Cell Biology Commons^™

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 …

Analyzing The Effect Of Apoptotic Mutations On The State Of The Nascent-Polypeptide Associated Complex In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Monica Gerber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Cells experiencing misfolded protein stress can become debilitated and die, contributing to the onset of disease. The nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) is a heterodimeric translational chaperone that protects against misfolded protein stress by mediating proper protein folding and localization during translation. Depletion of this complex results in misfolded protein accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). To determine the importance of the NAC to proteostasis, we have previously depleted the complex in C.elegans via RNA interference and observed numerous dose-dependent effects, including apoptosis of neuronal cells and changes in gene expression of hypodermal cells. While we have observed these cell-specific responses …

The Role Of Zyxin And Limd1 In Mitosis And Cancer, Jiuli Zhou

Theses & Dissertations

The Hippo signaling pathway, originally discovered in Drosophila, consists of a core kinase cascade and has been subsequently demonstrated to control tissue growth and tumorigenesis. The core of this pathway contains MST1/2 (Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1/2), LATS1/2 (large tumor suppressor 1/2) and downstream effector named Yes-associated protein (YAP) and PDZ-binding motif (TAZ). MST1/2 transduce their kinase activity mainly through directly phosphorylating LATS1/2. Once phosphorylated and activated, LATS1/2 subsequently phosphorylate and inhibit YAP/TAZ from translocating to nucleus, thereby suppressing the expression of downstream pro-growth and survival genes. While recent studies provide important insight into the tumor suppressor properties of …

Identification Of Pathways Required For The Survival Of Inversion(16) Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Yiqian Wang

Theses & Dissertations

Inversion of chromosome 16 [inv(16)] acute myeloid leukemia (AML) generates a fusion gene CBFB-MYH11. Approximately half of inv(16) AML patients eventually relapse mainly due to the existence of leukemia stem cells (LSCs). Previous work using a Cbfb-MYH11 knockin mouse model showed that the LSCs are enriched within CSF2RB^- population. Another gene upregulated by Cbfb-MYH11 encodes the cytokine receptor IL1RL1. Using Cbfb-MYH11 knockin mice, we showed that LSCs exist in multiple sub-populations defined by their immunophenotype, and IL1RL1 is expressed by cell populations with high LSC activity. We also found that treatment of IL-33, the ligand for IL1RL1, promoted …

Developing Targeted Therapy Against Pancreatic Cancer, Garima Kaushik

Theses & Dissertations

Not available.

Anti-Crispr Vs. Crispr: The Evolutionary Arms Race Between Microorganisms, Rachael M. St. Jacques

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

CRISPR arrays are a defense mechanism employed by bacteria against viral invaders. Cas proteins do the work in detecting, capturing, and integrating the viral DNA into the CRISPR array (Barrangou et al., 2007). Anti-CRISPR proteins are produced by phages, viruses that infect bacteria, to stop the bacterial host’s CRISPR-Cas complex from interrupting the phage life cycle (Bondy-Denomy, et al., 2015).

SEA-PHAGES is a course-based bacteriophage research network composed of 120 colleges and known at James Madison University as Viral Discovery. JMU uses the unsequenced Streptomyces griseus ATCC10137 as a host for bacteriophage discovery and propagation, and in this study we …

Yfmk Is A Novel Nε-Lysine Acetyltransferase That Directly Acetylates The Histone-Like Protein Hbsu In Bacillus Subtilis, Valerie J. Carabetta, Todd M. Greco, Ileana M. Cristea, David Dubnau

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Recently, N^e-lysine acetylation was realized to be a prevalent bacterial post-translational modification (PTM), contrary to the historical notion that this was a rare occurrence. Acetylation can impact protein function in multiple ways, by modifying conformation, interactions, subcellular localization or activity. In bacteria, hundreds of proteins are known to be acetylated, including those involved essential processes such as DNA replication, nucleoid organization, translation, cell shape, central carbon metabolism, and even several virulence factors. Despite the growing recognition that numerous proteins are acetylated, the biological significance of the vast majority of these modifications in any bacteria remains largely unknown. Previously, …

