Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Describing The Evidence Linking Interprofessional Education Interventions To Improving The Delivery Of Safe And Effective Patient Care: A Scoping Review, Tamara Cadet, Joseph Cusimano, Shelley Mckearney, Julie Honaker, Cynthia O'Neal, Reza Taheri, Virginia Uhley, Yingting Zhang, Margaret Dreker, Judith S. Cohn

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Empirical evidence indicates that collaborative interprofessional practice leads to positive health outcomes. Further, there is an abundance of evidence examining student and/or faculty perceptions of learning or satisfaction about the interprofessional education (IPE) learning experience. However, there is a dearth of research linking IPE interventions to patient outcomes. The objective of this scoping review was to describe and summarize the evidence linking IPE interventions to the delivery of effective patient care. A three-step search strategy was utilized for this review with articles that met the following criteria: publications dated 2015–2020 using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods; the inclusion of healthcare …

The Concise Guide To Pharmacology 2023/24: Enzymes, Stephen P. H. Alexander, Doriano Fabbro, Eamonn Kelly, Alistair Mathie, John A. Peters, Emma L. Veale, Jane F. Armstrong, Elena Faccenda, Simon D. Harding, James A. Davies, Stephanie Annett, Detlan Boison, Kathryn Elisa Burns, Carmen Dessauer, Jürg Gertsch, Nuala Ann Helsby, Angela A. Izzo, Rennolds Ostrom, Andreas Papapetropoulos, Nigel J. Pyne, Susan Pyne, Tracy Robson, Roland Seifert, Johannes-Peter Stasch, Csaba Szabo, Mario Van Der Stelt, Albert Van Der Vliet, Val Watts, Szu Shen Wong

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2023/24 is the sixth in this series of biennial publications. The Concise Guide provides concise overviews, mostly in tabular format, of the key properties of approximately 1800 drug targets, and about 6000 interactions with about 3900 ligands. There is an emphasis on selective pharmacology (where available), plus links to the open access knowledgebase source of drug targets and their ligands (www.guidetopharmacology.org), which provides more detailed views of target and ligand properties. Although the Concise Guide constitutes almost 500 pages, the material presented is substantially reduced compared to information and links presented on the …

The Effects Of Sex Hormones On The Size Of Intestinal Lipoproteins, Andromeda M. Nauli, Ann Phan, Patrick Tso, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Larger intestinal lipoproteins are more likely to be retained longer in the intestinal wall, allowing more time for their fat to be hydrolyzed and subsequently taken up by the abdominal viscera. Since men generally accumulate more abdominal visceral fat than women, we sought to determine if males produce larger intestinal lipoproteins compared to females. Using the conscious lymph fistula mouse model, we discovered that the male mice indeed produced larger intestinal lipoproteins than the female mice when they were intraduodenally infused with lipid emulsion. We then employed our differentiated Caco-2 cell model with semipermeable membrane system to determine the effects …

Structural Analysis And Activity Correlation Of Amphiphilic Cyclic Antimicrobial Peptides Derived From The [W4R4] Scaffold, Shaima Ahmed El-Mowafi, Anastasia G. Konshina, Eman H. M. Mohammed, Nikolay A. Krylov, Roman G. Efremov, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

In our ongoing quest to design effective antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), this study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms governing cyclic amphiphilic AMPs and their interactions with membranes. The objective was to discern the nature of these interactions and understand how peptide sequence and structure influence antimicrobial activity. We introduced modifications into the established cyclic AMP peptide, [W₄R₄], incorporating an extra aromatic hydrophobic residue (W), a positively charged residue (R), or the unique 2,5-diketopiperazine (DKP). This study systematically explored the structure–activity relationships (SARs) of a series of cyclic peptides derived from the [W₄R₄] scaffold, …

Erythrocyte–Brain Endothelial Interactions Induce Microglial Responses And Cerebral Microhemorrhages In Vivo, Hai Zhang, Rachita K. Sumbria, Rudy Chang, Jiahong Sun, David H. Cribbs, Todd C. Holmes, Mark J. Fisher, Xiangmin Xu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Cerebral microhemorrhages (CMH) are associated with stroke, cognitive decline, and normal aging. Our previous study shows that the interaction between oxidatively stressed red blood cells (RBC) and cerebral endothelium may underlie CMH development. However, the real-time examination of altered RBC–brain endothelial interactions in vivo, and their relationship with clearance of stalled RBC, microglial responses, and CMH development, has not been reported.

