Molecular Biology Commons^™

Transcriptomic Analysis On Hepatocellular Carcinoma Model In Response To Safranal Treatment, Badriya Mahmood Ahmed Baig

Biology Theses

Unsolved riddle of cancer remains a major global health concern particularly in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) which is among the leading causes of cancer related death worldwide. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) and its bioactive phytochemicals possess promising anti-cancer activities. One of these phytochemicals, safranal, has demonstrated potent anti-cancer activities against different types of cancers. Yet, its association with liver cancer remains under documented. This study investigated HCC response to safranal’s treatment via transcriptomic approach. Safranal was found to be involved in mitochondrial dysfunction, induced oxidative stress and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production leading to cell death. Interestingly, safranal has …

Enhancement Of Fast Scan Cyclic Voltammetry Detection Of Dopamine With Tryptophan, Sarah E. Thompson

Masters Theses

Dysregulation of dopamine release is a pathological effect of common neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) has been used as an analytical tool to investigate the role of dopamine in these diseases, and in relation to drug addiction and reward behavior. Methods to improve the sensitivity of FSCV have involved modifying the surface of the carbon electrodes used for dopamine detection, altering the potential waveform, and changing the structure of the carbon sensor. Here, the amino acid tryptophan was investigated as a potential surface modification for increased dopamine detection. This study serves as …

Anti-Colon Cancer Effect Of Origanum Majorana Essential Oil, Asma Nasser Rashed Alrashedi

Biology Theses

Plants have been shown to be an excellent source of new drugs, including anticancer agents. Origanum majorana commonly known as marjoram is a plant that is known to possess different therapeutic values including antioxidant andantimicrobial activities.

Our research team has previously tested the ethanolic extract of O. majorana on triple negative breast cancer and published the findings. The ethanolic extract promoted mitotic arrest at G2/M phase, induced apoptosis as well as inhibition of migration and metastasis. The promising potential of the ethanolic extract encouraged us to test the effects of O. majorana essential oil on human colon cancer cell lines. …

Tracing Actin Filament Bundles In Three-Dimensional Electron Tomography Density Maps Of Hair Cell Stereocilia, Salim Sazzed, Junha Song, Julio Kovacs, Willi Wriggers, Manfred Auer, Jing He

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is a powerful method of visualizing the three-dimensional organization of supramolecular complexes, such as the cytoskeleton, in their native cell and tissue contexts. Due to its minimal electron dose and reconstruction artifacts arising from the missing wedge during data collection, cryo-ET typically results in noisy density maps that display anisotropic XY versus Z resolution. Molecular crowding further exacerbates the challenge of automatically detecting supramolecular complexes, such as the actin bundle in hair cell stereocilia. Stereocilia are pivotal to the mechanoelectrical transduction process in inner ear sensory epithelial hair cells. Given the complexity and dense arrangement of actin …

Increased Liver Tumor Formation In Neutral Sphingomyelinase-2-Deficient Mice, Liansheng Zhong, Ji Na Kong, Michael B. Dinkins, Silvia Leanhart, Zhihui Zhu, Stefka D. Spassieva, Haiyan Qin, Hsuan-Pei Lin, Ahmed Elsherbini, Rebecca Wang, Xue Jiang, Mariana N. Nikolova‑Karakashian, Guanghu Wang, Erhard Bieberich

Physiology Faculty Publications

Sphingolipids are key signaling lipids in cancer. Genome-wide studies have identified neutral SMase-2 (nSMase2), an enzyme generating ceramide from SM, as a potential repressor for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, little is known about the sphingolipids regulated by nSMase2 and their roles in liver tumor development. We discovered growth of spontaneous liver tumors in 27.3% (9 of 33) of aged male nSMase2-deficient (fro/fro) mice. Lipidomics analysis showed a marked increase of SM in the tumor. Unexpectedly, tumor tissues presented with more than a 7-fold increase of C₁₆-ceramide, concurrent with upregulation of ceramide synthase 5. The fro/fro liver tumor, …

Insights Into The Cellular Trafficking Of Perilipin 5, Hannah M. Bailey

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Perilipins are a family of five proteins found on the surface of lipid storage droplets in nearly all tissues. These proteins act as cofactors for lipases and scaffolding for other proteins involved in lipid metabolism. In addition to the lipid droplet surface, members of the perilipin family have been found in the cytosol, endoplasmic reticulum, plasma membrane and mitochondria. The localization of these proteins is in part due to the phosphorylation state of the perilipin in question. Many other biological processes occur through kinase pathways, which have numerous cellular outcomes. Recently, perilipin 5 has been shown to localize to the …