Times Of Action And Evolutionary Conservation Of Heterochronic Genes, Maria Ivanova, Eric G. Moss

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Specific genes called heterochronic genes control the timing and sequence of developmental events during larval stages of C. elegans. Mutations in heterochronic genes can cause skipping or reiteration of cell fates associated with certain larval stages. lin-14 and lin-28 are two well-studied heterochronic genes. LIN-14 acts during the first larval stage (L1) and controls events of the L1 and L2 stages, LIN-28 acts during the L2 stage and controls its events.

A Dedicated Chaperone Mediates The Safe Transfer Of Mitoribosomal Proteins To Their Site Of Assembly, Gabrielle Ashley Hillman

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Mitochondrial ribosomes are functionally specialized for the synthesis of several essential inner membrane proteins of the respiratory chain. While remarkable progress has recently been made towards understanding the structure of mitoribosomes, the unique pathways and factors that facilitate their biogenesis remain largely unknown. This dissertation defines the physiological role of an evolutionarily conserved yeast protein called Mam33 in mitochondrial ribosome assembly. The biomedical relevance of this finding stems from the fact that mutations or changes in its expression of the human ortholog p32 result in mitochondrial dysfunction. In human patients, bi-allelic mutations cause severe multisystemic defects in mitochondrial energy metabolism, …

The Signaling Pathways Of Metallothionein-Mediated Chemotaxis In Breast Cancer, Jennifer Messina

University Scholar Projects

Metallothionein (MT) is a small, thiol rich protein released into the extracellular environment in response to stress. Elevated expression of MT has been linked to many inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases, diabetes, and cancer. In breast cancer, high expression of MT has been associated with poor patient prognosis. Previous studies have shown that MT acts as a chemoattractant in lymphocytes, and that UC1MT, a monoclonal anti-MT antibody, can block this chemotactic response. In addition, it has been shown that both Cholera toxin and Pertussis toxin, which are known antagonists of G-protein coupled receptors, can inhibit MT-mediated chemotaxis. Here, I …

Pcr Cloning: New Parameters For Managing Alzheimer’S Dementia, Asra Khan, Rehana Rehman, Saara Ahmad

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Developing A Modern Microbiology Laboratory Manual To Enhance Student Learning, Alexander Yonchak

Senior Honors Projects

My project has been addressing the issue of incorporating recent developments in biosafety and pedagogical approaches for lab-courses into our existing educational curriculum by developing a new, modern lab manual aimed at improving experiential learning for introductory microbiology teaching labs. Through researching the most recent safety regulations, industry standards, & guidelines for such teaching labs, my manual clearly delineates learning outcomes to match the skills expected of undergraduates completing degrees within the life sciences. In addition, the lab manual that I have designed has been modernized to incorporate the most recent recommended safety precautions and is written in a user-friendly …

The Role Of Ppal In The Moss Physcomitrella Patens., Noela M. Botaka

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Protein prenylation is a post-translational modification that involves the addition of lipid groups to the carboxy end of a target protein and is necessary for protein activity. Prenylation has important roles in the cell: targeting and localizing proteins to subcellular compartments and promoting protein-protein interactions. As a highly conserved process in eukaryotes, prenylation is especially important for plant development. In contrast to other eukaryotes, in which loss of prenylation components can be lethal, in the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the moss Physcomitrella patens, most are viable. Prior studies have shown that prenylation is involved in ABA hormone responses, …

Human Anatomy And Physiology I: Course Map With Expected Learning Outcomes, Carlos Liachovitzky

