Molecular Biology Commons^™

Arachidin 3 Modulation Of Lipid Metabolism In Rotavirus Infections, Stormey Wisdom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rotavirus (RV) can cause severe and deadly gastroenteritis in young children, infants, and immunocompromised individuals. Previous studies have shown that arachidin 3 (A3) inhibits RV replication, and that RV replication is dependent on the presence of lipids. This study investigated the alteration of lipid metabolism by A3 in RV infected HT29.f8 cells. A decrease in the RV regulation of lipid biosynthesis genes was observed with the addition of A3 using qRT-PCR. Also, immunofluorescent and histochemical staining for neutral fats, a major component of cellular lipid droplets, revealed an increased accumulation with both RV and RV+A3 when compared to no virus …

Zinc Chloride Enhanced Chondrogenesis Is Vegf Dependent, Gilbert M. Sharp Iv

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Researchers have begun investigating whether insulin mimetics such as ZnCl2 could promote bone healing in both non-diabetic and diabetic fracture healing similarly to insulin. Our research focused on understanding the mechanism by which ZnCl2 affects chondrogenesis, an important component of bone fracture healing. The increases in proteoglycan deposition and cell proliferation seen in our data may be a result of ZnCl2 induction of the IGF-1 pathway. When the VEGF pathway was inhibited in ZnCl2- or insulin-treated cells significant decreases in proteoglycan deposition occurred on day 7 and 14 (P=0.007 for ZnCl2, P=0.028 for insulin) when compared to controls. This data …

Modulation Of Biological Responses To 2 Ns Electrical Stimuli By Field Reversal, Esin B. Sözer, P. Thomas Vernier

Bioelectrics Publications

Nanosecond bipolar pulse cancellation, a recently discovered Phenomenon, is modulation of the effects of a unipolar electric pulse exposure by a second pulse of opposite polarity. This attenuation of biological response by reversal of the electric field direction has been reported with pulse durations from 60 ns to 900 ns for a wide range of endpoints, and it is not observed with conventional electroporation pulses of much longer duration (> 100 mu s) where pulses are additive regardless of polarity. The most plausible proposed mechanisms involve the field-driven migration of ions to and from the membrane interface (accelerated membrane discharge). …

Regulation Of Cyp3a5 In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Jessica D. Hoyer

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

CYP3A5 is a drug metabolism enzyme that is polymorphically expressed in normal tissues and expressed in high amounts in some cancers, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). There have been several published studies regarding CYP3A5 regulators, but there is still much to be discovered concerning CYP3A5 regulation in cancer. To further understand the regulation of CYP3A5, a high-throughput screen was performed in the AsPC-1 PDAC cell line. This screen employed small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting transcription factors and chromatin-associated proteins. We identified siRNA that decreased CYP3A5 mRNA and protein levels in AsPC-1 cells and probed into the potential mechanisms. Taken together, …

Genetic Variation Of Human Leukocyte Antigen (Hla) Alleles Among Rheumatiod Arthritis Patients In Fujairah, Amna Abdulla Harib Al-Dhmanie

Biology Theses

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation that affects the joints. It occurs when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues and organs. The precise cause of RA is not fully understood but evidence suggests that genes, hormones and environmental factors could be involved. It has been established that human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci is a strong risk factor of RA. Specifically, the shared epitope (SE) region of HLA-DRB1 and variations at position 11 and 13 of HLA-DRB1 and position 77 of HLA-A have shown strong association with RA. The hypothesis of this study was …

Genistein Has Antiviral Activity Against Herpes B Virus And Acts Synergistically With Antiviral Treatments To Reduce Effective Dose, Julia C. Lecher, Nga Diep, Peter W. Krug, Julia K. Hilliard

Faculty Articles

Herpes B virus is a deadly zoonotic agent that can be transmitted to humans from the macaque monkey, an animal widely used in biomedical research. Currently, there is no cure for human B virus infection and treatments require a life-long daily regimen of antivirals, namely acyclovir and ganciclovir. Long-term antiviral treatments have been associated with significant debilitating side effects, thus, there is an ongoing search for alternative efficacious antiviral treatment. In this study, the antiviral activity of genistein was quantified against B virus in a primary cell culture model system. Genistein prevented plaque formation of B virus and reduced virus …

Recombinant Production Of Catfish Interleukin-22 As A Natural Immune Stimulant For Improving Aquaculture Fish Health, Lana Elkins

