Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Molecular Event In Hrp Apoptosis, Laura Valdez

Research Colloquium

Background: Human retinal pericytes (HRP) are contractile cells providing support for endothelial cells of capillaries, essential in the regulation of retinal vasculature. Early stages of DR are characterized by the loss of HRP, leading to angiogenesis. Our preliminary studies identified monocyte-derived macrophages secrete TGF-β1, inducing the expression and secretion of a TGFβ1-Induced, pro-apoptotic BIGH3 protein leading to apoptosis of HRP. Based on a preliminary study in renal cells (unpublished data), CTP with an RGD domain is released from BIGH3 by proteolysis leading to renal cell apoptosis. In the present study, we employed Western Blots to determine if a similar molecular …

Irbp In Diabetic Retinopathy – Cell Culture & Ophthalmic Pathology Studies, Laura Valdez

Research Colloquium

Background: Interphotoreceptor-Retinoid-Binding-Protein (IRBP) is restricted to the subretinal space by the external limiting membrane and RPE zonulae occludens. Its expression is reduced in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and increased expression is protective. Hypoxia decreases viable conelike photoreceptors (661W) but increased VEGF, suggesting a role of photoreceptors in proliferative DR (PDR) (Rodriguez et al, Arch Clin Exp. Ophthal 3:23,2021). Here, we investigated the effects of high glucose and VEGF on IRBP expression by 661W and rod-like Y79 cells and distribution of IRBP and albumin in human globes with PDR and NPDR.

Methods:  661W and Y79 cells were cultured in DMEM or RPMI …

Xrk3f2 Inhibits P62 Signaling And Augments Myeloma Killing By Proteasome Inhibitors, Ellen Trautman, Colin Crean, David Halladay, Attaya Suvannasankha

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Background:

Despite advancements in therapy, multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable blood cancer. Our mission is to maximize the efficacy of a primary treatment for myeloma, proteasome inhibitors (PIs) which cause intracellular waste buildup, leading to ER stress and cell death. p62(sequestosome-1) provides an alternate pathway when the proteasome is inhibited, by breaking down cytotoxic material via autophagy. Upregulation of p62 is associated with PI resistance. We identified a small molecule, XRK3F2, that binds to the ZZ domain of p62 and inhibits its autophagic function. We hypothesized that XRK3F2 would improve MM killing when combined with PIs.

Methods Used:

We …

Examining The Ph Switch Of Copper-Zinc Superoxide Dismutase Mutant A4v, Ty Jungman

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive loss to motor neurons. Buildup of superoxide anions (O2-) and aggregation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) is thought to be probable causes of damage to the neurons. This damage results in the progressive loss of function in the neurons resulting in flaccid paralysis. Superoxide anions were originally thought to cause irreparable damage to the motor neurons; however, recent studies have shown that the aggregation of SOD causes damage to the cell. Furthermore, the ability for the SOD1 to get metalated to dissuade aggregation has become an important topic of study in …

Sars-Cov-2: Tale Of A Microscopic Murderer, Josiah P. Garner

Quest

Independent Study

Research in progress for BIOL1406: Biology for Science Majors I

Faculty Mentor: Amina Tassa, Ph.D.

I am delighted to introduce Josiah Garner’s “SARS-CoV-2: Tale of a Microscopic Murderer.” This independent study assignment explores the impact of a novel, deadly, and worldwide virus. The assignment also examines the fast development of vaccines to control the spread and reduce the symptoms of the virus.

Josiah’s paper focuses on the early history of the emergence of COVID-19, the world response, and vaccine development. He demonstrates critical thinking skills and effectively utilizes various research methods to obtain and communicate his information. Josiah …

A Colonial-Nesting Seabird Shows Limited Heart Rate Responses To Natural Variation In Threats Of Polar Bears, Erica A. Geldart, Oliver P. Love, Andrew F. Barnas, Christopher M. Harris, H. Grant Gilchrist, Christina A.D. Semeniuk

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Several predator-prey systems are in flux as an indirect result of climate change. In the Arctic, earlier sea-ice loss is driving polar bears (Ursus maritimus) onto land when many colonial nesting seabirds are breeding. The result is a higher threat of nest predation for birds with potential limited ability to respond. We quantified heart rate change in a large common eider (Somateria mollissima) breeding colony in the Canadian Arctic to explore their adaptive capacity to keep pace with the increasing risk of egg predation by polar bears. Eiders displayed on average higher heart rates from baseline when polar bears were …

Predicted Structure And Analysis Of The Glycoprotein From Sars-Cov-2 Variants Of Interest, Boris Shabaltiy

