No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 156 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Univ., 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. "August 2008" Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Quorum sensing in Gram-negative bacteria is best understood in the bioluminescent marine microorganism, <i>Vibrio fischeri</i>. In <i>V. fischeri</i>, the luminescence or <i>lux</i> genes are regulated in a cell density-dependent manner by the activator LuxR in the presence of an acylated homoserine lactone autoinducer molecule (3-oxo-hexanoyl homoserine lactone). LuxR, which binds to the <i>lux</i> operon promoter at position -42.5, is thought to function as an ambidextrous activator making multiple contacts with RNA polymerase (RNAP). The specific role of the <font face = "symbol">a</font>CTD of RNAP in LuxR-dependent transcriptional activation of the <i>lux</i> operon promoter has been investigated. The effect of seventy alanine substitution variants of the <font face = "symbol">a</font> subunit was determined <i>in vivo</i> by measuring the rate of transcription of the <i>lux</i> operon via luciferase assays in recombinant <i>Escherichia coli</i>. The mutant RNAPs from strains exhibiting at least two fold increased or decreased activity in comparison to the wild-type were further examined by <i>in vitro</i> assays. Since full-length LuxR has not been purified to date, an autoinducer-independent N-terminal truncated form of LuxR, LuxR<font face = "symbol">D</font>N, was used for <i>in vitro</i> studies. Single-round transcription assays were performed using reconstituted mutant RNAPs in the presence of LuxR<font face = "symbol">D</font>N, and fourteen residues in the <font face = "symbol">a</font>CTD were identified as having negative effects on the rate of transcription from the <i>lux</i> operon promoter. Five of these fourteen residues were also involved in the mechanism of both LuxR and LuxR<font face = "symbol">D</font>N-dependent activation <i>in vivo</i> and were chosen for further analysis by DNA mobility shift assays. Results from these assays indicate that while the wild-type <font face = "symbol">a</font>CTD is capable of interacting with the <i>lux</i> DNA fragment tested, all five of the variant forms of the <font face = "symbol">a</font>CTD tested appear to be deficient in their ability to recognize and bind the DNA. These findings suggest that <font face = "symbol">a</font>CTD-DNA interactions may play a role in LuxR-dependent transcriptional activation of the <i>lux</i> operon during quorum sensing. / Master of Science

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 19, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Immunology) -- University of Colorado Denver, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-182). Free to UCD Anschutz Medical Campus. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / IntroduÃÃo: HipÃxia constitui em uma caracterÃstica comum de tumores sÃlidos, como em cÃnceres de cabeÃa e pescoÃo, e nessas condiÃÃes, uma via de sinalizaÃÃo envolvendo um regulador de resposta a oxigÃnio, chamado de Fator Induzido por HipÃxia-1 (HIF-1) tem-se destacado, na tentativa de permitir uma melhor compreensÃo sobre a biologia tumoral do cÃncer. Objetivo: Investigar o papel do HIF-1 em carcinoma epidermÃide oral (CEO) e em lesÃes potencialmente malignas que apresentam displasia epitelial oral (DEO). MÃtodos: Estudo observacional, analÃtico e transversal, atravÃs do diagnÃstico e anÃlise imuno-molecular de lesÃes malignas e potencialmente malignas. Foram incluÃdos 10 casos biopsiados com diagnÃstico histopatolÃgico de CEO e 10 casos de DEO. Utilizou-se a tÃcnica imunohistoquÃmica da Estreptoavitina-Biotina com o anticorpo HIF-1 (marca Abcam, diluiÃÃo 1:200, 60 minutos, recuperaÃÃo antigÃnica com citrato pH6 Pascal), analisando 05 campos de cada caso no aumento de 400X. O nÃmero de cÃlulas em cada um dos cinco campos foi somado e considerou-se como unidade amostral o percentual de cÃlulas imuno-positivas para HIF-1&#945; conforme marcaÃÃo nuclear e citoplasmÃtica, bem como intensidade desta Ãltima. Os resultados foram obtidos e comparados entre grupos por meio dos testes t de Student e ANOVA multifatorial, seguido do pÃs-teste de Bonferroni, tomando como base os nÃveis de significÃncia de 5%. Resultados: Foi observado uma expressÃo citoplasmÃtica de HIF-1&#945; em 58.4Â6.0% das cÃlulas epiteliais das DEO e em 77.8Â3.9% das cÃlulas dos CEO, com diferenÃa significante (p=0.022). O percentual de cÃlulas positivas para HIF-1&#945; com marcaÃÃo nuclear tambÃm mostrou diferenÃa