A developing vertebrate embryo can only subsist for a finite time without a vasculature. The vascular system is one of the earliest organ systems to develop and allows continued rapid maturation of complex multicellular organisms. Failure of the cardiovascular system to develop results in early termination of the fetus. Together, my thesis research demonstrates the important implications that development and cell biology have on vascular function and repair. First, a thorough evaluation of characteristics of vascular smooth muscle cells from differing regions of the adult and embryonic aorta revealed that differences between the ascending and descending embryonic aortae converge in the adult. These data have important implications for vascular development and disease. The second story examines the cell biological implications of the loss of centromere protein F (CENP-F). A cardiac specific deletion of CENP-F results in dilated cardiomyopathy and by understanding how CENP-F alters cell biology in a model cell line, we now know how loss of CENP-F modifies cardiac biology. Ultimately, these seemingly disparate studies further our understanding of vascular biology and disease.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-06182014-141846 |
| Date | 24 June 2014 |
| Creators | Pfaltzgraff, Elise Rachel |
| Contributors | Ryoma Ohi, Chee Lim, Ellen Dees, Jeff Reese |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-06182014-141846/ |
| Rights | restrictone, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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