Honors Theses

SARS-CoV-2 has had a devastating effect on the world, and while the public concern and severity of the diseased caused by it have decreased, it is still crucial to monitor the virus for mutations so we can rapidly identify new variants of concern, and then rapidly prepare new vaccines and treatments. The SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein from the first isolates of the virus (root variant) was structurally characterized in early 2021. The spike protein structure, designated 7CZW, was uploaded to RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB). All subsequent mutations the S protein has accumulated are based on the amino acid …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, September - October 2023, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 New Faculty an Staff for the Fall 2023 Semester
Page 3 Awards
Page 4 Student Ambassadors in CNS
Page 5 Meet our Jacks
Page 6-8 Events
Page 9-11 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 12-13 Spring 2023 Dean's List
Page 14 Open PRAIRIE Data

Functional Characterization Of The Human And Murine Schlafen Family Group Iii, Carlos A. Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Schlafen (SLFN) family of proteins are known for being encoded by interferon stimulated genes. The family is divided into three groups (I, II, III), for which the largest in size belong to the subgroup III. In humans, group III has the most members (SLFN5, SLFN11, SLFN13 and SLFN14); there is no member of group I and only one member of group II (SLFN12). All human SLFNs belonging to group III have been reported to impair viral protein expression or infection across a variety of viruses. The antiviral function is mediated in SLFN11 and SLFN13 by their tRNase activity, and …

Factors Influencing Instructors’ Adoption And Continued Use Of Computing Science Technologies: A Case Study In The Context Of Cell Collective, Changsoo Song, Resa M. Helikar, Wendy Smith, Tomáš Helikar

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Acquiring computational modeling and simulation skills has become ever more critical for students in life sciences courses at the secondary and tertiary levels. Many modeling and simulation tools have been created to help instructors nurture those skills in their classrooms. Understanding the factors that may motivate instructors to use such tools is crucial to improve students’ learning, especially for having authentic modeling and simulation learning experiences. This study designed and tested a decomposed technology acceptance model in which the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use constructs are split between the teaching and learning sides of the technology to examine …

Computational Investigation Of Mononuclear Iron Water Oxidation Catalyst Design, Kristal Stevens, Emily Jarvis

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Works

Hydrogen production from non-carbon sources is an essential component of clean and sustainable technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fuels. Water oxidation, which splits water molecules into hydrogen (protons) and molecular oxygen, is a thermodynamically challenging, multistep reaction achieved in photosynthetic organisms via photocatalysis by the Oxygen Evolving Complex (OEC) of Photosystem II. Mononuclear water oxidation catalysts that aim to mimic nature typically rely on heavy, rare metals such as ruthenium and iridium. Replacing these metals with iron is particularly appealing because it is abundant, benign, and inexpensive. We use density functional theory to characterize the catalytic ability of …

Biomechanical Adaptations While Performing Bilateral Drop Landings With A Unilateral Ankle Tape Application, Eric Daniel Jenkins

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Ankle sprains are the most common injury in sport and exercise performance, which makes the utilization of ankle taping a common procedure to both prevent potential sprain, as well as protect against reinjury. However, unilateral ankle taping may have unintended consequences on the mechanics of the ankle and other joints of both legs. The aim of this dissertation was to determine the effects of ankle taping on lower body kinetics and kinematics, stiffness, and coordination during a bilateral landing task.

Twelve female participants completed a total of 90 drop landings across two visits, randomized from landing platforms of 30, 45, …

Structural Insights Into The Cl-Par-4 Protein: Ionic Requirements, Conformational Transitions, And Interaction With Cisplatin, Krishna Kumar Raut

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Cancer continues to be the leading global cause of death, with challenges in early diagnosis, drug resistance, non-specific drug targeting, and cancer recurrence and metastasis posing formidable obstacles in cancer therapy. In this context, Prostate Apoptosis Response-4 (Par-4), a pro-apoptotic tumor suppressor protein, emerged as a promising therapeutic target due to its ability to selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells, thereby minimizing the drug-associated adverse effects. However, a comprehensive understanding of the structural features of Par-4, specifically the caspase-cleaved fragment (cl-Par-4), is crucial for therapeutic advancements.

This dissertation investigated the effects of various ions, both monovalent and divalent, on the …

Blood Coagulation Factor Ix: Purification, Activation, Crystallization, Juliet Mcgill

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper presents readers with an optimized procedure for the purification, activation, and crystallization of selected blood coagulation Factor IX double mutant (FIX_2). Through the completion of this work, we aim to enhance future biochemical and structural studies by providing an easier means for the FIX_2 production, in order to increase understanding of the protein’s function within the blood coagulation cascade. The initiation of the blood coagulation cascade is brought on by activation of inactive Factor VIII (FVIII) protein though contact with tissue factor, the FVIII protein then binds to an activated platelet surface where it must wait for its …

Standardization Of A Technique For Obtaining Dna From Footprints, Gibrán Galindo-Martinez, Karla Villarreal-Sotelo, Cynthia Marisol Vargas-Orozco, Ernesto Leal-Sotelo, Ignacio Hernandez-Rodriguez, José Francisco Flores-Gómez, Esperanza Milagros Garcia-Oropesa

Research Symposium

Currently our country has high numbers of missing persons, Tamaulipas being one of the states with the highest rate of disappearances. The identification of people has become more important thanks to the development of molecular techniques. However, the limitations are very high, because it is necessary to compare the genetic pattern of the disappeared with the parents. Therefore, the objective of this research is to standardize a genomic DNA extraction technique from contact surfaces for its subsequent implementation in the identification of disappeared, allowing the comparison of the genetic pattern with the disappeared itself. For this, genomic DNA extraction was …

Natural Remedies To Combat Aberrant Hallmark Signatures Including Altered Glycosylation In Oral Carcinoma, Kruti A. Mehta, Jayendra B. Patel, Prabhudas S. Patel

Research Symposium

Background: Tobacco associated oral cancers remain a major concern in India with higher incidence and mortality making it an Indian-centric burning issue. To combat this dreadful disease, we investigated effects of certain natural compounds on the hallmark signatures including glycosylation transcripts levels in oral carcinoma.

Methods: The tongue carcinoma cells- SAS cells were treated with tobacco compounds, natural compounds and Cisplatin. RNA was isolated from the cells and converted to cDNA. RT-qPCR was performed to evaluate expression levels of various genes.

Results: The treatment of tobacco compounds resulted in similar pattern of altered makers (ST3GAL1, NEU3, FUT5, FUT6, MMP2, BCL2) …

Hpv Imprints In Western India: The Overlooked Criteria For Cancer Profiling, Ashi R. Thobias, Jayendra B. Patel, Prabhudas P. Patel

Research Symposium

Background: In India, HPV infection detection for cancer-typing has been largely evaded. Especially, data on prevalence of HPV types other than the highly prevalent HPV 16 and 18 are lacking, particularly from the western region. Thus, present study aimed to evaluate prevalence of HPV strains in three most prevailing cancers in India i.e. cervical, oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

Materials & methods: DNA was isolated from tissue samples of 400 cervical cancer cases, 127 oral cancer cases and 75 oropharyngeal cancer cases and endpoint PCR was performed using degenerative primers MY 09/11, GP 5+/6+ and CP I/II. TS-PCR was conducted to …

Effect Of Igf-1 On Post-Translational Modifications (Ptms) On A Model Of Diabetes-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy In H9c2 Cardiomyoblast Cell Line, Andres Medina, Lizbeth Trevino, Alejandra Salinas, Yadira Chaires, Erick Rodriguez

Research Symposium

Background: Diabetic cardiomyocytes alter their post-translational modification levels, especially in OGlcNAcylation and Phosphorylation. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a peptide known to induce favorable cardiovascular effects in patients with heart failure. Here, we focus on the downstream effects of IGF-1 as a potential DCM treatment.

Methods: H9c2 cells were cultured in DMEM-10% FBS at 80% of confluence. As a cellular model of cardiac hypertrophy, we used a high-glucose medium (30 mM glucose) in the presence or absence of 10 µmol/L of IGF-1 (HG and HG+IGF-1). As control groups, we used cells cultured in low-glucose DMEM (glucose 5mM) in the …

Novel Therapy Targeting Mutant-Krasg12d And Galectin-1 In Pancreatic Cancer, Ana I. Martinez Bulnes, Sheema Khan, Dan Ninroy, Poornima Devi Shaji, Swathi Holla, Murali M. Yallapu, Subhash C. Chauhan

Research Symposium

Introduction: Although, surgical resection and chemotherapy are the gold standard for treating Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC), low patient survival rate remains the problem. The activating point mutation of the KRAS on codon-12 is present in 70–95% of PDAC cases and so far, no success has been achieved to inhibit KRAS. KRASG12D regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis. Recent preliminary and published studies show high Galectin-1 (Gal-1) levels in both pancreatic cancer and stromal cells, which modulate tumor microenvironment and metastasis. Additionally, genetic deletion of gal1 inhibits metastasis and improves survival in KRAS mouse model of PDAC (1). Therefore, our objective is …

Identification Of Tectorigenin As A Natural Pro-Hypoxia Compound: Implications In Modulation Of Cellular Differentiation And Senescence, Mallika Khurana, Renu Wadhwa, Sunil Kaul

Research Symposium

Background: Hypoxia, a suboptimal level of oxygen, evokes stress response in cells and activated hypoxia signaling has been largely established as a pro-metastasis and pro-angiogenic factor for tumor cells. On the other hand, age-related neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by hypoxic environment, accumulation of molecular garbage and induction of premature senescence. Several recent studies have reported anti-stress impact of the intermittent induction of hypoxia signaling in these cells.

Methods: Screening of a phytochemical library using Hypoxia Responsive Element (HRE) driven luciferase as a reporter was carried out to identify hypoxia-modulating phytochemicals. Activation of HIF-1a (master regulator of hypoxia signaling) was validated …