Chemicals and Drugs Commons^™

Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence Of Transition Metal Octaethylporphyrin And Tetraphenylporphyrin/Tri-N-Propylamine System, Jamie Lee Gray

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of octaethylporphyrin (OEP), tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) and a series of metal-ligand porphyrin complexes (Zinc, Copper, Palladium, Platinum, Ruthenium, Vanadium, Cobalt and Nickel) in CH2Cl2 is reported. ECL was generated upon sweep to positive potentials using tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) as an oxidative-reductive coreactant. ECL efficiencies were between 0.010 and 0.770 using Ru(bpy)3(PF6)2 (bpy = 2,2’-bpyridine) as a relative standard (ecl = 1). The ECL intensity peaks at a potential corresponding to oxidation of the complexes and TPrA, suggesting that the same excited states are formed in both photoluminescence and ECL. Although the ECL was weaker than corresponding PL efficiencies, …

Glutathione: A Small Molecule With Big Sense, Cristina E. Raya, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Glutathione, a peptide found in microbes, plants and animals including human plays a key role in maintaining healthy cells. The peptide exists in both reduced and oxidized forms. Synthesis of GSH occurs in the cytosol of cells, and the extent of glutathione synthesis relies on various factors, such as amino acid availability, protein activity etc. Once synthesized, glutathione exists in both forms: oxidized (GSSG) and reduced (GSH). Oxidized glutathione characterized by its disulfide linkage. On the other hand, presence of a thiol group characterizes the reduced glutathione. This thiol makes the tripeptide an essential component of health; it makes glutathione …

“Do We Know Jack” About Jak? A Closer Look At Jak/Stat Signaling Pathway, Emira Bousoik, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Janus tyrosine kinase (JAK) family of proteins have been identified as crucial proteins in signal transduction initiated by a wide range of membrane receptors. Among the proteins in this family JAK2 has been associated with important downstream proteins, including signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs), which in turn regulate the expression of a variety of proteins involved in induction or prevention of apoptosis. Therefore, the JAK/STAT signaling axis plays a major role in the proliferation and survival of different cancer cells, and may even be involved in resistance mechanisms against molecularly targeted drugs. Despite extensive research focused on the …

Neuroimaging Biomarkers Of Mtor Inhibition On Vascular And Metabolic Functions In Aging Brain And Alzheimer’S Disease, Jennifer Lee, Lucille M. Yanckello, David Ma, Jared D. Hoffman, Ishita Parikh, Scott Thalman, Bjoern Bauer, Anika M. S. Hartz, Fahmeed Hyder, Ai-Ling Lin

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a nutrient sensor of eukaryotic cells. Inhibition of mechanistic mTOR signaling can increase life and health span in various species via interventions that include rapamycin and caloric restriction (CR). In the central nervous system, mTOR inhibition demonstrates neuroprotective patterns in aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by preserving mitochondrial function and reducing amyloid beta retention. However, the effects of mTOR inhibition for in vivo brain physiology remain largely unknown. Here, we review recent findings of in vivo metabolic and vascular measures using non-invasive, multimodal neuroimaging methods in rodent models for brain aging and AD. …

A V-To-F Substitution In Sk2 Channels Causes Ca2+ Hypersensitivity And Improves Locomotion In A C. Elegans Als Model, Young-Woo Nam, Sabia N. Baskoylu, Dimitris Gazgalis, Razan Orfali, Meng Cui, Anne C. Hart, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels mediate medium afterhyperpolarization in the neurons and play a key role in the regulation of neuronal excitability. SK channels are potential drug targets for ataxia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). SK channels are activated exclusively by the Ca2+-bound calmodulin. Previously, we identified an intrinsically disordered fragment that is essential for the mechanical coupling between Ca2+/calmodulin binding and channel opening. Here, we report that substitution of a valine to phenylalanine (V407F) in the intrinsically disordered fragment caused a ~6 fold increase in the Ca2+ sensitivity of SK2-a channels. This substitution resulted in a novel interaction between …

July 2018, Randy Curry, Cindy Brooks

RURAL ROCKS

Rural Rocks, the Rural Health Network newsletter by the SWOSU College of Pharmacy

High-Density Lipoprotein Inhibits Serum Amyloid A-Mediated Reactive Oxygen Species Generation And Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation, Preetha Shridas, Maria C. De Beer, Nancy R. Webb

