Biochemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Biology

Proteins are the workhorses of the body, performing almost all of the functions that we need to survive. They have synthesized long chains of different amino acids, the order of which specifies the protein, and the shape dictates their function. Some proteins are harder to fold than others which require folding chaperones, which help them wrap. When chaperones aren’t accessible to proteins that need them for folding, they can misfold. Misfolded proteins are nonfunctional, and tend to stick together, forming aggregates. My research has concluded that protein aggregation drives most of the diseases associated with aging and they primarily affect the brain. As we age, neurons have fewer refolding chaperones that tightly pack with proteins. Older cells are believed to have fewer chaperones, as they’re more likely to have accumulated aggregates throughout their life through several sources of damage, making a recovery a challenge. Chaperones facilitate proper protein folding and refolding and prevent unwanted interactions between hydrophobic regions of neighboring partially unfolded proteins. Increasing amounts of misfolded proteins can have a ‘‘depleting’’ effect on the available chaperone pool. Thus, massive recruitment of chaperones toward pathogenic protein scan precipitates misfolding of other aggregate-prone proteins. This proteome destabilizing effect of misfolded proteins through their actions on molecular chaperones is the contributing factor to neurodegeneration.

Bacteria is found in all sorts of objects in the world that we live in, including an essential tool that many people use daily-- contact lenses. Eyes generally produce bacteria and it is often rubbed on these lenses. This experiment was carried out to inform general users of contact lenses how much unseen bacteria is present after use of them, and possible measures that they could implement to ensure their well-being. This focus of this experiment was to observe and identify bacterial growth on contact lenses, and how they may have escalated as the time that the subject wore the contact solutions and the amount of solution applied increased. In the first trial, three contact lenses were worn for two to three minutes, soaked for five minutes, and, along with the three unique solutions of water, saline, and Clear Care, were placed into three agar plates, respectively. They were left in a 37°C incubator for twenty-four hours so that bacteria would be able to grow, but no bacteria was present upon inspection. The experiment was tested a second time, with longer wear, soaking, and a greater amount of solution. However, this second trial again did not yield any results. The conclusion was reached that bacteria found in contact lenses after wearing them is not plentiful enough to show up in agar plates.

Diabetic kidney disease is a condition in which heightened glucose levels in the blood diminishes the presence of powerful vasodilators in the kidney, therefore reducing glomerular filtration rate and allowing leukocyte-induced kidney injury. Similarly, in cancer, tumors must maintain access to blood vessels in order to nourish themselves with nutrients critical to survival and become metastatic. Both tumoral immune response and leukocyte-induced kidney injury is guided by LFA-1:ICAM-1 binding, which blocks leukocyte infiltration to tumors and allows leukocyte-induced damage to glomerular tissue. The glycan region of Endothelial Cell-Specific Molecule 1 (Esm-1), a glomerular-enriched glycoprotein, binds to the β2 integrin of LFA-1, preventing the LFA-1:ICAM-1 complex from forming; therefore, Esm-1 serves as a potential modulator of leukocyte migration in cancer and diabetes. In order to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of Esm-1, luminescence assays were employed for quantification of gene expression while bioinformatic analysis was used for in silico molecular modeling. The 3'UTR of Esm-1 was verified to stabilize Esm-1 expression and reduce translation by more than half when transfected into 293 cells in comparison to the empty vector alone. Experimentation revealed that the G1259→A SNP in the 3'UTR of Esm-1 reduces Esm-1 translation by nearly half. A miRNA sponge-based therapeutic was designed as a potential regulator for Esm-1 expression in both diabetic kidney disease and cancer angiogenesis. Inquiry into the regulation of Esm-1 will open the door to a host of new miRNA-based therapeutics for kidney disease and cancer angiogenesis.

This science fair investigation was designed to answer two questions. The first of these is: What kind of housing and habitat parameters are needed to sustain cyanobacterial growth and generate the greatest quantity of oxygen? This question guided us through creating our generator and solution for the A. platensis and A. variabilis cultures. The second question was: How does variation in species of cyanobacteria affect overall oxygen output? This question was the inspiration and structure for our experimentation phase, in which we measured oxygen byproducts being emitted by the cyanobacteria. Overall, the investigation was designed to test the viability and overall reliability of a naturally reproducing oxygen generation system. Based on our research, we developed this hypothesis: Spirulina cultures will produce a greater quantity of oxygen because they metabolize faster, reproduce more quickly, and have a larger chloroplasts than that of the Anabaena variabilis. The A. platensis is able to reproduce very quickly, therefore creating a larger colony. However, this may lead to them competing with one another.