Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Opa1 And Disease-Causing Mutants Perturb Mitochondrial Nucleoid Distribution, J. Macuada, I. Molina-Riquelme, G. Vidal, N. Pérez-Bravo, C. Vásquez-Trincado, G. Aedo, D. Lagos, P. Yu-Wai-Man, R. Horvath, T. J. Rudge, B. Cartes-Saavedra, V. Eisner

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Optic atrophy protein 1 (OPA1) mediates inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) fusion and cristae organization. Mutations in OPA1 cause autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA), a leading cause of blindness. Cells from ADOA patients show impaired mitochondrial fusion, cristae structure, bioenergetic function, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) integrity. The mtDNA encodes electron transport chain subunits and is packaged into nucleoids spread within the mitochondrial population. Nucleoids interact with the IMM, and their distribution is tightly linked to mitochondrial fusion and cristae shaping. Yet, little is known about the physio-pathological relevance of nucleoid distribution. We studied the effect of OPA1 and ADOA-associated mutants on …

Effects Of Sex, Cadmium, And High-Fat Diet On Accumulation Of Essential Metals In Mouse Kidneys., Justin Y. Xu, Adam Gaweda, Michelle Barati, Micheal Merchant, Jun Cai, Lu Cai, Madhavi J. Rane

The Cardinal Edge

Effects of cadmium and obesity on accumulation of essential metals in mouse kidney were evaluated. Starting in utero and continuing until 24 weeks postweaning, male/female mice were exposed to cadmium (0, 0.5, or 5 ppm) and were fed on Normal Diet (ND)/High-Fat Diet (HFD) post weaning. ICP-MS analysis was performed to evaluate cadmium and essential metals absorbed in the kidneys of aforementioned mice. Metals data obtained was analyzed using MANOVA with multiple comparisons (Bonferroni correction with p

Old Vs. New: An Experiment On The Efficacy Of Complexity-Focused Reproductive Biology Lectures For Undergraduate Biology Students, Ive N. Muse, Shraddha Patel, Linda Fuselier

The Cardinal Edge

Old vs. New: An Experiment on the Efficacy of Complexity-focused Reproductive Biology Lectures for Undergraduate Biology Students

Muse, Ive N.; Patel, Shraddha; Fuselier, Linda

Abstract

Undergraduate reproductive biology courses are traditionally taught in a reductive manner, prioritizing a binary understanding of sex which oversimplifies reproductive behaviors and reproductive system development across diverse taxa. Although this binary approach to lessons on reproduction is intended to benefit students in learning foundational human reproductive concepts, it does not teach the most recent research in reproductive biology, which identifies reproductive variation as the norm. The current study designed and implemented a lesson on reproductive …

Cumin Seed Extracts Can Affect The Expression Of P53 In Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Krista A. Wheeler, Jared L. Scott, David Schultz

The Cardinal Edge

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death amoung women after heart disease. One of the deadliest types of breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), is resistant to many chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapeutics that can inhibit TNBC growth are needed to combat this form of cancer. Historically, natural compounds found in plants have been studied for their effectiveness at limiting cancer cell growth while also reducing negative side effects due to lower toxicity to healthy cells. Many chemotherapeutics have serious side effects that can result in reduced treatment compliance, often leading to the recurrence of more aggressive and recalcitrant …

Anti-Aging Properties Of Cosmetics, Anna Lipinski

The Cardinal Edge

It is well established that external factors, specifically UV exposure, are among the highest contributors to the biological aging of the skin. Prolonged exposure may disrupt skin cell homeostasis through shifts in proteostasis, accumulation of reactive oxidative species, premature cellular senescence, and inflammatory pathways. Cosmetic companies have responded to this by producing products marketed as "youthful" and "anti-aging" by including specific compounds into formulas to combat skin aging. This review discusses the specific mechanisms of anti-aging formulas, including polyphenols as senotherapeutic agents and L-ascorbic acid as an anti-inflammatory compound, in resisting the biological aging of the skin.

A Hopeful Overview On Aging, Rafael Demarco

The Cardinal Edge

N/A

Dysfunction Of Polyamine Metabolism In Down Syndrome Related To Cellular Senescence And Β-Amyloid Production, Andres D. Sola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polyamines (PA) are ubiquitous in cells and highly involved in several important cellular functions and thus the dysregulation of their biosynthetic pathway is potentially associated with the progression of age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s’ disease (AD). Though there is research describing how PA content changes in organisms as they age or in those experiencing rapid aging from increased rates of senescence, as in Down syndrome (DS), it is not clear how this connection occurs and whether modulating this pathway may reveal downstream effects on related disease progression. This study examines how the modulation of the PA biosynthetic pathway by inhibition of …