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a high-density apolipoprotein whose plasma levels can increase more than 1000-fold during a severe acute-phase inflammatory response and are more modestly elevated in chronic inflammation. SAA is thought to play important roles in innate immunity, but its biological activities have not been completely delineated. We previously reported that SAA deficiency protects mice from developing abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) induced by chronic angiotensin II (AngII) infusion. Here, we report that SAA is required for AngII-induced increases in interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a potent proinflammatory cytokine that is tightly controlled by the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and …

Transcriptomics Of Learning, Pablo Iturralde

Theses

Learning is a basic and important component of behavior yet we have very little empirical information about the interaction between mechanisms of learning and evolution. In our work, we are testing hypotheses about the neurogenetic mechanisms through which animal learning abilities evolve. We are able to test this directly by using experimentally evolved populations of flies, which differ in learning ability. These populations were previously evolved within the lab by creating worlds with different patterns of change following theoretically predicted effects on which enhanced learning will evolve. How has evolution acted to modulate genes and gene expression in the brain …

Kisspeptin Modulates Luteinizing Hormone Release And Ovarian Follicular Dynamics In Pre-Pubertal And Adult Murrah Buffaloes, Vishalkumar Pottapenjera, Srinivasa R. Rajanala, Chandrasekhar Reddy, Arunakumari Gangineni, Kiran Avula, Sandeep K. Bejjanki, Sriravali Sathagopam, Surabhi Kesharwani, Sathya Velmurugan

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide that governs the reproductive axis upstream to GnRH. We wanted to study whether kisspeptin modulates plasma LH and FSH levels and ovarian follicular dynamics in buffaloes and whether kisspeptin can be used for fixed time artificial insemination (FTAI). We carried out these studies in comparison with buserelin, a potent GnRH agonist. Kisspeptin dose-dependently increased plasma LH levels. However, the kisspeptin-induced increase in LH was short-lived as the peak reached in 15–30 min returned to basal values by 1–2 h. The kisspeptin-induced increase in LH level was less compared to buserelin-induced increase in LH level which sustained …

Photochemical Investigation Of High-Valent Metal-Oxo Intermediates Containing Corrole And Light-Harvesting Porphyrin Ligands, Jonathan Malone

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In enzymatic and synthetic catalytic oxidations, high-valent iron-oxo intermediates play a vital role as the active oxidant. In this regard, many synthetic metal catalysts are designed as biomimetic models to resemble the active site of Cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450) which are the predominant oxidation catalysts in nature. Vitamin B12 cofactors, with a corrole-like structure corrin, are also utilized in some of the more difficult reactions in nature such as rearrangement and reductase reactions.

In this work, application of the promising photochemical method to corrolecontaining ligands systems showed much success in the generation of manganese(V)-oxo corrole intermediates using two electron-deficient corrole …

Endocannabinoid Metabolome Of Human Breast Milk, Adriana V. Gaitan Espinoza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human breast milk (HBM) is an extremely complex yet fascinating biofluid tailored to meet an infant’s nutritional requirements for development. Amongst the nutrients present in HBM, the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are of high importance due to the pivotal role they play in infant cognitive and visual development, and growth. In addition, the LCPUFAs are precursors to endocannabinoids (EC) which are endogenous lipid mediators. EC exert metabolic responses including appetite and food intake regulation, and they have been identified to play a role in establishing the suckling response of the newborn that is needed to nurse. Thus, we aimed …

The Effect Of The Oxytocin Hormone In Cocaine Addicted Rats Suffering From Abstinence Syndrome, Juan Padilla

The International Student Science Fair 2018

Rehabilitation from a history of drug abuse is a very difficult and life changing process. Abstinence syndrome forces the rehabilitating patient to go through anxiety like symptoms. The Oxytocin hormone has been believed to be a potential facilitator in the rehabilitation process. This hormone is very present during interactions of affection (hugs) and birth, it foments trust while it associates to a feeling of calmness. Oxytocin would theoretically be a calming agent to the anxiety like symptoms such as craving. The experiment aimed to test the calming effects of the hormone, consisted of a five-day systemic cocaine injections treatment schedule …

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of Homochiral Peptides Containing Arginine And Histidine As Molecular Transporters, Naglaa Salem El-Sayed, Taryn Miyake, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Shang Eun Park, Jimmy Clark, Stephani Buchholz, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Linear (HR)n and cyclic [HR]n peptides (n = 4,5) containing alternate arginine and histidine residues were synthesized. The peptides showed 0–15% cytotoxicity at 5–100 μM in human ovarian adenocarcinoma (SK-OV-3) cells while they exhibited 0–12% toxicity in human leukemia cancer cell line (CCRF-CEM). Among all peptides, cyclic [HR]4 peptide was able to improve the delivery of a cell impermeable fluorescence-labeled phosphopeptide by two-fold. Fatty acids of different alkyl chain length were attached at the N-terminal of the linear peptide (HR)4 to improve the molecular transporter property. Addition of fatty acyl chains was expected to help with the permeation of the …

