Digital Commons Network^™

Characteristics And Outcomes Associated With Multiple Triage Visits Among Patients With Suspected Preterm Labor Or Preterm Premature Rupture Of Membranes, Jameaka L Hamilton, Paula L Mcgee, George R Saade, Rebecca G Clifton, Michael W Varner, Alan T N Tita, Monica Longo, Edward F Bell, Barbara J Stoll, Donna Allard, Ashley Salazar, John M Thorp, Uma M Reddy, Maged M Costantine, Emily S Miller, Dwight J Rouse, Hyagriv N Simhan, Jennifer L Bailit, Lorraine Dugoff, George A Macones, Baha M Sibai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hospital-based obstetrical triage units frequently serve as an extension to outpatient care. Evaluation of the burden of preterm birth (PTB) typically focuses on the delivery and neonatal periods, while antepartum health care utilization related to risk of PTB is seldom reported.

Objective: To identify the characteristics and outcomes associated with multiple triage visits among patients with suspected preterm labor (PTL) or preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM).

Study design: Secondary analysis of a retrospective cohort study of all triage visits from 20 0/7 through 34 6/7 weeks gestation on randomly selected dates in 2019 at 34 hospitals across the …

Transforming Preterm Care: The Power Of Small Baby Guidelines In Enhancing Outcomes, Leeann Pavlek, Debra Armbruster, Cecilie Halling, Kaitlyn Hipp, Maria Jebbia, Susan Lopata, Matthew Rysavy, Rebecca Saliga, Sheria Wilson, Claire Beaullieu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

As survival rates of extremely preterm (EPT) infants continue to improve, focus has shifted to reduce morbidity and complications in these vulnerable patients. Management of EPT infants presents significant clinical, logistical, and sometimes ethical challenges. Outcomes across centers are highly variable and strongly influenced by the care provided in the early neonatal period. Standardized guidelines, based on published literature and center-specific experiences, play an important role in improving outcomes for EPT infants. Multidisciplinary guidelines provide a framework for clinical management and support a consistent care approach. Guidelines can improve care throughout the entire neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) course, beginning …

The Distal Acromial Tip Fusion: A Novel Procedure To Mitigate Acromial Stress Fractures In High-Risk Patients Undergoing Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty, Trevor G Simcox, Jeffrey Dela Cruz, Gennaro Dellicarpini, Wojciech K Dzieza, Itaru Kawashima, Kevin W Farmer, Jonathan O Wright, Thomas W Wright, Joseph J King

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Acromion and scapular spine fractures (ASFs) pose significant challenges in the management of patients undergoing reverse total shoulder arthroplasty and there is a pressing need for effective preventive measures. Current predictive factors for ASF include female sex, osteoporosis, older age, and anatomical considerations such as glenoid medialization and acromial morphology. However, surgical options to mitigate ASF risk are limited. In this study, we propose a novel technique: incorporation of distal acromial tip fusion (DATF) during primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasty procedures. DATF involves bony fusion between the undersurface of the anterolateral acromion and the region where the superior rim of …

Prevalence Of Obesity With Confirmed Excess Adiposity In Us Children And Adolescents, Alexandra B Palmer, Kyung Hyun Lee, Rashedeh Roshani, Elizabeth Frankel, Miryoung Lee, Mohammad Y Anwar, Heather M Highland, Kristin L Young, Mariaelisa Graff, Joseph B Mccormick, Susan P Fisher-Hoch, Joyce P Samuel, Jennifer E Below, Kari E North, Penny Gordon-Larsen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Functional Ability Profiles In Beta-Propeller Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration (Bpan), Francesco Gavazzi, Samuel R Pierce, Vanessa Smith, Eric Yang, Julie Skorup, Kristy Pucci, Emma Kotes, Allan M Glanzman, Stacy V Cusack, Todd Levy, Holly Dubbs, Emma Wiener, Sarah Woidill, Joseph Vithayathil, Abbas Jawad, Nivedita Thakur, Laura A Adang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Beta-propeller Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration (BPAN) is a rare neurodevelopmental degenerative disorder caused by pathogenic variants in WDR45 leading to brain iron accumulation. Its rarity and complex clinical course make it difficult to select appropriate clinical outcome assessments (COAs). This study evaluates established COAs for feasibility and effectiveness in capturing BPAN's functional ability profiles exploring cognitive, motor, and behavioral features.