Profiling Prostate Cancer Therapeutic Resistance, Cameron A. Wade, Natasha Kyprianou

Urology Faculty Publications

The major challenge in the treatment of patients with advanced lethal prostate cancer is therapeutic resistance to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and chemotherapy. Overriding this resistance requires understanding of the driving mechanisms of the tumor microenvironment, not just the androgen receptor (AR)-signaling cascade, that facilitate therapeutic resistance in order to identify new drug targets. The tumor microenvironment enables key signaling pathways promoting cancer cell survival and invasion via resistance to anoikis. In particular, the process of epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT), directed by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), confers stem cell properties and acquisition of a migratory and invasive phenotype via resistance to anoikis. Our …

Role Of Pu.1 And C/Ebpα In Remodelling The Interleukin (Il)-1Β Enhancer-Promoter Interaction, Woohyun Cho, Soon-Duck Ha, Sung Ouk Kim

Western Research Forum

Background: IL-1b is a potent inflammatory cytokine promptly expressed in activated myeloid immune cells. Among various transcription factors, PU.1 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPa) play a key role in the lineage commitment of myeloid cells. To date, however, the exact mechanisms by which these lineage-determining transcription factors employ to regulate the expression of myeloid-specific genes remains elusive; thus, this study explores the role of PU.1 and C/EBPa in remodelling the chromatin conformation that allows ample production of IL-1b.

Methods: To examine the mechanism of these lineage-determining transcription factors, production of IL-1b and enhancer-promoter interactions were analyzed in non-myeloid B16-BL6 cells …

Killi-Data News (Winter), Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

Valued readers, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you that this is the last issue of Killi-Data News. The good news is that we will be back as Killifish Research Review. The dissolution of Killi-Data International created a prob- lem: how can the newsletter of a defunct organization live on without that organization? But other additional problems were building in the background. The first issue numbered 15 pages. The previous issue was 28 pages. The number of killifish related papers is increasing while time on our end (the editorial team) is running out. It takes a lot …

Killi-Data News (Fall), Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

Many interesting papers have been published over the last three months. The large volume of papers coupled with the start of the new college semester (and the workload it brings) delayed this issue of Killi-Data News. But better late than never—or so I hope! In this issue Richard van der Laan provides an insightful review of the recent Aphanius papers as to their taxonomic implications and questions. The systematic issues he raises show the importance of the Molecular project: we need to get more samples of the various cyprinodontiforme families to resolve unsettled systematic and taxonomic issues. In the Next …

Killi-Data News (Summer), Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

Over the last three months several interesting and exciting pa- pers have been published. By now most of you have heard the Nothobranchius fish poo news emanating from the Valenzano lab. That paper is reviewed and certainly has repercussions for the health of our captive fish. Polaçik et al have published interesting data with ramifications as to how we breed and incubate annual killifish. The big news in this issue is the paper from the Reznick lab which Jean Huber reviews. The contents of that paper goes to the heart of the question of just what a killifish is. The …

Killi-Data News (Spring), Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

This is the start of Killi-Data News’ second year. In this first issue of the year we have the usual review of research pub- lications as well as input from Martin Reichard on his lab’s Nothobranchius research. Martin is responding to my reviews of his lab’s work in the previous edition. I am serious about making sure the content in this newsletter is reliable but I erred in the previous edition and Martin has written extensively to correct my mistake in the section “Erratum”. This reply is welcomed and owed to readers. I must confess that I don’t know everything …

Killi-Data News (Winter), Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

This is the fourth edition, and concluding issue of the first volume, of Killi-Data News and I am happy that it has been well received by readers. At 25 pages this issue is a bit thin- ner than the last but this is because we agreed to make the cut-off for submissions the 1 st of December so we could get this edition out by the New Year. This is an exciting edition full of new species descrip- tions and analyses that will keep taxonomists busy for years to come. Costa has given us two molecular phylogenies on Melanorivulus as …

Killi-Data News (Spring), Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

This is the start of Killi-Data News’ second year. In this first issue of the year we have the usual review of research pub- lications as well as input from Martin Reichard on his lab’s Nothobranchius research. Martin is responding to my reviews of his lab’s work in the previous edition. I am serious about making sure the content in this newsletter is reliable but I erred in the previous edition and Martin has written extensively to correct my mistake in the section “Erratum”. This reply is welcomed and owed to readers. I must confess that I don’t know everything …

