Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

The Effects Of Bisphenol F On Embryonic Cardiac Output In Zebrafish, Kyle Monnot

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Bisphenol F (BPF) is an analog compound of the xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA). BPA utilization has decreased dramatically due to its detrimental effects as an endocrine disrupter. In place of BPA, BPF is growing to be a ubiquitous chemical in epoxy resin manufacturing. Recent research has begun to investigate the possible endocrinal effects of BPF as an analog of BPA. This study was performed to examine the potential effects of BPF exposure on cardiac parameters of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Embryos were exposed to 50 µg/L BPF for 48 hours, and cardiac parameters (stroke volume, heart rate, and …

Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Therapeutic Solutions Using Raman And Infrared Spectroscopy, Alaa A. Makki, Franck Bonnier, Renaud Respaud, Fatma Chtara, Ali Tfayli, Clovis Tauber, Dominique Bertrand, Hugh Byrne, Elhadi Mohammed, Igor Chourpa

Articles

Anticancer drugs are prescribed and administrated to an increasing number of patients on a daily basis. As a consequence, a number of concerns have been raised about the patient health and safety in the case that the drugs administered are not at the required concentration or even worse not the correct ones. Quality control of therapeutic solutions has therefore been extensively implemented in hospital environments, in order to avoid any failure in the intense workflow faced by administering pharmacists. In the present study, infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy have been employed for the analysis of 3 commercially available therapeutic solutions …

Role Of Mcp-1 And Ccr2 In Ethanol-Induced Damage In The Developing Brain, Kai Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy and is the leading cause of mental retardation. Alcohol exposure during development results in the loss of neurons in the developing brain. The underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear and there currently is no cure for FASD. Ethanol-induced neuronal death is accompanied by neuroinflammation. Chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and its receptor C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) are critical mediators of neuroinflammation and microglial activation. Using a third trimester equivalent mouse model of ethanol exposure, we found that treatment of Bindarit (MCP-1 synthesis inhibitor) and RS504393 (CCR2 …

The Effect Of Glucose, Adenosine-5’-Triphosphate, And Adenosine On Glucose Transporter 9 Expression In Mdck Cells, Jamras Kanchanapiboon, Thitima Pengsuparp

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

This study aimed to investigate the effect of glucose, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine and their concentration dependence on GLUT9 expression in hyperglycemic conditions. These compounds have been reported to be associated with hyperglycemia i.

Effects Of Canagliflozin On Renal And Urinary Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (Ace2) And Neprilysin (Nep) In Db/Db Diabetic Mice, Unmesha Hemant Thanekar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes is one of the major causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which could lead to end-stage renal disease. Angiotensin-II (Ang-II), a major bioactive peptide of renin angiotensin system (RAS) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic nephropathy. The reno-degenerative effects of Ang-II can be partially counteracted by Ang (1-7). Therefore, Ang (1-7) forming enzymes, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and neprilysin (NEP), are hypothesized to have reno-protective effects. In our previous studies, we have demonstrated increased renal shedding of ACE2 and NEP in the urine of type-2 diabetic mice which was attenuated by normalizing hyperglycemia …

Kinetics Of Microvesicle Particle Release In Keratinocytes, Pariksha Thapa

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Microvesicle particles (MVPs) are subcellular particles that could be involved in inter-cellular communication because they carry various bioactive substances including cytokines. Previous studies from our lab has shown that that the lipid mediator Platelet-activating Factor (1-alkyl-2-acetyl-glycerophosphocholine; PAF) and ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) enhances the release of MVP in various cell types like primary keratinocytes, epithelial cell lines, and murine skin. We hypothesized that there may be synergistic increases in MVP release after combination of treatment of keratinocytes with UVB and PAF agonist (CPAF)/phorbol ester (PMA). The combination treatment significantly increases MVP and cytokine release at 4 to 8 hours time …

Identification Of New Metabolic Mutations That Enhance The Cell-Killing Effect Of Hydroxyurea, A Clinically Used Drug With Multiple Implications, Rittu Elsa Samuel

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Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and a worldwide health issue. Intensive studies have been conducted in the past to unearth new anti-cancer agents. One such anti-proliferative drug is hydroxyurea (HU). HU has been used in clinics for ≥ 100 years to treat various neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. Although newer agents have been developed, as a WHO-enlisted essential medicine, it remains the staple drug for the management of chronic myeloproliferative disorders and sickle cell anemia. A better understanding of the HU-induced cell death may improve or expand the therapeutic spectrum of this clinically important drug. HU arrests …

