Digital Commons Network^™

Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals Shared And Distinct Genetic Architecture Of Fatty Acids And Oxylipins In The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study Of Latinos, Carolina G Downie, Heather M Highland, Mona Alotaibi, Barrett M Welch, Annie Green Howard, Susan Cheng, Nick Miller, Mohit Jain, Robert C Kaplan, Adam G Lilly, Tao Long, Tamar Sofer, Bharat Thyagarajan, Bing Yu, Kari E North, Christy L Avery

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bioactive fatty acid-derived oxylipin molecules play key roles mediating inflammation and oxidative stress. Circulating levels of fatty acids and oxylipins are influenced by environmental and genetic factors; characterizing the genetic architecture of bioactive lipids could yield new insights into underlying biology. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 81 fatty acids and oxylipins in 11,584 Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) participants with genetic and lipidomic data measured at study baseline (58.6% female, mean age = 46.1 years (standard deviation 13.8)). Additionally, given the effects of central obesity on inflammation, we examined interactions with waist circumference using two-degree-of-freedom …

Nourishing Change In Houston, Texas: Exploring Grocery Shopping Behaviours And Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Among Low-Income Families In The Brighter Bites Program, Victoria Kwentua, Allison Marshall, Ru-Jye Chuang, Jessica Chen, Christine Markham, Mallika Mathur, Mike Pomeroy, Megan Hall, Shreela Sharma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: We qualitatively examine the grocery shopping behaviours and fruit and vegetable consumption of low-income families participating in the Brighter Bites program in Houston, Texas.

DESIGN: We used a single-group observational study design. We used (1) purposive sampling of schools and (2) convenience sampling of parents/caregivers to recruit participants. Research staff conducted three face-to-face qualitative focus groups in Spanish and English. Transcripts were coded using deductive and inductive reasoning.

SETTING: Three elementary schools serving low-income families in Houston, Texas, in February-May of 2022.

PARTICIPANTS: Brighter Bites parents/caregivers from the 2021-2022 school year.

RESULTS: Three primary themes emerged: (1) child involvement …

Alleviation Of Liver Fibrosis By Inhibiting A Non-Canonical Atf4-Regulated Enhancer Program In Hepatic Stellate Cells, Li-Xian Yang, Chuangye Qi, Si Lu, Xiang-Shi Ye, Parnaz Merikhian, Du-Yu Zhang, Tao Yao, Jiang-Sha Zhao, Ying Wu, Yongshi Jia, Bo Shan, Jinghai Chen, Xiaozhou Mou, Jia You, Wenbo Li, Yu-Xiong Feng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Liver fibrosis is a critical liver disease that can progress to more severe manifestations, such as cirrhosis, yet no effective targeted therapies are available. Here, we identify that ATF4, a master transcription factor in ER stress response, promotes liver fibrosis by facilitating a stress response-independent epigenetic program in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Unlike its canonical role in regulating UPR genes during ER stress, ATF4 activates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gene transcription under fibrogenic conditions. HSC-specific depletion of ATF4 suppresses liver fibrosis in vivo. Mechanistically, TGFβ resets ATF4 to orchestrate a unique enhancer program for the transcriptional activation of pro-fibrotic EMT genes. …

A Β-Hydroxybutyrate Shunt Pathway Generates Anti-Obesity Ketone Metabolites, Maria Dolores Moya-Garzon, Mengjie Wang, Veronica L Li, Xuchao Lyu, Wei Wei, Alan Sheng-Hwa Tung, Steffen H Raun, Meng Zhao, Laetitia Coassolo, Hashim Islam, Barbara Oliveira, Yuqin Dai, Jan Spaas, Antonio Delgado-Gonzalez, Kenyi Donoso, Aurora Alvarez-Buylla, Francisco Franco-Montalban, Anudari Letian, Catherine P Ward, Lichao Liu, Katrin J Svensson, Emily L Goldberg, Christopher D Gardner, Jonathan P Little, Steven M Banik, Yong Xu, Jonathan Z Long

