Browsing Dissertations by Author "Anatomy and Cell Biology"
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A QUEST FOR ARTICULAR CARTILAGE PROGENITOR CELLS LEADS TO TEMPORAL REGULATION OF HYALURONAN REQUIRED FOR 3T3-L1 ADIPOGENESIS
Sellers, Samantha Sue (East Carolina University, 2017-07-13)During embryogenesis, mesenchymal progenitor cells exhibit hyaluronan-dependent pericellular matrices as a major component of the extracellular matrix. As connective tissues form by cellular condensations, there is a loss ... -
CD44 and hyaluronan promote the bmp7 signaling response in chondrocytes
Luo, Na (East Carolina University, 2011)Cell-matrix interactions are important in maintaining cartilage homeostasis. Hyaluronan binding to its principal receptor CD44 is essential for such interactions. Hyaluronan-CD44 interactions are required for the retention ... -
CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of HAS2 in rat chondrosarcoma chondrocytes demonstrates the requirement of hyaluronan for aggrecan retention
Huang, Yi (East Carolina University, 2016-12-15)Hyaluronan (HA) plays an essential role in cartilage where it functions to retain aggrecan. Previous studies suggested that aggrecan is anchored indirectly to the plasma membrane of chondrocytes via its binding to ... -
[Delta]-catenin: implications in prostate cancer progression
Nopparat, Jongdee (East Carolina University, 2014)Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death among men in the US. Due to the advances in research, the ability to detect and cure PCa has improved and led to ... -
The extracellular processing of aggrecan aggregate and its effect on CD44 mediated internalization of hyaluronan.
Danielson, Ben (East Carolina University, 2015)In many cells the hyaluronan receptor CD44 mediates the endocytosis of hyaluronan and its delivery to endosomes / lysosomes. The regulation of this process remains largely unknown. In most extracellular matrices hyaluronan ... -
Functions of claudin-7 in human lung cancer
Lu, Zhe (East Carolina University, 2012)Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the United States with a very poor overall 5-year survival rate. Nearly 95% of the lung cancer originates ... -
The intracellular proteolytic fragment of CD44 alters CD44 function in chondrocytes
Mellor, Liliana (East Carolina University, 2010)CD44 is an adhesion molecule involved in several biological functions and the primary receptor for hyaluronan (HA). In cartilage, CD44 participates in the interplay between cells and the extracellular matrix to fine tune ... -
INVESTIGATING MECHANISMS REGULATING MAMMALIAN SPERMATOGONIAL DIFFERENTIATION AND MEIOTIC INITIATION
Kirsanov, Oleksandr (East Carolina University, 2022-06-27)Spermatogonia differentiation and meiotic initiation are complex processes essential for male fertility. Despite knowing for nearly 60 years that retinoic acid (RA) is instrumental for successful production of functional ... -
PPP1R2 COORDINATES KINASE AND PHOSPHATASE ACTIVITY TO REGULATE THE CENTROSOME AND MIDBODY
Bresch, Alan-Michael (East Carolina University, 2021-04-21)Centrosomes are the primary microtubule organizing centers of the cell and prepare the cell for division by establishing the bipolar spindle during mitosis. A balance of kinase and phosphatase activity regulates centrosome ... -
PPP1R42 is a positive regulator of PP1 in centrosome duplication and separation and cilia dynamics
DeVaul, Nicole (East Carolina University, 2014)The centrosome is a dynamic structure that undergoes structural and functional transitions, which are coordinated with the cell cycle. It functions as the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) in interphase, duplicates and ... -
The Role of Axl and Axl-like Proteins in Murine Spermatogenesis
Thompson, Kristjan Louise (East Carolina University, 2009)Mice lacking the Axl receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) and its family members exhibit detrimental effects on their reproductive ability. AXL is localized to Sertoli cells, which are the major nurturing cells in the seminiferous ... -
THE HYALURONAN EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX CRITICALLY REGULATES SYNAPSE FORMATION IN DEVELOPING NEURAL NETWORKS
Wilson, Emily S (East Carolina University, 2021-04-21)The majority of neurodevelopmental disorders present with an imbalance in synaptic signal transmission. The delicate balance of excitatory to inhibitory synaptic transmission is regulated by multiple extracellular and ... -
THE MECHANISTIC TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (mTOR) AND ITS COMPLEX 1 ASSOCIATED PROTEIN RPTOR ARE GERM CELL-AUTONOMOUSLY REQUIRED FOR SPERMATOGONIAL DEVELOPMENT & CHAPTER IV: INVESTIGATING CHANGES IN THE TESTICULAR TRANSCRIPTOME DURING THE PROSPERMATOGONIAL TRANSITION
Serra, Nicholas (East Carolina University, 2019-07-26)Stem, progenitor, and differentiating spermatogonia are formed in the neonatal mouse testis, and they provide the foundation for spermatogenesis and life-long fertility. Currently, the factors that regulate these varying ... -
THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY ROLE OF G-PROTEIN COUPLED RECEPTOR 4 IN AN ACIDIC MICROENVIRONMENT
Krewson, Elizabeth (East Carolina University, 2018-07-20)The endothelium of the microvascular system serves an ideal mediator between circulating blood and tissues in order to regulate systemic homeostasis. During vascular disease, the normal function and phenotype of endothelial ... -
The Role of Differential Sensitivity to Retinoic Acid (RA) in Regulating Spermatogonial Fate
Velte, Ellen Kay (East Carolina University, 2018-12-10)In the mammalian testis, the foundation of spermatogenesis is provided by spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs); their progeny either remain as stem cells (following a self-renewal division) or proliferate as undifferentiated ... -
THE ROLE OF RETINOIC ACID IN DIRECTING INITIATION OF SPERMATOGENESIS IN THE MOUSE
Busada, Jonathan T. (East Carolina University, 2015-10-23)The basic tenets of gametogenesis are conserved among metazoans. After lineage commitment, germ cells proliferate, complete meiosis, and then differentiate into gametes capable of fertilization. In the mouse, spermatogenesis ... -
THE THERAPEUTIC ROLE OF RHO GTPASES IN TUMORIGENESIS AND CHEMOTHEARPY-INDUCED PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY
Zhu, Yi (East Carolina University, 2019-07-15)With the advancement of chemotherapy drugs, the general life expectancy of cancer patients has drastically improved. However, persistent side effects, such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), often severely ... -
The therapeutic potential of Rho GTPase intervention
Friesland, Amy Michelle (East Carolina University, 2013)Small GTPases of the Rho family are well established regulators of critical cellular functions including cytoskeletal remodeling, motility, vesicle trafficking and cell cycle control. Additionally, aberrant signaling ... -
Tight junction claudin-7 protein modulates multiple processes of cancer progression in human lung cancer cells
Kim, Do Hyung (East Carolina University, 2016-05-03)Carcinogenesis usually consists of cancer initiation, promotion, and progression. Several tight junction claudin proteins have been identified as tumor suppressors or activators during cancer development. As apical proteins, ...