Global ETD Search

1	The Role of the Defective Nav1.4 Channels in the Mechanism of Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis Lucas, Brooke 12 January 2012 (has links) Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperKPP) is an autosomal dominant human skeletal muscle channelopathy that causes periods of myotonic discharge and periodic paralysis due to defective Nav1.4 sodium channels. Patients are asymptomatic at birth, attacks become short and frequent during childhood, and more severe during adolescence. Since the Nav1.4 content in the cell membrane is relatively constant during childhood, it was hypothesized that some symptoms start with the defective Nav1.4 channels, while other symptoms start after some changes occur in gene expression affecting other membrane channel content and/or activity. To test the hypothesis, the contractile characteristics of EDL and soleus muscles from HyperKPP mice from the age of 0.5 to 12 months were tested in vitro. For both EDL and soleus, contractile defects, including low force generation, instability and large unstimulated force were observed by two weeks of age. With aging, the defects did not worsen, but muscles actually showed some improvement. Considering that Nav1.4 protein content reaches maximum at three weeks of age, the data suggests that HyperKPP symptoms are solely due to the defective Nav1.4 channels. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis Nav1.4 sodium channels
2	The Role of the Defective Nav1.4 Channels in the Mechanism of Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis Lucas, Brooke 12 January 2012 (has links) Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperKPP) is an autosomal dominant human skeletal muscle channelopathy that causes periods of myotonic discharge and periodic paralysis due to defective Nav1.4 sodium channels. Patients are asymptomatic at birth, attacks become short and frequent during childhood, and more severe during adolescence. Since the Nav1.4 content in the cell membrane is relatively constant during childhood, it was hypothesized that some symptoms start with the defective Nav1.4 channels, while other symptoms start after some changes occur in gene expression affecting other membrane channel content and/or activity. To test the hypothesis, the contractile characteristics of EDL and soleus muscles from HyperKPP mice from the age of 0.5 to 12 months were tested in vitro. For both EDL and soleus, contractile defects, including low force generation, instability and large unstimulated force were observed by two weeks of age. With aging, the defects did not worsen, but muscles actually showed some improvement. Considering that Nav1.4 protein content reaches maximum at three weeks of age, the data suggests that HyperKPP symptoms are solely due to the defective Nav1.4 channels. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis Nav1.4 sodium channels
3	The Role of the Defective Nav1.4 Channels in the Mechanism of Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis Lucas, Brooke 12 January 2012 (has links) Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperKPP) is an autosomal dominant human skeletal muscle channelopathy that causes periods of myotonic discharge and periodic paralysis due to defective Nav1.4 sodium channels. Patients are asymptomatic at birth, attacks become short and frequent during childhood, and more severe during adolescence. Since the Nav1.4 content in the cell membrane is relatively constant during childhood, it was hypothesized that some symptoms start with the defective Nav1.4 channels, while other symptoms start after some changes occur in gene expression affecting other membrane channel content and/or activity. To test the hypothesis, the contractile characteristics of EDL and soleus muscles from HyperKPP mice from the age of 0.5 to 12 months were tested in vitro. For both EDL and soleus, contractile defects, including low force generation, instability and large unstimulated force were observed by two weeks of age. With aging, the defects did not worsen, but muscles actually showed some improvement. Considering that Nav1.4 protein content reaches maximum at three weeks of age, the data suggests that HyperKPP symptoms are solely due to the defective Nav1.4 channels. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis Nav1.4 sodium channels
4	The Role of the Defective Nav1.4 Channels in the Mechanism of Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis Lucas, Brooke January 2012 (has links) Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperKPP) is an autosomal dominant human skeletal muscle channelopathy that causes periods of myotonic discharge and periodic paralysis due to defective Nav1.4 sodium channels. Patients are asymptomatic at birth, attacks become short and frequent during childhood, and more severe during adolescence. Since the Nav1.4 content in the cell membrane is relatively constant during childhood, it was hypothesized that some symptoms start with the defective Nav1.4 channels, while other symptoms start after some changes occur in gene expression affecting other membrane channel content and/or activity. To test the hypothesis, the contractile characteristics of EDL and soleus muscles from HyperKPP mice from the age of 0.5 to 12 months were tested in vitro. For both EDL and soleus, contractile defects, including low force generation, instability and large unstimulated force were observed by two weeks of age. With aging, the defects did not worsen, but muscles actually showed some improvement. Considering that Nav1.4 protein content reaches maximum at three weeks of age, the data suggests that HyperKPP symptoms are solely due to the defective Nav1.4 channels. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis Nav1.4 sodium channels
5	The Potential of Modulating Na+ K+ Atpase Pumps and Katp Channels in the Development of a New Therapy to Treat Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis Ammar, Tarek January 2017 (has links) Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HyperKPP) is characterized by myotonic discharges and weakness/paralysis. It is a channelopathy that is caused by mutation in the SCN4A gene that encodes for the skeletal muscle Na+ channel isoform (Nav1.4) α-subunit. Limb muscles are severely affected while breathing musculature is rarely affected even though diaphragm expresses the Nav1.4 channel. The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism(s) that render the HyperKPP diaphragm asymptomatic in order to find a novel long lasting therapeutic approach, to treat HyperKPP symptoms. A HyperKPP mouse model carrying the M1592V mutation was used because it has a similar phenotype to that of patients carrying the same mutation. HyperKPP diaphragm, the limb muscles soleus and EDL all had a higher tetrodotoxin (TTX) sensitive Na+ influx than wild type (WT), but only the soleus and EDL had a depolarized resting potential, lower force and greater K+-induced force loss when compared to WT. The lack of a membrane depolarization in HyperKPP diaphragm was because of greater electrogenic contribution of the Na+ K+ ATPase pump compared to WT while such increase was not observed in EDL and soleus. HyperKPP diaphragm also had greater action potential amplitude than EDL and soleus possibly because of higher Na+ K+ ATPase pump maintaining a low [Na+]i. An inhibition of PKA, but not of PKC, increased the sensitivity of the HyperKPP diaphragm to the K+-induced force depression. So, HyperKPP soleus was exposed to forskolin to increase cAMP levels in order to activate PKA to document whether greater activity of PKA will alleviate HyperKPP symptoms. At 4.7 mM K+, forskolin increased force production, but worsened the decrease in force at 8 and 11 mM K+. Forskolin also did not improve membrane excitability. Pinacidil a KATP channel opener, improved force production at all [K+]e by causing a hyperpolarization of resting EM which then allowed for greater action potential amplitude and more excitable fibers. It is concluded that the development of a better therapeutic approach to treat HyperKPP can include a mechanism which activates Na+ K+ ATPase pumps and KATP channels. Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis Channelopathy Nav1.4 channel Na+ K+ ATPase pump KATP channel
6	Evolutionary Genetics of Tetrodotoxin (TTX) Resistance in Snakes: Tracking a Feeding Adaptation from Populations Through Clades Feldman, Chris R. 01 December 2008 (has links) Understanding the nature of adaptive evolution has been the recent focus of research detailing the genetic basis of adaptation and theoretical work describing the mechanics of adaptive evolution. Nevertheless, key questions regarding the process of adaptive evolution remain. Ultimately, a detailed description of the ecological context, evolutionary history, and genetic basis of adaptations is required to advance our understanding of adaptive evolution. To address some of the contemporary issues surrounding adaptive evolution, I examine phenotypic and genotypic changes in a snake feeding adaptation. Adaptations can arise through fixation of novel mutations or recruitment of existing variation. Some populations of the garter snakes Thamnophis sirtalis, T. couchii, and T. atratus possess elevated resistance to tetrodotoxin (TTX), the lethal toxin of their newt prey. I show that TTX resistance has evolved independently through amino acid changes at critical sites in a voltage-gated sodium channel protein (Nav1.4) targeted by TTX. Thus, adaptive evolution has occurred multiple times in garter snakes via de novo acquisition of beneficial mutations. Detailing the genetic basis of adaptive variation in natural populations is the first step towards understanding the tempo and mode of adaptive evolution. I evaluate the contribution of Nav1.4 alleles to TTX