Open Educational Resources

This document contains a list with all the Anatomy and Physiology I expected learning outcomes organized by topics, and grouped into ten units: 1. Introduction to A&P: body plan & organization; 2. Introduction to A&P: homeostasis; 3. The chemical level of organization; 4. Levels of organization: the cellular level of organization; 5. Levels of organization: the tissue level of organization; 6. Support and movement: integumentary system; 7. Support and movement: skeletal system & articulations; 8. Support and movement: muscular system; 9. Regulation, integration, and control: nervous system; 10. Regulation, integration, and control: special senses

Each learning outcome is referred to …

Attenuated Responses To Inflammatory Cytokines In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells: Biological Implications And The Molecular Basis, Bohan Chen

Master's Theses

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have attracted intense interest due to their great potential for regenerative medicine. However, their immune property is an overlooked but a significant issue that needs to be thoroughly investigated not only to resolve the concern for therapeutic applications but also for further understanding the early stage of organismal development. Recent studies demonstrated that ESCs are deficient in innate immune responses to viral/bacterial infections and inflammatory cytokines. Inflammatory conditions generally inhibit cell proliferation, which could be detrimental to ESCs, since cell proliferation is their dedicated task during early embryogenesis. Thus, I hypothesize that the attenuated innate immunity …

An Oxanthroquinone Derivative Disrupts Ras Plasma Membrane Localization And Function By Inhibition Of Acylpeptide Hydrolase And Perturbation Of Sphingomyelin Metabolism, Lingxiao Tan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Oncogenic RAS proteins are commonly expressed in human cancer. To be functional, RAS proteins must undergo post-translational modification and localize to the plasma membrane (PM). Therefore, compounds that prevent RAS PM targeting have potential as putative RAS inhibitors. Here we examined the mechanism of action of oxanthroquinone G01 (G01), a recently described inhibitor of KRAS PM localization. We show that G01 mislocalized HRAS and KRAS from the PM with similar potency and disrupted the spatial organization of RAS proteins remaining on the PM. G01 also inhibited recycling of epidermal growth factor receptor and transferrin receptor, but did not impair internalization …

Embryonic Lethality Of Cranial Neural Crest Deletion Of Cdc73, Lilia Shen

Honors Scholar Theses

Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome is a disease characterized by parathyroid tumors, renal cysts or tumors, uterine tumors, and ossifying jaw fibromas. The cause of this syndrome is linked to a tumor suppressor gene called Cdc73, which encodes the protein product parafibromin. The loss of proper expression of Cdc73/parafibromin is implicated in the development of the tumors typical of HPT-JT, although the exact mechanisms of tumorigenesis are unclear. In particular, not much is understood about the development of ossifying fibromas (OF) of the jaw in this syndrome. OF is a benign bone neoplasm that can affect the mandible and …

The Signaling Pathways Of Metallothionein-Mediated Chemotaxis In Breast Cancer, Jennifer Messina

Honors Scholar Theses

Metallothionein (MT) is a small, thiol rich protein released into the extracellular environment in response to stress. Elevated expression of MT has been linked to many inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases, diabetes, and cancer. In breast cancer, high expression of MT has been associated with poor patient prognosis. Previous studies have shown that MT acts as a chemoattractant in lymphocytes, and that UC1MT, a monoclonal anti-MT antibody, can block this chemotactic response. In addition, it has been shown that both Cholera toxin and Pertussis toxin, which are known antagonists of G-protein coupled receptors, can inhibit MT-mediated chemotaxis. Here, I …

Spatial Reorganization Of Histone-Like Nucleoid Structuring Proteins Caused By Silver Nanoparticles, Meaad Alqahtany

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and ions (Ag+) can be the new generation of antibiotics due to their antimicrobial effects against bacteria and other microbes. Many studies have shown that AgNPs and suppress the growth of bacteria and damage the cell walls of the microbes; therefore, treating bacterial cells with AgNPs may be a promising method to terminate multi-resistant bacteria. In this work, the effect of AgNPs with two different surface coatings on the spatial reorganization of histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) proteins in Escherichia coli bacteria was investigated using quantitative super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to understand the toxicity and antimicrobial mechanism of AgNPs. …