Browsing Master's Theses by Subject "Biochemistry"
Now showing items 1-17 of 17
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Design and Quantitation of Membrane Binding Lipid Anchors : Exploring Prion-Prion Interactions on Membrane Surfaces
(East Carolina University, 2011)The prion protein (PrP) is an endogenous, metal binding protein present in the neuronal cells of the central nervous system. Prion is associated with a class of neurodegenerative diseases known as transmissible spongiform ... -
THE EFFECTS OF CIRCADIAN RHYTHM ON INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE AND CYTOKINE LEVELS IN HEPATIC MACROPHAGES
(East Carolina University, 2014)In mammals, many aspects of daily behavior and physiology such as the sleep-wake cycle, body temperature, and liver metabolism are regulated by endogenous circadian mechanisms. Despite tissue-specific physiological ... -
Effects of Nicotine on Caenorhabditis elegans survival, reproduction, and gene expressions : Development of an Invertebrate Animal Model for Drugs of Abuse
(East Carolina University, 2011)Although much is known about the addictive effects of nicotine, the molecular mechanisms of nicotine-induced effects remain largely unclear. Specifically, little is known about the effects of nicotine on gene expression, ... -
Elucidating "Consumption" : Using Fluorescent Steroid Probes to Understand Host Cholesterol Utilization by Mycobacterium spp.
(East Carolina University, 2014)Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) disease, is the leading cause of death due to bacterial infection worldwide, claiming nearly two million lives each year. Often, the immune system ... -
Fesselin, an intrinsically disordered smooth muscle protein, organizes and stabilizes actin-myosin and myosin
(East Carolina University, 2014)Fesselin is an intrinsically disordered protein that is known to bind a large variety of cytoskeletal proteins. The proteins fesselin is known to bind include: actin (Leinweber et al. 1999), [alpha]-actinin (Pham et al. ... -
Investigation of NADPH-Dependent Thioredoxin Reductase-C (NTRC) In Chloroplast Lipid Metabolism
(East Carolina University, 2022-07-01)Redox reactions are ubiquitous within plant metabolism and critical for the sustainment of photosynthesis within thylakoid membranes. Specialized glycerolipids that make up these membranes in turn require redox reactions ... -
Investigation of NADPH-Dependent Thioredoxin Reductase-C (NTRC) In Chloroplast Lipid Metabolism
(East Carolina University, 2022-07-01)Redox reactions are ubiquitous within plant metabolism and critical for the sustainment of photosynthesis within thylakoid membranes. Specialized glycerolipids that make up these membranes in turn require redox reactions ... -
Paired Effects of Dietary Leucine Supplementation and Overload on Protein Translational Signaling and Hypertrophy in Aged Rat Skeletal Muscle
(East Carolina University, 2012)Sarcopenia is an age-associated disorder that causes loss of skeletal muscle mass, particularly in type II (fast-twitch) muscle fibers. This loss in muscle mass can cause disability, reductions in the quality of life, and ... -
Proposed regulatory role of noncatalytic Adams in ectodomain shedding
(East Carolina University, 2015)Members of the ADAM (A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease) protein family uniquely exhibit both proteolytic and adhesive properties. Specifically, ADAMs catalyze the conversion of cell-surface proteins to soluble, biologically ... -
Prothymosin-Alpha : Features of the protein sequence that contribute to the anti-HIV Activity
(East Carolina University, 2010)Prothymosin-alpha (ProT[alpha]) is a protein mainly located in the nucleus of the cells. Though its exact function is not known, it is believed to be involved in cell proliferation. The ability of this protein to inhibit ... -
The Role of eIF4G-1 Isoforms and Live Cell Imaging of IRES-mediated Translation Initiation in Breast Cancer Cells
(East Carolina University, 2012)The development of cancer is a consequence of mutations that lead to dysfunctional cell processes such as unrestrained cell proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, and improper regulation of cell processes such as translation. ... -
Role of Notch signaling in tumorigenesis, stemness, and epithelial to mesenchymal transtion in colorectal cancer.
(East Carolina University, 2015)Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women in the United States. Surgical resection and combination chemotherapy are often used for treatment, but in later stages of the disease, ... -
Synthesis Of Non-Natural Fmoc-Protected Amino Acids To Provide Novel Fluorescent Anion Probes And Their Incorporation Into Synthetic Peptides
(East Carolina University, 2015)Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder caused by mutations of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein. CFTR serves to control the gradient of chloride and bicarbonate ions across the cellular ... -
Thermodynamic and spectroscopic studies of Cd²⁺ binding to the regulatory domain and full length human cardiac troponin C (HcTnC) : elucidating plausible Cd²⁺ binding sites
(East Carolina University, 2015)Toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd²⁺) have been shown to bind to and interfere with various calcium (Ca²⁺) binding proteins including the regulatory protein cardiac troponin C (cTnC). Recent structural data has shown that ... -
Thermodynamic Investigation of Copper Binding to the Amyloid-Beta (A[beta]) Peptide
(East Carolina University, 2010)Alzheimer's disease is a fatal and neurodegenerative disease with as many as 5.3 million Americans living with the disease. One of the characteristic hallmarks of Alzheimer's is the amyloid plaques that build up around the ... -
Thermodynamic studies of Ca²⁺ binding to human cardiac troponin C
(East Carolina University, 2012)Human Cardiac Troponin C (HcTnC) is an EF hand protein responsible for initiating contraction of the myocardium (heart muscle). The helix-loop-helix motif, characteristic of members of the EF-hand family, allows HcTnC to ... -
Using TIRF microscopy to analyze stimulated and basal state B-cell MHC II clustering in response to ageing and dietary fish oil
(East Carolina University, 2013)This research focused on developing an efficient TIRF microscopy approach to evaluate membrane protein organization. More specifically, the data demonstrate that TIRF microscopy can detect changes in ex vivo B-cell MHC II ...