Digital Commons Network^™

Distinct Tumor-Associated Macrophage Signatures Shape The Immune Microenvironment And Patient Prognosis In Renal Cell Carcinoma, Youngsoo Han, Aidan Shen, Cheng-Chi Chao, Lucas Yeung, Aliesha Garrett, Jianming Zeng, Satoru Kawakita, Jesse Wang, Zhaohui Wang, Alireza Hassani, Xiling Shen, Chongming Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 90% of adult renal cancer cases and is characterized by significant heterogeneity within its tumor microenvironment. This study tests the hypothesis that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) influence RCC progression and patient response to treatment by investigating the prognostic implications of TAM signatures. Utilizing independent single-cell RNA sequencing data from RCC patients, we developed eight distinct TAM signatures reflective of TAM presence. A LASSO Cox regression model was constructed to predict survival outcomes, evaluated using the TCGA dataset, and validated across independent RCC cohorts. Model performance was assessed through Kaplan-Meier survival plots, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) …

Distinguishing Syndromic And Nonsyndromic Cleft Palate Through Analysis Of Protein-Altering De Novo Variants In 818 Trios, Kelsey R Robinson, Sarah W Curtis, Justin E Paschall, Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo, Terri H Beaty, Azeez Butali, Carmen J Buxó, David J Cutler, Michael P Epstein, Lord J J Gowans, Jacqueline T Hecht, Gary M Shaw, Lina Moreno Uribe, Jeffrey C Murray, Harrison Brand, Seth M Weinberg, Mary L Marazita, Kimberly F Doheny, Elizabeth J Leslie-Clarkson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

De novo variants (DNs) are sporadically occurring variants found in an offspring but absent in both parents. DNs most commonly arise in the germline and are not under selective pressure; therefore, they may be enriched for disease-causing alleles. In fact, DNs have been implicated in multiple rare genetic disorders. Cleft palate (CP) is a craniofacial congenital anomaly occurring in ∼1 in 1,700 live births. Genome-wide association studies have found fewer than a dozen CP-specific loci, while exome and targeted sequencing studies in family-based and case-control cohorts often lack statistical power to conclusively identify causal variants. We therefore hypothesized that CP …

Compadre: Combined Pedigree-Aware Distant Relatedness Estimation For Improved Pedigree Reconstruction, Grahame F Evans, James T Baker, Lauren E Petty, Alexander S Petty, Hannah G Polikowsky, Ryan J Bohlender, Hung-Hsin Chen, Che-Yu Chou, Kathryn Z Viljoen, Janet M Beilby, Shelly Jo Kraft, Wanying Zhu, Joshua M Landman, Autumn R Morrow, Dayi Bian, Alyssa C Scartozzi, Chad D Huff, Jennifer E Below

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Designing powerful and unbiased genomic studies requires accurate assessment of familial relatedness even when this information is not captured from participants. Characterization of pairwise degrees of relatedness from participants' genetic data enables reconstruction of pedigrees, and several pedigree reconstruction tools have emerged in the last decade. However, limitations of these tools include high computational burden in large datasets, reliance on external information, reduced accuracy in admixed populations, and most notably, an inability to accurately reconstruct pedigrees when only a subset of family members is represented in the genetic data. To improve pedigree reconstruction in large-scale data and in pedigrees with …

Menin Inhibitor Ds-1594b Drives Differentiation And Induces Synergistic Lethality In Combination With Venetoclax In Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells With Rearranged Mixed-Lineage Leukemia And Mutated Nucleophosmin-1, Valerio Ciaurro, Vassilena Sharlandjieva, Anna Skwarska, Catherine Chahrour, Natalia Baran, Zhihong Zeng, Cassandra Ramage, Naval Daver, Bing Z Carter, Sovira Chaundhry, Palaniraja Thandapani, Maria Paola Martelli, Thomas A Milne, Marina Konopleva

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) rearrangements and Nucleophosmin-1 (NPM1) mutations are associated with acute leukemias whose pathogenesis is critically influenced by protein-protein interactions between menin and MLL. We hypothesized that targeting the menin-MLL interaction using DS-1594b and blocking the antiapoptotic BCL-2 protein using venetoclax may promote differentiation and enhance eradication of MLL-rearranged and NPM1-mutated leukemias models. We treated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines with MLL rearrangements, NPM1 mutations, other leukemias and primary samples from AML patients with venetoclax alone, DS- 1594b alone, and their combination. We measured proliferation, viability, apoptosis, and differentiation using a variety of cellular assays, Western blotting, and …