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

β-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) is an abundant ketone body. To date, all known pathways of BHB metabolism involve the interconversion of BHB and primary energy intermediates. Here, we identify a previously undescribed BHB secondary metabolic pathway via CNDP2-dependent enzymatic conjugation of BHB and free amino acids. This BHB shunt pathway generates a family of anti-obesity ketone metabolites, the BHB-amino acids. Genetic ablation of CNDP2 in mice eliminates tissue amino acid BHB-ylation activity and reduces BHB-amino acid levels. The most abundant BHB-amino acid, BHB-Phe, is a ketosis-inducible congener of Lac-Phe that activates hypothalamic and brainstem neurons and suppresses feeding. Conversely, CNDP2-KO mice exhibit …

Advancing Monogenic Diabetes Research And Clinical Care By Creating A Data Commons: The Precision Diabetes Consortium (Predict), Michael E Mccullough, Lisa R Letourneau-Freiberg, Rochelle N Naylor, Siri Atma W Greeley, David T Broome, Mustafa Tosur, Raymond J Kreienkamp, Erin Cobry, Neda Rasouli, Toni I Pollin, Miriam S Udler, Liana K Billings, Cyrus Desouza, Carmella Evans-Molina, Suzi Birz, Brian Furner, Michael Watkins, Kaitlyn Ott, Samuel L Volchenboum, Louis H Philipson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Monogenic diabetes mellitus (MDM) is a group of relatively rare disorders caused by pathogenic variants in key genes that result in hyperglycemia. Lack of identified cases, along with absent data standards, and limited collaboration across institutions have hindered research progress. To address this, the UChicago Monogenic Diabetes Registry (UCMDMR) and UChicago Data for the Common Good (D4CG) created a national consortium of MDM research institutions called the PREcision DIabetes ConsorTium (PREDICT). Following the D4CG model, PREDICT has successfully established a multicenter MDM data commons. PREDICT has created a consensus data dictionary that will be utilized to address critical gaps in …

Toward Personalized Digital Experiences To Promote Diabetes Self-Management: Mixed Methods Social Computing Approach, Tavleen Singh, Kirk Roberts, Kayo Fujimoto, Jing Wang, Constance Johnson, Sahiti Myneni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes affects nearly 34.2 million adults and is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Digital health communities have emerged as avenues to provide social support to individuals engaging in diabetes self-management (DSM). The analysis of digital peer interactions and social connections can improve our understanding of the factors underlying behavior change, which can inform the development of personalized DSM interventions.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to apply our methodology using a mixed methods approach to (1) characterize the role of context-specific social influence patterns in DSM and (2) derive interventional targets that enhance individual …

Myo5b And The Polygenic Landscape Of Very Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease In An Ethnically Diverse Population, Ashleigh Watson, R Alan Harris, Amy C Engevik, Numan Oezguen, Maribeth R Nicholson, Sarah Dooley, Rachel Stubler, Lisa Forbes Satter, Lina B Karam, Richard Kellermayer

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Genetic discovery in very early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD) can elucidate not only the origins of VEO-IBD, but also later-onset inflammatory bowel disease. We aimed to investigate the polygenic origins of VEO-IBD in a cohort with a high proportion of Hispanic patients.

Methods: Patients with VEO-IBD who underwent whole exome sequencing at our center were included. Genes were categorized as genes of interest (GOIs) (129 genes previously described to be associated with VEO-IBD) or non-GOIs. VEO-IBD "susceptibility" single nucleotide variants (SNVs) were identified through enrichment compared with gnomAD (Genome Aggregation Database) and ALFA (Allele Frequency Aggregator) and were scored …

Dietary Program For The Reduction Of Type 2 Diabetes Prevalence In A South Texas Border Region, Siddiqua Noor

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

PURPOSE The purpose of this project was to create a culturally sensitive dietary program template to serve as a guide to offer healthier food alternatives to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes while not compromising on their Hispanic heritage.

BACKGROUND This project was implemented in a South Texas border community which has nearly twice the national average of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, which presents a significant public health challenge.

METHODOLOGY The project followed the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle and incorporated the Health Belief Model. A dietary pamphlet featuring local culturally relevant food options was developed. The material was presented at two …

Predictive Value Of Fdg Uptake On Pet For Future Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Mediated Colitis: A Case Series, Malek Shatila, Kei Takigawa, Yang Lu, Andres Caleb Urias Rivera, Nitish Mittal, Abdullah Sagar Aleem, Sean Ngo, Eric Lu, Deanna Wu, Gabriel Sperling, Sidra Naz, Bryan Schneider, Anusha Shirwaikar Thomas, Yinghong Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Immune-mediated colitis (IMC) is a common immune-related adverse event during immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. This case series and review aimed to highlight atypical cases of IMC and explore the potential of PET/CT to predict imminent ICI colitis.

Methods: Through a descriptive, retrospective study at a tertiary cancer center, we identified adult patients receiving ICIs for any cancer between 2010 and 2022 who also underwent PET/CT for routine cancer surveillance during this time. We included patients who had signs and symptoms of colitis and reviewed their surveillance PET/CT scans obtained 2 to 6 weeks before and up to 3 …

Heterorepur: Efficient Modeling Of Heterogeneous Disease Graph For Depression Drug Repurposing Using Heterogeneous Graph Neural Networks, Ko-Hong Lin, Tongtong Huang, Kai Zhang, Xiaoqian Jiang, Yejin Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders, yet existing treatments often result in suboptimal responses and encounter high recurrence rate. Repositioning existing medications, which often significantly reduces the required time and budget, has been demonstrated to be a promising strategy for drug discovery of multiple central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, an efficient modeling strategy of heterogeneous semantic information among biological networks has yet to be developed for drug repurposing.

Material and Methods In this study, we proposed HeteroRepur, by integrating heterogeneous graph neural networks to learn interaction features of Depression Drug Repurposing Graph …

Couple-Based Lifestyle Intervention For Minority Prostate Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Feasibility Trial, Dalnim Cho, Yisheng Li, Karen Basen-Engquist, Chiara Acquati, Nga T T Nguyen, Hilary Ma, Curtis A Pettaway, Lorna H Mcneill

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Black and Hispanic prostate cancer (PCa) survivors, who face a high burden of comorbid conditions and often engage in low levels of physical activity and healthy eating, remain significantly underrepresented in lifestyle intervention studies.

Purpose: Given the significance of spousal influence, we developed a culturally tailored lifestyle intervention for these survivors and their spouses and assessed its feasibility, acceptability, and impact on behavioral change.

Methods: Survivor-spouse couples were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 22), which received 12 health-coaching calls over 6 months, or a usual-care control group (n = 9). Assessments were conducted at baseline (T1), …

Whether To Offer Interventions At The End Of Life: What Physicians Consider And How Clinical Ethicists Can Help, Joelle Robertson-Preidler, Mikaela Kim, Sophia Fantus, Janet Malek

Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Advances in life-prolonging technologies increasingly create dilemmas for physicians who must decide whether to offer various interventions to patients nearing the end of life. Clinical ethicists are often consulted to support physicians in making these complex decisions and can do so most effectively if they understand physicians' reasons for making recommendations in this context.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with surgeons, nephrologists, intensivists, emergency physicians, and oncologists regarding the considerations they have used to make decisions about offering interventions for patients nearing the end of life. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed.

Results: We identified six types of considerations physicians …

Editorial: Advances In Pharmacotherapy For Alcohol Use Disorder: From Mechanisms To Clinical Interventions, Regina A Mangieri, Sunil Sirohi, Ezequiel Marron Fernandez De Velasco, Seungwoo Kang

The Brown Foundation: Institute of Molecular Medicine

No abstract provided.

Vascularized Iliac Crest Bone Graft For The Reconstruction Of Anterior Vertebral Corpus Defects: A Literature Review And Cadaveric Feasibility Study, Jonathan L Jeger, Casey J Martinez, Maria Shvedova, Alec Simoni, Alanna Rebecca, Sebastian Winocour, Alexander E Ropper, Michael Bohl, William J Casey, Maziyar Kalani, Edward M Reece

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Vertebral body defects pose a significant challenge in spinal reconstructive surgery. Compression fractures of the vertebral corpus are typically treated with vertebral augmentation procedures. There are significant risks associated with the introduction of foreign material in the spine, including infection and pseudarthrosis. Vascularized bone grafts (VBGs) have become a popular alternative for spinal reconstruction in the last decade thanks to their robust blood supply and autologous nature. VBGs have been described predominantly for the reconstruction of posterior vertebral defects. The objective of this study is to describe a novel procedure for the reconstruction of vertebral corpus defects in the …

Inclusion Of Patient-Centered, Non-Microbiological Endpoints And Biomarkers In Tuberculosis Drug Trials, Andrew R Dinardo, Wilbert Sabiiti, Stephen H Gillespie, Sophia B Georghiou, Norbert Heinrich, Norbert Hittel, Sami Taghlabi, Danna Carrero Longlax, Mikashmi Kohli, Ursula Panzner, Collins Musia, Christoph Lange, Anca Vasiliu, Rob J W Arts, Anna M Mandalakas, Morten Ruhwald, Lieven J Stuyver, Reinout Van Crevel

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Tuberculosis drug trials are primarily designed to identify antibiotic regimens with the strongest potency to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, microbiologic cure is not synonymous with improved health and recovery. Beyond antimicrobial efficacy, parameters such as morbidity and mortality related to lung function, cardiovascular health, and cancer should be prioritized. This narrative review emphasizes the critical need to emphasize clinical outcomes as much, if not more, than microbiological endpoints. We examine the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and determinants of non-microbiological outcomes in tuberculosis, providing a synthesis of current knowledge. While there is growing evidence for some biomarkers to risk stratify TB …

Editorial: Pathogenesis And Clinical Treatment Of Diabetic Nephropathy, Ziyun Xu, Sheng Qiang, Zhaoyong Hu, Haiyong Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Evidence-Based Evaluation To Promote High-Value Care In Pediatric Critical Care: It Is Time To Fully Adopt, Maya Dewan, Rajit K Basu, Erin Bennett, Lily B Glater-Welt, Mark Hall, Benson S Hsu, Lia Lowrie, Venessa Lynn Pinto, Alexandre T Rotta, Edward Seferian, Linda Siegel, Heather A Wolfe, Vijay Srinivasan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Evidence-based recommendations for high-value care in pediatric critical care are needed. We sought to develop recommendations to identify unnecessary interventions, enhance outcomes, and promote efficient, patient-centered practices.

Methods: Using a modified Delphi process, a multi-institutional panel of pediatric intensivists from a national pediatric critical care quality improvement group identified 30 potential topics and selected 20 high- and medium-priority topics for further evaluation, and narrowed them to 10 by consensus voting. A structured scoping review of literature published between 2014 and 2023 identified 10 practices, which were critically assessed using the PICOST framework. The panel selected 5 priority recommendations based …

A Murine Model Of Gestational Diabetes Reveals Masld Risk And Alterations In Markers Of Hepatic Mitochondrial Metabolism, Grace E Shryack, Alexa A Krause, Simone Hernandez Ruano, Laura C Schulz, Kathleen A Pennington, R Scott Rector

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) impacts roughly 1 in 7 pregnancies and results in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in 30% of these women. Nonetheless, there exists a dearth of investigation into the relationship between GDM and MASLD. Here, we sought to investigate the potential role of hepatic mitochondrial function in GDM and MASLD.

