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The Effects Of Environmental Variation On Individual Variation
(East Carolina University, 2015)
Despite general consensus among ecologists that variation is ubiquitous and important in nature, ecological experiments have historically focused on changes in mean response assuming a constant environment and interchangeable ...
Assessing The Monophyly Of Red Algae And Green Plants Via Core Conserved Informational Genes
(East Carolina University, 2015)
For well over a century the existence of a monophyletic relationship between red algae and green plants has been debated. Many scholars have sought to address this issue, however, a consistent solution to the problem has ...
Reproductive Plasticity In Two Subspecies Of A Cleistogamous Plant, Triodanis Perfoliata
(East Carolina University, 2015)
Dimorphic cleistogamy is an intriguing reproductive strategy in which a plant produces both closed (cleistogamous), obligately selfing flowers and open (chasmogamous) flowers. Phenotypic plasticity in the production of ...
Neurological Effects Of A Single Low Level Blast Overpressure Exposure : Behavior And Micro RNA Mechanisms Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In A Rodent Model
(East Carolina University, 2015)
The increased use of explosive devices within warfare and acts of terrorism has allowed blast overpressure exposure (BOE) to become a significant concern. The most common wound sustained by BOE is blast-induced mild traumatic ...
USING LASER CAPTURE MICRODISSECTION (LCM) TO EXAMINE MADS-BOX GENE EXPRESSION IN THE UPPER AND LOWER FLORAL MERISTEMS OF MAIZE
(East Carolina University, 2013)
MADS-box transcription factors are important regulators of flower development in all flowering plants. In the grasses, flowers (called florets) are contained in spikelets. Maize spikelets contain two florets (the upper and ...
SPATIAL EXPRESSION OF MATRIX AND MATRIX RECEPTOR PROTEINS IN THE DEVELOPING SYNOVIAL JOINT
(East Carolina University, 2013)
Little is understood about the complex spatial and temporal molecular interactions necessary to form a fully functional synovial joint. Understanding molecular pathways and signaling within the developing joint continues ...
Inhibitory and oxidative effects of gossypol on MCF7 Breast Cancer cells in vitro
(East Carolina University, 2013)
Human cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and breast cancer is responsible for the second highest number of deaths in women with cancer worldwide. Today, cancer is becoming more and more ...
The Evolution of Organ Shape : Distal Tip Cell Migration and Gonadogenesis in Nematodes
(East Carolina University, 2013)
Animals display a variety of shapes in nature. The different shape of homologous organs allows them to adopt different functions and therefore, allows animals to live in different ecological niches. However, little is ...
Characterization of the Role of Mcm10 in DNA Replication in Drosophila melanogaster
(East Carolina University, 2013)
Replication of the genome and proper formation, and packaging, of chromatin are processes essential to eukaryotic life. Maintenance of epigenetic chromatin states is essential for faithfully reproducing the transcriptional ...
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. ...