Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Exchange Protein Directly Activated By Camp (Epac1) Protects Human Endothelial Cells From Tumor Necrosis Factor-⍺ (Tnf-⍺) Induced Cell Death, Anh Luu, Abigail Carpenter, Rosetta Tolley

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Millions of people are affected by diseases involving inflammatory states such as sepsis. Sepsis is associated with elevated tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-⍺) which mediates inflammation. Excessive TNF-⍺ contributes to death of endothelial cells (EC) with subsequent disruption of vascular endothelial function. Exchange Factor Directly Activated by cAMP (EPAC1) is a cyclic-AMP (cAMP) sensor that regulates multiple EC functions. We hypothesized that EPAC1 activation affects the response of EC to TNF-a. Microvascular EC were pretreated for 45 minutes with 100 mM 8-pCPT-2′-O-Me-cAMP (8-CPT, specific EPAC1 activator) or 10 mM forskolin (adenylyl cyclase activator that increases cAMP), then exposed to 5 …

Bis-Cinnamamide Derivatives As Ape/Ref-1 Inhibitors For The Treatment Of Human Melanoma, Razan Alhazmi, Shirley Tong, Shaban Darwish, Elina Khanjani, Bharti Khungar, Swati Chawla, Zhonghui Zheng, Richard Chamberlain, Keykavous Parang, Sun Yang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Human malignant melanoma exhibits imbalances in redox status, leading to activation of many redox-sensitive signaling pathways. APE/Ref-1 is a multifunctional protein that serves as a redox chaperone that regulates many nuclear transcription factors and is an important mechanism in cancer cell survival of oxidative stress. Previous studies showed that APE/Ref-1 is a potential druggable target for melanoma therapy. In this study, we synthesized a novel APE/Ref-1 inhibitor, bis-cinnamoyl-1,12-dodecamethylenediamine (2). In a xenograft mouse model, compound 2 treatment (5 mg/kg) significantly inhibited tumor growth compared to the control group, with no significant systemic toxicity observed. We further synthesized compound …

Computational Analysis Of Myxococcus Xanthus Gliding Motility With Varying Cellular Growth Rate, Laura Batista, Akeisha Belgrave

Harrisburg University Research Symposium: Highlighting Research, Innovation, & Creativity

This project focuses on determining the effects of varying growth rates on bacteria motility. Cell growth has been shown to affect peptidoglycan biosynthesis, interacting indirectly with the motility complex that spans across the bacteria. This complex adheres to the external surface via focal adhesion complexes that exert a mechanical force to push the cell forward. Affecting bacteria growth rate, affects peptidoglycan biosynthesis, & should therefore affect M. xanthus motility. (Independent Research)

The Effects Of Paclitaxel On Cellular Migration And The Cytoskeleton, Ashley Salguero-Gonzalez

Thinking Matters Symposium

In a clinical setting, some patients are exposed to an anti-cancer chemotherapy agent, paclitaxel. Cancerous cells undergo rapid, continuous cell division without control. Chemotherapy treatments try to slow and stop the uncontrollable cell division cycles and eliminate cancerous cells in the process. Paclitaxel serves as a treatment for some types of cancers, including lung, melanoma, bladder, and esophageal. Because it targets the cytoskeleton, paclitaxel can also influence cell migration. This project utilizes a cellular migration assay and an immunohistochemistry assay to analyze the effects of paclitaxel on the movement of cells and on the cytoskeleton of neuroglia rat cells with …

Spr-5; Met-2 Maternal Reprogramming Cooperates With The Dream Complex To Regulate Developmental Cell Fates, Jazmin Dozier, Sandra Nguyen, Brandon Carpenter

Symposium of Student Scholars

Histone methylation is a post-transcriptional modification to the N-terminal tails of histone core proteins that regulates DNA accessibility, and consequently, gene expression. Like DNA, histone methylation can be inherited between generations, and is highly regulated during embryonic development. At fertilization, histone methylation must undergo maternal reprogramming to reset the epigenetic landscape in the new zygote. During maternal reprogramming of histone methylation in the nematode, C. elegans, H3K4me (a modification associated with active transcription) is removed by the H3K4 demethylase, SPR-5, and H3K9me (a modification associated with transcriptional repression) is subsequently added by the histone methyltransferase, MET-2. Recently, it was …

Utilization Of Bioinformatics And Immunocytochemistry To Examine Gap Junction Expression In Breast Cancers Cells, Jasmine D. Carter, Giovanni Reyes, Abeeha K. Choudhary, Eric A. Albrecht

Symposium of Student Scholars

Utilization of Bioinformatics and Immunocytochemistry to Examine Gap Junction Expression in Breast Cancers Cells.