Methods: One week prior to conception and throughout pregnancy, mice were fed either a low-fat control diet (CD) or a high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diet to induce an established model of GDM. Maternal livers were collected at day 0, 6.5, 13.5 and 17.5 of pregnancy. Hepatic …

Deletions In The Cdkl5 5′ Untranslated Region Lead To Cdkl5 Deficiency Disorder, Isabel Haviland, Ralph D Hector, Lindsay C Swanson, Aubrie Soucy Verran, Emma Sherrill, Zoë Frazier, Annemarie M Denny, Jenna Lucash, Bo Zhang, Holly A Dubbs, Eric D Marsh, Judith L Weisenberg, Helen Leonard, Milena Crippa, Francesca Cogliati, Silvia Russo, Bernhard Suter, Rajsekar Rajaraman, Alan K Percy, John M Schreiber, Scott Demarest, Timothy A Benke, Maya Chopra, Timothy W Yu, Heather E Olson

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Pathogenic variants in the cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene are associated with CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), a severe X-linked developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Deletions affecting the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of CDKL5, which involve the noncoding exon 1 and/or alternatively spliced first exons (exons 1a-e), are uncommonly reported. We describe genetic and phenotypic characteristics for 15 individuals with CDKL5 partial gene deletions affecting the 5' UTR. All individuals presented characteristic features of CDD, including medically refractory infantile-onset epilepsy, global developmental delay, and visual impairment. We performed RNA sequencing on fibroblast samples from three individuals with small deletions involving exons 1 …

Testosterone Plus Lifestyle Therapy Improves Skeletal Muscle Glycolysis In Older Men With Obesity And Hypogonadism, Viola Viola, Marlene Aguilar, Maria Liza Duremdes Nava, Alessandra Celli, Reina Armamento-Villareal, Yoann Barnouin, Nicola Napoli, Nagireeddy Putluri, Clifford Qualls, Dennis T Villareal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Weight loss in older men with obesity and hypogonadism accelerates musculoskeletal decline, yet the underlying metabolic mechanisms remain unclear. Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), when added to lifestyle therapy (LT), mitigates this decline, but its metabolic basis has not been defined. We examined skeletal muscle metabolomic adaptations to LT with or without TRT, focusing on glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and carnitine metabolism to identify dominant pathways of metabolic adaptation.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (LITROS).

Methods: Eighty-three men aged 65 years or older with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2), hypogonadism (testosterone < 10.4 nmol/L), and frailty (Physical Performance Test score ≤31) were randomized to 26 weeks of LT plus TRT (LT+TRT) or LT plus placebo (LT+Pbo). A metabolomic substudy was performed in 44 participants, who underwent serial biopsies of the vastus lateralis for targeted LC-MS/MS analysis of intermediates in glycolysis, PPP, TCA cycle, and carnitine metabolism.

Results: Among the …

Relationships Of Personality Traits With The Taxonomic Composition Of The Gut Microbiome Among Psychiatric Inpatients, William Orme, Sandra L Grimm, Divya S N Vella, J Christopher Fowler, B Christopher Frueh, Benjamin L Weinstein, Joseph Petrosino, Cristian Coarfa, Alok Madan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: Through the brain-gut-microbiome axis, myriad psychological functions that affect behavior share a dynamic, bidirectional relationship with the intestinal microbiome. Little is known about the relationship between personality-a stable construct that influences social- and health-related behaviors-and the bacterial ecosystem. The authors of this exploratory study examined the relationship between general and maladaptive personality traits and the composition of the gut microbiome.

Methods: In total, 105 psychiatric inpatients provided clinical data and fecal samples. Personality traits were measured with the five-factor model of personality, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders, and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5; 16S …

New Genetic Tools To Define The Pathophysiology Of Inborn Errors Of Cobalamin Metabolism Impacting Mammalian Development, Tiffany Chern, Xuefei Tong, William G Bauer, David J Quispe-Parra, Xia Gao, Kamryn N Gerner-Mauro, Ross A Poché

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The congenital, autosomal recessive disorder combined methylmalonic acidemia and homocystinuria - cblC type, is the most common inborn error of cobalamin (vitamin B12) metabolism. In its early onset form, cblC profoundly impacts fetal development of the central nervous system, hematopoietic system, and other tissues. Previously, mutations in the MMACHC gene, which encodes a protein required for the intracellular trafficking and enzymatic processing of free cobalamin into active coenzyme forms, were found to cause cblC. These coenzymes are required in two metabolic pathways which produce either succinyl-CoA in the mitochondria or methionine in the cytosol. However, due to a lack of …

