Date of Graduation
Summer 2026
Degree
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences
Department
School of Heath Sciences
Committee Chair
Randi Ulbricht
Abstract
Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is a post-transcriptional mechanism mediated by ADAR enzymes that can alter RNA sequence, protein function, and gene regulation. Because ADAR1 is upregulated during inflammation and plays a critical role in innate immunity, previous studies investigated the effects of acute inflammation on RNA editing in male and female mice. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce inflammation, and RNA editing levels were examined in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. While editing levels in the heart and brain remained unchanged, skeletal muscle exhibited tissue- and sex-specific differences in editing. In this thesis, LPS treatment affected selective editing, increasing editing of RPA1 in females and decreasing RPA1 editing in males, indicating that inflammation can influence RNA editing in a sex-dependent manner. In contrast, hyperediting of the ADAR1 target AZIN1 was not significantly affected by inflammation. Attempts to measure ADAR1 protein expression were unsuccessful, due to sample age and/or antibody limitations. Overall, these findings demonstrate that the effects of acute inflammation on RNA editing are both tissue- and sex-specific, highlighting the complex interactions between immune activation, RNA processing, and biological sex.
Keywords
MDA5, ADAR1, RIG-I, Innate Immunity, Sex, RNA, adenosine deaminase acting on RNA, retinoic acid-inducible gene I, melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5, RNA editing
Subject Categories
Biology | Cell Biology | Immunity
Copyright
© Skyler LEE
Recommended Citation
LEE, Skyler, "The Effect of Sex on A-to-I Editing in Skeletal Muscle During Inflammation" (2026). Graduate Theses/Dissertations. 4198.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/4198