Genetic Architecture And Analysis Practices Of Circulating Metabolites In The Nhlbi Trans-Omics For Precision Medicine Program, Nannan Wang, Franklin P Ockerman, Laura Y Zhou, Megan L Grove, Taryn Alkis, John Barnard, Russell P Bowler, Clary B Clish, Shinhye Chung, Emily Drzymalla, Anne M Evans, Nora Franceschini, Robert E Gerszten, Madeline G Gillman, Scott R Hutton, Rachel S Kelly, Charles Kooperberg, Martin G Larson, Jessica Lasky-Su, Deborah A Meyers, Prescott G Woodruff, Alexander P Reiner, Stephen S Rich, Jerome I Rotter, Edwin K Silverman, Ramachandran S Vasan, Scott T Weiss, Kari E Wong, Alexis C Wood, Lang Wu, Nhlbi Trans-Omics For Precision Medicine (Topmed) Consortium, Ronit Yarden, Thomas W Blackwell, Albert V Smith, Han Chen, Laura M Raffield, Bing Yu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Circulating metabolite levels partly reflect the state of human health and diseases and can be impacted by genetic determinants. Hundreds of loci associated with circulating metabolites have been identified; however, most findings focus on predominantly European ancestry or single-study analyses. Leveraging the rich metabolomics resources generated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program, we harmonized and accessibly cataloged 1,729 circulating metabolites among 25,058 ancestrally diverse samples. From our comparison of multiple methods, we provided a set of reasonable strategies for outlier and imputation handling to process metabolite data and show that inverse …

Rising Metastatic Prostate Cancer Rates But Narrowing Racial Gap, Hanna Zurl, Zhiyu Qian, Klara K Pohl, Andrea Piccolini, Stephan M Korn, Muhieddine Labban, Stuart R Lipsitz, Mansoo Cho, Sean A Fletcher, Marianne Leitsmann, Sascha Ahyai, Quoc-Dien Trinh, Alexander P Cole

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: In recent years, there has been considerable interest in addressing racial disparities in prostate cancer (PCa) care including risk-adapted screening. This study examined trends in metastatic PCa incidence by race and placed them in context of changes in PSA screening recommendations.

Methods: We analyzed metastatic PCa incidence trends by race (using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results data, 2005-2021) and PSA screening trends (using Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey data, 2012-2020). We fitted a generalized linear model with an interaction term for race and year of diagnosis and calculated annual incidence rate ratios (metastatic disease) and odds ratios (screening) for …

The Utility Of Ultra-Deep Rna Sequencing In Mendelian Disorder Diagnostics, Sen Zhao, Jefferson C Sinson, Shenglan Li, Jill A Rosenfeld, Gladys Zapata, Kristina Macakova, Mezthly Pena, Becky Maywald, Kim C Worley, Lindsay C Burrage, Monika Weisz-Hubshman, Shamika Ketkar, William Craigen, Lisa Emrick, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Tyson Clark, Gila Yanai Lithwick, Zohar Shipony, Christine Eng, Brendan Lee, Pengfei Liu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for resolving variants of uncertain significance (VUSs), particularly those affecting gene expression and splicing. However, most reference datasets and diagnostic protocols employ relatively modest sequencing depths (∼50-150 million reads), which may fail to detect low-abundance transcripts and rare splicing events critical for accurate diagnosis. We evaluated the diagnostic and translational utility of ultra-high-depth (up to ∼1 billion unique reads) RNA-seq in four clinically accessible tissues using the Ultima sequencing platform. After validating the performance of Ultima RNA-seq, we investigated how increasing sequencing depth affects gene and isoform detection, splicing variant discovery, …

Incidence And Risk Factors For Pneumonitis Due To Trastuzumab Deruxtecan In Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Maria Azhar, Felipe Soto, Amber Su, Norma Alicia Vazquez Gonzalez, Kevin Bernal Medina, Alejandro Lizarraga Madrigal, Cesar Chavez Duran, Carlos Ignacio Rodriguez Reyna, Colin Chan, Girish S Shroff, Roland L Bassett, Sarah Pasyar, David Zhang, Vickie R Shannon, Mehmet Altan, Melissa P Mitchell, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Jason Mouabbi, Rashmi K Murthy, Saadia A Faiz, Lara Bashoura, Bora Lim, Ajay Sheshadri

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and delivers a topoisomerase inhibitor payload. T-DXd has been effectively used to treat metastatic breast cancer but causes pneumonitis in 10–15% of cases. Risk factors associated with T-DXd pneumonitis are not well described.