Methods: We performed an observational study. Children were recruited as part of the Myelin Disorders Biorepository Project at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We administered the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88), the Leiter International Performance Scale (Leiter-3), and the Vineland Adaptive …

Priming With Transcutaneous Spinal Direct Current Stimulation Followed By Robotic Exoskeleton Gait Training In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Series, Marcie Kern, Catherine Velasquez-Ignacio, Taimoor Afzal, Shih-Chiao Tseng, Gerard E Francisco, Shuo-Hsiu Chang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: To investigate the safety and feasibility of repeated transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) as priming strategy during exoskeleton-assisted locomotor training in individuals with SCI and evaluate potential neurophysiologic and functional gait changes.

Study design: Case series experimental design.

Setting: Research laboratory at a post-acute rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: Four participants with chronic incomplete SCI.

Interventions: Four participants with chronic incomplete SCI received three weeks of training consisting of two types of interventions after baseline (A): 20-minute tsDCS (anode or cathode) applied over the spinous processes of T10 followed by 20-minute exoskeleton-assisted locomotor training (B, B1, B2) and 20-minute exoskeleton-assisted …

From Reflex Reaction To Rational Action-Personalizing Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis, Renee W Green, William D Rieger, Lillian S Kao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Missing The Target: A Scoping Review Of The Use Of Percent Weight Loss For Obesity Management, Diana Sherifali, Megan Racey, Donna Fitzpatrick-Lewis, Michelle Greenway, Sanjeev Sockalingam, Jun Wada, Soo Huat Teoh, Ian Patton, David Macklin, Elizabeth F C Van Rossum, Luca Busetto, Deborah Bade Horn, J D Patricia Nece, Morgan Emile Gabriel Salmon Leguede, Nicole Pearce, Carel Le Roux, Jamy Ard, Angela S Alberga, Lee Kaplan, Arya M Sharma, Sean Wharton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: To co-create comprehensive targets for obesity management, we need to understand the genesis and current use of percent weight loss targets in research. The goals of our scoping review are to (1) synthesize the literature on percent weight loss targets for adults with obesity and (2) discuss the percent weight loss targets in context with their health benefits.

Methods: We searched Cochrane, MEDLINE, and EMBASE for English language, pharmaceutical, and/or behavioral intervention studies in adults with obesity where the explicit aim of the study was weight reduction defined as a percent of body weight. Reviewers screened citations and extracted …

Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy-Induced Hypercortisolemic Crisis In Ectopic Cushing Syndrome, Raghavendra Pandit, Chethan Yamichannaiah, Anurag Ranjan Lila, Manjiri Karlekar, Saba Samad Memon, Tushar Bandgar

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A woman in her fourth decade of life with metastatic ectopic Cushing syndrome due to a thymic neuroendocrine tumor developed an acute adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-mediated hypercortisolemic crisis 5 days after initiating lutetium-177-labeled DOTA-[Tyr3]-octreotate (177Lu-DOTATATE) peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT). She presented with hypertension, rapid weight gain (8 kg in a week), psychosis, and biochemical evidence of severe hypercortisolism: serum cortisol: 141 µg/dL (SI: 3889.7 nmol/L) (reference range, 5-25 µg/dL [SI: 137.9-689.7 nmol/L]), plasma ACTH greater than 2000 pg/mL (SI >440.4 pmol/L) (reference range, 10-60 pg/mL [SI: 2.2-13.3 pmol/L]), potassium: 3.4 mEq/L (reference range, 3.5-5.0 mEq/L). Low-dose intravenous etomidate (0.02 mg/kg/h) was …

