Digital Commons Network^™

Facial Analytics Based On A Coordinate Extrapolation System (Zface) For Morphometric Phenotyping Of Developing Zebrafish, Lorena Maili, Oscar E Ruiz, Philip H Kahan, Frankie Chiu, Stephen T Larson, S Shahrukh Hashmi, Jacqueline T Hecht, George T Eisenhoffer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Facial development requires a complex and coordinated series of cellular events that, when perturbed, can lead to structural birth defects. A quantitative approach to quickly assess morphological changes could address how genetic or environmental inputs lead to differences in facial shape and promote malformations. Here, we report on a method to rapidly analyze craniofacial development in zebrafish embryos using facial analytics based on a coordinate extrapolation system, termed zFACE. Confocal images capture facial structures and morphometric data are quantified based on anatomical landmarks present during development. The quantitative morphometric data can detect phenotypic variation and inform on changes in facial …

Neuroaffective Reactivity Profiles Are Associated With Vulnerability To E-Cigarette Use, Francesco Versace, George Kypriotakis, Dustin Pluta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: We tested whether neuroaffective responses to motivationally salient stimuli are associated with vulnerability to cue-induced e-cigarette use in e-cigarette naïve adults who smoke daily. We hypothesized that individuals with stronger neuroaffective responses to nicotine-related cues than to pleasant stimuli (the C>P reactivity profile) would be more vulnerable to cue-induced nicotine self-administration than individuals with stronger neuroaffective responses to pleasant stimuli than to nicotine-related cues (the P>C reactivity profile).

METHODS: We used event-related potentials (ERPs, a direct measure of cortical activity) to measure neuroaffective reactivity to pleasant, unpleasant, neutral, and nicotine-related cues indicating the opportunity to use an …

Trpv4 Expression In The Renal Tubule Is Necessary For Maintaining Whole Body K+ Homeostasis, Anna Stavniichuk, Kyrylo Pyrshev, Oleg Zaika, Viktor N Tomilin, Mariya Kordysh, Monika Lakk, David Križaj, Oleh Pochynyuk

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Ca2+-permeable transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) channel serves as the sensor of tubular flow, thus being well suited to govern mechanosensitive K+ transport in the distal renal tubule. Here, we directly tested whether the TRPV4 function is significant in affecting K+ balance. We used balance metabolic cage experiments and systemic measurements with different K+ feeding regimens [high (5% K+), regular (0.9% K+), and low (<0.01% K+)] in newly created transgenic mice with selective TRPV4 deletion in the renal tubule (TRPV4fl/fl-Pax8Cre) and their littermate controls (TRPV4fl/fl). Deletion was verified by the absence of TRPV4 protein expression and lack of TRPV4-dependent Ca2+ influx. There were no differences in plasma electrolytes, urinary volume, and K+ levels at baseline. In contrast, plasma K+ levels were significantly elevated in TRPV4fl/fl-Pax8Cre mice on high K+ intake. K+-loaded knockout mice exhibited lower urinary K+ levels than TRPV4fl/fl mice, which was accompanied by higher aldosterone levels by day 7. Moreover, TRPV4fl/fl-Pax8Cre mice had more efficient renal K+ conservation and higher plasma K+ levels in the state of dietary K+ deficiency. H+-K+-ATPase levels were significantly increased in TRPV4fl/fl-Pax8Cre mice …

Smooth Muscle-Alpha Actin R149c Pathogenic Variant Downregulates Integrin Recruitment At Cell-Matrix Adhesions And Decreases Cellular Contractility, Krishna R Ojha, Hyoseon Kim, Samuel Padgham, Laura Hopkins, Robert J Zamen, Abhijnan Chattopadhyay, Gang Han, Dianna M Milewicz, Michael P Massett, Andreea Trache

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Thoracic aortic aneurysm is found in patients with ACTA2 pathogenic variants. ACTA2 missense variants are associated with impaired aortic smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction. This study tested the hypothesis that the Acta2R149C/+ variant alters actin isoform expression and decreases integrin recruitment, thus, reducing aortic contractility. Stress relaxation measurements in thoracic aortic rings showed two functional regimes with a reduction of stress relaxation in the aorta from Acta2R149C/+ mice at low tension, but not at high tension values. Contractile responses to phenylephrine and potassium chloride were 50% lower in Acta2R149C/+ mice than in wild-type (WT) mice. Additionally, SMC were immunofluorescently labeled …