Research question: What are the major clinical risk factors for T-DXd pneumonitis?

Study design and methods: We conducted a retrospective study of women with metastatic breast cancer at our institution treated with T-DXd as standard of care between 2020 and 2024. We collected clinical data, including demographics, relevant review …

Prospective Phase Ii Clinical Trial Of Molecular Glioblastoma (Historical Grade 2 And 3 Idh Wildtype Gliomas) Preliminary Novel Exploratory Analyses: Treatment Intensification, Margin Reduction And Epigenetic Stratified Outcomes With Radiation Therapy And Chemotherapy, Debra Nana Yeboa, Benjamin T Whitfield, Ruitao Lin, Chinenye Lynette Ejezie, Todd A Swanson, Thomas H Beckham, Chenyang Wang, Brian De, Subha Perni, Martin C Tom, Jing Li, Susan L Mcgovern, Rebecca Harrison, Nazanin K Majd, Vinay K Puduvalli, Ashley E Aaroe, Monica Loghin, Barbara J O'Brien, Anuj D Patel, Chirag B Patel, Jeffrey S Wefel, Ceylan Altintas Taslicay, Maria Gule-Monroe, Arnold C Paulino, Mary Frances Mcaleer, David R Grosshans, Amol J Ghia, Wen Jiang, Caroline Chung, Moshe Maor, Cheng-Han Yang, Maria A Gubbiotti, Carlos Kamiya-Matsuoka, Leomar Y Ballester, Shiao-Pei Weathers, Jason T Huse

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Molecular glioblastoma (molGBM) is a variant lacking the full histopathological profile of glioblastoma. We report a trial aimed at addressing the optimal management of this newly recognized rarer form of glioma.

Methods: In this phase II study, molGBM patients were treated with radiation to a dose of 60Gy to the gross tumor volume (GTV) only, and a single smaller margin potentially as low as 1cm to the clinical tumor volume (CTV). As the trial is ongoing, we report on important exploratory biomarker findings correlating with median overall survival (mOS). Analysis included Kaplan-Meier and univariable/multivariable cox proportional hazard models. Available …

Cofilin Inhibition Ameliorates Piezo2 And Ampa Dysfunction In A Mouse Model Of Angelman Syndrome, Luis O Romero, Manisha Bade, Elisa Carrillo, Sonia Paz-López, Syed A M Hasan, William James Antonisamy, Vasanthi Jayaraman, Zahoor A Shah, Valeria Vásquez, Julio F Cordero-Morales

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurogenetic disorder characterized by motor coordination and cognitive deficits. In AS, hippocampal neurons show reduced filamentous (F-)actin, a decrease we also reported in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, along with impaired mechanosensitive ion channel activity. Currently, there are no pharmacological targets to prevent the decrease of F-actin in AS. Here, we utilize a first-in-class selective cofilin inhibitor (SZ-3) to restore PIEZO2 function in DRG neurons and glutamate-evoked currents in hippocampal neurons from AS mice. Using atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate that inhibiting cofilin, an actin-severing protein, with SZ-3 increases cellular stiffness by stabilizing the actin …

Targeting Gd2 With Naxitamab Overcomes Gd3 Synthase-Driven Immune Suppression In Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, Vivek Anand, Bolutyfe Oderinde, Maryam Siddiqui, Anudishi Tyagi, Jenny Borgman, Chong Wu, Michael Andreeff, V Lokesh Battula

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Gangliosides are acidic glycosphingolipids involved in cell-adhesion, signal-transduction and tumor progression. GD3 synthase (GD3S/ST8SIA1), a key enzyme in ganglioside biosynthesis, is upregulated in many cancers, including GD2+ breast cancer stem-like cells (BCSCs) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Here, we demonstrated the immunomodulatory role of GD3S and identified a fully humanized anti-GD2 antibody, naxitamab, as a therapeutic tool to target GD3S/GD2+ breast tumors. GD3S expression correlates with immune-checkpoint activation and reduced immune infiltration. Ectopic overexpression of GD3S suppressed macrophage-mediated phagocytosis and NK or T cell-induced cell death in BC cells. Lipidomic analysis identified GD2 as the major effector ganglioside …