significante (p=0.021) entre DEO (0.2Â0.1%) e CEO (2.4Â0.8). NÃo houve diferenÃa significante entre o percentual de cÃlulas com imunomarcaÃÃo positiva fraca em citoplasma entre DEO e CEO (p=0.337), no entanto, houve aumento significante no percentual de cÃlulas com marcaÃÃo citoplasmÃtica moderada (p=0.029) e forte (p=0.031) entre DEO e CEO. ConclusÃo: Foi observada uma aumento da expressÃo, nuclear e citoplasmÃtica, de HIF-1&#945; de DEO para CEO, sugerindo seu envolvimento em estÃgios iniciais da carcinogÃnese oral. RelevÃncia ClÃnica: Buscar o entendimento das complexas vias de sinalizaÃÃo, bem como do microambiente tumoral, e diferentes comportamentos biolÃgicos no cÃncer oral. / Introduction: Hypoxia is a common feature in solid tumors, such as head and neck cancers, and in these conditions a signaling pathway involving a response regulator oxygen, called hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) we have highlighted in an attempt to provide a better understanding of tumor biology of cancer. Objective: To investigate the role of HIF-1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and premalignant lesions presenting oral epithelial dysplasia. Methods: Observational, analytical and cross through the diagnosis and immuno-molecular analysis of malignant and premalignant lesions. 10 biopsied cases with histopathological diagnosis of the CEO and DEO 10 cases were included. It was used the technique of immunohistochemistry Estreptoavitina-Biotin with HIF-1 antibody (Abcam mark, 1:200 dilution, 60 min pH6 citrate antigen retrieval Pascal) analysis of 05 fields each case at 400X magnification. The number of cells in each of five fields was added and the sample was considered as a unit the percentage of positive cells immuno-HIF-1&#945; nuclear and cytoplasmic as well as intensity thereof. The results were obtained and compared between groups by the Student and multifactor ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post-test t test, based on the significance levels of 5%. Results: Cytoplasmic expression of HIF-1&#945; was observed in 58.4 Â 6.0% of the epithelial cells of the DEO and 77.8 Â 3.9% of the cells of the CEO, with a significant difference (p = 0.022). The percentage of cells positive for HIF-1&#945; nuclear staining also showed significant difference (p = 0.021) between DEO (0.2 Â 0.1%) and CEO (2.4 Â 0.8). There was no significant difference between the percentage of cells with weak positive immunostaining in the cytoplasm between DEO and CEO (p = 0.337), however, a significant increase in the percentage of cells with moderate cytoplasm staining (p = 0.029) and strong (p = 0.031) between DEO and CEO. Conclusion: One increasing the expression, nuclear and cytoplasmic HIF-1&#945; DEO to CEO was observed, suggesting their involvement in the early stages of oral carcinogenesis. Clinical Relevance: Seek understanding of the complex signaling pathways, as well as the tumor microenvironment, and different biological behaviors in oral cancer.

A resposta do LH e do FSH ao estímulo com GnRH, realizado em estádio pré-puberal em pacientes com hipopituitarismo acompanhados até a idade puberal, são úteis para predizer o diagnóstico da deficiência de gonadotrofinas, principalmente nas meninas. O estudo da região codificadora do gene LH em pacientes com hipogonadismo hipogonadotrófico e concentrações normais de LH revelou 5 variantes alélicas. A freqüência das variantes alélicas Arg8 e Thr15 foi similar entre hipogonádicos e adultos normais e a sua presença não interferiu nas concentrações séricas do LH. O estudo das isoformas do LH mostrou um predomínio das isoformas ácidas do LH em hipogonádicos e indivíduos normais, não permitindo atribuir à sua presença a baixa atividade biológica do LH imunorreativo encontrado em 13% dos hipogonádicos / LH and FSH responses to GnRH stimulation carried out in the pre-pubertal stage in patients with hypopituitarism followed until the pubertal stage are useful tools for predicting the gonadotropin deficiency diagnosis, especially in girls. The study of the codifying region of the LH gene in patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and normal LH levels disclosed 5 allelic variants. The frequencies of the allelic variants Arg8 and Thr15 were similar between hypogonadic and normal adults, and their presence did not alter serum LH levels. The study of LH isoforms showed a predominance of acid LH isoforms in hypogonadic and normal subjects, which does not allow us to ascribe to their presence the low biological activity of the immunoreactive LH, found in 13% of the hypogonadic individuals