Ocular Toxicity Profile Of Targeted Cancer Therapy (Tct) At A Us Tertiary Cancer Center, Moe Ameri, Nagham Al Zubidi, Azadeh Razmandi, Andrew Whyte, Aung Naing, Nimisha A Patel, Dan S Gombos

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Targeted cancer therapy (TCT) is a significant advancement in oncology with promising survival improvement in patients with cancer and remarkable effects on various cancers. There is evidence suggesting a connection between specific TCT classes and the occurrence of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Our study aims to investigate the potential ocular toxicities of different classes of TCT, provide a better understanding of these toxicities, and aid in the future development of screening and management recommendations for ocular irAEs.

DESIGN: Retrospective observational case series.

PARTICIPANTS: Only ocular immune-related AEs were included in the study; patients on TCT who received a new …

The Role Of Limch1 Alternative Splicing In Skeletal Muscle Function, Matthew S Penna, Rong-Chi Hu, George G Rodney, Thomas A Cooper

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Postnatal skeletal muscle development is a highly dynamic period associated with widespread alternative splicing changes required to adapt tissues to adult function. These splicing events have significant implications because the reversion of adult mRNA isoforms to fetal isoforms is observed in forms of muscular dystrophy. LIMCH1 is a stress fiber–associated protein that is alternatively spliced to generate uLIMCH1, a ubiquitously expressed isoform, and mLIMCH1, a skeletal muscle–specific isoform containing six additional exons simultaneously included after birth in the mouse. CRISPR/Cas9 was used to delete the six alternatively spliced exons of LIMCH1 in mice, thereby forcing the constitutive expression of the …

Pediatric Swine Model Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Sepsis-Induced Coagulopathy, Disseminated Microvascular Thrombosis, And Organ Injuries, Trung C Nguyen, Juan C Marini, Bobby Guillory, Christian Valladolid-Brown, Marina Martinez-Vargas, Deepika Subramanyam, Daniel Cohen, Sonya C Cirlos, Fong Lam, Barbara Stoll, Inka C Didelija, Caitlin Vonderohe, Renan Orellana, Arun Saini, Subhashree Pradhan, Dalia Bashir, Moreshwar S Desai, Saul Flores, Manpreet Virk, Hossein Tcharmtchi, Amir Navaei, Sheldon Kaplan, Linda Lamberth, Kristina G Hulten, Brooks P Scull, Carl E Allen, Ayse Akcan-Arikan, K Vinod Vijayan, Miguel A Cruz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Sepsis-induced coagulopathy leading to disseminated microvascular thrombosis is associated with high mortality and has no existing therapy. Despite the high prevalence of Gram-positive bacterial sepsis, especially methicillin-resistant

HYPOTHESIS: Our objective is to develop a pediatric sepsis-induced coagulopathy swine model that last 70 hours.

METHODS AND MODELS: Ten 3 weeks old piglets, implanted with telemetry devices for continuous hemodynamic monitoring, were IV injected with MRSA (

RESULTS: Compared with the saline treated piglets (control), the septic piglets within 24 hours had significantly lower neurologic and respiratory scores. Over time, PT, d-dimer, and fibrinogen increased, while platelet counts and activities of factors …

Bi-Allelic Variants In Hmgcr Cause An Autosomal-Recessive Progressive Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, Joel A Morales-Rosado, Tanya L Schwab, Sarah K Macklin-Mantia, A Reghan Foley, Filippo Pinto E Vairo, Davut Pehlivan, Sandra Donkervoort, Jill A Rosenfeld, Grace E Boyum, Ying Hu, Anh T Q Cong, Timothy E Lotze, Carrie A Mohila, Dimah Saade, Diana Bharucha-Goebel, Katherine R Chao, Christopher Grunseich, Christine C Bruels, Hannah R Littel, Elicia A Estrella, Lynn Pais, Peter B Kang, Michael T Zimmermann, James R Lupski, Brendan Lee, Matthew J Schellenberg, Karl J Clark, Klaas J Wierenga, Carsten G Bönnemann, Eric W Klee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Statins are a mainstay intervention for cardiovascular disease prevention, yet their use can cause rare severe myopathy. HMG-CoA reductase, an essential enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, is the target of statins. We identified nine individuals from five unrelated families with unexplained limb-girdle like muscular dystrophy and bi-allelic variants in HMGCR via clinical and research exome sequencing. The clinical features resembled other genetic causes of muscular dystrophy with incidental high CPK levels (>1,000 U/L), proximal muscle weakness, variable age of onset, and progression leading to impaired ambulation. Muscle biopsies in most affected individuals showed non-specific dystrophic changes with non-diagnostic immunohistochemistry. …

Development Of Novel, Brain Permeable, Mpges-1 Inhibitors For Inflammatory Conditions, Madison Sluter

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a potent proinflammatory lipid signaling molecule produced downstream of the cyclooxygenase (COX) cascade. The COX pathway has long been implicated for its role in inflammation, with drugs like aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) non-selectively targeting the upstream COX enzymes to suppress inflammation. However, despite displaying potent anti-inflammatory effects it has been demonstrated that when taken chronically, NSAIDs can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. COX-2 selective inhibitors (COXIBs) were then developed to combat the gastrointestinal bleeding induced by nonselective NSAIDs by specifically inhibiting the COX enzyme most infamous for its role in inflammation. Yet, soon after entering …

The Interaction Between Host G3bp And Viral Nucleocapsid Protein Regulates Sars-Cov-2 Replication, Zemin Yang

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

G3BP1/2 are RNA-binding proteins that promote condensation to form stress granules in response to various cellular stresses, including viral infection. G3BP1/2 are prominent interactors of the nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, the functional consequences of the G3BP-N interaction in the context of viral infection have remained unclear. Here we used structural and biochemical analyses to define the residues required for G3BP1-N interaction, followed by structure-guided mutagenesis of G3BP1 and N to selectively disrupt their interaction. We found that mutation of N-F17 led to selective loss of interaction with G3BP1 and consequent failure of …

Potential Effect Of Different Pulp Capping Materials On Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells: A Laboratory Study, Mohamed A. Bedir, Laila Amin, Essam Soussa

Mansoura Journal of Dentistry

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the regenerative capacity of two different pulp capping materials TheraCal LC and Nano hydroxyapatite on stem cells extracted from the human dental pulp as a treatment modality for pulp capping. Materials and Methods: Human dental pulp stem cells were obtained and characterized. They were prepared in 12-well plates, cultured in standard culture media, and separated into three groups with 12 each. The first group served as the negative control group and contained only human dental pulp stem cells; the second group contained TheraCal LC, which was incubated with human dental pulp stem cells; and …

Connection Between Migraine Physiology And Modifiable Lifestyle Factors And Behaviors: A Literature Review, Sophia A. Kogan

University Honors Theses

Migraine headache is a physiologically complex disorder that presents as an intense headache with other symptoms. Globally, more than one billion people suffer from migraine, and it is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. At present, migraines are targeted with many pharmaceutical interventions; however, there are no well-studied ways to combat migraines through lifestyle modifications alone. One of the molecules involved in migraine physiology is the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which causes vasodilation and the sensation of pain. The focus of this thesis is to find connections between CGRP physiology and modifiable factors that individuals have the power and …

Birth Weight Moderates The Association Between Obesity And Mortality Rate, Gregory Pavela, Nengjun Yi, Luis Mestre, Pengcheng Xun, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Purpose: The strength of the association between obesity and mortality rate (MR) varies by body mass index (BMI) and sociodemographic groups. We test the hypothesis that the association between obesity and MR varies, in part, due to the moderating effect of parental BMI and birth weight.

Methods: Data come from the 1958 National Child Development Study, an ongoing longitudinal dataset initiated in 1958 with baseline measures of birth weight from 18,059 infants born in Great Britain over 1 week. We tested whether the association between BMI and MR was moderated by parental BMI and birth weight using generalized additive proportional …

Cest-Mri For Body Oncologic Imaging: Are We There Yet?, Elena Vinogradov, Jochen Keupp, Ivan E Dimitrov, Stephen Seiler, Ivan Pedrosa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI has gained recognition as a valuable addition to the molecular imaging and quantitative biomarker arsenal, especially for characterization of brain tumors. There is also increasing interest in the use of CEST-MRI for applications beyond the brain. However, its translation to body oncology applications lags behind those in neuro-oncology. The slower migration of CEST-MRI to non-neurologic applications reflects the technical challenges inherent to imaging of the torso. In this review, we discuss the application of CEST-MRI to oncologic conditions of the breast and torso (i.e., body imaging), emphasizing the challenges and potential solutions to address …

Redox-Dependent Activation Of Lung Epithelial Stat3 Is Required For Inducible Protection Against Bacterial Pneumonia, Vikram V Kulkarni, Yongxing Wang, Jezreel Pantaleon Garcia, Scott E Evans

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The lung epithelium is dynamic, capable of considerable structural and functional plasticity in response to pathogen challenges. Our laboratory has demonstrated that an inhaled combination of a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/6 agonist and a TLR9 agonist (Pam2ODN) results in robust protection against otherwise lethal pneumonias. We have previously shown that intact epithelial TLR signaling and generation of multisource epithelial reactive oxygen species (ROS) are required for inducible protection. Further investigating the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon of inducible resistance, reverse-phase protein array analysis demonstrated robust STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) phosphorylation following treatment of lung epithelial cells. We …

A 3d Perfusable Platform For In Vitro Culture Of Patient Derived Xenografts, Lindsey K Sablatura, Kristin M Bircsak, Peter Shepherd, Madhavi Bathina, Karla Queiroz, Mary C Farach-Carson, Rick A Kittles, Pamela E Constantinou, Anthony Saleh, Nora M Navone, Daniel A Harrington

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Many advanced cancer models, such as patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), offer significant benefits in their preservation of the native tumor's heterogeneity and susceptibility to treatments, but face significant barriers to use in their reliance on a rodent host for propagation and screening. PDXs remain difficult to implement in vitro, particularly in configurations that enable both detailed cellular analysis and high-throughput screening (HTS). Complex multilineage co-cultures with stromal fibroblasts, endothelium, and other cellular and structural components of the tumor microenvironment (TME) further complicate ex vivo implementation. Herein, the culture of multiple prostate cancer (PCa)-derived PDX models as 3D clusters within engineered biomimetic …

Antioxidant Activity And Total Phenolic Compounds Of Commiphora Gileadensis Extracts Obtained By Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction, With Monitoring Antiaging And Cytotoxicity Activities, Hani Ahmed, Marwan M A Rashed, Marwan Almoiliqy, Mohammed Abdalla, Mohanad Bashari, Mohamed Y Zaky, Zhu Hailin, Taha A A Naji, Ahmed Eibaid, Jinpeng Wang, Li-Ping Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Commiphora gileadensis (C. gileadensis) has been identified and linked with various health benefits and pharmaceutical potential for its phytochemical activities and chemical constituents. This study aimed to evaluate ultrasonic‐assisted extraction (USE) technique for total phenols content from C. gileadensis leaf compared to the hydrodistillation extraction (HDE). Our results showed that the USE operating conditions were identified as: MeOH·H2O solvent‐to‐fresh sample ratio of 80:20 (v/v); ultrasonic power/frequency at 150 W/20 kHz; and a temperature of 40 ± 1°C; subjected to acoustic waves intermittently for a calculated time (5 min) during the total programmed time of 12 min. The USE …

Targeting Unc51-Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1 (Ulk1) Overcomes Adaptive Drug Resistance In Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Seemana Bhattacharya, Sujan Piya, Huaxian Ma, Priyanka Sharma, Qi Zhang, Natalia Baran, Vivian R Ruvolo, Teresa Mcqueen, R Eric Davis, Rasoul Pourebrahim, Marina Konopleva, Hagop Kantarjian, Nicholas D P Cosford, Michael Andreeff, Gautam Borthakur

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Despite effective new therapies, adaptive resistance remains the main obstacle in AML therapy. Autophagy induction is a key mechanism for adaptive resistance. Leukemic blasts at diagnosis express higher levels of the apical autophagy kinase ULK1 compared to normal hematopoietic cells. Exposure to chemotherapy and targeted agents upregulate ULK1, hence we hypothesize that developing ULK1 inhibitors may present the unique opportunity for clinical translation of autophagy inhibition. Accordingly, we demonstrate that ULK1 inhibition, by genetic and pharmacological means, suppresses treatment-induced autophagy, overcomes adaptive drug-resistance, and synergizes with chemotherapy and emerging anti-leukemia agents like venetoclax (ABT-199). The study next aims at exploring …

Flt3 Inhibitors Upregulate Cxcr4 And E-Selectin Ligands Via Erk Suppression In Aml Cells And Cxcr4/E-Selectin Inhibition Enhances Anti-Leukemia Efficacy Of Flt3-Targeted Therapy In Aml, Yannan Jia, Weiguo Zhang, Mahesh Basyal, Kyung Hee Chang, Lauren Ostermann, Jared K Burks, Charlie Ly, Hong Mu-Mosley, Qi Zhang, Xin Han, William E Fogler, John L Magnani, Arnaud Lesegretain, Anna A Zal, Tomasz Zal, Michael Andreeff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Aibp Regulates Trpv1 Activation In Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy By Controlling Lipid Raft Dynamics And Proximity To Tlr4 In Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons, Juliana M Navia-Pelaez, Julia Borges Paes Lemes, Leonardo Gonzalez, Lauriane Delay, Luciano Dos Santos Aggum Capettini, Jenny W Lu, Gilson Gonçalves Dos Santos, Ann M Gregus, Patrick M Dougherty, Tony L Yaksh, Yury I Miller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nociceptive afferent signaling evoked by inflammation and nerve injury is mediated by the opening of ligand-gated and voltage-gated receptors or channels localized to cholesterol-rich lipid raft membrane domains. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nociceptors express high levels of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which also localize to lipid rafts. Genetic deletion or pharmacologic blocking of TLR4 diminishes pain associated with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). In DRGs of mice with paclitaxel-induced CIPN, we analyzed DRG neuronal lipid rafts, expression of TLR4, activation of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), and TLR4-TRPV1 interaction. Using proximity ligation assay, flow cytometry, and …

Targeting Fatty Acid Reprogramming Suppresses Carm1-Expressing Ovarian Cancer, Simona Lombardi, Aaron R Goldman, Hsin-Yao Tang, Andrew V Kossenkov, Heng Liu, Wei Zhou, Meenhard Herlyn, Jianhuang Lin, Rugang Zhang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The arginine methyltransferase CARM1 exhibits high expression levels in several human cancers, with the trend also observed in ovarian cancer. However, therapeutic approaches targeting tumors that overexpress CARM1 have not been explored. Cancer cells exploit metabolic reprogramming such as fatty acids for their survival. Here we report that CARM1 promotes monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid reprogramming represents a metabolic vulnerability for CARM1-expressing ovarian cancer. CARM1 promotes the expression of genes encoding rate-limiting enzymes of de novo fatty acid metabolism such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) and fatty acid synthase (FASN). In addition, CARM1 upregulates stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) …

Concomitant Targeting Of Flt3 And Btk Overcomes Flt3 Inhibitor Resistance In Acute Myeloid Leukemia Through The Inhibition Of Autophagy, Weiguo Zhang, Guopan Yu, Hongying Zhang, Mahesh Basyal, Charlie Ly, Bin Yuan, Vivian Ruvolo, Sujan Piya, Seemana Bhattacharya, Qi Zhang, Gautam Borthakur, Venkata Battula, Marina Konopleva, William G Rice, Michael Andreeff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Strategies to overcome resistance to FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-targeted therapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are urgently needed. We identified autophagy as one of the resistance mechanisms, induced by hypoxia and the bone marrow microenvironment via activation of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK). Suppressing autophagy/BTK sensitized FLT3- mutated AML to FLT3 inhibitor-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, co-targeting FLT3/BTK/aurora kinases with a novel multikinase inhibitor CG-806 (luxeptinib) induced profound apoptosis in FLT3-mutated AML by co-suppressing FLT3/BTK, antagonizing autophagy, and causing leukemia cell death in FLT3-wildtype AML by aurora kinase-mediated G2/M arrest and polyploidy, in addition to FLT3 inhibition. Thus, CG-806 exerted profound anti-leukemia …

Antibody Toolkit To Investigate Eef1a Methylation Dynamics In Mrna Translation Elongation, Robert Mealey-Farr, Jinho Jeong, Juhyung Park, Shuo Liu, Simone Hausmann, Joel W Francis, Maria Angulo Ibanez, Joonseok Cho, Katrin Chua, Pawel K Mazur, Or Gozani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Protein synthesis is a fundamental step in gene expression, with modulation of mRNA translation at the elongation step emerging as an important regulatory node in shaping cellular proteomes. In this context, five distinct lysine methylation events on eukaryotic elongation factor 1A (eEF1A), a fundamental nonribosomal elongation factor, are proposed to influence mRNA translation elongation dynamics. However, a lack of affinity tools has hindered progress in fully understanding how eEF1A lysine methylation impacts protein synthesis. Here we develop and characterize a suite of selective antibodies to investigate eEF1A methylation and provide evidence that methylation levels decline in aged tissue. Determination of …

Targeting Unc51-Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1 (Ulk1) Overcomes Adaptive Drug Resistance In Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Seemana Bhattacharya, Sujan Piya, Huaxian Ma, Priyanka Sharma, Qi Zhang, Natalia Baran, Vivian R Ruvolo, Teresa Mcqueen, R Eric Davis, Rasoul Pourebrahim, Marina Konopleva, Hagop Kantarjian, Nicholas D P Cosford, Michael Andreeff, Gautam Borthakur

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

UNLABELLED: Despite effective new therapies, adaptive resistance remains the main obstacle in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) therapy. Autophagy induction is a key mechanism for adaptive resistance. Leukemic blasts at diagnosis express higher levels of the apical autophagy kinase ULK1 compared with normal hematopoietic cells. Exposure to chemotherapy and targeted agents upregulate ULK1, hence we hypothesize that developing ULK1 inhibitors may present the unique opportunity for clinical translation of autophagy inhibition. Accordingly, we demonstrate that ULK1 inhibition, by genetic and pharmacologic means, suppresses treatment-induced autophagy, overcomes adaptive drug-resistance, and synergizes with chemotherapy and emerging antileukemia agents like venetoclax (ABT-199). The study …

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Rehabilitation For Upper Limb Motor Impairment And Function After Chronic Ischemic Stroke: Subgroup Analysis Of The Randomized, Blinded, Pivotal, Vns-Rehab Device Trial, Jesse Dawson, Navzer D Engineer, Steven C Cramer, Steven L Wolf, Rushna Ali, Michael W O'Dell, David Pierce, Cecília N Prudente, Jessica Redgrave, Wuwei Feng, Charles Y Liu, Gerard E Francisco, Benjamin L Brown, Anand Dixit, Jen Alexander, Louis Demark, Vibor Krishna, Steven A Kautz, Arshad Majid, Brent Tarver, Duncan L Turner, Teresa J Kimberley

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) paired with rehabilitation improved upper extremity impairment and function in a recent pivotal, randomized, triple-blind, sham-controlled trial in people with chronic arm weakness after stroke.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether treatment effects varied across candidate subgroups, such as younger age or less injury.

METHODS: Participants were randomized to receive rehabilitation paired with active VNS or rehabilitation paired with sham stimulation (Control). The primary outcome was the change in impairment measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) score on the first day after completion of 6-weeks in-clinic therapy. We explored the effect of VNS …

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Detects Cortical Activation Changes Concurrent With Memory Loss In Postmenopausal Women With Type Ii Diabetes, Stacey L Gorniak, Victoria E Wagner, Kelly Vaughn, Jonathan Perry, Lauren Gulley Cox, Hidetaka Hibino, Samuel A Montero-Hernandez, Arturo E Hernandez, Luca Pollonini

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Older adults with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM) experience mild cognitive impairment, specifically in the domain of recall/working memory. No consistent causative structural cortical deficits have been identified in persons with DM (PwDM). Memory deficits may be exacerbated in older adult females, who are at the highest risk of cardiovascular decline due to DM. The focus of the current study was to evaluate functional cortical hemodynamic activity during memory tasks in postmenopausal PwDM. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to monitor oxyhemoglobin (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) during memory-based tasks in a cross-sectional sample of postmenopausal women with DM. Twenty-one …

Ccr7 Mediated Mimetic Dendritic Cell Vaccine Homing In Lymph Node For Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Therapy, Jiabin Xu, Hong Liu, Tao Wang, Zhenfu Wen, Haolin Chen, Zeyu Yang, Liyan Li, Shan Yu, Siyong Gao, Le Yang, Kan Li, Jingyuan Li, Xiang Li, Lixin Liu, Guiqing Liao, Yongming Chen, Yujie Liang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunotherapy has been recognized as one of the most promising treatment strategies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). As a pioneering trend of immunotherapy, dendritic cell (DC) vaccines have displayed the ability to prime an immune response, while the insufficient immunogenicity and low lymph node (LN) targeting efficiency, resulted in an unsubstantiated therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. Herein, a hybrid nanovaccine (Hy-M-Exo) is developed via fusing tumor-derived exosome (TEX) and dendritic cell membrane vesicle (DCMV). The hybrid nanovaccine inherited the key protein for lymphatic homing, CCR7, from DCMV and demonstrated an enhanced efficiency of LN targeting. Meanwhile, the …

A Role For Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 7 In Repetitive And Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Christina H Acosta, Garrett A Clemons, Cristiane T Citadin, William C Carr, Mariana Sayuri Berto Udo, Vesna Tesic, Henry W Sanicola, Anne H Freelin, Jamie B Toms, J Dedrick Jordan, Bharat Guthikonda, Celeste Yin-Chieh Wu, Reggie Hui-Chao Lee, Hung Wen Lin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mild traumatic brain injury affects the largest proportion of individuals in the United States and world-wide. Pre-clinical studies of repetitive and mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI) have been limited in their ability to recapitulate human pathology (i.e. diffuse rotational injury). We used the closed-head impact model of engineered rotation acceleration (CHIMERA) to simulate rotational injury observed in patients and to study the pathological outcomes post-rmTBI using C57BL/6J mice. Enhanced cytokine production was observed in both the cortex and hippocampus to suggest neuroinflammation. Furthermore, microglia were assessed via enhanced iba1 protein levels and morphological changes using immunofluorescence. In addition, LC/MS analyses …

Targeting Glutaminase Is Therapeutically Effective In Ibrutinib-Resistant Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Lingzhi Li, Lei Nie, Alexa Jordan, Qingsong Cai, Yang Liu, Yijing Li, Yuxuan Che, Jovanny Vargas, Zhihong Chen, Angela Leeming, Wei Wang, Yixin Yao, Michael Wang, Vivian Changying Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an incurable B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by frequent relapses. The development of resistance to ibrutinib therapy remains a major challenge in MCL. We previously showed that glutaminolysis is associated with resistance to ibrutinib. In this study, we confirmed that glutaminase (GLS), the first enzyme in glutaminolysis, is overexpressed in ibrutinib-resistant MCL cells, and that its expression correlates well with elevated glutamine dependency and glutaminolysis. Furthermore, we discovered that GLS expression correlates with MYC expression and the functioning of the glutamine transporter ASCT2. Depletion of glutamine or GLS significantly reduced cell growth, while GLS overexpression enhanced …

Aibp Regulates Trpv1 Activation In Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy By Controlling Lipid Raft Dynamics And Proximity To Tlr4 In Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons, Juliana M Navia-Pelaez, Julia Borges Paes Lemes, Leonardo Gonzalez, Lauriane Delay, Luciano Dos Santos Aggum Capettini, Jenny W Lu, Gilson Gonçalves Dos Santos, Ann M Gregus, Patrick M Dougherty, Tony L Yaksh, Yury I Miller

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Nociceptive afferent signaling evoked by inflammation and nerve injury is mediated by the opening of ligand-gated and voltage-gated receptors or channels localized to cholesterol-rich lipid raft membrane domains. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nociceptors express high levels of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which also localize to lipid rafts. Genetic deletion or pharmacologic blocking of TLR4 diminishes pain associated with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). In DRGs of mice with paclitaxel-induced CIPN, we analyzed DRG neuronal lipid rafts, expression of TLR4, activation of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), and TLR4-TRPV1 interaction. Using proximity ligation assay, flow cytometry, and …