Integrating Pathogenic Variants, Polygenic Risk Score, And Family History For Prostate Cancer Risk Estimation In Men Of African Ancestry, Fei Chen, Xin Sheng, Anqi Wang, Yili Xu, Raymond Hughley, Wei Xiong, Loreall Pooler, Peggy Wan, Susan M Gundell, Godfrey Kigozi, Gertrude Nakigozi, Fred Nalugoda, Joseph Kagaayi, Grace Nalwoga Kigozi, Stephen Mugamba, Emmanuel Kyasanku, James Nkale, Vitalis Ofumbi Olwa, Alexander Lubwama, Alex Daama, Resty Nakajugo, Ben Adusei, Mohamed Jalloh, Serigne Magueye Gueye, Andrew A Adjei, James Mensah, Pedro W Fernandez, Akindele Olupelumi Adebiyi, J Olufemi Ogunbiyi, Oseremen Inokhoife Aisuodionoe-Shadrach, Lindsay Petersen, Wenlong Carl Chen, Jo Mcbride, Jeannette T Bensen, James L Mohler, Jack A Taylor, Caroline Andrews, Mbaaga Kigongo, Amanya Colline, Vicky Kiddu, Juliet Namugambe, Shallot Owamaani, Kuteesa Job, Benon Joseph Masaba, Frank Asiimwe, Proscovia Muwanga, Joy Namulondo, Florence Nagawa, Charity Kayiraba, Martin Ogwang, Ronald Okidi, David Oweka, Elio Kitara, James Obonyo, Daniel Lajul, Paul Matovu, Precious Arinda Muheki, Johnson Natumanya, Emmanuel Agaba, Emmanuel Aculokin, Amos Twongyeirwe, George Mutema, Denis Bitamazire, Eboneé N Butler, Sue Ann Ingles, Benjamin A Rybicki, Janet L Stanford, Wei Zheng, Sonja I Berndt, Stephen J Chanock, Chad D Huff, Joseph Lachance, Luc Multigner, Burcu F Darst, Timothy R Rebbeck, Laurent Brureau, Stephen Watya, David V Conti, Christopher A Haiman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The impact of germline pathogenic variants (PVs) in cancer predisposition genes on risk of prostate cancer (PCa) remains understudied in large populations of African ancestry. This study aims to characterize the range of genetic risk of PCa and aggressive disease phenotypes in men of African ancestry.

METHODS: We analyzed 7176 PCa cases and 4873 controls from seven countries across North America and Africa to assess the association between PVs in 37 cancer predisposition genes and the risk of overall, aggressive, and metastatic PCa. Genes significantly associated with PCa risk were used to estimate lifetime absolute risk based …

Mutant P53 Variants Differentially Impact Replication Initiation And Activate Cgas-Sting To Affect Immune Checkpoint Inhibition, Kang Liu, Lidija A Wilhelms Garan, Fang-Tsyr Lin, Weei-Chin Lin

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Prior research shows that Akt-dependent phosphorylation of TopBP1 in S phase results in the switch of TopBP1/Treslin binding to TopBP1/E2F1 binding, which is important to prevent replication re-initiation in late S and G2 phases. Here, we demonstrate that contact, but not conformational, mutant p53 can override this switch by binding to both TopBP1 and Treslin, thereby facilitating persistent TopBP1/Treslin interaction in late S and G2 phases, which ultimately leads to over-firing of replication initiation. This increases micronuclei formation, which is further enhanced by genotoxic stressors such as doxorubicin, PARP inhibitors, or ATR inhibitors. Consequently, contact mutant p53 increases the sensitivity …

Conformational Transitions Enabling Interkingdom Transfer Of Effector Multitudes, Peter J Christie

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Timing And Mode Of Death Following Treatment Of Neonatal Symptomatic Tetralogy Of Fallot, Sara M Trucco, Yun Zhang, Andrew C Glatz, Michael L O'Byrne, Christopher J Petit, Athar M Qureshi, Jeffrey D Zampi, Shabana Shahanavaz, George T Nicholson, Allen Ligon, Jennifer C Romano, Shiraz A Maskatia, Jeffery J Meadows, Christopher Mascio, Jay Patel, Kathryn Stack, Asaad G Beshish, Mark Law, Sarosh P Batlivala, Jeannette Wong-Siegel, Kristal Hock, Sarah Speed, Hala Khan, Disha Goel, Courtney Mccracken, Bryan H Goldstein

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Neonates with tetralogy of Fallot and symptomatic cyanosis (sTOF) require early intervention, using a staged or primary repair strategy. Postprocedural mortality risk within this group is considerable. The mode of death and associated factors have been inadequately defined in early childhood mortality following treatment of sTOF. This study aims to describe the timing, cause, and associated risk factors of postprocedural death in infants with sTOF.