Continuous Androgen Deprivation Therapy With Or Without Metastasis-Directed Therapy For Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer: The Multicenter Phase 2 Randomized Extend Trial, Alexander D Sherry, Bilal A Siddiqui, Cara Haymaker, Bryan M Fellman, Marina N Medina-Rosales, Tharakeswara K Bathala, Shuqi Wang, Suyu Liu, Aaron Seo, Kieko Hara, Hsinyi Lu, Patricia Troncoso, Stephen G Chun, Chul S Ha, Lauren L Mayo, Henry Mok, Ryan J Park, Brian F Chapin, Ryan M Phillips, Matthew P Deek, Craig A Kovitz, Ana Aparicio, Amado J Zurita, Patrick G Pilie, Lorenzo Cohen, Seungtaek L Choi, Alexandre Reuben, Phuoc T Tran, Paul G Corn, Sumit K Subudhi, Chad Tang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objective: Oligometastatic prostate cancer (omPC) is characterized by limited metastases. We hypothesized that metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) to all sites of omPC combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) would improve clinical outcomes.

Methods: In the multicenter phase 2 EXTEND trial, patients with omPC were randomized 1:1 to ADT versus MDT + ADT in two independently powered and randomized baskets, one using intermittent ADT and one using continuous ADT. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints included radiologic PFS (rPFS) and castration resistance-free survival (CRFS). Here, the primary results of the continuous ADT basket, the combined analysis …

Rank-Based Learning: A Novel High-Throughput Algorithm Resilient To Missing Data And Effective For Datasets With Small Sample Size, Lulu Song, Hamid Khoshfekr Rudsari, Johannes F Fahrmann, Jody Vykoukal, Sam Hanash, James P Long, Kim-Anh Do, Ehsan Irajizad

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

High-throughput omics data present challenges for binary classification due to platform variability, batch effects, missing values, and high dimensionality. This study presents a novel Rank-Based Learning (RBL) method that leverages relative feature rankings to improve robustness and generalizability. We evaluated RBL against established methods like Logistic Regression (LR) and Random Forest (RF) using simulated data and two real-world plasma proteomics datasets: early-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (dpNET) in patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). In simulation experiments, RBL outperformed LR under conditions involving batch effects, missing data, and varying numbers of true differential …

Genome Sequencing Reveals The Impact Of Pseudoexons In Rare Genetic Disease, Georgia Pitsava, Megan Hawley, Light Auriga, Ivan De Dios, Arthur Ko, Sofia Marmolejos, Miguel Almalvez, Ingrid Chen, Kaylee Scozzaro, Jianhua Zhao, Rebekah Barrick, Nicholas Ah Mew, Vincent A Fusaro, Jonathan Lotempio, Matthew Taylor, Luisa Mestroni, Sharon Graw, Dianna Milewicz, Dongchuan Guo, David R Murdock, Kinga M Bujakowska, Changrui Xiao, Emmanuèle C Délot, Seth I Berger, Eric Vilain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Advancements in sequencing technologies have significantly improved clinical genetic testing; yet, the diagnostic yield remains around 30% to 40%. Emerging technologies are now being deployed to address the remaining diagnostic gap.

Methods: We tested whether short-read genome sequencing could increase the diagnostic yield in individuals enrolled into the UCI-GREGoR research study, who had suspected Mendelian conditions and prior inconclusive testing. Two other collaborative research cohorts, focused on aortopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy, consisted of individuals who were undiagnosed but had not undergone harmonized prior testing.

Results: We sequenced 353 families (754 participants) and found a molecular diagnosis in 54 (15.3%) …

Phase 2 Study Of Monotherapy With Pembrolizumab For Advanced Adrenocortical Carcinoma, Brenda Chahla, Bettzy Stephen, Juhee Song, Vania Balderrama-Brondani, Feyza Yaylaci, Matthew T Campbell, Aung Naing, Mouhammed Amir Habra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare cancer with suboptimal response to chemotherapy. The role of immunotherapy in ACC management is evolving.