Super‐Resolution Imaging Of Amyloid Structures Over Extended Times By Using Transient Binding Of Single Thioflavin T Molecules, Kevin Spehar, Tianben Ding, Yuanzi Sun, Niraja Kedia, Jin Lu, George R. Nahass, Matthew D. Lew, Jan Bieschke

Electrical & Systems Engineering Publications and Presentations

Oligomeric amyloid structures are crucial therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's and other amyloid diseases. However, these oligomers are too small to be resolved by standard light microscopy. We have developed a simple and versatile tool to image amyloid structures by using thioflavin T without the need for covalent labeling or immunostaining. The dynamic binding of single dye molecules generates photon bursts that are used for fluorophore localization on a nanometer scale. Thus, photobleaching cannot degrade image quality, allowing for extended observation times. Super‐resolution transient amyloid binding microscopy promises to directly image native amyloid by using standard probes and record amyloid dynamics …

Efficient Intracellular Delivery Of Cell-Impermeable Cargo Molecules By Peptides Containing Tryptophan And Histidine, Amir Nasrolahi Shirazi, Saghar Mozaffari, Rinzhin Tshering Sherpa, Rakesh Tiwari, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

We have previously evaluated and reported numerous classes of linear and cyclic peptides containing hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments for intracellular delivery of multiple molecular cargos. Herein, a combination of histidine and tryptophan amino acids were designed and evaluated for their efficiency in intracellular delivery of cell-impermeable phosphopeptides and the anti-HIV drug, emtricitabine. Two new decapeptides, with linear and cyclic natures, both containing alternate tryptophan and histidine residues, were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase chemistry. The peptides were characterized and purified by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. These peptides did not show significant toxicity up …

The Effect Of The Oxytocin Hormone In Cocaine Addicted Rats Suffering From Abstinence Syndrome, Juan Padilla

The International Student Science Fair 2018

This study aimed to understand the effects of oxytocin in cocaine-addicted rats to prove its ability to help recovering drug addicts overcome the extreme anxiety and craving that makes them relapse during their rehabilitation.

Distribution And Localization Of Novel Iodine Nanoparticles In The Human Glioma 1242 Growing In The Brains Of Mice, Benjamin Billings

Honors Scholar Theses

Observing and designing the in vivo distribution and localization of therapeutic nanoparticles is an essential aspect of developing and understanding novel nanoparticle- based medical treatments. This study investigates novel PEGylated Iodine-based nanoparticles (INPs), an alternate composition to the more widely researched gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which may help avoid adverse effects associated with AuNPs, such as potential toxicity and skin discoloration, when used in similar applications. Determining the localization of the novel INPs within murine brains containing human glioma U-1242MG cells is critical in assisting the development of radiation dose enhancement therapy for this aggressive cancer. Radiation dose enhancement utilizes the …

June 2018, Randy Curry, Cindy Brooks

RURAL ROCKS

Rural Rocks, the Rural Health Network newsletter by the SWOSU College of Pharmacy

Microgel Core/Shell Architectures As Targeted Agents For Fibrinolysis, Purva Kodlekere, L. Andrew Lyon

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We demonstrate the utility of microgel core/shell structures conjugated to fibrin-specific peptides as fibrinolytic agents. Poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (pNIPMAm) based microgels conjugated to the peptide GPRPFPAC (GPRP) were observed to bring about fibrin clot erosion, merely through exploitation of the dynamic nature of the clots. These results suggest the potential utility of peptide–microgel hybrids in clot disruption and clotting modulation.

Anti-Tumor Activity Of Phenoxybenzamine And Its Inhibition Of Histone Deacetylases, Mario A. Inchiosa

NYMC Faculty Publications

The principal finding from this study was the recognition that the α-adrenergic antagonist, phenoxybenzamine, possesses histone deacetylase inhibitory activity. Phenoxybenzamine is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hypertensive crises associated with tumors of the adrenal medulla, pheochromocytomas. It has several "off label" indications relative to its capacity to relax vascular smooth muscle and smooth muscle of the urogenital tract. The drug also has a long history of apparent efficacy in ameliorating, and perhaps reversing, the severe symptoms of neuropathic pain syndromes. Our interest in this feature of the drug relates to the fact …