Methods: Neonates with sTOF who had an initial intervention from 2005 to 2017 at 9 centers of the Congenital Cardiac Research Collaborative were reviewed. Among nonsurvivors, details regarding timing, cause of death, and last …

Disparate Leukemia Mutations Converge On Nuclear Phase-Separated Condensates, Gandhar K Datar, Elmira Khabusheva, Archish Anand, Joshua Beale, Marwa Sadek, Chun-Wei Chen, Evdokiia Potolitsyna, Nayara Alcantara-Contessoto, Guangyuan Liu, Josephine De La Fuente, Christina Dollinger, Anna Guzman, Alejandra Martell, Katharina Wohlan, Abhishek Maiti, Nicholas J Short, S Stephen Yi, Vibeke Andresen, Bjørn Tore Gjertsen, Brunangelo Falini, Rachel E Rau, Lorenzo Brunetti, Nidhi Sahni, Margaret A Goodell, Joshua A Riback

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

During cancer development, mutations promote changes in gene expression that cause transformation. Leukemia associated with aberrant HOXA expression is driven by translocations of nucleoporin genes or KMT2A as well as mutations in NPM1. The mechanistic convergence of these disparate mutations remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that mutant nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1c) forms nuclear condensates in human cell lines, mouse models, and primary patient samples. We show NPM1c phase separation is necessary and sufficient to recruit NUP98 and KMT2A to condensates. Through extensive mutagenesis and pharmacological destabilization of phase separation, we find that NPM1c condensates are necessary for regulating gene expression, promoting …

Optimising Drowning Prevention Counselling Through A Physician Maintenance Of Certification (Moc) Quality Improvement (Qi) Initiative, Tracy E Mccallin, Anthony R Arredondo, Elizabeth A Camp, Shabana Yusuf

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Drowning is the leading cause of death in children 1–4 years old in the USA. Paediatricians play an important role in giving anticipatory guidance on drowning prevention. This quality improvement initiative aimed to increase the rate of drowning prevention counselling with provision of educational materials to caregivers of children aged 0–10 years during clinical encounters in an outpatient setting.

We refined a previously published Texas state educational programme that included evidence-based counselling strategies across three Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycles, with the addition of preintervention baseline counselling phase during expansion of the programme nationally to 17 and 21 states …

Examining Longitudinal Associations Between Polysubstance Use And Firearm-Related Risk Behaviors From Adolescence Into Emerging Adulthood: A Group-Based Multi-Trajectory Modeling Approach, Mike Henson-Garcia, Sitara M Weerakoon, Melissa Peskin, Elizabeth Baumler, Alexander Testa, Lauren Malthaner, Yu Lu, Jeff R Temple

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Firearm access and associated risk behaviors (i.e., firearm storage and carriage) are established factors that increase the risk of firearm-related injuries. While extant research has demonstrated associations between singular substance use and these risks, little is known regarding the impact of polysubstance use on these outcomes. The present study aims to investigate the relationships between polysubstance use in adolescence and four specific firearm-related risks manifesting in emerging adulthood.

Methods: Ten years of annual data from a cohort of 1,042 adolescents initially aged 13-18 years were analyzed to identify polysubstance use trajectories and their associations with firearm-related behaviors in emerging …

Situational Confidence And Recovery Capital Among Justice-Involved Adults Receiving Medications For Opioid Use Disorder In A Jail-Based Setting, Elizabeth O Obekpa, Xulei He, Alejandro Betancur, Kathryn R Gallardo, Serena A Rodriguez, Sheryl A Mccurdy, J Michael Wilkerson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Justice-involved individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) face heightened relapse risks during the reentry period. While medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are effective, long-term recovery also depends on psychological and structural supports, including situational confidence (perceived ability to resist substance use in high-risk situations) and recovery capital (the internal and external resources that support recovery).

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined situational confidence and its association with recovery capital among 107 justice-involved adults receiving MOUD in an urban jail in Texas. Participants completed the Brief Situational Confidence Questionnaire (BSCQ) and the 10-item Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital (BARC-10). Mental …

Pregnancy Outcomes In Women With Heritable Thoracic Aortic Disease: Data From The Eorp Esc Registry Of Pregnancy And Cardiac Disease (Ropac) Iii, Puck N J Peters, Johanna A Van Der Zande, Julie De Backer, Guillaume Jondeau, Osama Ahmad, Marjorie Richardson, Francesca M Comoglio, Heleen Van Der Zwaan, Siddharth K Prakash, Christina Christersson, Karishma P Ramlakhan, Roger Hall, Mark R Johnson, Jolien W Roos-Hesselink, Ropac Investigators

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aims: The risk of pregnancy in women with heritable thoracic aortic disease (HTAD) is estimated to be high, but supporting data are scarce. The aim of this study is to prospectively investigate pregnancy outcomes to improve patient management and care.

Methods and results: The Registry of Pregnancy and Cardiac disease (ROPAC) III is a prospective global registry including pregnant women with known aortic pathology between 2018 and 2023. Cardiac, obstetric and fetal outcomes, beta-blocker use, and the impact of breastfeeding were investigated. Additionally, changes in aortic diameters were assessed. In total, 176 pregnancies in 170 women (mean age 32 years, …

Effects Of Combining Traditional East Asian And Conventional Western Medicine On Acute Stroke Outcomes, Dong-Seok Gwak, Jong-Sik Lee, Dawid Schellingerhout, Jinyong Chung, Hyerin Oh, Sang-Wuk Jeong, Ji Sung Lee, Hee-Joon Bae, Mikyung Kim, Dong-Jun Choi, Dong-Eog Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Traditional East Asian medicine (TM) is widely used in Korea and other East Asian countries. However, the effects of TM treatment on acute ischemic stroke (AIS) outcomes remain unclear, as previous studies lacked a sufficient sample size, a consecutive series design, or a prospective outcome capture approach. We aimed to investigate whether combining TM with conventional Western medicine (CM) treatments (C+TM) leads to better outcomes after AIS, relative to CM treatment alone.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 2157 consecutive patients with AIS from a prospectively collected registry (2011-2021) at our center and compared the CM and C+TM groups in terms …

Therapeutic Potential Of Prmt1 As A Critical Survival Dependency Target In Multiple Myeloma, Tabish Hussain, Sharad Awasthi, Farid Shahid, S Stephen Yi, Nidhi Sahni, C Marcelo Aldaz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplasm of antibody-producing plasma cells and is the second most prevalent hematological malignancy worldwide. Development of drug resistance and disease relapse significantly impede the success of MM treatment, highlighting the critical need to discover novel therapeutic targets. In a custom CRISPR/Cas9 screen targeting 197 DNA damage response-related genes, Protein Arginine N-Methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) emerged as a top hit, revealing it as a potential therapeutic vulnerability and survival dependency in MM cells. PRMT1, a major Type I PRMT enzyme, catalyzes the asymmetric transfer of methyl groups to arginine residues, influencing gene transcription and protein function through …

Serum Response Factor Is Essential For Endometrial Function And Prevention Of Inflammatory Fibrosis, Ryan M Marquardt, Sara A Grimm, San-Pin Wu, Peter F Lais, Shu-Yun Li, Xin Xu, Erin Smithberger, David Cunefare, Charan Ganta, David Olson, Eunhee M Jeong, Jae-Wook Jeong, Bruce A Lessey, John P Lydon, Francesco J Demayo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Pregnancy requires a supportive uterine environment facilitated by steroid hormone–regulated differentiation of endometrial stromal fibroblasts into decidual cells and tight control of inflammation. Serum response factor (SRF) is a widely expressed transcription factor essential for mesenchymal cell growth and differentiation with noted roles in hormonal regulation of muscle tissues but little characterization in reproductive organs. Here, we reveal that endometrial SRF is dysregulated in human endometriosis and is critical for female reproductive success in mice through regulation of endometrial stromal and epithelial cells. Immunohistochemical analysis identified decreased endometrial SRF expression in infertile endometriosis patient tissues. RNAi-based SRF knockdown in human …

Assessing The Impact Of A Semi-Structured Intraoperative Anaesthesia Handoff Cognitive Aid On Surgical Patient Outcomes: Study Protocol For A Cluster Randomised Trial, Aubrey Samost-Williams, Charles E Green, Lillian S Kao, Srikanth Sridhar, Daniel I Sessler, Alparslan Turan, Eric J Thomas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Intraoperative anaesthesia handoffs represent a risk point in the care of surgical patients. Although often necessary to prevent fatigue, improve vigilance and optimise operational efficiency, critical information can be lost, potentially leading to postoperative complications. Structured handoffs can increase the transfer of knowledge during intraoperative anaesthesia handoffs, improving their quality. We therefore propose to test the primary hypothesis that a semi-structured intraoperative anaesthesia handoff cognitive aid reduces the number of serious 30-day complications in surgical patients.

