Honors Program
University Honors
Date of Award
5-2016
Thesis Professor(s)
Dr. Douglas Thewke
Thesis Professor Department
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Thesis Reader(s)
Dr. David Johnson, Dr. Anthony Rusinol
Abstract
Atherosclerosis, characterized by the build-up of cholesterol, immune cells and cellular debris within arterial walls, is accelerated following myocardial infarction by poorly understood mechanisms. Ubiquitin, a small, well-studied intracellular protein involved in protein turnover via the proteasome pathway, has recently been shown to exert extracellular effects on cardiac myocytes, in vitro, and in mice undergoing myocardial remodeling. This study investigates the potential role of extracellular ubiquitin in atherosclerosis by determining its effects on two critical atherosclerotic processes: the migration of vascular smooth muscles cells and the uptake of modified LDL by monocyte/macrophages in foam cell formation. In the presence of ubiquitin, smooth muscle cell migration was accelerated and foam cell formation was enhanced, suggesting that ubiquitin has an active role in atherosclerosis.
Publisher
East Tennessee State University
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Withheld
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Mussard, Chase W., "In Vitro Investigation of the Effect of Exogenous Ubiquitin on Processes Associated with Atherosclerosis" (2016). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 327. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/327
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Biochemistry Commons, Cardiovascular System Commons, Cell Biology Commons, Cells Commons, Circulatory and Respiratory Physiology Commons, Medical Cell Biology Commons, Molecular Biology Commons