Student Theses and Dissertations

As the world population increases and wild caught fisheries decline, aquaculture offers an important sustainable solution addressing this global challenge. In fact, aquaculture now provides more than half the world’s food fish. With this rapid rise in production, has come the problem of disease management. Current options are limited and there is a great need for innovative solutions to this problem. The cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22) has emerged as a therapeutic target for fish and is correlated with protection under pathogen challenge. Plant bioproduction has the potential to effectively manufacture recombinant IL-22 and offer advantages of low cost for commodity markets, …

Nf-Κb In Biomphalaria Glabrata: A Genetic Fluke?, Paige Stocker

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Biomphalaria glabrata is the intermediate host to the disease causing parasitic worm, Schistosoma mansoni. Previous work has identified homologs of NF-κB, a known immune related transcription factor, in B. glabrata and work has also been done to establish putative κB sites. It has also been observed that the p65 homologous subunit has an extended N-terminal region not present in other homologs. The goal of the present study is twofold: investigate DNA binding affinity of two NF-κB subunits, Bg-p65 and Bg-p50, and characterize the nature of the N-terminal extension of Bg-p65. In the current work, it is shown through the …

Understanding How Map Kinases Influence Endothelial Nitric-Oxide Synthase Activity, Xzaviar Solone

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) p38 and ERK have both been reported to bind endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) with submicromolar affinity via proposed interactions with a pentabasic non-canonical MAPK binding sequence in the autoinhibitory insertion of eNOS. The neuronal isoform, which lacks the pentabasic motif, did not bind either MAPK significantly. In the present study, the pentabasic motif was validated using predictive modeling programming, and eNOS phosphorylation by MAPKs (P38, ERK and JNK) was examined using in vitro kinase assays and immunoblotting. JNK phosphorylation at Ser¹¹⁴ contrasts with ERK, which phosphorylated Ser⁶⁰⁰, and p38, which phosphorylated …

Molecular Signatures Of Calpain 10 Isoforms Sequences, Envisage Functional Similarity And Therapeutic Potential, Bushra Chaudhry, Farina Hanif, Kausar Saboohi

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Calpain 10 plays a role in insulin secretion, action and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. The mechanism through which it influences the insulin secretion and action is not completely defined. A structural bioinformatics approach is applied to envision its mechanism of action using available tools on NCBI (blastp and blastn), EMBL-EBI, Ensembl, Swiss Model Repository websites, I-TASSER, PROCHECK program and Discovery Studio software. Homology of domain I and II of calpain10 (isoform a) was established with super family cysteine proteinase domains (II a and II b, e=1.30e-77, 1.00e-20). Remaining sequences of domain III and T from (isoform a and c) …

Microrna Profiling And Engineering Of Cho Cell Lines Stably Expressing Difficult-To-Express Lysosomal Protein, Ifeanyi Amadi

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Difficult-to-express (DTE) recombinant proteins like multi-specific proteins, DTE monoclonal antibodies and lysosomal enzymes, have seen difficulties in manufacturability using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and other mammalian cells as production platforms. CHO cells are preferably used for protein production because of their innate ability to secrete human-like recombinant proteins with post-translational modification, resistance to viral infection and familiarity with drug regulators. However, despite huge progress made in engineering CHO cells for high volumetric productivity, expression of DTE proteins like recombinant lysosomal sulfatase represent one of the poorly understood proteins. Furthermore, there are growing interest in the use of microRNAs (miRNAs) …

Targeted Genome-Scale Gene Activation And Gene Editing In Human Cells To Understand Disease Models, Michael De La Cruz

KGI Theses and Dissertations

Since the discovery of sequence directed DNA editing reagents such as CRISPR-Cas9 RNA-guided and TALEN DNA endonucleases, there has been a snowball of advances in the life sciences due to the ability to efficiently edit and control genomes within living cells. CRISPR-Cas9 based genomic tools, which facilitate the high-throughput precise manipulation of genes, allow for unbiased functional genomic screens. We used a human CRISPR-Cas9 Synergistic Activation Mediator pooled library which utilizes an engineered protein complex for transcriptional activation of 23,430 endogenous genes to investigate the development of novel resistance mechanisms to lung cancer targeted therapy, Erlotinib. We set out to …

Kinetics Of Hiv-1 Uncoating In C20 Microglial Cells, Melanie Anne Taylor

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Uncoating is a poorly understood yet required step of HIV-1 replication that is defined as the disassembly of the viral capsid structure. The goal of this project is to characterize uncoating in C20 microglial cells. These cells are a natural target of HIV-1 that are infected to establish latent viral reservoirs and HIV-associated neurological disorders. A stable C20 cell line that expresses TRIM-CypA was established to study the kinetics of uncoating with the CsA washout assay. The expression of TRIM-CypA was confirmed by western blot and the functionality of the protein was confirmed by a viral infectivity assay. Using this …