A Reflection-Spectroscopy Measured Skin Carotenoid Score Strongly Correlates With Plasma Concentrations Of All Major Dietary Carotenoid Species Except For Lycopene, Qiang Wu, Cheryl Webb Cherry, Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, Melissa N Laska, Neal Craft, Nancy E Moran

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Skin carotenoids can be measured non-invasively using spectroscopy methods to provide a biomarker of total dietary carotenoid and carotenoid-rich fruit and vegetable intake. However, the degree to which skin carotenoid biomarkers reflect intakes of specific carotenoids must be determined for specific devices. Previously, findings were mixed regarding the correlation between reflection spectroscopy (RS)-assessed skin carotenoids and individual plasma carotenoid concentrations. The current study expands on prior analyses to examine the cross-sectional associations between adult RS-assessed skin carotenoids and individual carotenoid species intakes and plasma concentrations, controlling for potential covariates. We hypothesized that RS-assessed skin carotenoid scores would strongly correlate with …

A Scoping Review Of The Social Determinants Of Pediatric And Adolescent Obesity, Deepali K Ernest, Elizabeth A Onugha, Bipin Singh, Shreela V Sharma, Jayna M Dave

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Context: Social determinants of health (SDOH) play a large role in pediatric and adolescent metabolic health worldwide.

Objective: The study is aimed at exploring key SDOH related to childhood obesity, worldwide.

Methods: Primary research articles from PubMed, Embase, and Medline databases published between 2013 and 2023, had a study population of 0-19-year-olds, and examined the association between WHO-defined SDOH and childhood obesity were included. Non-English papers and those outside WHO-defined SDOHs were excluded. Two reviewers independently performed a blinded screening of titles and abstracts, followed by a full-text assessment of selected articles.

Results: Of the 703 initial articles, 22 duplicates …

Mapping Epidermal And Dermal Cellular Senescence In Human Skin Aging, Grace T Yu, Clarisse Ganier, David B Allison, Tamara Tchkonia, Sundeep Khosla, James L Kirkland, Magnus D Lynch, Saranya P Wyles

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics enable unprecedented insight into cellular and molecular pathways implicated in human skin aging and regeneration. Senescent cells are individual cells that are irreversibly cell cycle arrested and can accumulate across the human lifespan due to cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic stressors. With an atlas of single-cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, epidermal and dermal senescence and its effects were investigated, with a focus on melanocytes and fibroblasts. Photoaging due to ultraviolet light exposure was associated with higher burdens of senescent cells, a sign of biological aging, compared to chronological aging. A skin-specific cellular senescence gene set, termed …

Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite And T3 Profiles Of Orphaned Elephants Differ From Non-Orphaned Elephants In Zambia, Daniella E Chusyd, Janine L Brown, Steve Paris, Nicole Boisseau, Webster Mwaanga, Moses Kasongo, Lisa Olivier, Stephanie L Dickinson, Bailey Ortyl, Tessa Steiniche, Steven N Austad, David B Allison, Michael D Wasserman

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: Elephants provide valuable insight into how early-life adverse events (ELAEs) associate with animal health and welfare because they can live to advanced ages, display extensive cognitive and memory capabilities, and rely heavily on social bonds. Although it is known that African savanna elephants that experienced ELAEs, such as being orphaned due to human activities, have altered behavioral outcomes, little is known regarding the physiological consequences associated with those stressors.

Methods: We compared fecal glucocorticoid (fGCM) and thyroid (fT3) metabolites as well as body condition scores (BCS) in rescued and rehabilitated orphaned (early-dry season: n = 20; late-dry season: n …

Food-Related Behaviors Of Rural (Asaase Kooko) And Peri-Urban (Kaadjanor) Households In Ghana, Prince Kwabena Osei, Megan A Mccrory, Matilda Steiner-Asiedu, Edward Sazonov, Mingui Sun, Wenyan Jia, Tom Baranowski, Gary Frost, Benny Lo, Alex Kojo Anderson

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: "Food-related behaviors" range widely and include food acquisition, storage, cooking, meal sharing, eating practices, among others. Food-related behaviors can influence nutritional status and health outcomes, and likely vary between rural and peri-urban households; however, there is limited documentation on such differences.