Copy Number Variation In The Porcine Genome Detected From Whole-Genome Sequence, Rebecca Anderson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Copy number variations (CNVs) are large insertions, deletions, and duplications in the genome that vary between individuals in a species. These variations are known to impact a broad range of phenotypes from molecular-level traits to higher-order clinical phenotypes. CNVs have been linked to complex traits in humans such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, nervous system disorders, and early-onset extreme obesity. In this study, whole-genome sequence was obtained from 72 founders of an intensely phenotyped experimental swine herd at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. This included 24 boars (12 Duroc and 12 Landrace) and …

Investigating The Genetic Structure Of Northern Long-Eared Bats In Nebraska, Jonathan Korbitz

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Abstract:

The northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is one of many species of hibernating bats in North America affected by a recently discovered fungal disease called white-nose syndrome (WNS). Northern long-eared bats seem to be extremely susceptible to the disease with mass fatalities occurring among populations in eastern North America. Researchers in the eastern distribution of this species have performed mtDNA analysis to identify the population structure of the species; however, genetic analysis has yet to be done in western parts of its distribution. The goal of this study is to create a better understanding of the genetic …

Evolution Of Echovirus 11 In A Chronically Infected Immunodeficient Patient., Majid Laassri, Tatiana Zagorodnyaya, Sharon Hassin-Baer, Rachel Handsher, Danit Sofer, Merav Weil, Konstantinos Karagiannis, Vahan Simonyan, Konstantin Chumakov, Lester Shulman

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Deep sequencing was used to determine complete nucleotide sequences of echovirus 11 (EV11) strains isolated from a chronically infected patient with CVID as well as from cases of acute enterovirus infection. Phylogenetic analysis showed that EV11 strains that circulated in Israel in 1980-90s could be divided into four clades. EV11 strains isolated from a chronically infected individual belonged to one of the four clades and over a period of 4 years accumulated mutations at a relatively constant rate. Extrapolation of mutations accumulation curve into the past suggested that the individual was infected with circulating EV11 in the first half of …

Circulating Pander Concentration Is Associated With Increased Hba1c And Fasting Blood Glucose In Type 2 Diabetic Subjects, Catherine B. Marelia, Melanie N. Kuehl, Tiffany A. Shemwell, Amy C. Alman, Brant R. Burkhardt

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Aim: PANcreatic-DERived factor (PANDER, FAM3B) is a novel hormone that regulates glucose levels via interaction with both the endocrine pancreas and liver. Prior studies examining PANDER were primarily conducted in murine models or in vitro but little is known regarding the circulating concentration of PANDER in humans, especially with regard to the association of type 2 diabetes (T2D) or overall glycemic regulation. To address this limitation, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of circulating serum PANDER concentration in association with other hormones that serve as either markers of insulin resistance (insulin and adiponectin) or to metabolic parameters of glycemic control such …

Characterization Of The Roles Of Muscle-Synthesized Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor And Presynaptic Tyrosine Receptor Kinase B In Motor Neuron Axonal Transport, Luke A. Vanosdol

All NMU Master's Theses

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a small, diffusible protein essential for the development and function of neurons. It is synthesized by many types of tissue, including muscle. BDNF actions are mediated via binding to its receptor, tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB). The BDNF-TrkB complex is endocytosed into a specialized vesicle, which induces downstream signaling cascades locally in the dendrites, or, more often, is delivered to the cell soma via retrograde axonal transport, where it modulates gene expression. BDNF activation of TrkB is critical for the initiation of axonal transport, and this cellular process relies on the interaction of numerous adaptor …

A Complex Molecular Switch Directs Stress-Induced Cyclin C Nuclear Release Through Scfgrr1-Mediated Degradation Of Med13., David C Stieg, Stephen D Willis, Vidyaramanan Ganesan, Kai Li Ong, Joseph Scuorzo, Mia Song, Julianne Grose, Randy Strich, Katrina F Cooper

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

In response to oxidative stress, cells decide whether to mount a survival or cell death response. The conserved cyclin C and its kinase partner Cdk8 play a key role in this decision. Both are members of the Cdk8 kinase module, which, with Med12 and Med13, associate with the core mediator complex of RNA polymerase II. In