Implementing Mass Spectrometry For The Structural And Compositional Analysis Of Proteins, Mohammad Riaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lectins are sugar-binding proteins that perform various biological functions such as cellular recognition attachments etc. Pulses the dried edible seeds of certain plants are great sources of lectins and a proteomics approach directed at lectins identification would bring substantial improvement in the lectin identification process. Lectins from nine different plant species were analyzed through SDS-PAGE and proteomics analysis. After LC-MS/MS analysis proteins were identified with protein database searches using Uniprot. Functionally uncharacterized proteins were identified with database searches were annotated with the Pfam and NCBI-CCD databases. In-vitro pharmacological screening will be carried out to assess the pharmacological effects of these …

Two-Dimensional Correlation Analysis Of Raman Microspectroscopy Of Subcellular Interactions Of Drugs In Vitro, Hugh Byrne, Franck Bonnier, Zeineb Farhane

Articles

Two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis is explored to data mine the time evolution of the characteristic Raman microspectroscopic signatures of the subcellular responses of the nucleoli of human lung cancer cells to the uptake of doxorubicin. A simulated dataset of experimental control spectra, perturbed with systematically time-dependent spectral changes, constituted by a short-term response which represents the initial binding of the drug in the nucleolus, followed by a longer term response of the organelle metabolism, is used to validate the analysis protocol. Applying 2D correlation analysis, the in phase, synchronous correlation coefficients are seen to contain contributions of both response profiles, …

Raman Spectroscopy Of Blood Plasma Samples From Breast Cancer Patients At Different Stages., H. F. Nargis, H. Nawaz, A. Ditta, T. Mahmood, N. Rashid, M. Muddassar, M. I. Majeed, H. N. Bhatti, M. Saleem, K. Jilani, Franck Bonnier, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy.

Differing Functions Of Atr Kinase In Human Epidermal Keratinocytes Exposed To Ultraviolet B Radiation, Kavya Shaj

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Ataxia-telangiectasia and Rad-3 related (ATR) is a DNA damage response protein kinase that is upregulated in various cancer cell types and has key roles in cell cycle progression, DNA repair and apoptosis. Small molecule ATR kinase inhibitors are of importance as antineoplastic agents because they sensitize cancer cells to DNA damaging chemotherapy drugs. However, only a few studies have looked at the effects of ATR kinase inhibitors on non-replicating cells, which constitute the majority of cells in the human body and have suggested an opposite, pro-apoptotic role for ATR kinase signaling in non-replicating cells in comparison to a pro-survival function …

Effect Of Endothelial Progenitor Cell-Derived Exosomes On High Glucose And Hypoxia/ Reoxygenation-Induced Injury Of Astrocytes, Manasi Suchit Halurkar

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In this study, we tested the protective effects of EPC-EXs (endothelial progenitor cell derived exosomes) and miR-126 EPC-EXs (microRNA-126 EPC-EXs) on the astrocytes injured by HG (high glucose) plus H/R (hypoxia/reoxygenation) model. At first, we determined the concentration and time dependent uptake of EPC-EXs by astrocytes. It was also found that the EPC-EXs were uptaken via macropinocytosis, caveolin-dependent and clathrin-mediated pathways in astrocytes. Furthermore, the astrocyte cell line was injured through the HG + H/R model. EXs, isolated by ultracentrifugation from the EPC culture supernatant were co-incubated with the injured cells. It was found that EPC-EXs and miR-126 EPC-EXs decrease …

Effects Of A Heroin Conjugate Vaccine On The Antinociceptive And Abuse-Related Effects Of Heroin In Rats And Monkeys, Kathryn L. Schwienteck

Theses and Dissertations

The increase in heroin use is one factor contributing to the current opioid epidemic in the United States. There are three Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), and these include agonist (i.e. methadone and buprenorphine) and antagonist (i.e. naltrexone) therapies. Although these medications are effective for some patients, regulatory constraints for agonist therapies limit access and patient compliance for naltrexone is poor. The development of new therapies, such as immunopharmacotherapies, for the treatment of OUD is a priority for the National Institute of Drug Abuse. A heroin immunopharmacotherapy, or vaccine, produces …

Multigenerational Genomic And Epigenetic Effects Of Manufactured Silver Nanomaterials In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Anye Wamucho

