"Oxidative stress is a type of cellular stress that can damage and kill cells. While it is naturally occurring, many non-natural substances found in our environment can also induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which then cause oxidative stress within the cell. Oxidative stress has been shown to be involved in the death of neurons in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The primary causes for these diseases are still unknown; however, we do know oxidative stress plays a primary role in their development. In conditions where oxidative stress is present, adenosine receptor expression has been upregulated and has played a cytoprotective role, but the specific mechanism of action is unknown. In this thesis, oxidative stress was studied in a model eukaryote, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the effects of the expression of the human A1 and A2A receptors upon stress response was examined. Oxidative stress was induced by the addition of hydrogen peroxide at concentrations of .5 mM, 1 mM, and 2 mM. The growth of cells expressing either A1-GFP R or A2A-GFP R at the varying hydrogen peroxide concentrations were compared to the parental cells. Confocal microscopy was performed to determine the receptor expression levels, and to confirm the expression of the receptors via their GFP tag. Immunoblots were also performed to assess the receptor expression level at the differing hydrogen peroxide concentrations. A ROS assay was also performed to show the presence of ROS and oxidative stress in the cells. No significant increase in receptor level expression or localization for either A1 R or A2A R at the varying hydrogen peroxide concentrations was found. The data did show trends indicating that A2A receptors may help process the oxidative stress better than A1 receptors and that A2A receptor containing cells had a shorter doubling time. However, more research on this subject should be performed in the future. However, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide should be greatly increased for further experiments in S. cerevisiae in order to better differentiate the trends observed." / 1 / Bryan Goldman
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_47112 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Contributors | Goldman, Bryan A. (author), Robinson, Anne (Thesis advisor), School of Science & Engineering Neuroscience (Degree granting institution) |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | electronic |
| Rights | No embargo |
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