Methods: An investigator-initiated, open-label, phase 2 clinical trial was performed to ascertain the activity and safety of monotherapy with pembrolizumab (a humanized monoclonal anti-programmed cell death protein 1 antibody) in patients with advanced ACC. This study was part of a basket clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02721732). Study participants were enrolled from August 15, 2016, until December 7, 2020. Pembrolizumab (200 mg) was administered intravenously every 3 weeks. All other lines of therapy, including mitotane, were stopped before …

Corrigendum To "Single-Cell Proteomic Analysis Reveals Multiple Myeloma Heterogeneity And The Dynamics Of The Tumor Immune Microenvironment In Precursor And Advanced States" [Neoplasia 66 (2025) 1101189], Mohamed Kamal, Stephanie N Shishido, Jeremy Mason, Krina Patel, Elisabet E Manasanch, Robert Z Orlowski, Peter Kuhn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Meeting Report From The 2024 Symposium On Irak4 In Cancer: Highlights And Clinical Updates, Eric S Winer, Marina Konopleva, Han W Tun, Kian-Huat Lim, Bently Doonan, Klaus H Metzeler, Lakshmi Nayak, Andrés J M Ferreri, Christina Von Roemeling, Grzegorz S Nowakowski, Guillermo Garcia-Manero

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) is a serine/threonine kinase that mediates interleukin-1 and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling. IRAK4 drives the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), which promotes cell survival, inflammation, and proliferation. Aberrant activation of IRAK4 and TLR signaling has been implicated in multiple malignancies. At the 3rd Annual IRAK4 in Cancer Symposium, experts discussed the role of IRAK4 in cancer biology, the potential for synergism between IRAK4 inhibition and other treatments to overcome resistance, and how IRAK4 inhibition may improve clinical outcomes. Preclinical data were presented demonstrating the activity of IRAK4 inhibition alone or in combination with …

Cardiovascular Multimorbidity In Older Adults In The United States By Race And Sex, Michael D Green, Robert J Mentz, Stephen J Greene, Bradley G Hammill, Utibe R Essien, Ying Xian, Erin D Michos, Roland J Thorpe, Matthew E Dupre, Brian Mac Grory, Chi-Tsun Chiu, Emily C O'Brien, Jay B Lusk

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: It is essential to understand the prevalence of cardiovascular multimorbidity and to recognize disparities by race and sex to promote health equity.

Objectives: The objectives of the study are to investigate disparities in the development and progression of cardiovascular multimorbidity among older adults in the United States and estimate relative life expectancies among patients with cardiovascular multimorbidity.

Methods: This was a nationwide study of a 5% nationwide sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 or older from 2010 to 2020. Multistate survival models were employed to estimate cardiovascular disease (CVD) progression and a microsimulation approach was used to derive …

Misfolded Amyloid-Beta Conformational Variants (Strains) As Drivers Of Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology, Salvatore Saieva, Rodrigo Morales

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

B-Cell-Specific Wwox Deletion Promotes Plasmablastic Tumor Development And Proinflammatory Signatures In Myeloma Model, Tabish Hussain, Matthew D Bramble, Bin Liu, Martin C Abba, Marta Chesi, C Marcelo Aldaz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Deletions and translocations affecting WWOX accompanied by loss of expression are frequently observed in B-cell neoplasms and are linked to poor prognosis. Our previous research showed that Wwox deletion early in B-cell development induces genomic instability, neoplastic transformation, and monoclonal gammopathies in mice. In this study, by crossing Cd19 Wwox knockout (KO) with Vk^∗MYC myeloma model mice, we generated a model with concurrent Wwox deletion and MYC activation, reproducing 2 common oncogenic alterations in B- and plasma-cell cancers. We observed that Vk^∗MYC:Wwox KO mice exhibited significantly reduced survival rates primarily due to the development of plasmablastic …

Omacetaxine And Venetoclax In Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia Or Myelodysplastic Syndrome With Mutant Runx1, Courtney D Dinardo, Wei-Ying Jen, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Xuemei Wang, Sanam Loghavi, Sravanthi Lavu, Nicholas J Short, Kelly Chien, Ghayas C Issa, Naveen Pemmaraju, Musa Yilmaz, Michael Andreeff, Gautam Borthakur, Tapan M Kadia, Naval G Daver, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Christopher P Mill, Xiaoping Su, Warren Fiskus, Kapil N Bhalla