Methods

RBC were oxidatively stressed using tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP), fluorescently labeled and injected into adult Tie2-GFP mice. In vivo two-photon imaging and ex vivo confocal microscopy were used to evaluate the temporal profile of RBC–brain endothelial interactions associated with …

Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Possess A Second Cilium That Arises From The Daughter Centriole, Karthikeyan Thirugnanam, Ankan Gupta, Francisco Nunez, Shubhangi Prabhudesai, Amy Y. Pan, Surya M. Nauli, Ramani Ramchandran

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Primary cilia from the brain microvascular endothelial cells (ECs) are specialized cell-surface organelles involved in mediating sensory perception, cell signaling, and vascular stability. Immunofluorescence (IF) analysis of human primary brain microvascular ECs reveals two cilia per cell. To confirm the in vitro observation of the two-cilia phenotype in human primary brain ECs, ECs isolated from mouse brain were cultured and stained for cilium. Indeed, brain ECs from a ciliopathic mouse (polycystic kidney disease or Pkd2−/−) also possess more than one cilium. Primary cilium emerges from the mother centriole. Centriole analysis by IF suggests that in brain ECs, markers …

Diabetes-Associated Hyperglycemia Causes Rapid-Onset Ocular Surface Damage, Judy Weng, Christopher Ross, Jacob Baker, Saleh Alfuraih, Kiumars Shamloo, Ajay Sharma

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: The metabolic alterations due to chronic hyperglycemia are well-known to cause diabetes-associated complications. Short-term hyperglycemia has also been shown to cause many acute changes, including hemodynamic alterations and osmotic, oxidative, and inflammatory stress. The present study was designed to investigate whether diabetes-associated hyperglycemia can cause rapid-onset detrimental effects on the tear film, goblet cells, and glycocalyx and can lead to activation of an inflammatory cascade or cellular stress response in the cornea.

Methods: Mouse models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes were used. Tear film volume, goblet cell number, and corneal glycocalyx area were measured on …

Tolfenamic Acid Derivatives: A New Class Of Transcriptional Modulators With Potential Therapeutic Applications For Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Disorders, Juanetta Hill, Karim E. Shalaby, Syed W. Bihaqi, Bothaina H. Alansi, Benjamin Barlock, Keykavous Parang, Richard Thompson, Khalid Ourarhni, Nasser H. Zawia

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has witnessed recent breakthroughs in the development of disease-modifying biologics and diagnostic markers. While immunotherapeutic interventions have provided much-awaited solutions, nucleic acid-based tools represent other avenues of intervention; however, these approaches are costly and invasive, and they have serious side effects. Previously, we have shown in AD animal models that tolfenamic acid (TA) can lower the expression of AD-related genes and their products and subsequently reduce pathological burden and improve cognition. Using TA as a scaffold and the zinc finger domain of SP1 as a pharmacophore, we developed safer and more potent brain-penetrating analogs …

Untargeted Metabolomics Analysis On Kidney Tissues From Mice Reveals Potential Hypoxia Biomarkers, Muhammad Imran Sajid, Francisco J. Nunez, Farideh Amirrad, Moom Rahman Roosan, Tom Vojtko, Scott Mcculloch, Amal Alachkar, Surya M. Nauli

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Chronic hypoxia may have a huge impact on the cardiovascular and renal systems. Advancements in microscopy, metabolomics, and bioinformatics provide opportunities to identify new biomarkers. In this study, we aimed at elucidating the metabolic alterations in kidney tissues induced by chronic hypoxia using untargeted metabolomic analyses. Reverse phase ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy/mass spectroscopy (RP–UPLC–MS/MS) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)–UPLC–MS/MS methods with positive and negative ion mode electrospray ionization were used for metabolic profiling. The metabolomic profiling revealed an increase in metabolites related to carnitine synthesis and purine metabolism. Additionally, there was a notable increase in bilirubin. Heme, N-acetyl-L-aspartic …

Addressing The Crisis: Leveraging The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals To Prepare Student Leaders To Tackle The Opioid Epidemic, Sharon Xavioer, Laressa Bethishou, Madeline Dintzner, Reza Taheri, Jelena Lewis

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The United States faces several ongoing public health issues including the opioid epidemic. This article describes a new model aimed at providing a framework that incorporates the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to develop pharmacy student leaders through education, experiences, and development of critical skills. This holistic approach can serve as an example methodology to equip future leaders across public health domains to tackle many of the critical problems we face today.

Improving Pharmacist-Led Pediatric Patient Education On Oral Chemotherapy At Home, Anika Patel, Christopher M. Nguyen, Kristin Willins, Elsabella Y. Wang, Grace Magedman, Sun Yang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Oral chemotherapy (OC) has been increasingly used in pediatric patients diagnosed with cancer, which is primarily managed in the outpatient setting. Different from adults, pediatric patients face unique challenges in administering these hazardous medications at home. Because of the complexity of pediatric pharmaceutical care and the hazardous nature of chemotherapy agents, comprehensive patient education is imperative to mitigate the potential safety risks associated with OC administration at home. Pharmacists play a vital role in patient education and medication consultations. However, the lack of practice guidelines and limited resources supporting OC counseling are noted. Additional barriers include insufficient knowledge and training …

Targeting Breast Cancer: The Familiar, The Emerging, And The Uncharted Territories, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Arthur Manda, Riya Sidgal, Co Chung

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Breast cancer became the most diagnosed cancer in the world in 2020. Chemotherapy is still the leading clinical strategy in breast cancer treatment, followed by hormone therapy (mostly used in hormone receptor-positive types). However, with our ever-expanding knowledge of signaling pathways in cancer biology, new molecular targets are identified for potential novel molecularly targeted drugs in breast cancer treatment. While this has resulted in the approval of a few molecularly targeted drugs by the FDA (including drugs targeting immune checkpoints), a wide array of signaling pathways seem to be still underexplored. Also, while combinatorial treatments have become common practice in …

Effects Of Transition From Closed-Book To Open-Book Assessment On Students’ Scores In A Pharmacokinetics Course, Reza Mehvar, Richard Beuttler

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Closed-book summative assessment of student learning, common in pharmacy education, is challenging to administer in a remote setting due to the need for costly and intrusive monitoring technology. Therefore, open-book assessments without monitoring have been considered an alternative in remote settings. The present study investigated the effects of the transition from in-person closed-book to remote open-book format on the students’ scores in different assessment categories in a Pharmacokinetics course. The students’ performances in the transition cohort (Transition, n = 96) during the in-person and remote periods were compared with those of an in-person cohort (Control, n = 85) during the …

The Structural Characterization And Bioactivity Assessment Of Nonspecific Lipid Transfer Protein 1 (Nsltp1) From Caraway (Carum Carvi) Seeds, Taibah Aldakhil, Saud O. Alshammari, Bushra Siraj, Bishoy El-Aarag, Shamshad Zarina, David Salehi, Aftab Ahmed

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Carum carvi (caraway) of the Apiaceae family has been used in many cultures as a cooking spice and part of the folk medicine. Previous reports primarily focus on the medicinal properties of caraway seed essential oil and the whole seeds extract. However, no effort has been made to study caraway proteins and their potential pharmacological properties, including nonspecific lipid transfer protein (nsLTP), necessitating further research. The current study aimed to characterize nonspecific lipid transfer protein 1 (nsLTP1) from caraway seed, determine its three-dimensional structure, and analyze protein–ligand complex interactions through docking studies. We also evaluated nsLTP1 in vitro cytotoxic …

Proteoglycan 4 (Prg4)/Lubricin And The Extracellular Matrix In Gout, Khaled A. Elsaid, Gregory D. Jay, Ru Liu-Bryan, Robert Terkeltaub

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Proteoglycan 4 (PRG4) is a mucinous glycoprotein secreted by synovial fibroblasts and superficial zone chondrocytes, released into synovial fluid, and adsorbed on cartilage and synovial surfaces. PRG4′s roles include cartilage boundary lubrication, synovial homeostasis, immunomodulation, and suppression of inflammation. Gouty arthritis is mediated by monosodium urate (MSU) crystal phagocytosis by synovial macrophages, with NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-1β release. The phagocytic receptor CD44 mediates MSU crystal uptake by macrophages. By binding CD44, PRG4 limits MSU crystal uptake and downstream inflammation. PRG4/CD44 signaling is transduced by protein phosphatase 2A, which inhibits NF-κB, decreases xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), urate production, and ROS-mediated IL-1β …

