Cells Commons^™

Understanding The Chondrogenic Potential Of Articular Chondrocytes, Krishna Sarma

Theses & Dissertations

Articular cartilage is a smooth, visco-elastic, aneural, avascular tissue made of water, an exquisitely organized framework of proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, and collagen fibrils and articular chondrocytes. It’s beautiful organization and composition provide it with the flexibility and strength to cover, protect and lubricate the ends of long bones in a diarthrodial joint. Cartilage homeostasis relies on articular chondrocytes to translate the mechanical forces of daily activity into efficient remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Age, joint injury, or other insulting factors can progressively incapacitate articular chondrocytes, resulting in cartilage lesions that devolve to degenerative joint disease. Therefore, the central idea explored in …

Germ-Line Gene Editing And Congressional Reaction In Context: Learning From Almost 50 Years Of Congressional Reactions To Biomedical Breakthroughs, Russell A. Spivak, J.D., I. Glenn Cohen, J.D., Eli Y. Adashi, M.D., M.S.

Journal of Law and Health

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law a policy rider forestalling the therapeutic modification of the human germ line. The rider, motivated by the science’s potential unethical ends, is only the most recent instance in which the legislature cut short the ongoing national conversation on the acceptability of a developing science. This essay offers historical perspective on what bills were proposed and passed surrounding four other then-developing scientific breakthroughs—Recombinant DNA, in vitro fertilization, Cloning, Stem Cells—to better analyze how Congress is, and should, regulate this exciting and promising science.

Cancer As A Metabolic Disease, Javaria Haseeb

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

Despite decades of intensive scientific and medical efforts to develop efficient and effective treatments for cancer, it remains one of the prime causes of death today. For example, in 2016, there will be an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer and 595,690 deaths due to cancer in the United States alone (National Cancer Institute). Worldwide in 2012, there were an estimated 14 million new cases of cancer and 8.2 million deaths due to cancer. In order to come up with better methods of detection and more successful modes of treatment, it is crucial that scientists understand the depth of not …

Mechanism For Generation Of Left Isomerism In Ccdc40 Mutant Embryos, Kelsey Sugrue, Irene E. Zohn

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Leftward fluid flow in the mouse node is generated by cilia and is critical for initiating asymmetry of the left-right axis. Coiled-coil domain containing-40 (Ccdc40) plays an evolutionarily conserved role in the assembly of motile cilia and establishment of the left-right axis. Approximately one-third of Ccdc40lnks mutant embryos display situs defects and here we investigate the underlying mechanism. Ccdc40lnks mutants show delayed induction of markers of the left-lateral plate mesoderm (L-LPM) including Lefty1, Lefty2 and Nodal. Consistent with defective cilia motility compromising fluid flow across the node, initiation of asymmetric perinodal Cerberus like-2 ( …

Family Strategies To Support Siblings Of Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients., Taylor E. White, Kristopher A. Hendershot, Margie D. Dixon, Wendy Pelletier, Ann Haight, Kristin Stegenga, Melissa A. Alderfer, Lydia Cox, Jeffrey M. Switchenko, Pamela Hinds, Rebecca D. Pentz

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To describe the strategies families report using to address the needs and concerns of siblings of children, adolescents, and young adults undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

METHODS: A secondary semantic analysis was conducted of 86 qualitative interviews with family members of children, adolescents, and young adults undergoing HSCT at 4 HSCT centers and supplemented with a primary analysis of 38 additional targeted qualitative interviews (23 family members, 15 health care professionals) conducted at the primary center. Analyses focused on sibling issues and the strategies families use to address these issues.

RESULTS: The sibling issues identified included: (1) feeling …

Namibia : Hiv As A National Issue, Elisabeth Vlasak

Global Public Health

Namibia is located on the southwestern coast of Africa, bordering Angola, Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia has a population of 2,265,000, as of 2016. Namibia has many challenges, including food insecurity and malnutrition, access to health services, unequal distribution of wealth, but HIV/AIDS is one of the country’s leading challenges. It is estimated that the overall adult infection rate of HIV/AIDS is 15.4% and it is the leading cause of death in Namibia. Adults ages 18-24 are the most at-risk for the disease. Some of the major risk factors are declining condom use, misinformation, social stigma, …

Taurine's Effect On Cocaine Reward And Neurogenesis In The Adolescent Male Rat Brain., Avery E. Villa-Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses

Adolescence is a developmentally critical transition from childhood to adulthood including both maturation of the body and the brain. Neuroplastic changes result in dynamic organization of the brain during adolescence, leaving them vulnerable to development of mental illness and drug-seeking behavior. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the psychostimulant cocaine is the second most popular illicit drug in the world. Cocaine, amongst having many detrimental effects, has shown to also decrease hippocampal neurogenesis, resulting in decreased neuroplasticity and cognitive dysfunction. Previous students in our laboratory have shown that treatment of adult male rats with the essential …

Piwi Is Required To Limit Exhaustion Of Aging Somatic Stem Cells, Pedro Sousa-Victor, Arshad Ayyaz, Rippei Hayashi, Yanyan Qi, David T. Madden, Victoria V. Lunyak, Heinrich Jasper

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

Please see the graphical abstract in the supplemental files.

A Pilot Study Of Circulating Tumor Cells In Stage Iv Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, Max Haid, Edward Chesna, Mary Theodoroff, Debra K. Spaeth, Cheruppolil R. Santhosh-Kumar, Zahid N. Dar

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose

Measurement of the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the bloodstream has been shown to have prognostic significance in treating breast carcinoma. This pilot study was formulated to determine if stage IV non-small cell lung carcinomas similarly shed malignant cells into the circulation and if their presence has prognostic significance.

Methods

Patients with stage IV non-small cell lung carcinomas were tested once for CTCs in 7.5 ml of their blood prior to receiving any treatments. A proprietary blood collection kit produced by Veridex LLC (Raritan, NJ), which manufactures the instrument that performs the immunomagnetic CELLSEARCH^® CTC assay, …

In Vitro Investigation Of The Effect Of Exogenous Ubiquitin On Processes Associated With Atherosclerosis, Chase W. Mussard

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Atherosclerosis, characterized by the build-up of cholesterol, immune cells and cellular debris within arterial walls, is accelerated following myocardial infarction by poorly understood mechanisms. Ubiquitin, a small, well-studied intracellular protein involved in protein turnover via the proteasome pathway, has recently been shown to exert extracellular effects on cardiac myocytes, in vitro, and in mice undergoing myocardial remodeling. This study investigates the potential role of extracellular ubiquitin in atherosclerosis by determining its effects on two critical atherosclerotic processes: the migration of vascular smooth muscles cells and the uptake of modified LDL by monocyte/macrophages in foam cell formation. In the presence …

Membrane Channel Gene Expression In Human Costal And Articular Chondrocytes, A. Asmar, R. Barrett-Jolley, A. Werner, R. Kelly Jr., M. Stacey

Bioelectrics Publications

Chondrocytes are the uniquely resident cells found in all types of cartilage and key to their function is the ability to respond to mechanical loads with changes of metabolic activity. This mechanotransduction property is, in part, mediated through the activity of a range of expressed transmembrane channels; ion channels, gap junction proteins, and porins. Appropriate expression of ion channels has been shown essential for production of extracellular matrix and differential expression of transmembrane channels is correlated to musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis and Albers-Sch€onberg. In this study we analyzed the consistency of gene expression between channelomes of chondrocytes from human …

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Chitosan Conjugated Ggrgdsk Peptides As A Cancer Cell-Targeting Molecular Transporter, Naglaa Salem El-Sayed, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Magda Goda El-Meligy, Ahmed Kamel El-Ziaty, Zenat A. Nagieb, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Targeting cancer cells using integrin receptor is one of the promising targeting strategies in drug delivery. In this study, we conjugated an integrin-binding ligand (GGRGDSK) peptide to chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) using (sulfo-SMCC) bifunctional linker affording COS-SMCC-GGRGDSK. The conjugated polymer was characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and SEM. COS-SMCC-GGRGDSK did not show cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 1 mg/mL in the human leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM). The conjugate was evaluated for its ability to enhance the cellular uptake of cell-impermeable cargoes (e.g., FAM and F′-G(pY)EEI phosphopeptide) in CCRF-CEM, and human ovarian carcinoma (SK-OV-3) cancer …

Inhibition Of Human Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors By Cyclic Monoterpene Carveol, Yusra Lozon, Ahmed Sultan, Stuart J. Lansdell, Tatiana Prytkova, Bassem Sadek, Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Frank Christopher Howarth, Neil S. Millar, Murat Oz

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Cyclic monoterpenes are a group of phytochemicals with antinociceptive, local anesthetic, and anti-inflammatory actions. Effects of cyclic monoterpenes including vanilin, pulegone, eugenole, carvone, carvacrol, carveol, thymol, thymoquinone, menthone, and limonene were investigated on the functional properties of the cloned α₇ subunit of the human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Monoterpenes inhibited the α₇ nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in the order carveol>thymoquinone>carvacrol>menthone>thymol>limonene>eugenole>pulegone≥carvone≥vanilin. Among the monoterpenes, carveol showed the highest potency on acetylcholine-induced responses, with IC₅₀ of 8.3 µM. Carveol-induced inhibition was independent of the membrane potential and could not be …

Better Cognitive Control Of Emotional Information Is Associated With Reduced Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Reactivity To Emotional Stress, Grant S. Shields, Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Sarah D. Pressman, Ken D. Sumida, George M. Slavich

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Stress is strongly associated with several mental and physical health problems that involve inflammation, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and depression. It has been hypothesized that better cognitive control of emotional information may lead to reduced inflammatory reactivity to stress and thus better health, but to date no studies have examined whether differences in cognitive control predict pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to stress. To address this issue, we conducted a laboratory-based experimental study in which we randomly assigned healthy young-adult females to either an acute emotional stress (emotionally evocative video) or no-stress (control video) condition. Salivary levels of …

Measurement Of The Absolute Magnitude And Time Courses Of Mitochondrial Membrane Potential In Primary And Clonal Pancreatic Beta-Cells, Akos Gerencser, Shona A. Mookerjee, Martin Jastroch, Martin D. Brand

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

The aim of this study was to simplify, improve and validate quantitative measurement of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔψM) in pancreatic β-cells. This built on our previously introduced calculation of the absolute magnitude of ΔψM in intact cells, using time-lapse imaging of the non-quench mode fluorescence of tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester and a bis-oxonol plasma membrane potential (ΔψP) indicator. ΔψM is a central mediator of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells. ΔψM is at the crossroads of cellular energy production and demand, therefore precise assay of its magnitude is a valuable tool to study how these processes interplay in insulin secretion. …

Hydrogen Peroxide Induced Loss Of Heterozygosity Correlates With Replicative Lifespan And Mitotic Asymmetry In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Emine Guven, Lindsay A. Parnell, Erin D. Jackson, Meighan Parker, Nilin Gupta, Jenny Rodrigues, Hong Qin

Scholarly Works

Cellular aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can lead to genomic instability and impaired mitotic asymmetry. To investigate the role of oxidative stress in cellular aging, we examined the effect of exogenous hydrogen peroxide on genomic instability and mitotic asymmetry in a collection of yeast strains with diverse backgrounds. We treated yeast cells with hydrogen peroxide and monitored the changes of viability and the frequencies of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in response to hydrogen peroxide doses. The mid-transition points of viability and LOH were quantified using sigmoid mathematical functions. We found that the increase of hydrogen peroxide dependent genomic instability often occurs …

Analysis Of Ca²⁺ Mobilization Of Nanosecond Pulses In Cells, Iurii Semenov

Bioelectrics Publications

Exposure to nanosecond electric pulses (nsEPs) evokes transient rise of cytosolic free Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]i) in the cells. We quantified the external Ca²⁺ uptake, intracellular Ca²⁺ release and uncover interplay of these processes for CHO-K1 cells upon exposure to single 60 ns pulse in the range of amplitudes from 0 to 30 kV/cm. NsEPs are distinguished by the ability to electroporate intracellular membranes. We studied how duration of nsEPs is related to efficiency of intracellular membranes electroporation comparing ability of single 300-, 60- and 10 ns pulses to recruit Ca²⁺ from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in respect to the uptake of …

An In Vitro Study On The Effect Of Synthesized Tin (Iv) Complexes On Glioblastoma, Colorectal, And Skin Cancer Cell Lines, Jennie L. Williams, Lesley C. Lewis-Alleyne, Melinda Solomon, Long Nguyen, Robert Johnson, Jennifer Vital, Ping Ji, John Durant, Camille Cooper, Patrice Cagle, Patrick Martin, Don Vanderveer, William L. Jarrett, Alvin A. Holder

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

((E)-2-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)phenolato-2,2-diphenyl-6-aza-1,3-dioxa-2-stanna-[d,h]dibenzocyclononene, [Sn(Ph₂SB)] (compound 1, where Ph₂SB=(E)-2-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)phenolato Schiff base) and two novel compounds, [[SnPh2(F-azoSB)] (compound 2, where F-azoSB=4-((E)-(4-fluorophenyl)diazenyl)-2-((E)-(2-hydroxyphenylimino)methyl)phenolato Schiff base), [[SnPh2(sulf-azoSB)]0.125CHCl₃ (compound 3, where sulfamerazineazosalSB=4-((E)-(4-hydroxy-3-((E)-(2-hydroxyphenylimino)methyl)phenyl)diazenyl)-N-(4-methylpyrimidin-2-yl) benzenesulfonamide Schiff base), and the control compound, cisplatin (compound 4) were analysed to comparatively determine their effect on cancer cell growth. Anti-cancer properties of compounds 1-4 were examined using glioblastoma (U-1242 MG), colorectal (HT-29 and HCT-116), and skin (A431) human cancer cell lines. With regards to human glioblastoma cells, compounds 1 and 3 demonstrated anti-proliferative capacity in the cell line tested. Specifically, compounds 1 and 3 inhibited cell proliferation by 50% at …

Regulation Of Cancer Stem Cells By Protein Post-Translational Modifications, Emily Khanh Pham, Hui Zhang

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

Various diseases are caused by defective genes or mutations within the DNA. These mutations can cause cancer cells, which are usually treated through chemotherapy and radiation. However, these methods have not completely effective towards cancer stem cells, a group of cancer cells that possess stem cell properties and are capable of initiating cancer. In order to discover new methods of targeting these specific cells, technology for genome engineering will enable researchers to further study genetic requirements within these cells. The method of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 will help cleave and alter genomic sequences to potentially correct the …

Determining Maximum Glycolytic Capacity Using Extracellular Flux Measurements, Shona A. Mookerjee, David G. Nicholls, Martin D. Brand

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Pharmacy

Measurements of glycolytic rate and maximum glycolytic capacity using extracellular flux analysis can give crucial information about cell status and phenotype during normal operation, development of pathology, differentiation, and malignant transformation. They are also of great use when assessing the effects of chemical or drug treatments. Here, we experimentally define maximum glycolytic capacity, demonstrate how it differs from glycolytic rate, and provide a protocol for determining the basal glycolytic rate and maximum glycolytic capacity in cells using extracellular flux measurements. The results illustrate the power of extracellular flux analysis to describe the energetics of adherent cells in culture in a …