Chitra
Mukherjee
Sponsor: Philipp Zerbe, Ph.D. Plant Biology Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is a bioenergy model crop valued for its environmental resilience and bioenergy efficiency. Switchgrass utilizes blends of diterpenoid metabolites to mediate chemical defenses against abiotic and biotic stressors. The primary enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of diterpenoids are diterpene synthases (diTPS). My project investigates a diTPS from switchgrass that was previously characterized as an ent-manoyl oxide synthase. However, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy shows an additional enzyme product. To structurally identify this compound, I enzymatically produced the metabolite, purified it by silica column chromatography and semi-prep high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and then conducted NMR analysis and structural characterization. Based on our knowledge of the mechanism of diTPS, we have determined that the structure, 3-OH-ent-manoyloxide, is probably not actually an enzyme product, and is in fact an artifact of the heterologous system we use to study enzymes. This finding prompts important considerations for future studies of this kind in our lab, and aids in our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for mediating chemical defenses against environmental stressors and climate change. Analyzing The Pathogenesis of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and HFpEF for Repurposing Drug Therapies: Assessing Proteomics with Natural Language Processing of Textual and Biomedical Databases
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Chitra Mukherjee
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Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is an incurable and heterogeneous disease, and patients comprise nearly 50% of heart failure (HF) patients. With limited therapies to reduce mortality rates for HFpEF, developing treatments is indispensable. Currently, FDA-approved drugs offer novel therapeutic targets for HFpEF. Understanding the shared mechanisms between comorbidities like obesity, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can shed light on the largely unknown pathophysiology of HFpEF. In particular, Resmetirom is a newly approved drug to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a subtype of NAFLD. Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, originally intended to treat diabetes and kidney disease, have been approved to treat NAFLD and have shown improvement in HFpEF patients due to its ability to improve cardiovascular outcomes and liver inflammation. We hypothesize that Resmetirom can be repurposed for HFpEF by acting as a Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta (THR-β) agonist. To validate this hypothesis, a text mining algorithm has been used to filter manuscripts based on queries of SGLT2 inhibitors, HFpEF, NAFLD, and Resmetirom. Parsing for heart-related proteins within these texts can reveal biomarkers for future treatment options while also elucidating the interdependence between these diseases. UC Davis 36 th Annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference 198 Sex- and Metformin-Dependent Hormonal Changes in Wilson's Disease Rida Mullah
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UC Davis / MED: Int Med Cardiology (davis) / 2025
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Chitra Mukherjee