Mostly Microbes and Infection

  Abstracts for Research and Creativity Showcase at the University of the Pacific. An annual celebration of the research, scholarship & creative work being done by University of the Pacific  undergraduate & graduate students, faculty & staff.

  Cigarette smoke changes the genomic and epigenomic imprint of cells. In this study, we investigated the biological consequences of extended cigarette smoke exposure on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and the potential roles of miRNAs. DPSCs were treated with various doses of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) for up to six weeks. Cell proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation were evaluated. Cytokine and miRNA expression were profiled. The results showed that extended exposure to CSC significantly impaired the regenerative capacity of the DPSCs. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the cell cycle pathway, cancer pathways (small cell lung cancer, pancreatic, colorectal, and prostate cancer), and pathways for TNF, TGF-β, p53, PI3K-Akt, mTOR and ErbB signal transduction, were associated with altered miRNA profiles. In particular, three miRNAs has-miR-26a-5p, has-miR-26b-5p and has-miR-29b-3p fine tune the p53 and cell cycle signaling pathways to regulate DPSC cellular activ...

  The list of connections between oral health & systemic health is remarkable. For starters, 3 common dental issues (cavities, tooth loss & periodontal disease) are associated with heart disease.

The Laboratory of Leonard Rome at UCLA was established in 1979. Since 1986, the Rome laboratory has been studying a novel cellular organelle called a "vault", Vaults were first described (discovered) by Rome and his a former postdoc, Nancy Kedersha, in 1986. Over three-times the size of a ribosome, vaults are the largest cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein particles known. They are ubiquitous cell structures that have been conserved throughout evolution and are found in phylogeny as diverse as mammals, avians, amphibians, and even primitive eukaryotes like slime mold and amoeba. The particle is thought to carry out a basic cellular function, however, the precise function remains unknown. Currently Professor Rome manages a research laboratory in the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA that is  focused on engineering the vault particle as flexible nano-scale capsules for a wide variety of applications from immune oncology to vaccine development to enzyme bioreactors for envi...