To access this work you must either be on the Smith College campus OR have valid Smith login credentials.
On Campus users: To access this work if you are on campus please Select the Download button.
Off Campus users: To access this work from off campus, please select the Off-Campus button and enter your Smith username and password when prompted.
Non-Smith users: You may request this item through Interlibrary Loan at your own library.
Alternative Title
Novel approach to stage specific anthelmintic drug discovery
Publication Date
2017-5
First Advisor
Steven A. Williams
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biochemistry
Keywords
Helminth, Nematode, Filiarial worms, Neglected tropical disease, Gene regulation, Transcription factors, Promoter, Helminthiasis, Tropical medicine, Genetic regulation, Catalyst supports
Abstract
Helminthic infections contribute enormously to the social and economic burdens imposed by human and livestock disease. Current therapies are insufficient and necessitate the development of new anthelmintic drugs. Such development depends on expansion of knowledge of helminth biology to discover new vulnerabilities within parasitic life cycles that can be exploited therapeutically. The complex life cycle of parasitic helminths, consisting of multiple stages in distinct environments, relies upon exquisite gene regulation, but the precise nature of stage-specific regulation has yet to be determined. Using the filarial nematode Brugia malayi as a model, we have identified gene regulatory sequence motifs that correspond to stage-specific gene expression. We also explore gene regulation at the protein level through development of a method to identify putative transcription factors that bind such promoter motifs. Application of our combined approach to examine molecular evolution through both nucleotide and protein structures will further expand the data available to investigate the biology of parasite helminths with potential implications for intervention in human, livestock and wildlife disease via the development of new therapeutic alternatives to current treatments for these diseases.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Sweet, Amalia Rose, "Identification of TPX-2 promoter binding proteins in the parasite Brugia malayi : a novel approach to stage specific anthelmintic drug discovery" (2017). Honors Project, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/1858
Smith Only:
Off Campus Download
Comments
127 pages : color illustrations. Includes bibliographical references (pages 122-127)