Methods and analysis: We will enrol adults having non-cardiac surgery who are scheduled to have an intraoperative anaesthesia handoff for operational reasons. We …

A Recurrent Acaa2 Variant Causes A Dominant Syndrome Of Lipodystrophy, Lipomatosis, Infantile Steatohepatitis And Hypoglycemia, Vinaya Simha, Mary Kate Lopiccolo, Anna Platt, Rebecca J Brown, Xandria Johnson, Deanna Alexis Carere, Colleen Donnelly, Matthew T Snyder, Chao Xing, Thomas P Mathews, Purva Gopal, Stephen C Ward, Diana R Tomchick, Anil K Agarwal, Ralph J Deberardinis, Abhimanyu Garg

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Large-Scale Profiling Of Antibody Reactivity To Glycolipids In Patients With Guillain-Barré Syndrome, Robin C M Thomma, Susan K Halstead, Laura C De Koning, Eveline J A Wiegers, Dawn S Gourlay, Anne P Tio-Gillen, Wouter Van Rijs, Henning Andersen, Giovanni Antonini, Samuel Arends, Shahram Attarian, Fabio A Barroso, Kathleen J Bateman, Luana Benedetti, Peter Van Den Bergh, Jan Bürmann, Mark Busby, Carlos Casasnovas, Efthimios Dardiotis, Amy Davidson, Thomas E Feasby, Janev Fehmi, Giuliana Galassi, Tania Garcia-Sobrino, Volkan Granit, Gerardo Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, Robert D M Hadden, Thomas Harbo, Hans-Peter Hartung, Imran Hasan, James K L Holt, Zhahirul Islam, Summer Karafiath, Hans D Katzberg, Noah Kolb, Susumu Kusunoki, Satoshi Kuwabara, Motoi Kuwahara, Helmar C Lehmann, Sonja E Leonhard, Lorena Martín-Aguilar, Soledad Monges, Eduardo Nobile-Orazio, Julio Pardo, Yann Pereon, Luis Querol, Ricardo C Reisin, Simon Rinaldi, Paolo Ripellino, Rhys C Roberts, Olivier Scheidegger, Nortina Shahrizaila, Kazim A Sheikh, Nicholas J Silvestri, Soren H Sindrup, Beth Stein, Cheng Y Tan, Hatice Tankisi, Leo H Visser, Waqar Waheed, Ruth Huizinga, Bart C Jacobs, Hugh J Willison

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Guillain-Barré syndrome is an acute polyradiculoneuropathy in which preceding infections often elicit the production of antibodies that target peripheral nerve antigens, principally gangliosides. Anti-ganglioside antibodies are thought to play a key role in the clinical diversity of the disease and can be helpful in clinical practice. Extensive research into clinical associations of individual anti-ganglioside antibody specificities has been performed. Recent research has highlighted glycolipid complexes, glycolipid combinations that may alter antibody binding, as targets. In this study, we investigated antibody reactivity patterns to glycolipids and glycolipid complexes using combinatorial array, in relation to clinical features in Guillain-Barré syndrome. In total, …

A Multiomics Approach To Defining Target-Organ Injury In Youths With Primary Hypertension: The Ship Ahoy Cohort, Kalyani Ananthamohan, Tammy M Brady, Mohammed Arif, Stephen R Daniels, Bonita Falkner, Michael Ferguson, Joseph T Flynn, Coral Hanevold, Stephen R Hooper, Julie R Ingelfinger, Marc Lande, Lisa J Martin, Kevin E Meyers, Mark Mitsnefes, Bernard Rosner, Joshua A Samuels, Gina Kuffel, Michael J Zilliox, Qin M Chen, Richard C Becker, Elaine M Urbina, Sakthivel Sadayappan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Primary hypertension in childhood tracks into adulthood and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Studies conducted in individuals aged < 18 years, an age group without many of the confounding comorbid cardiovascular disease risk factors in adults, provide an opportunity to explore early cardiovascular target-organ injury.

Methods: Youths (n=132, mean age, 15.8 years) were stratified by blood pressure (BP) as low-BP, mid-BP, and high-BP and by left ventricular mass index as low-and high left ventricular mass index. Systemic circulating RNA, microRNA, and methylation profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and deep proteome profiles in serum were determined using high-throughput sequencing techniques. In vitro cell culture experiments assessed angiotensin II- and microRNA-mediated Vash1 (vasohibin-1 protein) regulation and Vash1-mediated hypertrophic response.

