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film growth on silicon …