Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons^™

Role Of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Placental Growth Factor And Cytokines On Outer Blood Retinal Barrier Breakdown., Sangeetha Sukumaran

Masters

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect of the VEGF family of growth factors and
cytokines TNF- α and IL-1β on oBRB function. The human RPE line ARPE-19 was
employed as an in vitro model of the oBRB. Two-Dimensional gel electrophoresis was
employed to study the effect of growth factors on the RPE proteome. The barrier properties of
the oBRB were evaluated by expression of the TJ proteins occludin or Zo-1, or claudins-1, 2,
3 and 4, determined by western blotting analysis. Claudins 2, 3 and 4 were found to be
significantly up-regulated by TNF-α, while interleukin …

Cloning Of A Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Marker Into A Rna Interference Construct To Test Whether The Photoreceptor Chlamyrhodopsin Is Involved In Circadian Clock Resetting, Shravya Reddy Maddi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular eukaryotic green alga, serves as a model organism to study the circadian clock in plants and animals. Rhodopsins are blue/green-light photoreceptors also found in C. reinhardtii. Chlamyrhodopsin (COP), the most abundant eyespot protein, was reported to have no role in the phototactic and photophobic responses in C. reinhardtii. Its function is yet unknown.
In the present study, we hypothesized that the function of COP is to mediate entrainment of the circadian clock by light. In order to test this hypothesis, a C. reinhardtii selection marker conferring resistance to the antibiotic paromomycin was cloned …

Caffeine Supplementation And Moderate Intensity Exercise Modulates The Cytotoxic Lymphocyte Subset (Cd+8) In Naive And Tolerant Individuals, Elizabeth Ann Fedor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of caffeine supplementation on caffeine tolerant and caffeine naïve individual’s lymphocyte counts, apoptosis and migration levels. In addition, effects of exercise on post-caffeine ingestion lymphocyte counts, apoptosis and migration levels were determined. It was hypothesized that caffeine would alter the immune system cell counts, but that exercise would be able to restore the immune system to homeostasis. Seventeen Western Kentucky University students were tested (males n=7, females n=10; n=7: caffeine tolerant= 200mg or more per day group, n=9: caffeine naïve= 50mg or less per day group). In this double-blind investigation, …

Micropropagation And Acclimatization Of 'Norton' Grapevine (Vitis Aestivalis), Brant B. Bigger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Propagation of the Vitis aestivalis cultivar 'Norton‘ (syn='Cynthiana‘) through traditional woody cuttings has been difficult. Rooting of woody cuttings has been a major hindrance in propagating this cultivar and providing enough plants to meet grower needs. In vitro propagation offers another method of increasing plant material. Cultures were established and maintained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 4 M 6-benzyladenine (BA) and thiamine at 0.5 mg•L^-1 and solidified with Difco-Bacto agar at 7.5 g•L^-1. The objectives of this study were to determine optimal methods for in vitro production and ex vitro establishment of 'Norton‘ plantlets. …

Elucidating Functional Roles For Myogenin In Adult Skeletal Muscle Metabolism, Exercise Capacity, And Regeneration, Jesse Flynn

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The four basic helix-loop-helix myogenic transcription factors, myogenin, Myf5, MRF4, and MyoD are critical for embryonic skeletal muscle development. Myogenin is necessary for the terminal differentiation of myoblasts into myofibers during embryogenesis, but little is known about the roles played by myogenin in adult skeletal muscle function and metabolism. Furthermore, while metabolism is a well-studied physiological process, how it is regulated at the transcriptional level remains poorly understood. In this study, my aim was to determine the function of myogenin in adult skeletal muscle metabolism, exercise capacity, and regeneration. To investigate this, I utilized a mouse strain harboring the Myogflox …

Dynamic Remodeling Of The Stressed Heart: Role Of Protein Degradation Pathways, Deborah Vela