Further Characterization Of The Skeletal Phenotype In A Hurler Syndrome Mouse Model And The Ethical Treatment Of Children In Medicine, Anna Marie Mcwoods

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder caused by the deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme α-L-iduronidase (IDUA). Absence of IDUA results in the accumulation of dermatan and heparin sulfate and ultimately causes multi-system dysfunction. The most severe form of MPS I is Hurlers syndrome, a rapidly progressive disorder that, if left untreated, is fatal. Current treatment options for diagnosed individuals includes hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). These treatments are able to ameliorate the majority of symptoms with the exception of the bone phenotype. This investigation aimed to further characterize the bone …

Stochastic Modeling Of Neuronal Transport In Various Cellular Geometries, Abhishek Choudhary Mr., Peter Kramer

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Role Of The Drosophila Beaf Protein In Chromatin Domain Insulator And Promoter Function, Mukesh Maharjan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Proper folding of eukaryotic genomes is required to allow correct interactions between different parts of chromosomes. Precise and timely interactions among different parts of a chromosome allow proper functioning inside a nucleus, including gene regulation, DNA replication and DNA repair. Eukaryotic regulatory elements that facilitate folding and interactions include enhancers, promoters and insulator elements. Insulator elements and their binding proteins play an important role in regulating correct chromatin structure and function. The Drosophila melanogaster special chromatin structure (scs’) is one such insulator. The Boundary Element Associated Factor (BEAF) binds to scs’. BEAF is a 32 kDa protein that has two …

Role Of The Glycerophosphocholine Acyltransferase, Gpc1, In Phosphatidylcholine (Pc) Biosynthesis And Remodeling In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Sanket Anaokar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biomembranes are permeable barriers that enclose the cell and the intracellular organelles in a cell. The selective nature of these robust barriers acts as the first line of defense towards the harsh factors that can compromise cell survival. Biomembranes primarily consist of membrane lipids that are organized into layers to form a dynamic bilayer structure. The dynamic nature of the membrane requires the synchronized modulation of lipid composition through de novo synthesis, degradation, intracellular movement, and remodeling. Phospholipids are the major membrane lipid class, and phosphatidylcholine (PC) is the most abundant phospholipid in most eukaryotic biomembranes.

PC is primarily produced …

Development Of A Sonically Powered Biodegradable Nanogenerator For Bone Regeneration, Avi S. Patel

University Scholar Projects

Background: Reconstruction of bone fractures and defects remains a big challenge in orthopedic surgery. While regenerative engineering has advanced the field greatly using a combination of biomaterial scaffolds and stem cells, one matter of difficulty is inducing osteogenesis in these cells. Recent works have shown electricity’s ability to promote osteogenesis in stem cell lines when seeded in bone scaffolds; however, typical electrical stimulators are either (a) externally housed and require overcomplex percutaneous wires be connected to the implanted scaffold or (b) implanted non-degradable devices which contain toxic batteries and require invasive removal surgeries.

Objective: Here, we establish a biodegradable, piezoelectric …

Development Of A Sonically Powered Biodegradable Nanogenerator For Bone Regeneration, Avi Patel

Honors Scholar Theses

Background: Reconstruction of bone fractures and defects remains a big challenge in orthopedic surgery. While regenerative engineering has advanced the field greatly using a combination of biomaterial scaffolds and stem cells, one matter of difficulty is inducing osteogenesis in these cells. Recent works have shown electricity’s ability to promote osteogenesis in stem cell lines when seeded in bone scaffolds; however, typical electrical stimulators are either (a) externally housed and require overcomplex percutaneous wires be connected to the implanted scaffold or (b) implanted non-degradable devices which contain toxic batteries and require invasive removal surgeries.

Objective: Here, we establish a biodegradable, piezoelectric …

Decrypting Female Attractivity In Garter Snakes, Holly Rucker

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Pheromones are utilized by many species as sexual signals driving mate choice, and pheromone production in vertebrates hinges on sex hormone action. Female red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) produce a skin-based sex pheromone used by males for mate detection and selection. Estradiol is necessary for pheromone production, yet the specific mechanisms within the skin are unknown. Central to this is the metabolism of testosterone to estradiol via the enzyme aromatase. It is hypothesized that female garter snakes synthesize estradiol locally in the skin and maintain pheromone production via tissue-specific regulation of aromatase. Further, I hypothesize that female …