Theses and Dissertations--Toxicology and Cancer Biology

There has been an increase in the incorporation of silver nanomaterials into consumer products due to their antimicrobial properties. Therefore there is potential for silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) to leach out into the environment during different life-cycle stages of these nanomaterial-containing products. Concern about the toxicity of Ag-NPs has led to investigations into their toxic effects on a variety of organisms mainly using acute and sub-chronic, single-generation exposures. The focus of this project was to understand the effects of long-term continuous multigenerational exposure to AgNO₃ and Ag-NPs in both pristine and environmentally transformed forms, on the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans …

Potential Impact Of Northern Resource Development On Aquatic Biota: Toxicity Of Chromium And Rare Earth Element Processing Reagent, So Yeon Choi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Chromite and rare earth element development was identified in the 2015 Canadian Federal budget as a significant opportunity, however, key data gaps exist regarding the environmental concerns related to these resource developments. Chromium is essential in the production of stainless steel, and no suitable substitute is known. Rare earth elements (REEs) are a series of metals that are composed of 15 lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. Uses for REEs range from electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, computers, televisions) to magnets and controlling nuclear reactors. While commercial production of REEs signify a great economic opportunity for Canada, key data …

A California Without Rodenticides: Challenges For Commensal Rodent Management In The Future, Niamh Quinn, Sylvia Kenmuir, Laura Krueger

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Rodenticides are an essential tool in the integrated pest management of infestations of commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus, and Mus musculus). With the introduction of Assembly Bill 1788, the California Ecosystems Protection Act of 2019, California is potentially facing a future with new restrictions on the use of anticoagulant rodenticides to manage commensal rodents in urban areas. Assembly Bill 1788 has been proposed specifically to protect predators from anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning and seeks to restrict the application of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) for use in many urban and non-urban areas of California, USA. Exclusion and cultural …

Investigating The Prevalence Of An Insecticide Resistance Gene In Culex Mosquito Populations Of Central Illinois, Kylee R. Noel

Masters Theses

The globalization of society has led to the spread of the vectors, mosquitoes, and diseases. Each year millions of people are killed by diseases vectored by mosquitoes. For example, West Nile Virus alone killed over 2,000 people in North America in 2017; 8 of those deaths being in Illinois. Two prominent vectors of West Nile Virus are Culex pipiens and Culex restuans; which are difficult to differentiate based upon morphological features. In this study, mosquitoes collected from two Illinois counties, Coles County and Champaign County, were first identified based upon morphology and this identification was then compared to probe-based …

Suction Dredge Mining Impacts On Pacific Lamprey Populations And Habitat In Washington State: A Case Study Of The Entiat River, Jaime Liljegren

All Master's Theses

Suction dredge mining is a largely unregulated recreational activity in Washington State with potentially significant impacts to aquatic habitat. Although dredging has the potential to cause widespread ecological effects, only impacts to select species have been thoroughly assessed. Due to their reliance on freshwater habitat throughout multiple life stages, Pacific lamprey are significantly vulnerable to impacts from dredging practices. This thesis focuses on assessing the effects of dredging to lamprey habitat within state-owned aquatic lands of Washington. Pacific lamprey are anadromous, utilizing freshwater habitat throughout key life stages including spawning in substrate ranging from coarse gravel to fine sand, and …

Diuretic And Natriuretic Activity Of Faah Inhibition In The Renal Medulla: A Proposed Role Of Palmitoylethanolamide And Its Regulation By Renal Medullary Interstitial Cells, Sara Dempsey

Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is a critical public health issue worldwide, and in the United States, it is the leading cause of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure, contributing to more than 1,100 deaths per day. It is proposed that the renal medulla combats increased blood pressure by releasing a neutral lipid from the lipid droplets of medullary interstitial cells, termed medullipin, which induces diuresis- natriuresis and vasodepression. The renal medulla is enriched with fatty acid lipid ethanolamides including the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA), palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and oleoylethanolamide (OEA), along with their primary hydrolyzing enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). Our lab is investigating …

Validation Of A Low-Cost Sensor For Development Of Wearable And Handheld Spectrometers, Justin Leslie Cathey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the possibility of creating a quantitative radiometric spectrometer from a low-cost relative radiometric spectrometer sensor through the use of statistical analysis and development of a correction factor (p > 0.05). Radiometric spectrometers are able to measure and fully characterize the radiometric and photometric characteristics of light, while relative spectrometers are not able to fully, quantitatively characterize the radiometric response from a light source, thus they are less expensive. The spectrometer created in this research is able to measure and produce comparative lighting parameters as well as an actual radiometer spectrometer.

The photoreceptors cells within the human eye allow …