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mutations in RUNX1 (RUNX1mut) occur in 10% to 20% of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and are associated with poor outcomes to standard therapy. Omacetaxine mepesuccinate (OM), a semisynthetic analog of homoharringtonine, has been shown to be lethal to RUNX1mut AML cells in vitro through reduction of MCL1 and BCL-XL, and synergizes with venetoclax (VEN) in RUNX1mut AML models. We investigated the safety and efficacy of OM + VEN in relapsed/refractory RUNX1mut MDS/AML in a Bayesian Optimal Interval design. VEN 400 mg daily from days 1 to 14 and OM …

Inhibition Of Bmper Mitigates Pulmonary Hypertension By Modulating Lrp1-Yap Interaction In Smooth Muscle Cells, Hua Mao, Claire M Li, Bing Sun, Christopher S Ward, Alan R Waich-Cohen, Ivan O Rosas, Howard J Huang, Harry Karmouty-Quintana, Liang Xie, Lavannya M Pandit, Xinchun Pi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: BMPER (bone morphogenetic protein-binding endothelial regulator) is a secreted protein that is highly expressed in endothelial cells. It regulates the BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) pathway during vascular development and adulthood. Mutations in the BMP pathway are recognized as risk factors for pulmonary arterial hypertension group 1 pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the roles of BMPER in pulmonary arterial hypertension remain unknown.

Methods: We assessed BMPER expression in Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension patient samples and examined its role in vascular remodeling using in vivo and in vitro approaches.

Results: BMPER level was elevated in pulmonary arterial hypertension lungs and significantly …

High Risk Of Persistence And Risk Of Dysplasia After Diagnosis Of Ultrashort Barrett's Esophagus, Wasseem Skef, Jasmine Haydel, Ashwin Rao, Ronan Allencherril, Rollin George, Gyanprakash A Ketwaroo, Aaron P Thrift, Hashem B El-Serag, Theresa Nguyen Wenker

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: The management of ultrashort (< 1 cm) Barrett's esophagus (BE) remains unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of ultrashort BE (USBE) at index diagnosis, identify factors associated with persistent BE after USBE diagnosis, and identify risk of dysplasia after initial USBE in a population of US veterans.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Houston, TX, of consecutive patients with new BE diagnosis from November 1990 to June 2022 with follow-up through April 2023. Using a pathology database, we identified patients with a new USBE diagnosis and any subsequent follow-up esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). We examined the association of sociodemographic and clinical risk factors of persistent USBE cohort compared with longer-length segment BE and those with a negative follow-up EGD after index USBE with χ 2 tests and logistic regression models. Last, we calculated the prevalence and …

Integration Of Genetic And Imaging Data For Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis And Interpretation, Yanfei Wang, Qing Wang, Minghao Zhou, Jialu Liang, Lei You, Breton Asken, Xiaobo Zhou, Qianqian Song

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by complex interactions between genetic risk factors and structural brain changes. Traditional diagnostic approaches that rely on single-modality data, such as imaging or genomics alone, often fall short in both predictive accuracy and biological interpretability. To address these limitations, AlzCLIP, a novel contrastive learning framework that integrates single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles and MRI-derived imaging features into a unified embedding space is introduced. This joint representation captures disease-relevant interactions between genetic variation and brain structure, enabling both accurate diagnosis and mechanistic insight into AD. AlzCLIP is trained and evaluated on two …

Exploring Multimodal Large Language Models On Transthoracic Echocardiogram (Tte) Tasks For Cardiovascular Decision Support, Jianfu Li, Yiming Li, Zenan Sun, Evan Yu, Ahmed M Abdelhameed, Weiguo Cao, Haifang Li, Jianping He, Pengze Li, Jingna Feng, Yue Yu, Xinyue Hu, Manqi Li, Rakesh Kumar, Yifang Dang, Fang Li, Shahyar M Gharacholou, Cui Tao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Multimodal large language models (LLMs) offer new potential for enhancing cardiovascular decision support, particularly in interpreting echocardiographic data. This study systematically evaluates and benchmarks foundation models from diverse domains on echocardiogram-based tasks to assess their effectiveness, limitations and potential in clinical cardiovascular applications.