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The heart is a remarkable organ. In order to maintain its function, it remodels in response to a variety of environmental stresses, including pressure overload, volume overload, mechanical or pharmacological unloading and hormonal or metabolic disturbances. All these responses are linked to the inherent capacity of the heart to rebuild itself. Particularly, cardiac pressure overload activates signaling pathways of both protein synthesis and degradation. While much is known about regulators of protein synthesis, little is known about regulators of protein degradation in hypertrophy. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) selectively degrades unused and abnormal intracellular proteins. I speculated that the UPS may …

Work Of Fracture In Ceramic Bracket Bonding Systems, Tye A. Roylance

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Introduction: Work of fracture (WOE) is a method of analysis of the toughness or resilience of a bracket bonding system. It is an indication of a bracket bonding systems ability to withstand forces in the mouth below the force at which failure occurs. Work of fracture gives an indication of how much abuse the bracket/bonding system can withstand and still maintain an adequate adhesion to the tooth surface. This analysis incorporates shear bond strength and displacement and is determined in part by the elasticity and resilience of the specimen being studied.

Materials and Methods: One hundred and eighty bovine teeth …

Double-Strand Break Repair Pathways In Dna Structure-Induced Genetic Instability, Diem T. Kha

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Genetic instability in mammalian cells can occur by many different mechanisms. In the absence of exogenous sources of DNA damage, the DNA structure itself has been implicated in genetic instability. When the canonical B-DNA helix is naturally altered to form a non-canonical DNA structure such as a Z-DNA or H-DNA, this can lead to genetic instability in the form of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) (1, 2). Our laboratory found that the stability of these non-B DNA structures was different in mammals versus Escherichia coli (E.coli) bacteria (1, 2). One explanation for the difference between these species may be a result …

Understanding Acquired Resistance To Lapatinib In Breast Cancer Cells, Jen-Te Tseng

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Signaling through epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR/ErbB) family members plays a very important role in regulating proliferation, development, and malignant transformation of mammary epithelial cells. ErbB family members are often over-expressed in human breast carcinomas. Lapatinib is an ErbB1 and ErbB2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been shown to have anti-proliferative effects in breast and lung cancer cells. Cells treated with Lapatinib undergo G1 phase arrest, followed by apoptosis. Lapatinib has been approved for clinical use, though patients have developed resistance to the drug, as seen previously with other EGFR inhibitors. Moreover, the therapeutic efficacy varies significantly within the patient …

A Metagenomic Study Of The Tick Midgut, Daniel T. Yuan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

A Metagenomic Study of the Tick Midgut
Daniel Yuan, B.S.
Supervisory Professor : Steven J. Norris, Ph.D.
Southern tick–associated rash illness (STARI) or Master’s disease is a Lyme-like illness that occurs following bites by Amblyomma americanum, the lone-star tick. Clinical symptoms include a bull’s eye rash similar to the erythema migrans lesions of Lyme disease, as well as fever and joint pains. Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and related spirochetes. However, B. burgdorferi has not been detected in STARI patients, or in ticks in the South Central U.S. The causative agent of STARI has not been identified, …

Modeling Sporadic Tumor Formation Driven By Telomere Dysfunction In The Gastrointestinal Tract, Suzanne S. Chan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Colorectal cancer is a complex disease that is thought to arise when cells accumulate mutations that allow for uncontrolled growth. There are several recognized mechanisms for generating such mutations in sporadic colon cancer; one of which is chromosomal instability (CIN). One hypothesized driver of CIN in cancer is the improper repair of dysfunctional telomeres. Telomeres comprise the linear ends of chromosomes and play a dual role in cancer. Its length is maintained by the ribonucleoprotein, telomerase, which is not a normally expressed in somatic cells and as cells divide, telomeres continuously shorten. Critically shortened telomeres are considered dysfunctional as they …

Behavior And Physiology Of Hermit Crabs During Burial: Shell Abandonment And Lactate Accumulation, Janelle Allison Shives

