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The Effects of Crude Oil and Chemical Dispersant Exposure on Danio rerio (zebrafish) Embryonic Development
(East Carolina University, 2014)
Crude oil has been shown to cause defects in cardiovascular development in a variety of teleost species. We used the zebrafish, Danio rerio as a model to test the effects of oil and dispersant on cardiac development and ...
Spatial Ecology and Seasonal Habitat Use of the King Rail (Rallus elegans) along the Atlantic Coast
(East Carolina University, 2014)
TThe King Rail (Rallus elegans) continues to experience population declines throughout its range. Due to its secretive nature and occupancy of densely vegetated marshes, little is known about the behavior and ecology of ...
Expression of microRNA in Alveolar Macrophages Deficient in PPARy
(East Carolina University, 2014)
The nuclear transcription factor Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is a negative regulator of macrophage activation and inflammatory mediators. Alveolar macrophages of healthy individuals constitutively express PPARgamma Decreased activity and expression of PPARgamma are observed in the alveolar macrophages from patients suffering from inflammatory conditions such as pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) and sarcoidosis. These finding suggest that PPARf× activity may have an integral role in maintaining lung homeostasis. This study tested the hypothesis that microRNA expression would be dysregulated in murine alveolar macrophages deficient in PPARgamma. microRNA (miR) are small non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate the expression of messenger RNA. Evaluation of microRNA in the murine model of PAP, the GM-CSF-KO mouse, demonstrates the elevation of miR-27a and miR-27b which target PPARgamma. The deficiency of PPARgamma and the lipid transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 have been shown to contribute to the pathology of PAP. The microRNA miR-33-3p and miR-33-5p, which target these lipid transporters, were also elevated in GM-CSF-KO mice. Pulmonary granulomas comparable to those observed in pulmonary sarcoidosis are induced by instillation of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in C57Bl/6 mice. These animals have decreased PPARgamma activity and show elevated expression of miR-27a and miR-27b. It was also observed that the expression of the transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 were decreased in MWCNT instilled mice. Expression of miR-33-3p and miR-33-5p was elevated in MWCNT instilled animals. The expression of microRNA that affects the activity of NF-£eB is also elevated in both murine models. We next investigated the use of PPARgamma agonist rosiglitazone on the expression of microRNA and messenger RNA. The use of rosiglitazone altered the expression of microRNA in both GM-CSF-KO and C57Bl/6+MWCNT mice. Rosiglitazone treatment altered the expression of the lipid transporter ABCA1and ABCG1 in C57Bl/6+MWCNT mice. The elevation of proinflammatory cytokines was also observed. Taken together, these observations support the hypothesis that PPARgamma activity effects the microRNA and gene expression in alveolar macrophages which is critical to overall lung homeostasis. Understanding the relationship between PPARgamma and microRNA in alveolar macrophage biology will provide insight into the regulation of the lung environment and possible therapeutic targets. ...
Repair of Clustered DNA Lesions in Double Strand Break Repair Deficient Human Tumor Cells
(East Carolina University, 2010)
DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a holoenzyme of three subunits, Ku70, Ku80, and the DNA-Pk catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). DNA-PK serves a role in non-homologous end joining to repair double stranded breaks, and ...
THE EFFECTS OF ACIDIC TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT ON LYMPHOMA CELL RESPONSES TO CHEMOTHERAPEUTICS
(East Carolina University, 2014)
Acidic tumor microenvironment exists in many types of cancer. Altered glycolytic metabolism of tumor cells and deficient blood supply in tissues are major causes for this phenomenon. Lymphoma cells may have different ...
MHC class I variation among wild, domestic and insular populations of the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
(East Carolina University, 2014)
The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a passerine bird native to Australia and the Lesser Sunda Islands, with domesticated populations derived from each of these localities. The Lesser Sundas and domesticated zebra ...
Electrochemical Detection of Anti-Biofilm Activity Using Unnatural Amino Acid-Containing Antimicrobial Peptides
(East Carolina University, 2015)
Bacterial infections are a significant health problem that can be detrimental to the human population. It is estimated that bacterial infections are responsible for billions of dollars’ worth of damages in the health care ...
Photofrin-Mediated Electroporation-Assisted Photodynamic Therapy of MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer and B16-F10 Mouse Melanoma Cells
(East Carolina University, 2011)
Photodynamic therapy is a relatively new player on the field of cancer treatment that involves the injection of a nontoxic light-sensitive drug followed by light excitation, creating reactive oxygen species that cause ...
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, ...
Comparison of ZnO nanoparticles and ZnCl₂ induced germ cell apoptosis in Caenorhabditis elegans
(East Carolina University, 2014)
There is inadequate research data available on manufactured ZnO nanoparticles. Manufactured nanoparticles are widely used in various products and production of manufactured nanoparticles is becoming increasingly abundant. ...