Methods: We curated three cardiovascular imaging datasets-EchoNet-Dynamic, TMED2, and an expert-annotated echocardiogram (TTE) dataset-to evaluate performance on four critical tasks: (1) cardiac function evaluation through ejection fraction (EF) prediction, (2) cardiac view classification, (3) aortic stenosis (AS) severity assessment, and (4) cardiovascular disease classification. We evaluated six multimodal LLMs: EchoClip (cardiovascular-specific), BiomedGPT and LLaVA-Med (medical-domain), and …

Hand Swelling And Other Non-Raynaud Phenomenon Symptoms As The Initial Presentation Of Systemic Sclerosis: Prevalence And Clinical Associations In Two Us Cohorts, Iqtidar Hanif, Shervin Assassi, Maureen D Mayes, Zsuzsanna H Mcmahan, Meng Zhang, Julio Charles, John M Vanburen, Jessica S Alvey, Kimia Ghaffari, Elana J Bernstein, Flavia V Castelino, Lorinda Chung, Luke Evnin, Tracy M Frech, Jessica K Gordon, Faye N Hant, Laura K Hummers, Dinesh Khanna, Kimberly S Lakin, Dorota Lebiedz-Odrobina, Yiming Luo, Ashima Makol, Jerry A Molitor, Duncan F Moore, Carrie Richardson, Nora Sandorfi, Ami A Shah, Ankoor Shah, Victoria K Shanmugam, Virginia D Steen, Elizabeth R Volkmann, Carleigh Zahn, Brian Skaug

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Raynaud phenomenon (RP) is often the initial clinical manifestation of systemic sclerosis (SSc), but some patients develop other manifestations first. To help elucidate the diversity of SSc presentation in its early stages, we describe the initial clinical manifestations and antinuclear antibody (ANA) profiles of patients in two early SSc cohorts.

Methods: All patient data in the Genetics vs Environment in Scleroderma Outcomes Study (GENISOS) and Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER) cohorts were reviewed. Both studies enrolled patients within five years of the first non-RP symptom.

Results: In GENISOS and CONQUER, respectively, 194 (44.2%) of 439 and 292 …

Acute And Chronic Nasal Inflammation Induces Lymphangiogenesis In The Olfactory Mucosa In Mice, Suzuho Komaki, Ryuichi Imai, Yuzuki Sugimoto, Rei Settsu, Aki Obara, Atsuyoshi Shimada, Robert Dantzer, Geoffroy Laumet, Fumiaki Imamura, Sanae Hasegawa-Ishii

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Lymphangiogenesis, the formation of new lymphatic vessels, is primarily driven by VEGF-C-mediated activation of VEGFR-3 and plays a critical role in immune regulation and tissue repair. Although lymphangiogenesis has been well documented in various inflamed tissues, its occurrence and spatiotemporal characteristics in the olfactory mucosa during nasal inflammation remain poorly understood. To address this, we investigated the localization and development of lymphatic vessels in a mouse model of both acute and chronic nasal inflammation.

Methods: Acute inflammation was induced by intranasal administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 μg per nostril) in 8-week-old male mice, with saline-treated mice as controls. Behavioral …

Outcomes And Patterns Of Relapse Of Npm1 Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated With Venetoclax Based Therapies, Wei-Ying Jen, Sanam Loghavi, Alexandre Bazinet, Alex Bataller, Ian Bouligny, Naval G Daver, Ghayas C Issa, Naszrin Arani, Emmanuel Almanza Huante, Abhishek Maiti, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Gautam Borthakur, Nicholas J Short, Sherry Pierce, Elias Jabbour, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Farhad Ravandi, Hagop M Kantarjian, Courtney D Dinardo, Tapan M Kadia