Results: In high-BP youths, transcriptomics analysis identified …

Global Trends And Forecast Of Cardiovascular Diseases, Cancer, And Shared Risk Factors: Insights From The Gbd 2021, Chieh Y Koo, Bryan Chong, Jayanth Jayabaskaran, Srinithy Nagarajan, Silingga M Jauhari, Yiming Chen, Li L Tan, Anurag Mehta, Muhammad S Khan, Mark Muthiah, Derek Hausenloy, A M Richards, Dennis T Ko, Christian D Mallen, Eric A Secemsky, Mark Y Chan, Paaladinesh Thavendiranathan, Nicholas W S Chew, Mamas A Mamas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer share multiple risk factors and are the leading causes of morbidity and death worldwide. This study aims to examine historical and projected trends of the combined CVD-cancer global estimates and their shared risk factors.

Methods: Death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) associated with CVDs, cancers, and their risk factors were obtained from the GBD (Global Burden of Disease) 2021 study. Historical estimates from 1990 to 2021 and forecast data from 2025 to 2050 were examined across age groups, regions, sociodemographic index, and sex.

Results: In 2021, CVD-cancer resulted in age-standardized DALY rates of 8009 …

Brain Morphology Mediators Of The Link Between Childhood Trauma And Bipolar Disorder: A Large-Scale International Analysis, Leonardo Tozzi, Maria R Dauvermann, Emma Corley, Andrea Fernandes, Melody J Y Kang, Yanghee Im, Leila Nabulsi, Roberto Goya-Maldonado, Klaus Berger, Marco Hermesdorf, Hilary P Blumberg, Lejla Colic, Tamsyn E Van Rheenen, Elysha Ringin, Susan L Rossell, James A Karantonis, Lisa S Furlong, Tilo Kircher, Frederike Stein, Udo Dannlowski, Dominik Grotegerd, Jair C Soares, Mon-Ju Wu, Giovana B Zunta-Soares, Benson Mwangi, Joaquim Radua, Enric Vilajosana, Eduard Vieta, Melissa J Green, Emilie Olie, Guillaume Clain, Francesco Benedetti, Elisa Melloni, Beatrice Bravi, Delfina Janiri, Daniela Vecchio, Fabrizio Piras, Nerisa Banaj, Gabriele Sani, Gloria Roberts, Janice M Fullerton, Bronwyn J Overs, Philip B Mitchell, Jonathan Savitz, Lakshmi N Yatham, Josselin Houenou, Marion Leboyer, Amanda Rodrigue, David C Glahn, Sophia I Thomopoulos, Neda Jahanshad, Paul M Thompson, Ole A Andreassen, Christopher R K Ching, Dara M Cannon, Yann Quidé, Enigma Bipolar Disorder Working Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Childhood trauma is a risk factor for bipolar disorder, but the biological mechanisms of this association remain incompletely defined. Gray matter differences observed after trauma exposure overlap with those reported in bipolar disorder, suggesting that the association between childhood trauma and bipolar disorder might be mediated through brain morphology.

Our goal was to determine whether cortical thickness, cortical surface or subcortical volume mediate the association between childhood trauma and bipolar disorder. We leveraged a large multi-site dataset from the ENIGMA Bipolar Disorder Working Group, comprising of 1,031 participants with bipolar disorder and 2,221 controls from 19 international cohorts. To identify …

Validation Of A Risk Score For Cancer-Associated Thrombosis Using Nationwide Ehr Data, Ang Li, Omid Jafari, Barbara D Lam, Jun Y Jiang, Rock Bum Kim, Shengling Ma, Emily Zhou, Joyce W Tiong, Elizabeth C Chiang, Justine Ryu, Christopher I Amos, Jennifer La, Nathanael R Fillmore

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is associated with increased mortality and morbidity in patients with cancer. Existing risk prediction models are typically validated within individual sites, a fragmented approach that limits clinical adoption.

Objective: To validate the electronic health record cancer-associated thrombosis (EHR-CAT) score compared with the benchmark Khorana score in a contemporary cohort of patients with cancer across the nation, before and after treatment, excluding those at high risk of bleeding.

Design, setting, and participants: This prognostic study included patients in a nationwide longitudinal EHR database from January 2018 to December 2023 with follow-up continuing to April 2025. Patients with …