Phagolysosomes Break Down The Membrane Of A Non-Apoptotic Corpse Independent Of Macroautophagy, Shruti Kolli, Cassidy J. Kline, Kimya M. Rad, Ann M. Wehman

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Cell corpses must be cleared in an efficient manner to maintain tissue homeostasis and regulate immune responses. Ubiquitin-like Atg8/LC3 family proteins promote the degradation of membranes and internal cargo during both macroautophagy and corpse clearance, raising the question how macroautophagy contributes to corpse clearance. Studying the clearance of non-apoptotic dying polar bodies in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, we show that the LC3 ortholog LGG-2 is enriched inside the polar body phagolysosome independent of autophagosome formation. We demonstrate that ATG-16.1 and ATG-16.2, which promote membrane association of lipidated Atg8/LC3 proteins, redundantly promote polar body membrane breakdown in phagolysosomes independent of their role …

Determining The Role Of The Histone Demethylase Kdm5b In Microglial Reactivity To Ethanol, Jessica Wohlfahrt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through their involvement in various processes such as phagocytosis of foreign materials and damaged cellular debris, regulatory factor release, and surveillance, the macrophages of the brain, microglia, maintain homeostasis within the central nervous system. These diverse microglial functions therefore require transition to a range of phenotypic states. The epigenetic regulation of this activity, especially through trimethylation of lysine 4 on histone H3, and its regulator, lysine demethylase (KDM)5B, is an emerging research area. KDM5B has been implicated in several diseases including cancer, inflammatory disorders, and alcohol use disorder (AUD), the latter being the focus of this dissertation project. Deep proteomic …

Enhancing Chemotherapy: Synergistic Action Of Cisplatin And Berberine Hydrochloride Against Osteosarcoma, Adam S. Al-Droubi, Andrea Florian

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer, is notably aggressive and prone to a rapid rate of metastasis. When the tumor is localized; the survival rate is approximately 76% and can often be treated with surgery. However, once metastasis occurs, the survival rate drops to 24% and must be treated with chemotherapy. The standard treatment for metastatic osteosarcoma typically involves combination therapeutics, with cisplatin being a key component despite its severe side effects. Unfortunately, osteosarcoma exhibits a natural resistance to chemotherapy driven by the overexpression of drug efflux pumps, DNA repair mechanisms, and apoptosis avoidance mutations. To address these …

Early Ctdna Kinetics As A Dynamic Biomarker Of Cancer Treatment Response, Aaron Li, Emil Lou, Kevin Leder, Jasmine Foo

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Predicting And Monitoring Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy Using Artificial Intelligence In Pancreatic Cancer, Guangbo Yu, Zigeng Zhang, Aydin Eresen, Qiaoming Hou, Farideh Amirrad, Sha Webster, Surya M. Nauli, Vahid Yaghmai, Zhuoli Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal cancers, primarily due to its late diagnosis and limited treatment options. This review examines the challenges and potential of using immunotherapy to treat pancreatic cancer, highlighting the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a promising tool to enhance early detection and monitor the effectiveness of these therapies. By synthesizing recent advancements and identifying gaps in the current research, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of how AI and immunotherapy can be integrated to develop more personalized and effective treatment strategies. The insights from this review may guide future research efforts …

Tak1 Blockade Plus Azacitidine Induces Apoptosis, Augments Cytarabine, And Ablates Clonogenicity In Mll-Af9+ Human Aml Cell Lines, Austin P. Runde, Cameron Lewis, Peter Breslin Sj, Jiwang Zhang

School of Medicine

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) encompasses a diverse group of cancers that originate in the blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow [1]. Aside from the PML-RARA⁺ subtype, AML carries a 5-year survival rate of 28% for patients 20+ years of age. AML is the most common cancer of the hematopoietic system and is slightly more common in biological males; the average age at diagnosis is 68 years. Standard frontline treatment for AML is a two-phase regimen of intensive chemotherapy (CTx) employing daunorubicin and cytarabine; etoposide may also be added in select regimens. Despite 60-70% of patients achieving complete remission (CR), …

Mechanisms Of Extracellular Vesicle Uptake And Implications For The Design Of Cancer Therapeutics, Stephanie R Jackson Cullison, Joseph P Flemming, Kubra Karagoz, Peter J Wermuth, Mỹ G Mahoney

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

The translation of pre-clinical anti-cancer therapies to regulatory approval has been promising, but slower than hoped. While innovative and effective treatments continue to achieve or seek approval, setbacks are often attributed to a lack of efficacy, failure to achieve clinical endpoints, and dose-limiting toxicities. Successful efforts have been characterized by the development of therapeutics designed to specifically deliver optimal and effective dosing to tumour cells while minimizing off-target toxicity. Much effort has been devoted to the rational design and application of synthetic nanoparticles to serve as targeted therapeutic delivery vehicles. Several challenges to the successful application of this modality as …

Srebp Versus Nrf1 Behavior Based On Cholesterol Sensing In Niemann-Pick Type C Using A Cos-7 Model, Christine Tran, Jacob Mcintyre, Felicity Sterling Phd

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a rare genetic disorder where cholesterol and lipid transport are blocked leading to accumulation in the lysosomes (National Organization of Rare Diseases (NORD), 2024; Boston Children’s Hospital). This accumulation can lead to neurological issues, such as developmental delay, ataxia, seizures, and early onset of dementia (Patterson, 2000). To study this disease more in depth, scientists have identified a drug called U18666A that induces NPC in the cells it is administered to (Lu, et al., 2015) which allows for the study of other structures and biomolecules in the sterol sensing and transport pathways.

Cholesterol has …

Advancing Crispr-Based Solutions For Covid-19 Diagnosis And Therapeutics, Roaa Hadi, Abhishek Poddar, Shivakuma Sonnaila, Venkata Suryanarayana Murthy Bhavaraju, Shilpi Agrawal

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a variety of diagnostic approaches, including RT-qPCR, RAPID, and LFA, have been adopted, with RT-qPCR emerging as the gold standard. However, a significant challenge in COVID-19 diagnostics is the wide range of symptoms presented by patients, necessitating early and accurate diagnosis for effective management. Although RT-qPCR is a precise molecular technique, it is not immune to false-negative results. In contrast, CRISPR-based detection methods for SARS-CoV-2 offer several advantages: they are cost-effective, time-efficient, highly sensitive, and specific, and they do not require sophisticated instruments. These methods also show promise for scalability, enabling diagnostic tests. …

The Role Of Siamese In G2 Checkpoint Regulation In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Martha A. Schwall

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cyclin-cyclin dependent kinase (Cyclin-CDK) pairs regulate progression through the checkpoints of the cell cycle. They bind with some specificity and must be bound to for their regulative properties to be active. The presence of cyclin-CDKs is conserved throughout eukaryotes, while differences in specifics exist between yeast, animals, and plants. In Arabidopsis, SIAMESE (SIM) is a CDK inhibitor that restricts progression through mitosis. Overexpression of SIM is required for endoreplication in Arabidopsis trichomes, and overexpression of SIM results in increased endoreplication in leaf epidermal cells. SIM is expressed at high levels in the root elongation zone, where it plays a …

Selective Pericyte Recruitment To Ec-Lined Tubes, Vessel Assembly Enhancement Through Pericyte Timp-3 Induction, And Pericyte Tbx2 In Capillary Formation And Maturation, Ksenia Marilyn Yrigoin Kaluguina

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Capillaries, the smallest blood vascular networks, are formed by narrow and elongated endothelial cell (EC)-lined tubes with associated pericytes anchored to the abluminal tube surface. Our laboratory demonstrated that dynamic interactions between ECs and pericytes during capillary tube network assembly are required for basement membrane matrix deposition and maturation. We have also shown that key EC-derived factors promote pericyte recruitment, proliferation, and pericyte-induced basement membrane formation during capillary assembly. In the first section, we aim to identify if vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) respond to the same factors and have the same invasive ability as pericytes since they are both …

Ferroptotic Cardiomyocytes Regulate Angiogenesis In The Regenerative Mouse Heart After Myocardial Infarction Through Direct And Indirect Mechanisms, Rebecca Ashley Stairley

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the United States, and heart attack occurs every 40 seconds in the US. A myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack, results in ischemic injury and cardiomyocyte (CM) death. Mature mammalian CM renewal in the heart is insufficient to repopulate the lost tissue. However, the neonatal mouse heart retains its regenerative capacity through the first week of life, providing a valuable model to identifying regenerative factors.

Recent work by our lab revealed that the main mechanism of CM death in the heart post-MI is ferroptosis. In this study, we investigate the …

Identification Of New Leads Against Ubiquitin Specific Protease-7 (Usp7): A Step Towards The Potential Treatment Of Cancers, Sumaira Javaid, Seema Zadi, Muhammad Awais, Atai-Tul Wahab, Humaira Zafar, Innokentiy Maslennikov, M. Iqbal Choudhary

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Ubiquitin-specific protease-7 (USP7) is an important drug target as it regulates multiple proteins and genes (such as MDM2 and p53) with roles in cancer progression. Its inhibition can hinder the function of oncogenes, increase tumor suppression, and enhance immune response. The current study was designed to express USP7 in a prokaryotic system, followed by screening of small molecules against it using biophysical methods, primarily STD-NMR technique. Among them, 12 compounds showed interaction with USP7 as inferred from NMR-based screening. These compounds further caused destabilization of USP7 by reducing its melting temperature (T_m) up to 6 °C in …