Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

Abstract

I demonstrate that a member of the protein family A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease (ADAM), ADAM23, is expressed in the olfactory epithelium (OE) and may inhibit neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation. I generated a list of ten gene candidates and selected ADAM23 for further study, based on its conserved protein structure and accumulating evidence for its role in cell cycle progression of proliferative cells. I next determined ADAM23 protein localization using immunohistochemistry and measured both mRNA and protein expression post-lesion with RT-qPCR and Western blot. ADAM23 is expressed in multiple cell types of the OE, including glial Sustentacular (Sus) cells and neurons. There are four splice variants present in the OE, and mRNA expression decreases three to four-fold post-lesion but recovers to pre-lesion levels within two weeks (p<0.05, ANOVA). ADAM23 is poised to regulate NPC quiescence through contact with Sus cell end-feet. It may also facilitate important Sus:neuron interactions.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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