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Full-Text Articles in Medical Sciences

Foxp3-Expressing T Regulatory Cells (T-Regs) Increase With The Severity Of Active Disease In Chronic Hepatitis C, Adam D. Toll, Md, John L. Farber, Md Oct 2009

Foxp3-Expressing T Regulatory Cells (T-Regs) Increase With The Severity Of Active Disease In Chronic Hepatitis C, Adam D. Toll, Md, John L. Farber, Md

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) leads to chronic disease in 80% of those infected and is associated with a chronic inflammatory response that is mediated by both cytokine producing (CD4+) and cytotoxic T cells (CD8+). FoxP3-expressing, CD4+, CD25+T cells (T-regs) are a subset of T lymphocytes that inhibit immune responsiveness and thereby control immunological reactions. Whether FoxP3+ T regulatory cell-mediated suppression is a factor in HCV persistence and/or the course of chronic liver injury has not been defined. In order to assess the association between these T regulatory cells and the severity of chronic hepatitis C, we evaluated liver biopsies …


Establishing The Purity Of Mononuclear Cell Preparations Using Morphology And Flow Cytometry, Adam Holtz, Bs, Adam D. Toll, Md, Susan W. Burkholder, Md, Alicia M. Carlin, Ba, Linda F. Blumstein, Bs, Kathleen A. Schroeder, Bs, Eric M. Behling, Md, Tina B. Edmonston, Md Oct 2009

Establishing The Purity Of Mononuclear Cell Preparations Using Morphology And Flow Cytometry, Adam Holtz, Bs, Adam D. Toll, Md, Susan W. Burkholder, Md, Alicia M. Carlin, Ba, Linda F. Blumstein, Bs, Kathleen A. Schroeder, Bs, Eric M. Behling, Md, Tina B. Edmonston, Md

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Context: Simple tandem repeat loci are used to track bone marrow engraftment using mononuclear buffy coat cells and T-cells. Poor isolation purity of these subpopulations can result in lower analytical sensitivity of the bone marrow engraftment assay by diluting the cell population in question with other nucleated cells. Validation of the mononuclear cell preparation can be performed by flow cytometry or by counting cell populations on the slide. Conclusions: Our results show that the purity of the Histopaque-1077 mononuclear cell preparation is excellent and that morphology may be sufficient to validate the mononuclear cell isolation method if flow cytometry is …


N-Glycosylation Status Of E-Cadherin Controls Cytoskeletal Dynamics Through The Organization Of Distinct Β-Catenin- And Γ-Catenin-Containing Ajs., Basem T Jamal, Mihai Nita-Lazar, Zhennan Gao, Bakr Amin, Janice Walker, Maria A Kukuruzinska Sep 2009

N-Glycosylation Status Of E-Cadherin Controls Cytoskeletal Dynamics Through The Organization Of Distinct Β-Catenin- And Γ-Catenin-Containing Ajs., Basem T Jamal, Mihai Nita-Lazar, Zhennan Gao, Bakr Amin, Janice Walker, Maria A Kukuruzinska

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

N-glycosylation of E-cadherin has been shown to inhibit cell-cell adhesion. Specifically, our recent studies have provided evidence that the reduction of E-cadherin N-glycosylation promoted the recruitment of stabilizing components, vinculin and serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), to adherens junctions (AJs) and enhanced the association of AJs with the actin cytoskeleton. Here, we examined the details of how N-glycosylation of E-cadherin affected the molecular organization of AJs and their cytoskeletal interactions. Using the hypoglycosylated E-cadherin variant, V13, we show that V13/β-catenin complexes preferentially interacted with PP2A and with the microtubule motor protein dynein. This correlated with dephosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein …


The Elucidation Of Metabolic Pathways And Their Improvements Using Stable Optimization Of Large-Scale Kinetic Models Of Cellular Systems, Evgeni V. Nikolaev Sep 2009

The Elucidation Of Metabolic Pathways And Their Improvements Using Stable Optimization Of Large-Scale Kinetic Models Of Cellular Systems, Evgeni V. Nikolaev

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Metabolic engineering of cellular systems to maximize reaction fluxes or metabolite concentrations still presents a significant challenge by encountering unpredictable instabilities that can be caused by simultaneous or consecutive enhancements of many reaction steps. It can therefore be important to select carefully small subsets of key enzymes for their subsequent stable modification compatible with cell physiology. To address this important problem, we introduce a general mixed integer non-linear problem (MINLP) formulation to compute automatically which enzyme levels should be modulated and which enzyme regulatory structures should be altered to achieve the given optimization goal using non-linear kinetic models of relevant …


Detection Of Merkel Cell Carcinoma Polyomavirus In Mucosal Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Karen N. Wu, Md, Peter A. Mccue, Md, Zi-Xuan Wang, Phd, Agnieszka K. Witkiewicz, Md Sep 2009

Detection Of Merkel Cell Carcinoma Polyomavirus In Mucosal Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Karen N. Wu, Md, Peter A. Mccue, Md, Zi-Xuan Wang, Phd, Agnieszka K. Witkiewicz, Md

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Case Report: A 61-year-old-woman with a past medical history significant for hypertension, bipolar disorder, obstructive sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented with diffusive lymphadenopathy suspicious for lymphoma. A lymph node in her right groin was biopsied by fine needle aspiration and showed atypical cells, but was not diagnostic. An excisional biopsy of the 2 x 2 cm lymph node demonstrated metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). No skin lesions were detected. A CT scan revealed the presence of a large nasopharyngeal mass that following surgical removal was diagnosed as MCC. Treatment with etoposide and cisplatin and radiation were instituted. …


Cd34 And Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin Distinguish Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia From Secondary Bronchiolitis Obliterans-Organizing Pneumonia, Karen N. Wu, Md, Tajender S. Vasu, Md, John L. Farber, Md Sep 2009

Cd34 And Alpha-Smooth Muscle Actin Distinguish Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia From Secondary Bronchiolitis Obliterans-Organizing Pneumonia, Karen N. Wu, Md, Tajender S. Vasu, Md, John L. Farber, Md

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Secondary bronchiolitis obliterans-organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is a reaction to injury, forming granulation tissue with airspaces. Idiopathic cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP) and secondary BOOP are histologically similar. COP has been reported to show increased collagen in the granulation plugs and fewer myofibroblasts and capillaries. Using CD34 for capillaries and alpha-smooth muscle actin for myofibroblasts, we assessed these statins to differentiate COP from secondary BOOP.


Intra-Tumor Heterogeneity Of Mlh1 Promoter Methylation Revealed By Deep Single Molecule Bisulfite Sequencing., Katherine E Varley, David G Mutch, Tina B Edmonston, Paul J Goodfellow, Robi D Mitra Aug 2009

Intra-Tumor Heterogeneity Of Mlh1 Promoter Methylation Revealed By Deep Single Molecule Bisulfite Sequencing., Katherine E Varley, David G Mutch, Tina B Edmonston, Paul J Goodfellow, Robi D Mitra

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

A single tumor may contain cells with different somatic mutations. By characterizing this genetic heterogeneity within tumors, advances have been made in the prognosis, treatment and understanding of tumorigenesis. In contrast, the extent of epigenetic intra-tumor heterogeneity and how it influences tumor biology is under-explored. We have characterized epigenetic heterogeneity within individual tumors using next-generation sequencing. We used deep single molecule bisulfite sequencing and sample-specific DNA barcodes to determine the spectrum of MLH1 promoter methylation across an average of 1000 molecules in each of 33 individual samples in parallel, including endometrial cancer, matched blood and normal endometrium. This first glimpse, …


Nerve Injection Of Viral Vectors Efficiently Transfers Transgenes Into Motor Neurons And Delivers Rnai Therapy Against Als., Rui Wu, Hongyan Wang, Xugang Xia, Hongxia Zhou, Chunyan Liu, Maria Castro, Zuoshang Xu Jul 2009

Nerve Injection Of Viral Vectors Efficiently Transfers Transgenes Into Motor Neurons And Delivers Rnai Therapy Against Als., Rui Wu, Hongyan Wang, Xugang Xia, Hongxia Zhou, Chunyan Liu, Maria Castro, Zuoshang Xu

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

RNA interference (RNAi) mediates sequence-specific gene silencing, which can be harnessed to silencing disease-causing genes for therapy. Particularly suitable diseases are those caused by dominant, gain-of-function type of gene mutations. In these diseases, the mutant gene generates a mutant protein or RNA product, which possesses toxic properties that harm cells. By silencing the mutant gene, the toxicity can be lessened because the amount of the toxic product is lowered in cells. In this report, we tested RNAi therapy in a mouse model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which causes motor neuron degeneration, paralysis, and death. We used a transgenic model …


Decorin Is A Novel Antagonistic Ligand Of The Met Receptor., Silvia Goldoni, Ashley Humphries, Alexander Nyström, Sampurna Sattar, Rick T Owens, David J Mcquillan, Keith Ireton, Renato V Iozzo May 2009

Decorin Is A Novel Antagonistic Ligand Of The Met Receptor., Silvia Goldoni, Ashley Humphries, Alexander Nyström, Sampurna Sattar, Rick T Owens, David J Mcquillan, Keith Ireton, Renato V Iozzo

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Decorin, a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan gene family, impedes tumor cell growth by down-regulating the epidermal growth factor receptor. Decorin has a complex binding repertoire, thus, we predicted that decorin would modulate the bioactivity of other tyrosine kinase receptors. We discovered that decorin binds directly and with high affinity (K(d) = approximately 1.5 nM) to Met, the receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Binding of decorin to Met is efficiently displaced by HGF and less efficiently by internalin B, a bacterial Met ligand. Interaction of decorin with Met induces transient receptor activation, recruitment of the E3 ubiquitin ligase …


Basement Membrane Proteoglycans: Modulators Par Excellence Of Cancer Growth And Angiogenesis., Renato V. Iozzo, Jason J. Zoeller, Alexander Nyström May 2009

Basement Membrane Proteoglycans: Modulators Par Excellence Of Cancer Growth And Angiogenesis., Renato V. Iozzo, Jason J. Zoeller, Alexander Nyström

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Proteoglycans located in basement membranes, the nanostructures underling epithelial and endothelial layers, are unique in several respects. They are usually large, elongated molecules with a collage of domains that share structural and functional homology with numerous extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors and surface receptors. They mainly carry heparan sulfate side chains and these contribute not only to storing and preserving the biological activity of various heparan sulfate-binding cytokines and growth factors, but also in presenting them in a more "active configuration" to their cognate receptors. Abnormal expression or deregulated function of these proteoglycans affect cancer and angiogenesis, and are critical …


The Significance Of Gata3 Expression In Breast Cancer: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study., Vincenzo Ciocca, Constantine Daskalakis, Robin M. Ciocca, Alejandra Ruiz-Orrico, Juan P. Palazzo Apr 2009

The Significance Of Gata3 Expression In Breast Cancer: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study., Vincenzo Ciocca, Constantine Daskalakis, Robin M. Ciocca, Alejandra Ruiz-Orrico, Juan P. Palazzo

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

GATA3 is a transcription factor closely associated with estrogen receptor alpha in breast carcinoma, with a potential prognostic utility. This study investigated the immunohistochemical expression of GATA3 in estrogen receptor alpha-positive and estrogen receptor alpha-negative breast carcinomas. One hundred sixty-six cases of invasive breast carcinomas with 10-year follow-up information were analyzed. Positive GATA3 and estrogen receptor alpha cases were defined as greater than 20% of cells staining. Time to cancer recurrence and time to death were analyzed with survival methods. Of 166 patients, 40 were estrogen receptor alpha negative and 121 estrogen receptor alpha positive. Thirty-eight (23%) recurrences and 51 …


Positional Information Generated By Spatially Distributed Signaling Cascades., Javier Muñoz-García, Zoltan Neufeld, Boris N Kholodenko Mar 2009

Positional Information Generated By Spatially Distributed Signaling Cascades., Javier Muñoz-García, Zoltan Neufeld, Boris N Kholodenko

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The temporal and stationary behavior of protein modification cascades has been extensively studied, yet little is known about the spatial aspects of signal propagation. We have previously shown that the spatial separation of opposing enzymes, such as a kinase and a phosphatase, creates signaling activity gradients. Here we show under what conditions signals stall in the space or robustly propagate through spatially distributed signaling cascades. Robust signal propagation results in activity gradients with long plateaus, which abruptly decay at successive spatial locations. We derive an approximate analytical solution that relates the maximal amplitude and propagation length of each activation profile …


Repression Of E-Cadherin By The Polycomb Group Protein Ezh2 In Pancreatic Cancer, A. D. Toll, A. Dasgupta, M. Potoczek, C. G. Kleer, J. R. Brody, A. K. Witkiewicz Jan 2009

Repression Of E-Cadherin By The Polycomb Group Protein Ezh2 In Pancreatic Cancer, A. D. Toll, A. Dasgupta, M. Potoczek, C. G. Kleer, J. R. Brody, A. K. Witkiewicz

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Our study suggest that E-cadherin downregulation may lead to EZH20-mediated invasion and metastasis. While strong diffuse EZH2 expression is seen in PDA, overexpression may be present in IPMN.


Developing Tta Transgenic Rats For Inducible And Reversible Gene Expression., Hongxia Zhou, Cao Huang, Min Yang, Carlisle P Landel, Pedro Yuxing Xia, Yong-Jian Liu, Xu Gang Xia Jan 2009

Developing Tta Transgenic Rats For Inducible And Reversible Gene Expression., Hongxia Zhou, Cao Huang, Min Yang, Carlisle P Landel, Pedro Yuxing Xia, Yong-Jian Liu, Xu Gang Xia

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

To develop transgenic lines for conditional expression of desired genes in rats, we generated several lines of the transgenic rats carrying the tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) gene. Using a vigorous, ubiquitous promoter to drive the tTA transgene, we obtained widespread expression of tTA in various tissues. Expression of tTA was sufficient to strongly activate its reporter gene, but was below the toxicity threshold. We examined the dynamics of Doxycycline (Dox)-regulated gene expression in transgenic rats. In the two transmittable lines, tTA-mediated activation of the reporter gene was fully subject to regulation by Dox. Dox dose-dependently suppressed tTA-activated gene expression. The washout …


Identification Of Gastrointestinal Contamination In Pancreatic Fna, A. D. Toll, M. Bibbo Jan 2009

Identification Of Gastrointestinal Contamination In Pancreatic Fna, A. D. Toll, M. Bibbo

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

In contrast to previous work, our preliminary results indicate B72.3 expression cannot be reliably used to identify GIC. A lack of CEA expression, however, may be used to identify both gastric and duodenal contamination. This represents an important diagnostic aid in the evaluation of suspected low-grade mucinous lesions.


Revealing Genes Associated With Vitellogenesis In The Liver Of The Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) By Transcriptome Profiling., Liraz Levi, Irena Pekarski, Ellen Gutman, Paolo Fortina, Terry Hyslop, Jakob Biran, Berta Levavi-Sivan, Esther Lubzens Jan 2009

Revealing Genes Associated With Vitellogenesis In The Liver Of The Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) By Transcriptome Profiling., Liraz Levi, Irena Pekarski, Ellen Gutman, Paolo Fortina, Terry Hyslop, Jakob Biran, Berta Levavi-Sivan, Esther Lubzens

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: In oviparous vertebrates, including fish, vitellogenesis consists of highly regulated pathways involving 17beta-estradiol (E2). Previous studies focused on a relatively small number of hepatic expressed genes during vitellogenesis. This study aims to identify hepatic genes involved in vitellogenesis and regulated by E2, by using zebrafish microarray gene expression profiling, and to provide information on functional distinctive genes expressed in the liver of a vitellogenic female, using zebrafish as a model fish. RESULTS: Genes associated with vitellogenesis were revealed by the following paired t-tests (SAM) comparisons: a) two-month old vitellogenic (Vit2) females were compared with non-vitellogenic (NV) females, showing 825 …


Graft-Versus-Host Disease-Like Pattern In Mycophenolate Mofetil Related Colon Mucosal Injury: Role Of Fish In Establishing The Diagnosis., Kathryn C Behling, Dorothy M J Foster, Tina B Edmonston, Agnieszka K Witkiewicz Jan 2009

Graft-Versus-Host Disease-Like Pattern In Mycophenolate Mofetil Related Colon Mucosal Injury: Role Of Fish In Establishing The Diagnosis., Kathryn C Behling, Dorothy M J Foster, Tina B Edmonston, Agnieszka K Witkiewicz

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept®), a commonly used immunosuppressive drug in solid organ transplantation, has recently been shown to cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-like changes in the gastrointestinal tract. On rare occasions, true GVHD has also been documented in the gastrointestinal tract of solid organ transplant patients. Because the treatment for these two entities is different, i.e. removal of the offending agent versus the administration of steroids, proper identification of the cause is imperative. We present a case of mycophenolate mofetil colitis mimicking grade I GVHD of the gut. In our study, we used fluorescence in situ hybridization for the Y chromosome to …