Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

Analyzing Functional Interactions Of Designed Peptides By Nmr Spectroscopy, Wonsuk Choi

Pharmaceutical Sciences (MS) Theses

The development of small peptide-based therapeutics can be accelerated by the knowledge of relationships between the peptide structure and its functional interactions. Here, we report the analysis of two groups of synthetic peptides designed for two applications – broad bactericidal action and inhibition of protein-protein interactions in human cells. Novel amphiphilic peptides designed for antibacterial application incorporated arginine as cationic amino acids and non-natural amino acids that have aromatic side chains with similar hydrophobic properties as tryptophan. The interaction of lead cyclic peptides and their linear analogs with a phospholipid bilayer mimicking a bacterial membrane was studied using nuclear magnetic …

Interprofessional Health Fairs: An Effective Tool For Interprofessional Education?, Caleb Holloway, Ashley Barbo, Bryan Donald, Min Jee Kim

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether interprofessional health fairs have a significant impact on the interprofessional education of students in health care disciplines.

Methods: An optional survey was administered to students participating in the health fairs in 2021 and 2022. The survey utilized four retrospective pre and post ICCAS assessment questions to address IPEC core competencies and two open ended questions to provide feedback about the health fair and report anything new learned from or about another health care discipline. The self-assessment questions were reported on a 5-point Likert scale and recorded in aggregate for both …

Cgm Use With Interprofessional Therapy Management Improves Hba1c Levels In T2dm Patients, Stephen R. Hill, Courtney Robertson, Teri B. O'Neal, Sonia Garner

Journal of Interprofessional Practice and Collaboration

Background

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease state with increased complications over time from uncontrolled glucose. Significant data has shown benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in reducing glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) patients, but a lack of robust evidence is seen in T2DM. This study assessed the impact of short-term CGM placement on HbA1c levels in T2DM.

Objectives

The primary outcome was the change in baseline HbA1c levels in patients with T2DM up to six months after CGM placement. Secondary outcomes assessed intensification of diabetes medications made by an interprofessional team …

Liposome Synthesis And Evaluation In The Hek-293 Cell Line, Christine Skibinski

Harrisburg University Research Symposium: Highlighting Research, Innovation, & Creativity

Liposomes were synthesized using the thin film method. A lyophilized power of egg-derived phosphatidylcholine, stearylamine, and cholesterol were added to ethanol and dried under argon to form a lipid cake. The lipid cake was rehydrated with dPBS and sonicated at 60°C forming a heterogenous batch of liposomes. Our results revealed the average size of the liposomes, determined by Dynamic Light Scattering, was approximately 223.1nm, while demonstrating a weakly positive zeta-potential of 1.9± 8.07mv. Next, we tested the antitumor action of the liposomes in the HEK-293 cell line via an MTT assay. We observed that the liposomes were able to inhibit …

Untargeted Metabolomics Analysis On Kidney Tissues From Mice Reveals Potential Hypoxia Biomarkers, Muhammad Imran Sajid, Francisco J. Nunez, Farideh Amirrad, Moom Rahman Roosan, Tom Vojtko, Scott Mcculloch, Amal Alachkar, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Chronic hypoxia may have a huge impact on the cardiovascular and renal systems. Advancements in microscopy, metabolomics, and bioinformatics provide opportunities to identify new biomarkers. In this study, we aimed at elucidating the metabolic alterations in kidney tissues induced by chronic hypoxia using untargeted metabolomic analyses. Reverse phase ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy/mass spectroscopy (RP–UPLC–MS/MS) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)–UPLC–MS/MS methods with positive and negative ion mode electrospray ionization were used for metabolic profiling. The metabolomic profiling revealed an increase in metabolites related to carnitine synthesis and purine metabolism. Additionally, there was a notable increase in bilirubin. Heme, N-acetyl-L-aspartic …

