Ubiquitous Aberration In Cholesterol Metabolism Across Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Ubiquitous Aberration In Cholesterol Metabolism Across Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Venugopal Gunda, Thiago C. Genaro-Mattos, Jyoti B. Kaushal, Ramakanth C. Venkata, Gopalakrishnan Natarajan, Kavita Mallya, Paul M. Grandgenett, Karoly Mirnics, Surinder K. Batra, Zeljka Korade, Satyanarayana Rachagani
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is characterized by metabolic deregulations that often manifest as deviations in metabolite levels and aberrations in their corresponding metabolic genes across the clinical specimens and preclinical PC models. Cholesterol is one of the critical metabolites supporting PC, synthesized or acquired by PC cells. Nevertheless, the significance of the de novo cholesterol synthesis pathway has been controversial in PC, indicating the need to reassess this pathway in PC. We utilized preclinical models and clinical specimens of PC patients and cell lines and utilized mass spectrometry-based sterol analysis. Further, we also performed in silico analysis to corroborate the significance …
The Gsk3 Kinase And Lztr1 Protein Regulate The Stability Of Ras Family Proteins And The Proliferation Of Pancreatic Cancer Cells,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The Gsk3 Kinase And Lztr1 Protein Regulate The Stability Of Ras Family Proteins And The Proliferation Of Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Chitra Palanivel, Neha Chaudhary, Parthasarathy Seshacharyulu, Jesse L. Cox, Ying Yan, Surinder K. Batra, Michel M. Ouellette
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ras family proteins are membrane-bound GTPases that control proliferation, survival, and motility. Many forms of cancers are driven by the acquisition of somatic mutations in a RAS gene. In pancreatic cancer (PC), more than 90% of tumors carry an activating mutation in KRAS. Mutations in components of the Ras signaling pathway can also be the cause of RASopathies, a group of developmental disorders. In a subset of RASopathies, the causal mutations are in the LZTR1 protein, a substrate adaptor for E3 ubiquitin ligases that promote the degradation of Ras proteins. Here, we show that the function of LZTR1 is regulated …
Tumor Microenvironment Enriches The Stemness Features: The Architectural Event Of Therapy Resistance And Metastasis,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Tumor Microenvironment Enriches The Stemness Features: The Architectural Event Of Therapy Resistance And Metastasis, Palanisamy Nallasamy, Rama Krishna Nimmakayala, Seema Parte, Abhirup C. Are, Surinder K. Batra, Moorthy P. Ponnusamy
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cancer divergence has many facets other than being considered a genetic term. It is a tremendous challenge to understand the metastasis and therapy response in cancer biology; however, it postulates the opportunity to explore the possible mechanism in the surrounding tumor environment. Most deadly solid malignancies are distinctly characterized by their tumor microenvironment (TME). TME consists of stromal components such as immune, inflammatory, endothelial, adipocytes, and fibroblast cells. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) or cancer stem-like cells are a small sub-set of the population within cancer cells believed to be a responsible player in the self-renewal, metastasis, and therapy response of …
Liquid Biopsies To Occult Brain Metastasis,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Liquid Biopsies To Occult Brain Metastasis, Asad Ur Rehman, Parvez Khan, Shailendra K. Maurya, Jawed A. Siddiqui, Juan A. Santamaria-Barria, Surinder K. Batra, Mohd W. Nasser
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Brain metastasis (BrM) is a major problem associated with cancer-related mortality, and currently, no specific biomarkers are available in clinical settings for early detection. Liquid biopsy is widely accepted as a non-invasive method for diagnosing cancer and other diseases. We have reviewed the evidence that shows how the molecular alterations are involved in BrM, majorly from breast cancer (BC), lung cancer (LC), and melanoma, with an inception in how they can be employed for biomarker development. We discussed genetic and epigenetic changes that influence cancer cells to breach the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and help to establish metastatic lesions in the …
Liquid Biopsy: A Step Closer To Transform Diagnosis, Prognosis And Future Of Cancer Treatments,
2022
Central University of Kashmir
Liquid Biopsy: A Step Closer To Transform Diagnosis, Prognosis And Future Of Cancer Treatments, Saife N. Lone, Sabah Nisar, Tariq Masoodi, Mayank Singh, Arshi Rizwan, Sheema Hashem, Wael El-Rifai, Davide Bedognetti, Surinder K. Batra, Mohammad Haris, Ajaz A. Bhat, Muzafar A. Macha
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Over the past decade, invasive techniques for diagnosing and monitoring cancers are slowly being replaced by non-invasive methods such as liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsies have drastically revolutionized the field of clinical oncology, offering ease in tumor sampling, continuous monitoring by repeated sampling, devising personalized therapeutic regimens, and screening for therapeutic resistance. Liquid biopsies consist of isolating tumor-derived entities like circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA, tumor extracellular vesicles, etc., present in the body fluids of patients with cancer, followed by an analysis of genomic and proteomic data contained within them. Methods for isolation and analysis of liquid biopsies have rapidly …
Gdf15 Promotes Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis And Colonization Through Osteoblastic Ccl2 And Rankl Activation,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Gdf15 Promotes Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis And Colonization Through Osteoblastic Ccl2 And Rankl Activation, Jawed A. Siddiqui, Parthasarathy Seshacharyulu, Sakthivel Muniyan, Ramesh Pothuraju, Parvez Khan, Raghupathy Vengoji, Sanjib Chaudhary, Shailendra K. Maurya, Subodh M. Lele, Maneesh Jain, K Datta, Mohd W. Nasser, Surinder K. Batra
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bone metastases occur in patients with advanced-stage prostate cancer (PCa). The cell-cell interaction between PCa and the bone microenvironment forms a vicious cycle that modulates the bone microenvironment, increases bone deformities, and drives tumor growth in the bone. However, the molecular mechanisms of PCa-mediated modulation of the bone microenvironment are complex and remain poorly defined. Here, we evaluated growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF15) function using in vivo preclinical PCa-bone metastasis mouse models and an in vitro bone cell coculture system. Our results suggest that PCa-secreted GDF15 promotes bone metastases and induces bone microarchitectural alterations in a preclinical xenograft model. Mechanistic studies …
Development Of An Hipsc-Cortical Neuron Long-Term Potentiation Model And Its Application To Alzheimer's Disease Modeling And Drug Evaluation,
2022
University of Central Florida
Development Of An Hipsc-Cortical Neuron Long-Term Potentiation Model And Its Application To Alzheimer's Disease Modeling And Drug Evaluation, Kaveena Autar
Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is commonly characterized by a loss of cognitive function due to the deterioration of neuronal synapses from the presence of senile amyloid beta-42 (Aß42) plaques. Evaluating cognitive deficits caused by Aß42 using human cortical neurons poses a challenge due to sourcing difficulties, and the use of animal models to assess drug efficacy creates biological hurdles from lack of species translatability. Recent advances in induced-pluripotent stem cell technology have enabled the development of mature, human-based cortical neuron models. The development of an hiPSC-cortical neuron differentiation protocol facilitates the exploration of disease onset and functional analysis from a patient-derived …
Depletion Of Transmembrane Mucin 4 (Muc4) Alters Intestinal Homeostasis In A Genetically Engineered Mouse Model Of Colorectal Cancer,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Depletion Of Transmembrane Mucin 4 (Muc4) Alters Intestinal Homeostasis In A Genetically Engineered Mouse Model Of Colorectal Cancer, Ramesh Pothuraju, Priya Pai, Sanjib Chaudhary, Jawed A. Siddiqui, Jesse L. Cox, Sukhwinder Kaur, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Hemant K. Roy, Michael Bouvet, Surinder K. Batra
Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mucins are components of the mucus layer overlying the intestinal epithelial cells, which maintains physiological homeostasis. Altered mucin expression is associated with disease progression. Expression of MUC4 decreases in colorectal cancer (CRC); however, its functional role and implications in the intestinal pathology in CRC are not studied well. Therefore, we generated a genetically engineered Muc4 knockout (Muc4-/-) CRC mouse model by crossing with Muc4-/- and Apcflox/flox mice in the presence of colon-specific inducible Cre. We observed that deficiency of Muc4 results in an increased number of macroscopic tumors in the colon and rectal region and leads …
Treatment Of Hypothyroidism: Desiccated Thyroid Extract,
2022
Arcadia University
Treatment Of Hypothyroidism: Desiccated Thyroid Extract, Aimee Fong
Capstone Showcase
The treatment of hypothyroidism with Levothyroxine (T4) has been well studied and FDA approved. However, many patients continue to have signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism while on Levothyroxine treatment despite reaching appropriate thyroid levels. An additional thyroid treatment known as desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) is made from dried pig thyroid glands and is advertised as a “natural” alternative to Levothyroxine. Despite lack of FDA approval and studies surrounding DTE, clinicians have prescribed DTE to patients, many of whom reported relief of their symptoms. The following poster highlights the approach to the treatment of hypothyroidism with Levothyroxine and DTE and outlines …
Characterization Of A New Whim Syndrome Mutant Reveals Mechanistic Differences In Regulation Of The Chemokine Receptor Cxcr4,
2021
Thomas Jefferson University
Characterization Of A New Whim Syndrome Mutant Reveals Mechanistic Differences In Regulation Of The Chemokine Receptor Cxcr4, Jiansong Luo, Francesco De Pascali, G Wendell Richmond, Amer M Khojah, Jeffrey L Benovic
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers
WHIM syndrome is a rare immunodeficiency disorder that is characterized by warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis. While several gain-of-function mutations that lead to C-terminal truncations, frame shifts and point mutations in the chemokine receptor CXCR4 have been identified in WHIM syndrome patients, the functional effect of these mutations are not fully understood. Here, we report on a new WHIM syndrome mutation that results in a frame shift within the codon for Ser339 (S339fs5) and compare the properties of S339fs5 with wild-type CXCR4 and a previously identified WHIM syndrome mutant, R334X. The S339fs5 and R334X mutants exhibited significantly increased signaling compared …
Time-Resolved Cryo-Em Visualizes Ribosomal Translocation With Ef-G And Gtp,
2021
UMass Chan Medical School
Time-Resolved Cryo-Em Visualizes Ribosomal Translocation With Ef-G And Gtp, Christine E Carbone, Anna B Loveland, Howard Gamper, Ya-Ming Hou, Gabriel Demo, Andrei A Korostelev
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers
During translation, a conserved GTPase elongation factor-EF-G in bacteria or eEF2 in eukaryotes-translocates tRNA and mRNA through the ribosome. EF-G has been proposed to act as a flexible motor that propels tRNA and mRNA movement, as a rigid pawl that biases unidirectional translocation resulting from ribosome rearrangements, or by various combinations of motor- and pawl-like mechanisms. Using time-resolved cryo-EM, we visualized GTP-catalyzed translocation without inhibitors, capturing elusive structures of ribosome•EF-G intermediates at near-atomic resolution. Prior to translocation, EF-G binds near peptidyl-tRNA, while the rotated 30S subunit stabilizes the EF-G GTPase center. Reverse 30S rotation releases Pi and translocates peptidyl-tRNA and …
Targeting Oncogenic Gαq/11 In Uveal Melanoma,
2021
Thomas Jefferson University
Targeting Oncogenic Gαq/11 In Uveal Melanoma, Dominic Lapadula, Jeffrey L Benovic
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers
Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular cancer in adults and arises from the transformation of melanocytes in the uveal tract. While treatment of the primary tumor is often effective, 36–50% of patients develop metastatic disease primarily to the liver. While various strategies have been used to treat the metastatic disease, there remain no effective treatments that improve survival. Significant insight has been gained into the pathways that are altered in uveal melanoma, with mutually exclusive activating mutations in the GNAQ and GNA11 genes being found in over 90% of patients. These genes encode the alpha subunits of the hetetrotrimeric …
Understanding Blue Light Retinal Damages And The Methods Of Prevention,
2021
Liberty University
Understanding Blue Light Retinal Damages And The Methods Of Prevention, Amelia Lee
Senior Honors Theses
Light emitting diode (LED) lights that comprise television screens, phone displays, laptops, and tablets have been studied by scientists in order to understand the implications of blue light radiation and the effects that it has on the human body—especially the retina of the eye. The retina is comprised of highly metabolic cells, and when those cells are placed under oxidative stress, death occurs causing ocular disease. Additionally, excess blue light exposure causes shifts in biological rhythms that govern patterns of alertness and sleep. Recently scientists began studying the methods of blue light prevention. Some studies show that blue light radiation …
Association Of Serum Magnesium With Blood Pressure In Patients With Hypertensive Crises: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study,
2021
Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy
Association Of Serum Magnesium With Blood Pressure In Patients With Hypertensive Crises: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study, Ifeanyichukwu O. Onor, Lashira M. Hill, Modupe M. Famodimu, Mallory R. Coleman, Carolkim H. Huynh, Robbie A. Beyl, Casey J. Payne, Emily K. Johnston, John I. Okogbaa, Christopher J. Gillard, Daniel F. Sarpong, Amne Borghol, Samuel C. Okpechi, Ifeyinwa Norbert, Shane E. Sanne, Shane G. Guillory
School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications
The role of magnesium in blood pressure has been studied among hypertensive patients; however, there is a dearth of studies exploring the role of magnesium in hypertensive crises. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum magnesium and blood pressure in patients with hypertensive crises. This was a singlecenter, retrospective, chart review, cross-sectional study of patients with hypertensive crises. Patients were included if they were eighteen years of age or older, with an international classification disease ninth revision (ICD-9) code of 401.9 (hypertensive crises: emergency or urgency) and a documented magnesium level on their electronic …
Characterizing And Overcoming Resistance To Aminomethylspectinomycins In Gram-Negative Bacteria,
2021
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Characterizing And Overcoming Resistance To Aminomethylspectinomycins In Gram-Negative Bacteria, Nisha Das
Theses and Dissertations (ETD)
Spectinomycin (SPC) is a broad-spectrum aminocyclitol antibiotic. Its use in agriculture has led to widespread resistance in enteric bacteria, necessitating the development of more effective analogs. Aminomethyl spectinomycins (amSPC) are modified spectinomycins with increased potency against many bacterial species. These species include Legionella pneumophila, which harbors a chromosomally encoded aminoglycoside modifying enzyme (AME). In this study, we follow up on this observation and examine the extent to which the amSPCs are substrates for AMEs through adenylation (ANTs) and phosphorylation (APH). APH(9)-Ia and ANT(3")(9) were expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) and purified using the Ni-affinity chromatography. The ability of AMEs to …
A Characterization Of Rgnef Biophysical Properties And Interactome,
2021
The University of Western Ontario
A Characterization Of Rgnef Biophysical Properties And Interactome, Brooke E. Wile
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
ALS is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder whose pathologic hallmark is the presence of neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs). In approximately 97% of ALS cases, NCIs are found to be TDP-43+. Rho-guanine nucleotide exchange factor (RGNEF) has recently been implicated in ALS pathophysiology through its co-localization and coimmunoprecipitation with TDP-43+. RGNEF has also been shown to harbour cytoprotective effects in the N-terminal region and is responsible for the regulation of low molecular weight-neurofilament (NFL), intimately involved neural structure, through its predicted RNA-binding domain (RBD). This study looked to purify constructs of RGNEF through nickel immobilized metal affinity chromatography (Ni-IMAC) and …
Tera-Seq: True End-To-End Sequencing Of Native Rna Molecules For Transcriptome Characterization,
2021
Thomas Jefferson University
Tera-Seq: True End-To-End Sequencing Of Native Rna Molecules For Transcriptome Characterization, Fadia Ibrahim, Jan Oppelt, Manolis Maragkakis, Zissimos Mourelatos
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers
Direct sequencing of single, native RNA molecules through nanopores has a strong potential to transform research in all aspects of RNA biology and clinical diagnostics. The existing platform from Oxford Nanopore Technologies is unable to sequence the very 5′ ends of RNAs and is limited to polyadenylated molecules. Here, we develop True End-to-end RNA Sequencing (TERA-Seq), a platform that addresses these limitations, permitting more thorough transcriptome characterization. TERA-Seq describes both poly-and non-polyadenylated RNA molecules and accurately identifies their native 5′ and 3′ ends by ligating uniquely designed adapters that are sequenced along with the transcript. We find that capped, full-length …
Expression And Purification Of Phage T7 Ejection Proteins For Cryo-Em Analysis,
2021
Thomas Jefferson University
Expression And Purification Of Phage T7 Ejection Proteins For Cryo-Em Analysis, Nicholas A. Swanson, Ravi K Lokareddy, Fenglin Li, Chun-Feng Hou, Mikhail Pavlenok, Michael Niederweis, Gino Cingolani
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers
Bacteriophages of the Podoviridae family densely package their genomes into precursor capsids alongside internal virion proteins called ejection proteins. In phage T7 these proteins (gp14, gp15, and gp16) are ejected into the host envelope forming a DNA-ejectosome for genome delivery. Here, we describe the purification and characterization of recombinant gp14, gp15, and gp16. This protocol was used for high-resolution cryo-EM structure analysis of the T7 periplasmic tunnel and can be adapted to study ejection proteins from other phages. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Swanson et al.
Inability To Switch From Arid1a-Baf To Arid1b-Baf Impairs Exit From Pluripotency And Commitment Towards Neural Crest Formation In Arid1b-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders,
2021
Thomas Jefferson University
Inability To Switch From Arid1a-Baf To Arid1b-Baf Impairs Exit From Pluripotency And Commitment Towards Neural Crest Formation In Arid1b-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Luca Pagliaroli, Patrizia Porazzi, Alyxandra T Curtis, Chiara Scopa, Harald M M Mikkers, Christian Freund, Lucia Daxinger, Sandra Deliard, Sarah A Welsh, Sarah Offley, Connor A Ott, Bruno Calabretta, Samantha A Brugmann, Gijs W E Santen, Marco Trizzino
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers
Subunit switches in the BAF chromatin remodeler are essential during development. ARID1B and its paralog ARID1A encode for mutually exclusive BAF subunits. De novo ARID1B haploinsufficient mutations cause neurodevelopmental disorders, including Coffin-Siris syndrome, which is characterized by neurological and craniofacial features. Here, we leveraged ARID1B+/- Coffin-Siris patient-derived iPSCs and modeled cranial neural crest cell (CNCC) formation. We discovered that ARID1B is active only during the first stage of this process, coinciding with neuroectoderm specification, where it is part of a lineage-specific BAF configuration (ARID1B-BAF). ARID1B-BAF regulates exit from pluripotency and lineage commitment by attenuating thousands of enhancers and genes of …
Creating Tools To Study The Signaling And Function Of The Adhesion Family Of Gpcrs,
2021
The University of Western Ontario
Creating Tools To Study The Signaling And Function Of The Adhesion Family Of Gpcrs, Victor M. Mirka
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Adhesion GPCRs (aGPCRs) are difficult to study because they are activated by mechanical force. aGPCRs are autoproteolytically cleaved into N-terminal and C-terminal fragments. Mechanical force removes the N-terminal fragment revealing a tethered ligand activating the receptor. Proteinase Activated Receptors (PARs) are N-terminally cleaved by proteinases revealing a tethered ligand activating the receptor. We hypothesized the tethered ligand of aGPCRs could be revealed by replacing the N-terminal fragment with a PAR N-terminus. We fused the PAR2 N-terminus to the C-terminal fragments of four aGPCRs: CD97, EMR2, GPR56, and BAI1. PAR2-aGPCR chimeric receptors dose dependently recruited G-proteins and β-arrestins, supporting our hypothesis. …