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Organisms living in the intertidal zone must adapt to environmental and physical stressors. One physical stressor that these organisms may face, and that may require specific behavioral and physiological responses, is burial by sediment. In this thesis I report the results of experiments in which I subjected the intertidal hermit crab, Pagurus samuelis, to burial and analyzed aspects of subsequent behavior and physiology. In the first set of experiments, hermit crabs were buried with the shell aperture facing either up or down, and at one of three depths (2, 4, or 6 cm). The factors hermit crab weight, shell …

Ricin B Chain-Insulin Fusion Protein Immunomodulation Of Type 1 Diabetes, James Edward Carter Iii

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is a debilitating chronic inflammatory disease of the insulin-producing pancreatic islet β-cells that results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Attempts to suppress Th1-mediated autoimmune diseases such as T1D by mucosal delivery of autoantigens for immunotolerization have yielded only partial success. Attainment of satisfactory levels of sustained immunological tolerance remains to be accomplished. To restore self-tolerance requires delivery of sufficient amounts of autoantigen to stimulate regulatory T helper cells that function to survey the gut and induce tolerance to consumed antigens such as food. Oral delivery of autoantigens has previously been shown to …

Cross-Sector Review Of Drivers And Available 3rs Approaches For Acute Systemic Toxicity Testing, Troy Seidle, Sally Robinson, Tom Holmes, Stuart Creton, Pilar Prieto, Julia Scheel, Magda Chlebus

Experimentation Collection

Acute systemic toxicity studies are carried out in many sectors in which synthetic chemicals are manufactured or used and are among the most criticized of all toxicology tests on both scientific and ethical grounds. A review of the drivers for acute toxicity testing within the pharmaceutical industry led to a paradigm shift whereby in vivo acute toxicity data are no longer routinely required in advance of human clinical trials. Based on this experience, the following review was undertaken to identify (1) regulatory and scientific drivers for acute toxicity testing in other industrial sectors, (2) activities aimed at replacing, reducing, or …

Calling On Science: Making “Alternatives” The New Gold Standard, Melvin E. Andersen

in Vitro Research Models Collection

All of life’s great journeys start with a goal in mind! The 2007 NAS report, Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century – A Vision and A Strategy, has proposed a clear goal. This report envisions a not-so-distant future where all routine toxicity testing for environmental agents will be conducted in human cells in vitro evaluating perturbations of cellular responses in a suite of toxicity pathway assays. Dose response modeling would utilize computational systems biology models of the circuitry underlying each toxicity pathway; in vitro to in vivo extrapolations would use pharmacokinetic models, ideally physiologically based pharmacokinetic models, to predict human …

New Target Genes For Tumor Suppressors P53 And P73 In Regenerating Liver, Svitlana M. Kurinna

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The p53-family of proteins regulates expression of target genes during tissue development and differentiation. Within the p53-family, p53 and p73 have hepatic-specific functions in development and tumor suppression. Despite a growing list of p53/p73 target genes, very few of these have been studied in vivo, and the knowledge regarding functions of p53 and p73 in normal tissues remains limited. p53+/-p73+/- mice develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whereas overexpression of p53 in human HCC leads to tumor regression. However, the mechanism of p53/p73 function in liver remains poorly characterized. Here, the model of mouse liver regeneration is used to identify new target …

Assessment Of Different Seed Mixture Planting Using Ground Beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) As Environmental Indicators Along A Disturbance Corridor In Lawrence County, Kentucky, Michelle M. Staley

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology by Michelle M. Staley on April 30, 2010.

Zooplankton Population Dynamics In The Upper Mississippi River-Lake System, Krystal Michaels

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Bioassessment Of Fish And Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities Of Laurel Creek In Rowan County, Kentucky, Audrey M. Richter

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Audrey M. Richter on April 2, 2010.

Wku Scholar, Pamela Napier, Editor-In-Chief

WKU Scholar

No abstract provided.