published_or_final_version / abstract / Surgery / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Mechanical Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

The infectious first-stage larvae of the nematode Trichinella spiralis is an intracellular parasite of altered skeletal muscle. Invasion of the muscle cell initiates a series of morphological changes in the host muscle cell which ultimately results in a specialized unit called the nurse cell. The completed nurse cell consists of a collagenous capsule, matrix of altered sarcoplasm, and a circulatory rete. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of collagen present in the nurse cell capsule. Additionally, the presence of the gl ycoproteins, laminin and tenascin was determined. This study also sought to demonstrate the location of the selected extracellular matrix proteins within the capsule. Nurse cells were isolated from infected host muscle by sequential protease treatment with pronase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase. Nurse cells were digested with pepsin to produce characteristic pepsin-resistant triple helical fragments of collagen. The nurse cellpepsin digest was characterized by SDS-page, under reduced and nonreduced conditions, with type VI collagen and the ala2a3 chains of type XI collagen. Frozen tissue sections of infected and non-infected rat diaphragms were screened with specific polyclonal antibodies against types I, m, IV, V/Xl, and VI collagen, laminin, and tenascin. Indirect immunofluorescence using FITC secondary antibodies was used to locate the protein in the capsule and host tissue. SDS-page of the nurse cell-pepsin digest produced an electrophoretic pattern of resistant fragments characteristic for types I, III, IV, V, and VI collagen. Additionally, fragments migrated with an apparent molecular weight expected for pepsin resistant fragments of laminin. Indirect immunofluorescence showed types I, III, IV, and VI collagen, and laminin were distributed throughout the capsule. Serum No. 4876, which recognizes type V /XJ collagen, localized to the larvae. Tenascin failed to stain the nurse cell or host tissue. The results show that the capsule is a heterogenic structure with types I, III, IV, V, and VI collagens, and laminin distributed throughout the structure. The immunolocalization of Serum No. 4876 to the larvae suggests that a nematode collagen shares an amino acid sequence in common with mammalian type V /XI collagen.

No description available.

During early embryonic development, endodermal cells leave the inner cell mass (ICM) and migrate over an extracellular matrix (ECM), located on the blastocoelic side of the trophectoderm, to form a continuous layer of extraembryonic endoderm. Cell migration events depend on a family of cell surface proteins known as integrins that bind specific ECM proteins. In an effort to understand the mechanisms involved in bovine endodermal cell migration, two experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, expression of the ECM proteins fibronectin, laminin and vitronectin was evaluated by immunofluorescent staining in in vivo and in vitro developing embryos during Day 6-10 and Day 7-10, respectively (Day 0=onset of estrus). Fibronectin was detected in all stages of in vivo and in vitro embryos, however no difference (P>0.10) was observed due to day or developmental stage. Laminin staining was moderately expressed in all stages of in vivo embryos, with an increase (P<0.05) in Day 10 in vivo embryos. Laminin staining in Day 9 in vitro embryos was less intense (P<0.05) than Day 7 and 8 in vitro embryos. Higher (P<0.05) expression of laminin was observed in Day l0 in vivo embryos as compared to Day 10 in vitro. Vitronectin staining was expressed throughout all stages of development. Day 6 in vivo embryos exhibited more intense (P<0.05) staining compared to Day 8 in vivo embryos. Day 10 in vivo embryos expressed more (P<0.05) vitronectin than Day 10 in vitro embryos. In the second experiment, the effects of ECM-type and inhibitors of integrin binding on bovine endodermal cell outgrowth from the ICM were evaluated. Day 7 embryos were nonsurgically collected and cultured for 96 h on either fibronectin-layered microdrops containing 0 (control), 0.5 or 1.0 mg/ml RGD and/or EILDV peptides or vitronectin-layered microdrops containing 0, 0.5 or 1.0 mg/ml RGD peptides. At 24-h intervals, ICM were photographed and the numbers of cells leaving the ICM were counted. Areas of cellular outgrowth were calculated from the photomicrographs. Compared to the control, addition of 0.5 or 1.0 mg/ml RGD, EILDV or RGD and EILDV did not (P>0.10) reduce the areas of cellular outgrowth from the ICM on matrices of fibronectin. Numbers of cells in outgrowths were greater (P<0.05) in control ICM compared to 0.5 mg/ml RGD, but this effect was eliminated (P>0.10) when the inhibitor concentration was increased to 1.0 mg/ml. Addition of 0.5 or 1.0 mg/ml RGD did not reduce (P>0.10) the area of cellular outgrowth from the ICM on vitronectin and had no effect (P>0.10) on numbers of cells in the outgrowths. Detection of fibronectin, laminin and vitronectin by immunofluorescence suggests these proteins are present in the developing bovine embryo to support endodermal cell migration and stabilization in extraembryonic endoderm formation. Because cell migration over fibronectin and vitronectin was not inhibited by the RGD and EILDV peptides, endodermal cells must use either an integrin that recognizes alternative binding sites in fibronectin and vitronectin or an alternative cell adhesion system. / Graduation date: 2003

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

One of the challenges in tissue engineering is to fabricate scaffolds which can mimic the natural microenvironments of cells. In a cell niche, biophysical and mechanical cues are crucial factors influencing cell functions. Given the complexity of natural extracellular matrix (ECM) engineered ECMs providing controllable biophysical and mechanical cues are appealing both in enhancing the understanding of cell-matrix interaction and in controlling cell fates in vitro. The ultimate goal of our study is to establish a platform as an engineered ECM by fabricating customized solid protein microstructures from solution using two-photon photochemical crosslinking, a novel laser-based freeform fabrication technique. In this study, protein structures varying from submicron lines, 2D micropatterns and microporous matrices, to 3D micropillars were successfully fabricated, demonstrating freeform fabrication capability with two-photon photochemical crosslinking. Two-photon fluorescent imaging and scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based microstructural characterization revealed that power, scan speed, total exposure time and concentrations of protein (bovine serum albumin) and photosensitizer (rose Bengal) in the solution were crucial processing parameters in this fabrication technique. Quantitative imaging analysis showed that porosity of protein matrices was highly dependent on processing parameters including power, scan speed, number of cycles in time series scan and protein concentrations in the solution. An atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based step change nano-compression test was used to measure the reduced elastic modulus of 3D viscoelastic protein micro-pillars fabricated, as a pilot study. Microporous protein matrices and 3D micropillar arrays fabricated with two-photon photochemical crosslinking can be used as engineered ECM for future study in cell-ECM interactions. / published_or_final_version / Mechanical Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) induced extra cellular matrix (ECM) degradation is a crucial process involved in the development of many chronic inflammatory diseases, including cardiac remodeling and cancer metastasis. In cardiac remodeling, the presence of pathological stimuli leads to elevated MMP-9 expression and impairment of cardiac performance, which subsequently develops into heart failure. While in tumorgenesis, MMP-9 has been found to play key roles in metastasis, as it can break physical barriers for the tumor. Therefore, searching for agents targeting MMP-9 is a new direction for the treatment of cardiac remodeling and cancer metastasis. Chinese herbal medicine is becoming increasingly used worldwide in recent decades. In the past twenty years, as many highly selective and sensitive bioassays were introduced into the bioactive compounds screening from herbal medicine, more than one hundred new drug candidates have been identified. Therefore, herbal medicine is a potential source of bioactive compounds. Panax notoginseng (PNG) is one of the most common traditional Chinese medicines to treat cardiovascular diseases, and it was also reported to have anti-cancer effect. We hypothesized that it contains bioactive compounds that could inhibit MMP-9 activity in cardiomyocytes and cancer cells. In order to examine the effect of PNG on cardiac remodeling and cancer metastasis, we employed TNF-α induced MMP-9 in H9c2 cell (a rat cardiomyocyte) and HepG-2 cell (a human hepatoma cell) as an in vitro assay, respectively. PNG was first extracted by four different extraction methods according to the polarity of the solvent. The most effective fraction in suppressing MMP-9 activity in TNF-α induced H9c2 cell was chosen for further separation by silica gel column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) until a single compound was isolated. According to the result of spectroscopic analysis by NMR, the compound was identified as ginsenoside Rb1. For the bioactivity assays, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to measure the mRNA and protein expression of MMP-9, respectively. We also examined the MMP-9 activity by gelatin zymography. The results showed that both of the PNG extract obtained from 10% ethanol extraction method (PNG-3) and purified Compound P (ginsenoside Rb1) showed significant inhibitory effect on MMP-9 expression and activity in H9c2 cells and HepG-2 cells. We further examined the molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effect of PNG-3. H9c2 and HepG-2 cells were pretreated with different kinase inhibitors followed by the activation by TNF-α. The results showed the protein kinase R (PKR) inhibitor could inhibit TNF-α induced MMP-9 in both of the two cell lines. Furthermore, the results of Western blot showed the PNG-3 suppressed the phosphorylation of eIF-2α which is a down-stream effector of PKR in TNF-α stimulated H9c2 and HepG-2 cells, respectively. Therefore, PNG-3 may act through PKR to regulate TNF-α induced MMP-9 activity. In summary, bioactivity guided fractionation is an effective way of isolating bioactive compounds from medicinal herbs. In addition, PNG containing ginsenoside Rb1 may be a potential candidate of MMP-9 inhibition for the treatment of cardiac remodeling and cancer metastasis. / published_or_final_version / Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

abstract / Mechanical Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy