University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

7 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Longitudinal Evaluation of Mouse Hind Limb Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury using Novel, in vivo, Methodology

¹Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

A longitudinal examination of bone loss in the femurs and tibiae of adult mice was performed following spinal cord injury using sequential low-dose X-ray scans. Tibia bone loss was detected throughout the study, while bone loss in the femur was not detected until 40 days post injury.

Medicine

Analytical Techniques for Assaying Nitric Oxide Bioactivity

Hong Jiang¹, Deepa Parthasarathy¹, Ashley C. Torregrossa¹, Asad Mian², Nathan S. Bryan¹

¹Texas Therapeutics Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , ²Deptartment of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine

The endogenous production of nitric oxide (NO) regulates a wide variety of biological functions. It is becoming increasingly clear that disruption or dysregulation of NO based signaling is involved in many human diseases. Methods to quantify relevant NO metabolites may provide novel diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers for human disease.

Medicine

Breathing-controlled Electrical Stimulation (BreEStim) for Management of Neuropathic Pain and Spasticity

Sheng Li^1,2,3

¹Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , ²UTHealth Motor Recovery Laboratory, TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital, ³The Institute of Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR), TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital

The purpose is to present a new method, breathing-control electrical stimulation (BreEStim) for management of neuropathic pain and spasticity.

Medicine

Working with Human Tissues for Translational Cancer Research

Alexandre Reuben^*1, Vancheswaran Gopalakrishnan^*1, Heidi E. Wagner³, Christine N. Spencer², Jacob Austin-Breneman¹, Hong Jiang¹, Zachary A. Cooper¹, Jennifer A. Wargo¹

¹Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ²Department of Genomic Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ³Department of Pathology and Institutional Tissue Bank, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Translational cancer research is dependent on extraction of human tissues. Much work has gone into optimizing extraction methods for ex vivo analysis. Here, we describe tissue processing methods allowing for maximal data output from limited samples.

Chemistry

Preparation of Poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) Functionalized SiO₂ Beads for Protein Purification

Sura Kim¹, Jayoung Ku^1,2, Jaemin Park¹, Raisa Kharbash^1,2, Sheng Li¹

¹Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), ²KI for Health Science and Technology (KIHST), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

A protocol for the preparation of poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) (poly(PFPA)) grafted silica beads is presented. The poly(PFPA) functionalized surface is then immobilized with antibodies and used successfully for the protein separation through immunoprecipitation.

Developmental Biology

Applications of RNA Interference in American Cockroach

Liang Li^*1, Andi Jing^*1, Minxin Xie¹, Sheng Li^1,2, Chonghua Ren^1,2

¹Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Institute of Insect Science and Technology & School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, ²Guangmeiyuan R&D Center, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, South China Normal University

The present protocol describes step-by-step guidelines for the RNAi operation techniques in P. americana.

Medicine

Voltage-Dependent Potassium Current Recording on H9c2 Cardiomyocytes via the Whole-Cell Patch-Clamp Technique

Hong Jiang^*1, Yating Zhang^*1, Ya Hou¹, Lijun Li², Sanyin Zhang^3,4, Yi Zhang⁵, Xianli Meng^1,3,4, Xiaobo Wang⁴

¹State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, School of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, ²Chengdu Techman Instrument Co., Ltd., ³Innovative Institute of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, ⁴Research Institute of Integrated TCM & Western Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, ⁵School of Ethnic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The present protocol describes an efficient method for the real-time and dynamic acquisition of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel currents in H9c2 cardiomyocytes using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique.