Phospholipase C -- Mechanism of action. Retinal degeneration -- Pathophysiology. Retinal degeneration -- Genetic aspects. Endocytosis. Rhodopsin. Cellular signal transduction. Light -- Physiological effect. Arrestin. Clathrin. Adaptor Proteins
Mutations in the Drosophila retinal-specific Phospholipase C (NORPA) cause massive retinal degeneration within five days of constant light exposure. We have previously shown that in norpA mutants persistent complexes between the light receptor...
We have a limited understanding of how an opinion is originated, how an opinion and information supporting and explaining it gets conveyed, and how the communicated opinion is perceived and processed by others. One direction of current research...
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is a major positive regulator of the PI3K signaling pathway that regulates many important cellular functions including growth, proliferation, survival, metabolism, and angiogenesis. The PIK3CA gene, encoding the...
The BCL2 family of proteins control intrinsic apoptosis at the mitochondria through a delicate balance of pro and anti-apoptotic proteins. Anti-apoptotic proteins are frequently relied upon by cancer cells, making them ideal targets for...
Eukaryotic cells are compartmentalized into membrane-enclosed organelles. Genetic screens and reconstituted biochemical assays have revealed that intracellular protein trafficking is mediated by a conserved mechanism of vesicle budding, transport,...
Bradyrhizobium japonicum forms a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with soybean. Signaling events, such as production of flavonoids and Nod factor, initiate the interaction, leading to formation of specialized root organs called nodules. A B. japonicum...
Proper chromosome alignment and segregation depends on the formation and maintenance of a bipolar mitotic spindle with focused poles. It has been shown that microtubules are focused at spindle poles through the combined actions of centrosomes and a...
The fluxes of radiation belt electrons are highly variable, due to a competition between various acceleration, loss, and transport processes. Studies of any of the processes are equally important. My study focuses on electron-EMIC (electromagnetic...
The advent of hypervisors revolutionized the computing industry in terms of malware prevention and detection, secure virtual machine managers, and cloud resilience. However, this has resulted in a disjointed response to handling known threats...
Si-based quantum devices, including Si/SiGe quantum dots (QD), are promising candidates for spin-based quantum bits (quits), which are a potential platform for quantum information processing [1]. Meanwhile, qubit readout remains a challenging task...
Whistler-mode chorus waves have recently drawn tremendous attention as an important mechanism for controlling the energetic electron flux in Earth’s radiation belt. This dissertation aims to answer questions about whistler-mode chorus waves, such...
Visual pigments. ; Cellular signal transduction. ; Rhodopsin. ; G proteins. ; Phosphorylation. ; Photoreceptors. ; Retinal degeneration.
Arrestins are regulatory proteins that participate in the termination of G protein-mediated signal transduction. The major arrestin in the Drosophila visual system, Arrestin 2 (Arr2), has been demonstrated to be essential for the termination of the...
Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) is a neurovisceral disease that causes intracellular accumulation of cholesterol and other lipids. The exact mechanism how the defects in cholesterol trafficking pathways result in the progressive neurological damage is...
The ectomycorrhizal symbiosis between temperate forest trees and some soil fungi is an adaptation to resource limitations of both symbionts. Nitrogen enrichment of historically N-limited forest ecosystems may change this symbiosis through direct...
Nitric oxide -- Analysis. ; Dithiocarbamates. ; Iron compounds. ; Organonitrogen compounds. ; Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.
Nitric oxide is synthesized by living organisms and plays important roles in circulatory, neurological, and immune function. Nitric oxide can also play pathophysiological roles, depending on the amount of the molecule, the presence of other species...
Apoptosis is induced by chemicals and death receptor activation. Although the stimuli are different, common proteins are activated downstream. The Bcl-2 family of proteins plays an important role in mediating apoptotic signaling at the mitochondria...