Tolfenamic Acid Derivatives: A New Class Of Transcriptional Modulators With Potential Therapeutic Applications For Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Disorders, Juanetta Hill, Karim E. Shalaby, Syed W. Bihaqi, Bothaina H. Alansi, Benjamin Barlock, Keykavous Parang, Richard Thompson, Khalid Ourarhni, Nasser H. Zawia

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has witnessed recent breakthroughs in the development of disease-modifying biologics and diagnostic markers. While immunotherapeutic interventions have provided much-awaited solutions, nucleic acid-based tools represent other avenues of intervention; however, these approaches are costly and invasive, and they have serious side effects. Previously, we have shown in AD animal models that tolfenamic acid (TA) can lower the expression of AD-related genes and their products and subsequently reduce pathological burden and improve cognition. Using TA as a scaffold and the zinc finger domain of SP1 as a pharmacophore, we developed safer and more potent brain-penetrating analogs …

Addressing The Crisis: Leveraging The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals To Prepare Student Leaders To Tackle The Opioid Epidemic, Sharon Xavioer, Laressa Bethishou, Madeline Dintzner, Reza Taheri, Jelena Lewis

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The United States faces several ongoing public health issues including the opioid epidemic. This article describes a new model aimed at providing a framework that incorporates the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to develop pharmacy student leaders through education, experiences, and development of critical skills. This holistic approach can serve as an example methodology to equip future leaders across public health domains to tackle many of the critical problems we face today.

Rosuvastatin Calcium And Tissue Engineering; An Introductory Overview, Islam M. Adel, Mohamed F. Elmeligy, Nermeen A. Elkasabgy

Bulletin of Faculty of Pharmacy Cairo University

All tissues are subjected to the risk of tissue damage. Tissue damage refers to any alteration to the structure and/or the function of that tissue. To counter tissue damage, our bodies are equipped with a self-healing mechanism aiming at restoring tissue structure and function. The underlying mechanism, however, is rather poor and slow in mammalians. Moreover, in cases of severe damage, the mechanism is insufficient to repair the damage and usually, surgical intervention is mandated. For that and more, tissue engineering was conceptualized as a multidisciplinary science field in which an implantable scaffold, loaded with cells, biological cues and/or chemical …

Improving Pharmacist-Led Pediatric Patient Education On Oral Chemotherapy At Home, Anika Patel, Christopher M. Nguyen, Kristin Willins, Elsabella Y. Wang, Grace Magedman, Sun Yang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Oral chemotherapy (OC) has been increasingly used in pediatric patients diagnosed with cancer, which is primarily managed in the outpatient setting. Different from adults, pediatric patients face unique challenges in administering these hazardous medications at home. Because of the complexity of pediatric pharmaceutical care and the hazardous nature of chemotherapy agents, comprehensive patient education is imperative to mitigate the potential safety risks associated with OC administration at home. Pharmacists play a vital role in patient education and medication consultations. However, the lack of practice guidelines and limited resources supporting OC counseling are noted. Additional barriers include insufficient knowledge and training …

Perbedaan Kadar Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Dan Tumor Necrosis Factor-Α Serum Pada Berbagai Derajat Sarkopenia Pasien Lanjut Usia: Studi Potong Lintang, Auliangi Tamayo, Roza Mulyana, Rose Dinda Martini

Jurnal Penyakit Dalam Indonesia

Introduction. Sarcopenia is a phenomenon of progressive decline in muscle function that occurs due to the aging process. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) have an important role in the occurrence of sarcopenia as a positive and negative regulator of muscle mass. Research shows differences in IGF-1 and TNF-α levels between sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups, but research on differences in severity of sarcopenia remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in levels of IGF-1 and TNF-α in various degrees of sarcopenia in elderly patients.