KCa2 And KCa3.1 Channels In The Airways: A New Therapeutic Target, Razan Orfali, Ali Alfaiz, Mohammad Asikur Rahman, Liz Lau, Young-Woo Nam, Miao Zhang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

K⁺ channels are involved in many critical functions in lung physiology. Recently, the family of Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels (K_Ca) has received more attention, and a massive amount of effort has been devoted to developing selective medications targeting these channels. Within the family of K_Ca channels, three small-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ (K_Ca2) channel subtypes, together with the intermediate-conductance K_Ca3.1 channel, are voltage-independent K⁺ channels, and they mediate Ca²⁺-induced membrane hyperpolarization. Many K_Ca2 channel members are involved in crucial roles in physiological and pathological …

Cyclic Peptides With Antifungal Properties Derived From Bacteria, Fungi, Plants, And Synthetic Sources, Naiera M. Helmy, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Fungal infections remain a significant concern for human health. The emergence of microbial resistance, the improper use of antimicrobial drugs, and the need for fewer toxic antifungal treatments in immunocompromised patients have sparked substantial interest in antifungal research. Cyclic peptides, classified as antifungal peptides, have been in development as potential antifungal agents since 1948. In recent years, there has been growing attention from the scientific community to explore cyclic peptides as a promising strategy for combating antifungal infections caused by pathogenic fungi. The identification of antifungal cyclic peptides from various sources has been possible due to the widespread interest in …

A Comparative Assessment Of Approvals And Discontinuations Of Systemic Antibiotics And Other Therapeutic Areas, Rosa Rodriguez-Monguio, Enrique Seoane-Vazquez, John H. Powers Iii

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Since 1980, the US Congress has passed legislation providing several incentives to encourage the development and regulatory approval of new drugs, particularly antibiotics. We assessed long-term trends and characteristics of approvals and discontinuations of all new molecular entities, new therapeutic biologics, and gene and cell therapies approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as reasons for discontinuations by therapeutic class, in the context of laws and regulations implemented over the past four decades. In the period 1980–2021, the FDA approved 1310 new drugs, of which 210 (16.0%) had been discontinued as of 31 December 2021, including …

Geospatial Analysis Of Opioid Dispensing Patterns In California: A 2021 Real-World Study, Hongxia Lu, Jianwei Zheng, Yun Wang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The misuse and abuse of opioids has become a serious public health threat in the United States. The state of California has been hit particularly hard by the opioid epidemic, with a noticeable increase in opioid-related fatalities and hospitalizations. This brief report paper aims to contribute to the growing literature by conducting a geospatial analysis of opioid dispensing patterns in California in 2021. The primary objective was to identify areas characterized by high-risk opioid dispending patterns and explore possible contributing factors. This retrospective study analyzed data from over 7 million records of opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions dispensed by outpatient pharmacies …

Alcohol As A Modifiable Risk Factor For Alzheimer’S Disease—Evidence From Experimental Studies, Devaraj V. Chandrashekar, Ross A. Steinberg, Derick Han, Rachita K. Sumbria

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive impairment and memory loss. Epidemiological evidence suggests that heavy alcohol consumption aggravates AD pathology, whereas low alcohol intake may be protective. However, these observations have been inconsistent, and because of methodological discrepancies, the findings remain controversial. Alcohol-feeding studies in AD mice support the notion that high alcohol intake promotes AD, while also hinting that low alcohol doses may be protective against AD. Chronic alcohol feeding to AD mice that delivers alcohol doses sufficient to cause liver injury largely promotes and accelerates AD pathology. The mechanisms by which alcohol can …

Design, Synthesis, And Antiproliferative Activity Of Benzopyran-4-One-Isoxazole Hybrid Compounds, Shilpi Gupta, Shang Eun Park, Saghar Mozaffari, Bishoy El-Aarag, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Kumar Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The biological significance of benzopyran-4-ones as cytotoxic agents against multi-drug resistant cancer cell lines and isoxazoles as anti-inflammatory agents in cellular assays prompted us to design and synthesize their hybrid compounds and explore their antiproliferative activity against a panel of six cancer cell lines and two normal cell lines. Compounds 5a–d displayed significant antiproliferative activities against all the cancer cell lines tested, and IC₅₀ values were in the range of 5.2–22.2 μM against MDA-MB-231 cancer cells, while they were minimally cytotoxic to the HEK-293 and LLC-PK1 normal cell lines. The IC₅₀ values of 5a–d …

Development And Validation Of A Uplc-Ms/Ms Method To Investigate The Plasma Pharmacokinetics Of A KCa2.2/KCa2.3 Positive Allosteric Modulator In Mice, Mohammad Asikur Rahman, Devaraj Venkatapura Chandrashekar, Young-Woo Nam, Basir Syed, David Salehi, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Miao Zhang, Reza Mehvar

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Rationale

There is currently no treatment for spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), which are a group of genetic disorders that often cause a lack of coordination, difficulty walking, slurred speech, tremors, and eventually death. Activation of K_Ca2.2/K_Ca2.3 channels reportedly exerts beneficial effects in SCAs. Here, we report the development and validation of an analytical method for quantitating a recently-developed positive allosteric modulator of K_Ca2.2/K_Ca2.3 channels (compound 2q) in mouse plasma.

Methods

Mouse plasma samples (10 μL) containing various concentrations of 2q were subjected to protein precipitation in the presence of a structurally similar internal …

Development And Validation Of An Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method To Investigate The Plasma Pharmacokinetics Of A KCa2.2/KCa2.3 Positive Allosteric Modulator In Mice, Mohammad Asikur Rahman, Devaraj Venkatapura Chandrashekar, Young-Woo Nam, Basir Syed, David Salehi, Hamidreza Montazeri Aliabadi, Miao Zhang, Reza Mehvar

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Rationale

There is currently no treatment for spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), which are a group of genetic disorders that often cause a lack of coordination, difficulty walking, slurred speech, tremors, and eventually death. Activation of K_Ca2.2/K_Ca2.3 channels reportedly exerts beneficial effects in SCAs. Here, we report the development and validation of an analytical method for quantitating a recently developed positive allosteric modulator of K_Ca2.2/K_Ca2.3 channels (compound 2q) in mouse plasma.

Methods

Mouse plasma samples (10 μL) containing various concentrations of 2q were subjected to protein precipitation in the presence of a structurally similar …

Factors Affecting Initiation And Retention Of Medication-Assisted Recovery (Mar) Within A Pilot Pharmacist-Involved Practice Model At A Federally Qualified Healthcare Center (Fqhc) During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tiffany Nguyen, Thomas Craig Cheetham, Souhiela Fawaz, Richard Beuttler, Sharon Xavioer

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid-related overdose deaths increased. Although Medication-Assisted Treatment or Recovery (MAT or MAR) is available, initiation and retention rates vary. The goal of this study was to evaluate clinical, demographic, and Social Determinant of Health factors affecting MAR initiation, on-time initiation of medications, and successful retention in the program. The secondary goal was to evaluate the impact of a novel interprofessional practice model incorporating pharmacists. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using electronic health record data from a pilot MAR Program initiated within a California Federally Qualified Healthcare Center. Results: From September 2019 to August 2020, …

Structure-Guided Mutagenesis Reveals The Catalytic Residue That Controls The Regiospecificity Of C6-Indole Prenyltransferases, Ahmed R. Aoun, Nagaraju Mupparapu, Diem N. Nguyen, Tae Ho Kim, Christopher M. Nguyen, Zhengfeiyue Pan, Sherif I. Elshahawi

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Indole is a significant structural moiety and functionalization of the C−H bond in indole-containing molecules expands their chemical space, and modifies their properties and/or activities. Indole prenyltransferases (IPTs) catalyze the direct regiospecific installation of prenyl moieties on indole-derived compounds. IPTs have shown relaxed substrate flexibility enabling them to be used as tools for indole functionalization. However, the mechanism by which certain IPTs target a specific carbon position is not fully understood. Herein, we use structure-guided site-directed mutagenesis, in vitro enzymatic reactions, kinetics and structural-elucidation of analogs to verify the key catalytic residues that control the regiospecificity of all characterized regiospecific …

A New Method For Investigating Bioequivalence Of Inhaled Formulations: A Pilot Study On Salbutamol, Homa Razaei, Maryam Khoubnasabjafari, Vahid Jouyban-Gharamaleki, Hamed Hamishehkar, Mohammad Reza Afshar Mogaddam, Elaheh Rahimpour, Reza Mehvar, Abolghasem Jouyban

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: An efficient, cost-effective and non-invasive test is required to overcome the challenges faced in the process of bioequivalence (BE) studies of various orally inhaled drug formulations. Two different types of pressurized meter dose inhalers (MDI-1 and MDI-2) were used in this study to test the practical applicability of a previously proposed hypothesis on the BE of inhaled salbutamol formulations.

