Physiological Processes Commons^™

Perinatal Or Adult Nf1 Inactivation Using Tamoxifen-Inducible Plpcre Each Cause Neurofibroma Formation, Debra A. Mayes, Tilat A. Rizvi, Jose A. Cancelas, Nathan T. Kolasinski, Georgianne M. Ciraolo, Anat O. Stemmer-Rachamimov, Nancy Ratner

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES

Neurofibromas are tumors initiated by biallelic mutation of the NF1 tumor suppressor gene in the Schwann cell lineage. One idea within the field suggests that Nf1loss must occur within progenitor cells present within a critical window during Schwann cell development in order for neurofibromas to form. To test this hypothesis and to examine whethermyelinating Schwann cells can serve as aneurofibroma cell of origin, Nf1 loss was induced at perinatal or adult timepoints using a tamoxifen-inducible Plp-CreERT driver.

RESULTS

Perinatal loss of Nf1 resulted in small neurofibromas late in life, while adult loss caused large neurofibromas and morbidity beginning …

Children's Emotional State And False Memory In The Drm Paradigm, Pamela Cornejo

McNair Poster Presentations

Children are called to give testimony for highly emotional during court cases. Research indicates that children in a negative emotional state recall with lesser vividness (Berliner et al. 2003) and are more likely to incorporate false information (Levine, Burgess & Laney, 2008). The present study will examine this further by examining the influence of negative and positive emotional states on recall and recognition in child-normed lists within the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. The DRM paradigm is a cognitive task that relies on gist memory for remembrance of the critical lure in semantically associated word lists. It is expected that the eight …

Development Of Fetal Movement Between 26 And 36 Weeks’ Gestation In Response To Vibroacoustic Stimulation, Marybeth Grant-Beuttler, Laura M. Glynn, Amy L. Salisbury, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Carol Holliday, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound observation of fetal movement has documented general trends in motor development and fetal age when motor response to stimulation is observed. Evaluation of fetal movement quality, in addition to specific motor activity, may improve documentation of motor development and highlight specific motor responses to stimulation.

AIM: The aim of this investigation was to assess fetal movement at 26 and 36-weeks gestation during three conditions (baseline, immediate response to vibro-acoustic stimulation (VAS), and post-response).

DESIGN: A prospective, longitudinal design was utilized.

SUBJECTS: Twelve normally developing fetuses, eight females and four males, were examined with continuous ultrasound imaging.

OUTCOME MEASURES: …

Q-Ve-Oph, A Negative Control For O-Phenoxy-Conjugated Caspase Inhibitors, Benjamin Southerland, Kashmira Kulkarni-Datar, Chanel Keoni, Rebecca Bricker, William C. Grunwald Jr., Daniel M. Ketcha, Eugene Hern, David R. Cool, Thomas L. Brown

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology Faculty Publications

The broad-spectrum apoptosis (caspase) inhibitor, Q-VD-OPh, has been shown to have no side effects and is effective at a much lower concentration than other FMK-type caspase inhibitors. However, an appropriate negative control to use with this inhibi- tor has not been available. In this study, we developed and analyzed a new compound, based on the Q-VD-OPh backbone, which acts as a cognate negative control. To create the negative control, we substituted a glutamate residue for the aspartate residue to create Q-VE-OPh, thereby retaining the identical charge and molecular properties with only the addition of an extra –CH2 group. The purity …

Bitc Sensitizes Pancreatic Adenocarcinomas To Trail-Induced Apoptosis, Christina A. Wicker, Ravi P. Sahu, Kashmira Kulkarni-Datar, Sanjay K. Srivastava, Thomas L. Brown

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology Faculty Publications

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an aggressive cancer with a greater than 95% mortality rate and short survival after diagnosis. Chemotherapeutic resistance hinders successful treatment. This resistance is often associated with mutations in codon 12 of the K-Ras gene (K-Ras 12), which is present in over 90% of all pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Codon 12 mutations maintain Ras in a constitutively active state leading to continuous cellular proliferation. Our study determined if TRAIL resistance in pancreatic adenocarcinomas with K-Ras 12 mutations could be overcome by first sensitizing the cells with Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC). BITC is a component of cruciferous vegetables and a cell cycle …

Age- And Sex-Associated Changes In Mrna Expression Of Neurodegenerative Disorder-Related Molecules In The Hippocampus And Cerebellum Of Rat Brain, Srinivasarao Thulluri

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Age-associated oxidative stress is involved in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and sex-associated differences may also affect the risk for these neurodegenerative diseases. We compared the effects of aging and sex on the mRNA expression of five molecules that are closely related to oxidative stress, along with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases in the hippocampus of both male and female Fischer 344xBrown Norway (F344BN) rats. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the mRNA expression level of superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), heme oxygenase 1 (HO1), amyloid precursor protein (APP), -site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), and …

Epigenetics: Blurring The Line Between Nature And Nurture, Elizabeth H. Rose

CMC Senior Theses

This long-standing nature versus nurture debate is cited in behavioral and physical expressions of disease dysfunctions, resiliencies, and recovery. Their purposes are noted both in scientific pursuits as well as literature. This discourse has been particularly intense in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and biology where there is a long history of scientists’ attempts to disprove or discredit others’ intellectual and professional measures. Interestingly, recent advances in the neurosciences and genetic technologies have brought these fields closer together with a new focus – the interactional relationship between nature and nurture – epigenetics.