Browsing by Subject "stem cells"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Estradiol deficiency impairs satellite cell function and causes muscle weakness via an estrogen receptor alpha mediated mechanism
    (2017-12) Collins, Brittany
    Overall, my dissertation work has shown that estradiol is a critical extrinsic factor in females that regulates muscle stem cell (i.e. satellite cell) and skeletal muscle function (Chapters 3 and 4) and estrogen receptor alpha (ER) is the main receptor estradiol utilizes for these functions (Chapters 3 and 4). I identified that the loss of ovarian hormones resulted in impaired satellite cell functions such as maintenance and self-renewal, while estradiol treatment rescued the detrimental effects on satellite cell maintenance and self-renewal (Chapter 3). Further experiments utilized a transgenic mouse that specifically ablated ER in satellite cells, the results of which indicated that ER is necessary for proper satellite cell function (Chapter 3). In agreement with my work on satellite cells, I identified that ER is necessary for overall skeletal muscle function (Chapter 4). I utilized a transgenic mouse model that deleted ER specifically from skeletal muscle fibers which resulted in impairments in strength, power, and fatiguability of skeletal muscle (Chapter 4). The work of my dissertation highlights a novel mechanism for estradiol and ER in skeletal muscle.
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    The Flaws of Stem Cell Legislation: Sherley, Brüstle, and Future Policy Challenges Posed by Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
    (2013-02-12) Diamond, Nicholas J.
    In this article, I first contextualize the origins of disagreement over the nature and extent of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research regulation. By analyzing two key pieces of hESC legislation as considered in two landmark court decisions—one from the United States and one from the European Union—I argue that current stem cell policies are deeply flawed. After surfacing the flaws of these policies, I examine novel challenges for policymakers posed by the newest advancement in stem cell science, induced pluripotent stem cells. In view of these novel challenges, I contend that current policies, which are hESC-focused and deeply flawed, will require substantial revision so as to not unnecessarily encumber the ever-growing therapeutic promise of stem cell research.
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    Stem Cell Technologies for Generating Cells and Organs for Regenerative Medicine
    (2020-12) Shetty, Anala Vinay Kumar
    The ultimate goal in the fields of interspecies chimerism and blastocyst complementation is to overcome the shortage of organs available for transplantation by developing transplantable human organs in relevant host animals such as pigs. In spite of the massive progress in these fields, there are still major hurdles, both technological as well as ethical, that need to be tackled. The current study focuses on developing a 3D ex-vivo Matrigel based system for culturing mouse embryos until the implantation stage. This ex-vivo system can be used to study the development of wild-type and chimeric embryos. This study also demonstrates the strength of single-cell RNA sequencing and analysis in optimizing interspecies chimerism studies. Lastly, this study discusses combining in silico approaches with in vivo and ex-vivo approaches to perform precise stage-matching experiments, to closely analyze development of grafted cells in chimeric embryos, and to discover crucial gene networks for interspecies chimerism.