Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Ann Wehman

Second Advisor

J. Todd Blankenship

Third Advisor

Karen Krukowski

Keywords

C. elegans, Corpse clearance, Non-apoptotic, Phosphatidylserine, PS externalization, Scramblase

Abstract

Cell corpse clearance is key for animals to avoid inflammation and autoimmune disease. To better understand the “eat me” signal of phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure for non-apoptotic corpse clearance, we attempted to disrupt the externalization of PS on C. elegans polar bodies. The second polar body undergoes a non-apoptotic form of cell death, loses membrane integrity, externalizes PS and is cleared by embryonic cells during early development. During apoptotic and necrotic cell death, PS asymmetry is disrupted by lipid scramblases, which translocate phospholipids between the leaflets of the lipid bilayer. We found neither apoptotic nor necrotic scramblases are required for PS externalization on dying polar bodies. These results lead us closer to defining the role of PS in phagocytic uptake as well as later steps of corpse membrane breakdown. However, which scramblases regulate PS exposure on non-apoptotic dying cells is still unknown.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Julia Frondoni

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

75 pgs

Discipline

Molecular biology, Cellular biology

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