Objective: To assess food-related behaviors of rural and peri-urban households in Ghana to inform the design and implementation of a field study to validate passive wearable camera technologies for dietary assessment.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional qualitative study in rural (Asaase Kokoo) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) communities, Ghana. Forty key informants (20 rural and 20 peri-urban) were interviewed about …

Regulatory B Cells, The Key Regulator To Induce Immune Tolerance In Organ Transplantation, Jinfeng Liao, Yixin Yang, Jisong Li, Zheng Liu, Siyuan Song, Yu Zeng, Yi Wang

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

In solid organ transplantation, especially renal transplantation, for the induction of immune tolerance, accumulating evidence has revealed that Regulatory B cells (Breg) play a crucial role in stimulating immune tolerance, alleviating immune responses, and improving graft survival. We describe the heterogeneous nature of Bregs, focusing on their defining surface markers and regulatory functions. Meanwhile, the major cytokine secretion function and the correlation between Breg and Treg or other immune checkpoints to balance the immune responses are addressed. Furthermore, we summarized the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways or costimulatory stimuli for the differentiation from naïve B cells. More importantly, we summarized the …

A Serum Biomarker Panel And Miniarray Detection System For Tracking Disease Activity And Flare Risk In Lupus Nephritis, Chenling Tang, Gongjun Tan, Aygun Teymur, Jiechang Guo, Arturo Haces-Garcia, Weihang Zhu, Richard Williams, Jing Ning, Ramesh Saxena, Tianfu Wu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Lupus nephritis (LN) leads to end stage renal disease (ESRD), and early diagnosis and disease monitoring of LN could significantly reduce the risk. however, there is not such a system clinically. In this study we aim to develop a biomarker-panel based point-of-care system for LN.

Methods: Immunoassay screening combined with genomic expression databases and machine learning techniques was used to identify a biomarker panel of LN. A quantitative biomarker-panel mini-array (BPMA) system was developed and the sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and stability of the were examined. The performance of BPMA in disease monitoring was validated with machine models using a …

Impact Of Pre-Transplant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Use On Post-Transplant Outcomes In Hcc: A Systematic Review And Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis, Mohammad Saeid Rezaee-Zavareh, Yee Hui Yeo, Tielong Wang, Zhiyong Guo, Parissa Tabrizian, Stephen C Ward, Fatma Barakat, Tarek I Hassanein, Shravan Dave, Veeral Ajmera, Sherrie Bhoori, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, David M H Chascsa, Margaret C Liu, Elizabeth S Aby, John R Lake, Miguel Sogbe, Bruno Sangro, Maen Abdelrahim, Abdullah Esmail, Andreas Schmiderer, Yasmina Chouik, Mark Rudolph, Davendra Sohal, Heloise Giudicelli, Manon Allaire, Mehmet Akce, Jessica Guadagno, Clara Y Tow, Hatef Massoumi, Paolo De Simone, Elise Kang, Robyn D Gartrell, Mercedes Martinez, Ricardo Paz-Fumagalli, Beau B Toskich, Nguyen H Tran, Gabriela Azevedo Solino, Dra Mariana Poltronieri Pacheco, Richard S Kalman, Vatche G Agopian, Neil Mehta, Neehar D Parikh, Amit G Singal, Ju Dong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background & aims: Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prior to liver transplantation (LT) has been reported; however, ICIs may elevate the risk of allograft rejection and impact other clinical outcomes. This study aims to summarize the impact of ICI use on post-LT outcomes.

Methods: In this individual patient data meta-analysis, we searched databases to identify HCC cases treated with ICIs before LT, detailing allograft rejection, HCC recurrence, and overall survival. We performed Cox regression analysis to identify risk factors for allograft rejection.

Results: Among 91 eligible patients, with a median (IQR) follow-up of 690.0 (654.5) …