Methods: Salbutamol concentration profiles of the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples collected from volunteers receiving two inhaled formulations were compared employing BE criteria. In addition, the aerodynamic particle size distribution of the inhalers was determined by employing next generation impactor. …

The Effects Of A Blood–Brain Barrier Penetrating Erythropoietin In A Mouse Model Of Tauopathy, Joshua Yang, Weijun Ou, Nataraj Jagadeesan, Juste Simanauskaite, Jiahong Sun, Demi M. Castellanos, David H. Cribbs, Rachita K. Sumbria

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Erythropoietin (EPO), a hematopoietic neurotrophin, is a potential therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but has limited blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability. EPO fused to a chimeric transferrin receptor monoclonal antibody (cTfRMAb) enters the brain via TfR-mediated transcytosis across the BBB. We previously showed that cTfRMAb-EPO is protective in a mouse model of amyloidosis, but its effects on tauopathy are not known. Given that amyloid and tau pathology are characteristics of AD, the effects of cTfRMAb-EPO were studied in a tauopathy mouse model (PS19). Six-month-old PS19 mice were injected intraperitoneally with either saline (PS19-Saline; n = 9) or cTfRMAb-EPO (PS19-cTfRMAb-EPO, 10 mg/kg; …

Amphiphilic Cell-Penetrating Peptides Containing Arginine And Hydrophobic Residues As Protein Delivery Agents, Jonathan Moreno, Khalid Zoghebi, David Salehi, Lois Kim, Sorour Khayyatnejad Shoushtari, Rakesh K. Tiwari, Keykavous Parang

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The entry of proteins through the cell membrane is challenging, thus limiting their use as potential therapeutics. Seven cell-penetrating peptides, designed in our laboratory, were evaluated for the delivery of proteins. Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis was utilized for the synthesis of seven cyclic or hybrid cyclic–linear amphiphilic peptides composed of hydrophobic (tryptophan (W) or 3,3-diphenylalanine (Dip) and positively-charged arginine (R) residues, such as [WR]4, [WR]9, [WWRR]4, [WWRR]5, [(RW)5K](RW)5, [R5K]W7, and [DipR]5. Confocal microscopy was used to screen the peptides as a protein delivery system of model cargo proteins, green and red fluorescein proteins (GFP and RFP). Based on the confocal …

Quantitative Phosphoproteomic Analysis Reveals Unique Camp Signaling Pools Emanating From Ac2 And Ac6 In Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells, Isabella Cattani-Cavalieri, Yue Li, Jordyn Margolis, Amy S. Bogard, Moom R. Roosan, Rennolds S. Ostrom

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Human airway smooth muscle (HASM) is the primary target of ßAR agonists used to control airway hypercontractility in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ßAR agonists induce the production of cAMP by adenylyl cyclases (ACs), activate PKA and cause bronchodilation. Several other G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) expressed in human airway smooth muscle cells transduce extracellular signals through cAMP but these receptors elicit different cellular responses. Some G-protein coupled receptors couple to distinct adenylyl cyclases isoforms with different localization, partly explaining this compartmentation, but little is known about the downstream networks that result. We used quantitative phosphoproteomics to define the …

Pharmacy Student Involvement In Population Health Management Of Statin Quality Measures, Neeloufar Fakourfar, Hindu Rao

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Pharmacists have demonstrated their value in population health management (PHM). With appropriate training, advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students are also well positioned to participate in PHM.

Methods

At Providence Medical Foundation, a PHM workflow was remodeled to be more standardized and incorporate APPE students into the statin quality measure improvement process. This was driven by institutional goals for quality improvement in patient care and creating a better experiential teaching opportunity. APPE students underwent three training sessions and completed clinical review of patient charts, determined statin eligibility, and completed patient outreach. Rates of statin initiation and student feedback were …