Molecular Biology Commons^™

Mechanisms Of Adenovirus-Mediated Autophagy, Erin White

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

A patient diagnosed with a glioma, generally, has an average of 14 months year to live after implementation of conventional therapies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Glioblastomas are highly lethal because of their aggressive nature and resistance to conventional therapies and apoptosis. Thus other avenues of cell death urgently need to be explored. Autophagy, which is also known as programmed cell death type II, has recently been identified as an alternative mechanism to kill apoptosis- resistant cancer cells. Traditionally, researchers have studied how cells undergo autophagy during viral infection as an immune response mechanism, but recently researchers have discovered …

Cloning, Expression, And Characterization Of The Aminoethylphosphonate Pathway In Trypanosoma Cruzi, Samuel I. Rodriguez^, Esteban M. Cordero, Igor C. Almeida*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2011

No abstract provided.

Sunday Driver/Jip3 Binds Kinesin Heavy Chain Directly And Enhances Its Motility, Faneng Sun, Chuanmei Zhu, Ram Dixit, Valeria Cavalli

Biology Faculty Research

Neuronal development, function and repair critically depend on axonal transport of vesicles and protein complexes, which is mediated in part by the molecular motor kinesin‐1. Adaptor proteins recruit kinesin‐1 to vesicles via direct association with kinesin heavy chain (KHC), the force‐generating component, or via the accessory light chain (KLC). Binding of adaptors to the motor is believed to engage the motor for microtubule‐based transport. We report that the adaptor protein Sunday Driver (syd, also known as JIP3 or JSAP1) interacts directly with KHC, in addition to and independently of its known interaction with KLC. Using an in vitro motility assay, …

The Mitospecific Region Of Mrp20 And Its Importance For The Assembly Of Mitochondrial Ribosomes In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Jasvinder Kaur

Dissertations (1934 -)

Yeast mitochondrial ribosomes are composed of an rRNA scaffold, encoded by the mitochondrial genome and many different proteins, which, with the exception of one, are encoded by nuclear genes. These ribosomal proteins are imported into the mitochondrial matrix following their synthesis in the cytosol, however, little is known about the subsequent events which result in an assembled, translationally-competent ribosome. Many of the mitochondrial ribosomal proteins bear homology to bacterial ancestors. In addition to the acquisition of mitochondrial targeting signals, a number of these nuclearly-encoded ribosomal proteins have acquired additional domains, often at their C-termini, which are termed "mitochondrial-specific domains". The …

Characterization Of Rnai-Defective Mutants—Mut13-2 And Mut20—In Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Arit Ghosh

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

RNA interference (RNAi) is a highly conserved and sequence-specific process for regulation of gene expression. At the heart of the RNAi machinery lie 21-24 nt small non-coding RNA molecules which are able to downregulate the expression of cognate sequences, by causing degradation or translational repression of mRNAs. These noncoding RNAs act via the effector RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which includes core proteins such as the Argonautes (AGOs). Two Chlamydomonas reinhardtii RNAi-defective mutants, Mut13-2 and Mut20, show deletions of various domains of the Tudor Staphylococcal Nuclease 1 (TSN1) gene. TSN1 has already been recognized as a component of the RNA-induced silencing …

Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Induction Of Programmed Cell Death Is Cell Type Dependent: An In Vitro Study, Wei Ren

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) present a novel and effective method for cancer ablation by eradicating the ubiquitous cancer hallmark of apoptosis evasion and enforcing cancer programmed cell death. To develop nsPEFs as an anticancer method, a comprehensive understanding of cell death mechanisms is required. The overall objective of this dissertation is to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying effects of nsPEFs on E4 murine squamous cell carcinoma and human T-cell Jurkat clones that are wildtype, deficient in FADD (ΔFADD) and deficient in caspase-8 (ACas-8). The overall hypothesis is that nsPEFs eliminate cancer cells through activating caspase-dependent and caspase-independent programmed cell death …

Identification And Characterization Of A Stilbene Synthase Gene Family In Peanut Hairy Roots, Jose Marcos Condori

Student Theses and Dissertations

Plants produce a large diversity of specialized metabolites in response to biotic and abiotic stimuli. Even though these metabolites are functional to plants as defense compounds, they also show a multitude of benefits in human health. Among these compounds are the stilbenoids. In addition to resveratrol, the most characterized of the stilbenoids, species like peanut produces several prenylated stilbenoids including arachidin-1 and arachidin-3. Recent studies suggest that these prenylated compounds have higher biological activities than resveratrol. Therefore there is a need to understand the mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of these compounds. Some stilbene synthases involved in the biosynthesis of …

What Is New For An Old Molecule? Systematic Review And Recommendations On The Use Of Resveratrol, Ole Vang, Nihal Ahmad, Karen Brown, Anna Csiszar, Thomas Szekeres, Thomas Walle, Joseph M. Wu

NYMC Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Resveratrol is a natural compound suggested to have beneficial health effects. However, people are consuming resveratrol for this reason without having the adequate scientific evidence for its effects in humans. Therefore, scientific valid recommendations concerning the human intake of resveratrol based on available published scientific data are necessary. Such recommendations were formulated after the Resveratrol 2010 conference, held in September 2010 in Helsingør, Denmark.

METHODOLOGY: Literature search in databases as PUBMED and ISI Web of Science in combination with manual search was used to answer the following five questions: (1)Can resveratrol be recommended in the prevention or treatment of …

The Csc Is Required For Complete Radial Spoke Assembly And Wild-Type Ciliary Motility, Erin E. Dymek, Thomas Heuser, Daniela Nicastro, Elizabeth F. Smith

Dartmouth Scholarship

The ubiquitous calcium binding protein, calmodulin (CaM), plays a major role in regulating the motility of all eukaryotic cilia and flagella. We previously identified a CaM and Spoke associated Complex (CSC) and provided evidence that this complex mediates regulatory signals between the radial spokes and dynein arms. We have now used an artificial microRNA (amiRNA) approach to reduce expression of two CSC subunits in Chlamydomonas. For all amiRNA mutants, the entire CSC is lacking or severely reduced in flagella. Structural studies of mutant axonemes revealed that assembly of radial spoke 2 is defective. Furthermore, analysis of both flagellar beating and …

Quorum Sensing In Archaea, Charles Mackin

Honors Scholar Theses

Bacteria coordinate cell density dependent behaviors by communicating through chemical intermediaries in a process called quorum sensing. In a bacterial culture, individual cells will constitutively produce signal molecules, termed autoinducers, and export them into the environment. When the concentration of autoinducers reaches a threshold, the cells sense that they are in a specific situation, which requires the upregulation of certain genes. This upregulation causes the bacteria to produce proteins that allow them to take part in a coordinated population-wide behavior.

In bacteria that are naturally competent, or capable of importing DNA from the environment, the expression of competence genes is …

Design And Bio-Production Of A Nanoparticle Avian Influenza Vaccine, Kashif N. Ather

Honors Scholar Theses

Influenza is one of the most common diseases in the world and the cause for numerous deaths every year. The primary method of combating the disease is the influenza vaccine, which is produced by inoculating chicken eggs with inactivated virus. An emerging solution is to use Self-Assembling Polypeptide Nanoparticles (SAPN) to elicit an immune response in the body, rather than using inactivated viruses. This project focuses on the synthesis, purification, and refolding of two peptide constructs, BN5C and S43, which are specific protein sequences that under the right conditions will refold into the 3-dimensional structures necessary for producing an immune …

Characterizing The Role Of The Bacterial Metallothionein, Smta, In Mammalian Infection, Stephanie R. Davis

Honors Scholar Theses

Mammalian metallothioneins (MT) are induced by various immunomodulatory molecules and are involved in a spectrum of immune processes such as essential metal homeostasis, detoxification of certain heavy metals, inflammation, and immune cell trafficking [1-3]. A bacterial metallothionein, SmtA, shares some sequence homology with mammalian MT as well as its metal-binding capabilities [4]. In addition to its ability to sequester heavy metals, eukaryotic MT has also been shown to scavenge free radicals such as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS), interfering with their toxic effects on cells and potentially influencing their regulatory roles in cell proliferation and differentiation [5, 6]. …

Biomarker Signature Classification Of Various Stress Forms, Chana L. Rich

Honors Scholar Theses

Various types of stressful conditions can have unique and important effects on immunity and can lead to dramatic consequences to health. For my University Scholar project, the characteristic biomarker signatures produced from a set of diverse stressors (e.g. psychological, biological and chemical) are being investigated. A biomarker signature is a distinctive biological indicator of a specific condition. High-throughput tools for the measurement of different cellular products have the potential to further our understanding of human disease and facilitated the identification of new biomarkers in all areas of medicine. The hypothesis that each form of stress, psychological, chemical and physical, will …

Characterization Of Arginine-82 Mutants With Non-Native Chromophores, Vivek Alaigh

Honors Scholar Theses

Bacteriorhodopsin, found in most halobacteria, is an integral protein that contains seven transmembrane alpha helices and an organic chromophore, all-trans retinal. Light energy is captured by the protein and results in a series of spectrally discrete intermediates that conclude with a proton being pumped across the membrane from the cytoplasmic side to the extracellular milieu. The most blue-shifted photo-intermediate, the M state, has been of interest for protein-based holographic memory storage devices. Bacteriorhodopsin mutants were prepared with either a 4-hydroxy retinal or 3,4-dihydro retinal analog: R82A, R82C, R82H, R82K, R82N and R82Q. The objective of this research was to investigate …

Expression Of The Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Non-Structural Protein 3 (Nsp 3) In Escherichia Coli, Lidia Beka

Honors Scholar Theses

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus in the family Arteriviridae, order Nidovirales. PRRSV is the most economically significant viral infection of swine herds in the United States. The single-stranded RNA genome is 15 kb in length and encodes 9 open reading frames (ORF1a, ORF1b, ORF2a, ORF2b and ORFs 3 through 7). ORFs 1a and 1b encode for 13 non-structural proteins (nsp) that are suggested to be involved in transcription and viral genome replication. The exact role of non-structural proteins in PRRSV cycle is still unknown. Moreover, there is a limited availability of reagents such …

Modeling Human Immune Response To The Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria, Yevhen Rutovytskyy

Honors Scholar Theses

The purpose of this project is to develop and analyze a mathematical model for the pathogen-host interaction that occurs during early Lyme disease.

Based on the known biophysics of motility of Borrelia burgdorferi and a simple model for the immune response, a PDE model was created which tracks the time evolution of the concentrations of bacteria and activated immune cells in the dermis. We assume that a tick bite inoculates a highly localized population of bacteria into the dermis. These bacteria can multiply and migrate. The diffusive nature of the migration is assumed and modeled using the heat equation. Bacteria …

Effects Of Vitamin E Isomer, Gamma Tocotrienol (Gt3), At Inhibiting Cell Growth And Inducing Apoptosis In Colon Cancer Cell Line Hct-116., Havya Dave

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Colorectal cancer is the third most prominent cancer world-wide and it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Many dietary components affect the risk of developing colorectal cancer, such as Vitamin E. Of the eight isomers of Vitamin E, four have a tocotrienol structure. Tocotrienols are found at highest concentrations in palm oil, which is ingested more in areas of Asia where the incidence of colorectal cancer is the lowest, suggesting a role of tocotrienols in the prevention of colorectal cancer. The metabolism of Arachidonic acid pathway produces a host of pro-inflammatory metabolites either by …

The Effects Of The Vitamin E Isomers Gamma Tocopherol And Gamma Tocotrienol On The Nfkb Pathway In The Pc-3 Cell Line., Brittney Rudder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Regions along the Mediterranean and Southern Asia have lower prostate cancer incidence compared to the rest of the world. It has been hypothesized that one of the potential contributing factors for this low incidence includes a higher intake of vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols). This study examines the potential of gamma tocopherol (GT) and gamma tocotrienol (GT3) to reduce prostate cancer proliferation by examining their effects on the NFκB pathway. NFκB is known to inhibit apoptosis in cancer cells. Our data shows that both GT and GT3 are capable of down regulation of NFκB precursors and up regulation of Caspase …

The Effect Of Ultraviolet Light On Cell Viability, Dna Damage And Repair In Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome And Bj Fibroblasts., Mckayla Johnson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Patients of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) display a rate of aging up to ten times that of normal human populations. It might be expected that HGPS cells would have a decreased ability to repair DNA damage through the cell cycle as compared to normal cells such as those of the BJ cell line since DNA damage accumulation is a hallmark phenotype of aging. On earth, we are exposed to far more ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280-315 nm) and UV-A (315-400 nm) than UV-C (100-280 nm) radiation, since the latter is filtered-out by the atmospheric ozone layer. The relative sensitivity of prematurely aging …

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles For The Detection Of Antimicrobial Resistance, Alexander J. Noll

HIM 1990-2015

The rise of antimicrobial resistance demands the development of more rapid screening methods for the detection of antimicrobial resistance in clinical samples to both give the patient the proper treatment and expedite the treatment of patients. Cerium oxide nanoparticles may serve a useful role in diagnostics due to their ability to exist in a mixed valence state and act as either oxidizing agents or reducing agents. Considering that cerium oxide nanoparticles have been shown to shift in absorbance upon oxidation, a useful method of antimicrobial resistance detection could be based on the oxidation of cerium oxide nanoparticles. Herein, an assay …