Methods. This was an analytical observational …

Stress-Induced Changes In Carf Expression Determine Growth Arrest, Apoptosis, Or Malignant Transformation In Cultured Human Cells: Molecular Evidence And Its Application, Mallika Khurana, Rajkumar Singh Kalra, Anupama Chaudhary, Amr Omar, Xiaoshuai Li, Sunil C. Kaul, Renu Wadhwa

Research Symposium

Background: CARF (Collaborator of ARF)/CDKN2AIP is an essential protein, first cloned as a binding partner of ARF. It was subsequently shown to interact with p53, HDM2 proteins and regulate growth arrest and apoptosis by its multimodal mechanism of action. Over-expression of CARF caused senescence like growth arrest of cells, its knock-down triggered apoptosis. Intriguingly, malignantly transformed cells showed high level of CARF expression. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that level of CARF expression may be a key determinant of cell proliferation fates; where an increase in its levels causes growth arrest/senescence, but beyond a threshold it activates carcinogenesis.

Methods: …

Piperine Encourages Apoptosis In Human Cervical Adenocarcinoma Cells Through Ros Generation, Dna Fragmentation, Caspase-3 Activation And Cell Cycle Arrest, Asif Jafri, Juhi Rais, Sudhir Kumar, Md Arshad

Research Symposium

Background: Cancer is one of the most common destructive diseases and the second leading cause of death in humans. Among cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women globally. Thus, there is a continuous need to search for chemotherapeutic chemicals or naturally occurring drugs to resolve this global health problem. Piperine (1-piperoylpeperdine) is present in the fruits of black pepper (Piper nigrum Linn.) and long pepper (Piper longum Linn.). It possesses several pharmacological properties and in the present study we have evaluated its anti-cancer potential on human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells.

Methods: The anti-proliferative effect …

Pharmacoeconomics Of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treatment With Targeted Therapies Guided By Companion Molecular Diagnostics, Luis E. Fernández-Garza, Hector Sánchez-Ibarra, Daniela Treviño-Sáenz, Hugo A. Barrera-Saldaña

Research Symposium

Background: To guide the treatment with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), the FDA recommends prior companion molecular diagnosis (CMDx). It initially recommended screening for mutations in exon 2 of the KRAS gene, and most recently to extend to screening to exons 2, 3, and 4 of KRAS and 2, 3, and 4 of NRAS genes; furthermore, to evaluate the BRAF exon 15 mutation status (including V600E). To date, no studies have been done to compare the cost-benefit of these different CMDXs.

Methods: We have compared the cost of treatment without …

International Conference On Cancer Health Disparities, Juhi Rais, Asif Jafri, Neelam Shivnath, Habiba Khan, Md Arshad

Research Symposium

Background: Biochanin A, an isoflavone that is mainly present in red clover, has potent chemopreventive properties against many cancers. Ovarian carcinoma is fifth most common and deadliest gynaecological malignancy that causes the highest mortality in females worldwide. Hence a substantial need for new therapies for combating this gynaecological malignancy arises.

Methods: The present study aimed to investigate anti-cancerous potentials of biochanin A on cultured human ovarian carcinoma PA-1 cells through the cell viability assay, cellular apoptosis, disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), involvement of ROS, cell cycle kinetics, and expression of apoptosis-related genes namely, p53, Bax, Bcl-2, Noxa and Puma. …

Development And Evaluation Of A Nanofiber Membrane In Vitro As A Therapeutic Alternative For The Post Treatment In Breast Cancer Cell In A Murine Model, Bruno A. Valades-Aguilar, Diana Ginette Zarate-Triviño, José Raúl Rángel-López, Moises Armides Franco-Molina, Jorge Luis Menchaca-Arredondo, María Cristina Rodríguez-Padilla

Research Symposium

Worldwide female breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with an estimated 2.3 million new cases in 2020, reason for the need of targeted therapies that can maximize treatment success and minimize toxicity. Nanoparticles of gold (AuNps) exhibit cytotoxic properties against certain types of cancer cell lines. Nanofibers have been use in the drug delivery systems due to its degradability and high surface area. We proposed a membrane with nanometric fibers using polivinilic alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (Qts) loaded with AuNps and Doxorubicin (Doxo) with the purpose of diminish tumor regression.

PVA-Qts membrane was develop with electrospinning, the injection, …

Characterization Of Epithelial Growth Factor Transcripts Identified In Crotalus Atrox Venom, Ivan Lopez, Ying Jia

Research Symposium

Epithelial Growth Factor (EGF) is the primary source in regeneration and stimulation of essential fibroblasts cells commonly found in epithelium. Studies have shown that snake venom components are becoming a growing factor in treating illnesses such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, chronic pain, blood pressure, blood clotting, etc. EGF in human cells contains a promising quaternary structure that can bind to snake venom metalloproteinases, proposing a means of activating biochemical responses through protein-protein interactions to regulate unwanted cellular functions. This supports promising research in achieving a greater understanding of regulation along cellular pathways through ligands, increasing the likelihood of targeting unwanted …

The Role Of Community Pharmacists In The Provision Of Medication For Opioid Use Disorder Treatment In Rio Grande Valley, Tamara Al Rawwad, Ammar Kawaleet, Lydia Aguilera, Adrian Sandoval

Research Symposium

Background: The misuse of opioids, including prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl, has reached epidemic proportions in the US, resulting in more than 68,000 overdose deaths in 2020, and a total of $78.5 billion a year of economic burden. In response to this crisis, the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released a strategic plan to combat opioid abuse and misuse, recommending a multidisciplinary approach, including the inclusion of pharmacists in the efforts. The aim of this study is to examine pharmacists’ perception of their role in the provision of medication for opioid use disorders (MOUD) in addition to …

Identification Of Tectorigenin As A Natural Pro-Hypoxia Compound: Implications In Modulation Of Cellular Differentiation And Senescence, Mallika Khurana, Renu Wadhwa, Sunil Kaul

Research Symposium

Background: Hypoxia, a suboptimal level of oxygen, evokes stress response in cells and activated hypoxia signaling has been largely established as a pro-metastasis and pro-angiogenic factor for tumor cells. On the other hand, age-related neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by hypoxic environment, accumulation of molecular garbage and induction of premature senescence. Several recent studies have reported anti-stress impact of the intermittent induction of hypoxia signaling in these cells.

Methods: Screening of a phytochemical library using Hypoxia Responsive Element (HRE) driven luciferase as a reporter was carried out to identify hypoxia-modulating phytochemicals. Activation of HIF-1a (master regulator of hypoxia signaling) was validated …

The Adverse Effects Of Proton Pump Inhibitors And How To De-Escalate Therapy, Christina Swiger, Mary Hoang, Emily Wagner, Maley Zents

Transformative Medicine (T-Med)

This article discusses how many patients, both inpatient and outpatient, are initiated on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for stomach acid related symptoms, as well as for prophylaxis. These medications may inadvertently be continued long-term. Chronic use of PPIs can result in adverse events, such as vitamin deficiencies, community-acquired pneumonia, and an increased risk for Clostridium difficile infection. Clinicians should periodically evaluate the need for PPIs in patients and discontinue as appropriate.

Oral Dosages Of The Nsaid Aspirin Decreased The Growth Rate Of Species Found In The Human Gut Microbiome Including Akkermansia Muciniphila, Bacteroides Fragilis, Clostridium Sordellii, And Clostridium Difficile, Wyatt H. Greenbaum, Garrett J. Greenbaum, Anna Spiezio

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Over past few decades, new insight has been revealed in the scientific community about the importance of the human gut microbiome relating to general health. It is known that imbalances in the species that reside in the human gut can cause organism-wide problems in humans. When prescribing or injecting oral medications, the thought of the downstream effects on the gut microbiome are not always considered. By exposing known healthy members of the gut; Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium sordellii, and Clostridium difficile to the Aspirin, this study attempted to provide insight into the effects of the drug on bacterial growth. …