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

A Tour Of Leukemia Progress In 2025, Viewed Through The Md Anderson Leukemia Research Lens, Hagop M Kantarjian, Gautam Borthakur, Naval Daver, Courtney Dinardo, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Ghayas Issa, Elias Jabbour, Nitin Jain, Tapan Kadia, Sanam Loghavi, Farhad Ravandi, Guilin Tang, Mary Alma Welch, William Wierda

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Advances in the prognostication, monitoring, and treatment of both the acute and chronic leukemias have led to drastically improved outcomes over the past 2 decades. With the advent of targeted therapies, including antibodies such as blinatumomab and inotuzumab and small molecule inhibitors, such as the BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors, Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and venetoclax, the treatment landscape of leukemia has drastically changed, improving survival outcomes while relying less on overall chemotherapy intensity in many leukemia types. This progress has allowed the categorization of more leukemia types as favorable (i.e., chronic lymphocytic leukemia, younger acute lymphoblastic leukemia [patients younger than …

Brain-Wide Patterns Of Crf Receptor 1 Expression In The Transgenic Crfr1-Cre-2a-Tdtom Rat, Douglas S Engelke, Lierni Ugartemendia, Jonathan Tao, Shivakumar Rajamanikam, Fabricio H Do Monte, Nicholas J Justice

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The ability to manipulate neurons that express corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) or its receptors has led to many new discoveries about how CRF signaling modulates stress-related behaviors in mice. However, similar advances in rats have been limited by the lack of reporter lines targeting CRF receptors, restricting access to behavioral paradigms that are more suitable for, or specific to, rats. Here, we provide an extensive neuroanatomical characterization of a recently generated CRFR1-Cre rat. We show that Cre and tdTomato are expressed in a pattern that closely aligns with previously reported CRFR1 expression patterns, as determined by in situ hybridization in rats …

Probabilistic Template Matching For Detecting Resting-State Functional Mri Language Network In Brain Tumor Patients, Jian Ming Teo, Vinodh A Kumar, Alexander M Khalaf, Kyle R Noll, Sherise D Ferguson, Chibawanye I Ene, Sujit S Prabhu, Max Wintermark, Ho-Ling Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Intersubject variation among patients with brain tumors complicates the template matching process for detecting the resting-state (rs) functional MRI (fMRI) language network when using independent component analysis (ICA).

Purpose: This study aimed to develop methods that use a probabilistic language atlas to incorporate intersubject variation in brain tumor patients into the template matching process.

Methods: This retrospective study included 79 patients with brain tumors (average age, 50 ± 15 years) who underwent presurgical task-based (tb)-fMRI and rs-fMRI at clinical 3T scanners. At varying template generation thresholds (τ), binary and probabilistic templates were obtained from the language atlas. A binary …

Tagraxofusp, A Cd123-Targeted Therapy, For Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia: Final Results Of A Phase 1/2 Study, Mrinal M Patnaik, Haris Ali, Eunice S Wang, Abdulraheem Yacoub, James M Foran, Vikas Gupta, Gary J Schiller, Don Ambrose Stevens, Moshe Talpaz, Sarah Wall, Terra L Lasho, Abhishek A Mangaonkar, Talha Badar, Ross Lindsay, Antonio Galleu, Ira Gupta, Naveen Pemmaraju, Guillermo Garcia-Manero

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is an aggressive hematologic neoplasm characterized by an expansion of CD123+ monocytes and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). pDC bone marrow clusters in CMML have been associated with higher rates of acute myeloid leukemia transformation. We evaluated tagraxofusp, a CD123-targeted therapy, in a phase 1/2 trial for patients with CMML. There were no dose-limiting toxicities. At the recommended phase 2 dose of 12 μg/kg per day, 37 patients were treated: 15 were treatment naïve; 22 had relapsed/refractory disease (median number of previous therapies, 1 [range, 1-7]). Common nonhematologic treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) included fatigue (49%), hypoalbuminemia (46%), …