resistance in two garter snake species from central coastal California. Allelic variation in Nav1.4 explains 29% and 98% of the variation in TTX resistance in T. atratus and T. sirtalis, respectively, demonstrating that Nav1.4 is a major effect locus. The simple genetic architecture of TTX resistance in garter snakes may significantly impact the dynamics of trait change and coevolution. Patterns of convergent evolution are cited as some of the most compelling examples of the strength of natural selection in shaping organismal diversity. Yet repeated patterns may tell us as much about the constraints that restrict evolution as about the importance of natural selection. I present data on convergent molecular adaptations in parallel arms races between diverse snakes and amphibians from across the globe. Six snake species that prey on TTX bearing amphibians have independently acquired amino acid changes in Nav1.4. The derived mutations are clustered in two portions of the gene, often involving the same sites and substitutions. While a number of amino acid changes can make Nav1.4 insensitive to TTX, most of these negatively impact or abolish the ion-conducting function of the protein. Thus, intramolecular pleiotropy likely prevents most replacements from becoming fixed and imposes limits on protein evolution. Adaptation Convergent Evolution Molecular Evolution Tetrodotoxin (TTX) Thamnophis Biology Genetics Molecular Genetics
7	Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution of the Voltage-gated Sodium Channel Gene scn4aa in the Electric Fish Genus Gymnotus Xiao, Dawn Dong-yi 19 March 2014 (has links) Analyses of the evolution and function of voltage-gated sodium channel proteins (Navs) have largely been limited to mutations from individual people with diagnosed neuromuscular disease. This project investigates the carboxyl-terminus of the Nav paralog (locus scn4aa 3’) that is preferentially expressed in electric organs of Neotropical weakly-electric fishes (Order Gymnotiformes). As a model system, I used the genus Gymnotus, a diverse clade of fishes that produce species-specific electric organ discharges (EODs). I clarified evolutionary relationships among Gymnotus species using mitochondrial (cytochrome b, and 16S ribosome) and nuclear (rag2, and scn4aa) gene sequences (3739 nucleotide positions from 28 Gymnotus species). I analyzed the molecular evolution of scn4aa 3’, and detected evidence for positive selection at eight amino acid sites in seven Gymnotus lineages. These eight amino acid sites are located in motifs that may be important for modulation of EOD frequencies. phylogeny systematics molecular evolution evolution voltage-gated sodium channel scn4a Nav1.4 sodium channel gene protein fish electric fish knifefish Neotropical fish Gymnotiform Gymnotus electric organ discharge electric field electric organ electric signal cytochrome b 16S ribosome phylogenetic reconstruction phylogenetic tree evolutionary history positive selection patterns of selection neuromuscular disease gene duplication differential expression maximum parsimony parsimony PAUP* Bayesian inference MrBayes Bayesian maximum likelihood PAML 0307
8	Phylogeny and Molecular Evolution of the Voltage-gated Sodium Channel Gene scn4aa in the Electric Fish Genus Gymnotus Xiao, Dawn Dong-yi 19 March 2014 (has links) Analyses of the evolution and function of voltage-gated sodium channel proteins (Navs) have largely been limited to mutations from individual people with diagnosed neuromuscular disease. This project investigates the carboxyl-terminus of the Nav paralog (locus scn4aa 3’) that is preferentially expressed in electric organs of Neotropical weakly-electric fishes (Order Gymnotiformes). As a model system, I used the genus Gymnotus, a diverse clade of fishes that produce species-specific electric organ discharges (EODs). I clarified evolutionary relationships among Gymnotus species using mitochondrial (cytochrome b, and 16S ribosome) and nuclear (rag2, and scn4aa) gene sequences (3739 nucleotide positions from 28 Gymnotus species). I analyzed the molecular evolution of scn4aa 3’, and detected evidence for positive selection at eight amino acid sites in seven Gymnotus lineages. These eight amino acid sites are located in motifs that may be important for modulation of EOD frequencies. phylogeny systematics molecular evolution evolution voltage-gated sodium channel scn4a Nav1.4 sodium channel gene protein fish electric fish knifefish Neotropical fish Gymnotiform Gymnotus electric organ discharge electric field electric organ electric signal cytochrome b 16S ribosome phylogenetic reconstruction phylogenetic tree evolutionary history positive selection patterns of selection neuromuscular disease gene duplication differential expression maximum parsimony parsimony PAUP* Bayesian inference MrBayes Bayesian maximum likelihood PAML 0307

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