Jasmine D. Carter¹, Giovanni Reyes¹, Abeeha Choudhary² and Eric A. Albrecht¹

Breast cancer is known for its diverse clinical classifications and expressing different levels of membrane proteins such as ion channels and gap junctions. This diversity allows more variations in cell polarization, which can lead to enhanced directional ion fluxes in certain breast cancer subtypes. We utilized the interactive web portal UALCAN to evaluate the gene expression data of gap junctions, ion exchange channels and cytoskeletal proteins in breast cancer …

Tissue-Specific Diversity Of The Muscleblind Expression In Adult Flies., Davron Hanley, Anton Bryantsev

Symposium of Student Scholars

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Kennesaw State University

The muscleblind (mbl) family of RNA-binding proteins regulates alternative splicing, determining mRNA transcript composition for various types of tissue, and has been implicated in myotonic dystrophy. The mbl gene is subject to alternative splicing in Drosophila, leading to multiple isoforms, and has several paralogs in humans. Mbl proteins vary significantly in length, although the significance of such diversity and the role of specific isoforms have not been fully explored.

Using immunofluorescence microscopy and polyclonal serum, we analyzed Mbl protein expression across adult Drosophila tissues. Mbl was detected in …

Investigating The Efficacy Of Tazemetosttat For In Vitro Treatment Of Human Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells, Harshita Indukuri

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Cancer is a formidable, genetic disease that affects many people, either directly or indirectly. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide (31). Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a type of breast cancer that has a higher lethality compared to other breast cancers and has a poor prognosis due to its highly invasive nature and limited treatment options. Finding safe, effective, and accessible treatment for TNBC is integral to treating TNBC patients. Tazemetostat is an EZH2-inhibitor that has recently been approved for use in epithelioid sarcoma (23). EZH2 is an overexpressed protein in many cancers, including TNBC (11). However, …

Investigation Of Iron Homeostasis In Colon Tumorigenesis, Hyeoncheol Kim Ph.D.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Iron is essential part of the human metabolism. It is a catalytic co-factor for many proteins, but it generates harmful reactive oxygen species in human body. Also, many irons metabolic genes are changes in human cancer cells compared to normal cells, leading to iron accumulation in cancer cells especially in colorectal cancer.

Due to iron’s significant role in colorectal cancer promotion, much research is focused on its role in colorectal cancer genesis. But some important metabolic aspects are not fully addressed and researched. One key aspect of iron on colorectal cancer cell progression is hemin iron. Much research warned hemin …

The Effect Of Ethanolic Echinacea Purpurea Root Extracts On The Production Of Pro-Inflammatory Mediators In Raw 264.7 Murine Macrophages, Trey T. Nguyen

Student Scholar Showcase

Echinacea purpurea, commonly known as the purple coneflower, is utilized in medicinal preparations due to potential immunostimulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. Present bioactive metabolites such as alkamides, polysaccharides, and caffeic acid derivatives provide pharmacological elements essential to mitigating symptoms produced by upper respiratory illnesses. The chemical composition of E. purpurea holds medicinal value, but there remains controversy surrounding the efficacy of its use in medicine. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of an 75% ethanolic E. purpurea root extract on LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. Treatment groups included ethanolic E. purpurea extract (3µL, 15µL, 30µL), …

Feasibility Of Tubulin As A Control For Gene Expression Following Transfection In Mouse Monocyte/Macrophage-Like Cells, Ankita Chabra

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Transfection, which is the ability to modify host cells’ genetic content, has broad application in studying normal cellular processes, molecular mechanism of disease and gene therapy. There are several transfection techniques, and all require either a control or a reference gene. Commonly used controls for transfection experiments are housekeeping genes, which maintain expression for a given cell/tissue, experimental conditions, and treatment. However, recent research has uncovered that expression levels of housekeeping genes may vary depending on the gene, cell type and experimental conditions. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that housekeeping genes are inadequate internal standards for measuring gene expression …

Chronic Alcohol Exposure Induces Hepatocyte Damage By Inducing Oxidative Stress, Satb2 And Stem Cell-Like Characteristics, And Activating Lipogenesis, Wei Yu, Yiming Ma, Sushant K. Shrivastava, Rakesh K. Srivastava, Sharmila Shankar

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Alcohol is a risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular mechanism by which chronic alcohol consumption contributes to HCC is not well understood. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the effects of chronic ethanol exposure on the damage of human normal hepatocytes. Our data showed that chronic exposure of hepatocytes with ethanol induced changes similar to transformed hepatocytes that is, exhibited colonies and anchorage-independent growth. These damaged hepatocytes contained high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and showed induction of the SATB2 gene. Furthermore, damaged hepatocytes gained the phenotypes of CSCs which expressed stem cell markers …

Targeted Osmotic Lysis: A Novel Approach To Targeted Cancer Therapies, Harry J. Gould, Dennis Paul

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The conventional treatment of cancer has been based on the delivery of non-selective toxins and/or ionizing energy that affect both the cancer and normal tissues in the hope of destroying the offending disease before killing the patient. Unfortunately, resistance often develops to these treatments and patients experience severe, dose-limiting adverse effects that reduce treatment efficacy and compromise quality of life. Recent advances in our knowledge of the biology of tumor cells and their microenvironment, the recognition of surface proteins that are unique to specific cancers and essential to cell growth and survival and signaling pathways associate with invasion and metastasis …

Investigating The Role Of The Basolateral Amygdala Plays In The Incubation Of Cue-Induced Cocaine Seeking Behavior, Claire Marie Corbett

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Cocaine use disorder is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. Sex and ovarian hormones are known to influence cocaine addiction liability and relapse vulnerability. However, little is known regarding the cellular and synaptic mechanisms contributing to sex differences in relapse vulnerability, including how these measures are influenced by hormonal fluctuations. To investigate sex differences in relapse vulnerability we use a rodent model of cocaine craving and relapse called the incubation model in which cue-induced seeking progressively increases or “incubates” during the first month of withdrawal from extended-access cocaine self-administration. Using this model, we have recently shown that females in the estrus …

Generating A Colorimetric Ssa4 Transcript Export Reporter For Multicopy Suppression Screen In S. Cerevisiae, Zaid Hatem

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

The export of mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is a regulatory point that is essential to the pathway of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. The export of mRNA transcripts is mediated through selective doorways called the nuclear pore complexes (NPC). Additionally, there are proteins associated with the nuclear pore complex that assist in facilitating the export. This includes association with the export receptor, Mex67, which binds to the transcript and ferries it through NPCs. During cellular stress, such as heat shock, the export of housekeeping mRNA transcripts is halted, forcing these transcripts to remain inside the nucleus and …

Developing An Electroporation Method For Transforming Streptomyces Nymphaeiformis, Heather Knott, Stephen Baron

Honors Projects

Streptomyces species are notoriously difficult to transform. Streptomyces nymphaeiformis is no different, so a method of electroporation was used to attempt to transform the cells. Multiple growth stages were used in order to alter the degree of development of the cell wall. The procedure did not kill the cells, but the cells were not transformed. Due to the lack of transformation with S. nymphaeiformis, transformation was attempted on two other Streptomyces strains, S. lividans and S. coelicolor. Neither was successfully transformed to thiostrepton (tsr) resistance, nor did they grow on a plate lacking thiostrepton. One possibility for the …

The Roles Of Individual Proteins In De Novo Recruitment Of Pcg Repressive Complexes To Giant, Anni Kum

Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Epigenetic gene regulation is the process by which external factors regulate the genome. This research studies Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins which function as epigenetic agents that work together in complexes to maintain gene silencing for multiple cellular generations. Drosophila melanogaster PcG proteins can be organized into three canonical complexes: Pho-RC, PRC1, and PRC2. Though there are multiple proposed models for the order of recruitment, it is generally accepted that PhoRC, PRC1, and PRC2 interact with each other to stably recruit to a target gene. Since these proteins are highly conserved, this project studies PcG proteins in the model organism, Drosophila …

Identification And Characterization Of An Ftsq-Null Suppressor Gene In Streptomyces, Alexandra Sherman

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Streptomyces coelicolor is a filamentous Gram-positive soil bacterium that grows similarly to fungi. The bacteria grow together in a mycelium-like structure that produces aerial hyphae above the media surface for sporulation. Evenly spaced crosswalls develop during cell division of the aerial filaments with the aid of division genes, including ftsZ and ftsQ. These cell division genes are essential for growth in the common bacterium and if silenced will cause the bacterium to die. Streptomyces uniquely retains the ability for growth after a deletion of either the ftsZ or ftsQ gene which causes a loss of septum formation in the …

Characterization Of A Medium-Dependent Streptomyces Developmental Mutant, Dylan Gray, Jennifer A. Bennett

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Streptomyces coelicolor is a soil-dwelling, Gram-positive Actinobacteria. Streptomyces species produce thousands of secondary metabolites which include many antibiotics used in medicine today. In Streptomyces development, as colonies grow, secondary metabolites are produced, and ultimately mature spores are dispersed. The production of each of these secondary metabolites in wild-type Streptomyces is determined by a distinct biosynthetic pathway. In order to identify new genes for antibiotic production and other aspects of development, an engineered Tn5-derived transposon was used to mutagenize wild-type cells in vivo and produce single, stable insertions.

Colonies that were visually distinct from the wild type were selected for further …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, March & April 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 3

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2-3 Awards and Recognition
Page 4 2022 URSCAD - CNS Snaps
Page 5 Geography Convention Recap
Page 6 Attention Students!
Page 7-8 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 9 Spring Break Outreach, Adopt the Pantry,
Page 10 Discovery on Tap Event
Page 11 CNS Students Visit State Capital
Page 12 Celebrating 50 Years of Sally
Page 13 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 14 Grants Awarded and Bio-Micro Day of Scholars
Page 15 -17 2022 Geography Convention Snaps
Page 18 Sally Krueger's 50th Work Anniversary