Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations by Department "Molecular Physiology & Biophysics"
Now showing items 1-18 of 18
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(2023-11-21)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsPancreatic islet insulin secretion is impaired during diabetes pathogenesis, due in part to disruption of β-cell Ca2+ handling. TALK-1 K+ channels are key regulators of ꞵ-cell electrical excitability, Ca2+ entry, and ...
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(2021-08-13)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsFunctional seizures (FS), paroxysmal episodes that present like epileptic seizures but display no aberrant brain electrical patterns, are understudied. Patients have few treatment modalities and a high rate of comorbidities. Our ...
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(2023-08-15)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsCCN2 is a matricellular protein that stimulates beta-cell mass expansion during situations of sub-optimal beta-cell mass such as during embryogenesis, after beta-cell ablation, and during pregnancy. It was hypothesized ...
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(2020-03-28)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsG6PC2 encodes a glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit that is highly expressed in pancreatic islet beta cells. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the G6PC2 ...
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(2023-08-14)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsThis thesis identifies the molecular and physiological targets downstream of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation that promote the weight-lowering effect of GLP-1R agonists. The first project builds on ...
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(2021-06-14)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsThe two-pore domain K+ channel, TALK-1 modulates pancreatic β- and δ-cell Ca2+ ([Ca2+]c) entry and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ ([Ca2+]ER) handling thereby impacting hormone secretion and glucose tolerance. To investigate ...
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(2023-04-18)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsHypertension is a major risk factor for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and emerging evidence implicates inflammation as integral to its pathogenesis. Clinical samples from patients admitted with heart ...
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(2024-07-17)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsWe longitudinally assessed changes in metabolic parameters and feeding behaviors in male and female mice switched to obesogenic 45% or 60% high-fat diets (HFD) over multiple weeks. HFD fed mice experience chronic caloric ...
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(2023-03-07)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsPancreatic islets perform homeostatic functions thru complex cell-to-cell communication systems that rely on sensing activity from nearby and distant cells. Diabetes mellitus can result from the perturbation of these ...
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(2021-06-03)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsPancreatic islets are central in the control of blood glucose and their dysfunction is a hallmark of diabetes. Incomplete knowledge of islet biology currently prevents diagnostic and therapeutic approaches based on molecular ...
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(2024-02-19)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsMultiple studies have shown that elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and many other conditions. Given the biological importance of FBG, genetic ...
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(2020-03-30)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsPrecise regulation of neuronal gene transcription is essential for normal brain function. For instance, neuronal depolarization leads to phosphorylation of the nuclear transcription factor CREB (pCREB), a critical transcription ...
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(2024-03-12)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsNeuroinflammation and brain iron dyshomeostasis are key features of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Specifically, microglial activation and iron load have been recently appreciated ...
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(2023-11-09)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsAntisense long non-coding RNAs (antisense lncRNAs) are ubiquitous in the human genome and important for many diseases and biological functions. Despite their importance, the mechanisms by which they exert their function ...
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(2024-06-20)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsAs incidence of maternal obesity increases, the effects of maternal overnutrition and the therapeutics prescribed to prevent or treat peri-gestational glucose intolerance on offspring health should be considered. My work ...
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(2022-06-14)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsNearly half of adults in the United States report having tried to lose weight in the past year, yet approximately 70% of adults are considered overweight. Recent literature supports the notion that weight regain is common ...
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(2024-03-21)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsThe studies described in this dissertation sought to better understand the role of vascular inflammation in the pathogenesis of blinding retinal disease, and explored routes to mitigate this inflammation in the pursuit of ...
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(2024-03-21)Department: Molecular Physiology & BiophysicsThe studies described in this dissertation sought to better understand the role of vascular inflammation in the pathogenesis of blinding retinal disease, and explored routes to mitigate this inflammation in the pursuit of ...