Breast cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in U.S. women. The studies presented in this …
Ischemia –reperfusion (IR) injury is an unavoidable consequence of the interruption and reintroduction of blood to an organ. During liver transplantation, aged and steatotic donors …
This dissertation attempted to elucidate the role of - and -defensins in JCPyV infection, determine a mechanism of action of HD5-mediated JCPyV neutralization, and to …
Background and Aims: The canonical Wnt signaling pathway is frequently activated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although b-catenin is the principle effector protein of Wnt pathway, …
Germ cell specification is required for reproduction in all sexually reproducing animals. During animal development, animals can specify their germ cells through inheritance of maternal …
Substitutions that disrupt pre-mRNA splicing are a common cause of genetic disease. On average, 13.4% of all hereditary disease alleles are classified as splicing mutations …
Christianson syndrome (CS) is an X-linked, monogenic, neurological disorder caused by mutations in SLC9A6, the gene encoding Na+/H+ exchanger 6 (NHE6). Symptoms of CS include …
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are conserved post-transcriptional regulators which epigenetically suppress mRNAs in precise, highly regulated yet convoluted manners. MiRNAs are essential for the development and maintenance …
The transcriptional repressor Rev-erbα is known to attenuate gene expression in a variety of metabolic pathways including gluconeogenesis and fatty acid metabolism. Changes in these …
Non-classical T cell responses to murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) are incompletely understood, in part due to a lack of tools to study them. To uncover the …
The human genome is organized in a hierarchical manner from higher order to lower order structures. At the highest level are chromosome territories that are …
Endocrine disruptors are a broad class of toxicants with the ability to alter and/or interfere with normal endocrine signaling. The perinatal period is particularly vulnerable …
The phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway is essential for cell survival, growth, proliferation, and differentiation. It is highly conserved and …
Phthalates are a class of industrial chemicals that are present in numerous consumer products, and to which humans are universally exposed. Phthalates have posed significant …
Stimulation of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative human breast cancer cells with 17β-estradiol (E2β) results in fibronectin (FN) matrix assembly and transactivation of the epidermal growth factor …
Cellular homeostasis depends on proper spatiotemporal partitioning of biochemistry. In addition to the classical paradigm of subcellular division through membrane-bound organelles, cells utilize the phenomenon …
The Sertoli cell is the "support cell" of the testis. The number of Sertoli cells which populate the testis during peri-pubertal development dictate the number …
Coordinate gene regulation is critical to promote normal development and prevent disease. How domains of co-regulation are established in vivo remains poorly understood. X-chromosome dosage …
Despite being essential for organismal survival, genomic DNA is chemically reactive and susceptible to modification to generate mutagenic and/or cytotoxic lesions. These lesions include oxidation, …