Digital Commons Network^™

Structure Of The T9ss Porkn Ring Complex Reveals Conformational Plasticity Based On The Repurposed Fge Fold, Xiangan Liu, John D Perpich, Liqiang Song, Christian Cambillau, Thierry Doan, Lei Zheng, Richard J Lamont, Eric Cascales, Bo Hu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The type IX secretion system (T9SS) is a protein secretion machinery unique to the Bacteroidetes-Chlorobi-Fibrobacteres superphylum, which plays crucial roles in bacterial pathogenesis and gliding motility. It is composed of >15 proteins, including the proton-motive force-dependent PorLM motor, the PorKN ring anchored to the outer membrane, and the Sov translocon. Here, we present the cryo-electron microscopy (EM) structure of the PorKN ring complex from Porphyromonas gingivalis at 3.2 Å resolution. Our structural analysis reveals that PorK contains a repurposed formylglycine-generating enzyme-like fold, which serves as a structural hub for complex assembly rather than enzymatic activity. The complex exhibits a 33-fold …

Retinoid-X-Receptor As A Mediator Of Poststroke Recovery By Reversing Age-Associated Phenotypes Of Microglia/Hematogenous Macrophages, Shun-Ming Ting, Xiurong Zhao, Guanghua Sun, Mercedes Ricote, Jaroslaw Aronowski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

After stroke, microglia and hematogenous macrophages, together referred to as MΦ, clear dead cells and cellular debris in the infarcted brain through phagocytosis as an essential part of the recovery process. However, the phagocytic capability of MΦ declines with age. Furthermore, aged MΦ become overactivated in response to stroke, enhancing secondary brain injury. In this study, we demonstrated that by reversing the age-related dysfunctions in MΦ through activating the retinoid X receptor (RXR), the recovery after stroke in the aged brain could be improved. Using RNA-sequencing, we compared the transcriptomes between MΦ isolated from the brains of young and aged …

Infectious Prions In Brains And Muscles Of Domestic Pigs Experimentally Challenged With The Bse, Scrapie, And Cwd Agents, Francisca Bravo-Risi, Fraser Brydon, Angela Chong, Kane Spicker, Justin J Greenlee, Glenn Telling, Claudio Soto, Sandra Pritzkow, Marcelo A Barria, Rodrigo Morales

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Experimental studies suggest that animal species not previously described as naturally infected by prions are susceptible to prion diseases affecting sheep, cattle, and deer. These interspecies transmissions may generate prions with unknown host ranges. Pigs are susceptible to prions from different origins, including deer chronic wasting disease (CWD), sheep scrapie, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Here, we studied prions in brains and muscles from pigs previously infected with these different prion sources. Specifically, we measured the total prion protein (PrP) and PK-resistant PrP by western blot. Seeding activity in these tissues was evaluated using the protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) …

Bypassing Bamd Essentiality By Mutations In A Non-Essential Substrate, Santosh Kumar, Anna Konovalova

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The β-barrel assembly machinery (Bam) is essential for assembling all transmembrane β-barrel outer membrane proteins in gram-negative bacteria. The Bam complex consists of the central β-barrel protein BamA and accessory Bam lipoproteins, including the widely conserved and essential BamD. BamD is assumed to be an essential regulator of OMP assembly, as its absence causes a global defect in OMP biogenesis. Here, we challenge this view by demonstrating that BamD essentiality is both conditional and substrate specific. In Escherichia coli, its function can be bypassed by preventing BamA jamming by a single, non-essential substrate RcsF. Our findings suggest that BamD …

Inhibition Of The Ufd-1-Npl-4 Complex Triggers An Aberrant Immune Response In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Rajneesh Rao, Alejandro Aballay, Jogender Singh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The UFD-1 (ubiquitin fusion degradation 1)-NPL-4 (nuclear protein localization homolog 4) heterodimer is involved in extracting ubiquitinated proteins from several plasma membrane locations, including the endoplasmic reticulum. This heterodimer complex helps in the degradation of ubiquitinated proteins via the proteasome with the help of the AAA+ATPase CDC-48. While the ubiquitin-proteasome system is known to have important roles in maintaining innate immune responses, the role of the UFD-1-NPL-4 complex in regulating immunity remains elusive. In this study, we investigate the role of the UFD-1-NPL-4 complex in maintaining

Therapeutic Restoration Of Mitochondria-Endoplasmic Reticulum Cross Talk For Osteoarthritis, Mingzhuang Hou, Yifan Ma, Yaoge Deng, Yubin Wu, Yanrun Zhu, Yang Liu, Xiaoping Li, Lili Yu, Zirui He, Yifan Wang, Shiyan Dong, Xiaowei Xia, Jianfeng Yu, Chenqi Yu, Kang Kang, Yingjie Lu, Lili Sun, Betty Y S Kim, Yuan Yuan, Yijian Zhang, Wen Jiang, Xuesong Zhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Osteoarthritis is a prevalent joint disease in the aging population. The hallmark of osteoarthritis is the degeneration of the joint cartilage, characterized by changes in chondrocytes including mitochondrial dysfunction. However, the precise mechanisms of how this affects chondrocyte homeostasis and whether such processes can be explored as therapeutic targets for osteoarthritis remain unclear. Here, we show that impaired mitochondrial function and disrupted cartilage matrix metabolism due to loss of mitofusin-2 (MFN2) expression in chondrocytes leads to the development of osteoarthritis. Sirtuin-3 (SIRT3), a key regulator of mitochondrial function, plays a critical role in modulating MFN2 to restore mitochondrial dynamics, reduce …

Defining Breast Epithelial Cell Types In The Single-Cell Era, G Kenneth Gray, Eric G Carlson, Tatyana Lev, Bailey Marshall, Austin D Reed, Alex P Sánchez-Covarrubias, Alecia-Jane Twigger, Aleix Puig-Barbe, Aatish Thennavan, Ayodele Omotoso, Lyndsay M Murrow, Deeptiman Chatterjee, Siyuan He, Sara Pensa, Brian Aevermann, Norbert K Tavares, Natalie Chen, Jason A Hilton, Kerrigan Blake, Yunlong Liu, Kiet Phong, Zev J Gartner, Devon A Lawson, Alexander Swarbrick, Camila O Dos Santos, Sophia H L George, Joan S Brugge, Mark A Labarge, Harikrishna Nakshatri, Nicholas Navin, Kai Kessenbrock, Walid T Khaled

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Single-cell studies on breast tissue have contributed to a change in our understanding of breast epithelial diversity that has, in turn, precipitated a lack of consensus on breast cell types. The confusion surrounding this issue highlights a possible challenge for advancing breast atlas efforts. In this perspective, we present our consensus on the identities, properties, and naming conventions for breast epithelial cell types and propose goals for future atlas endeavors. Our proposals and their underlying thought processes aim to catalyze the adoption of a shared model for this tissue and to serve as guidance for other investigators facing similar challenges.

Modeling The Impact Of Mmr Vaccination Strategies On Measles Outbreaks In Texas, Kaiming Bi, Thuy Nguyen, Boya Peng, Trudy Krause, Cecilia Ganduglia Cazaban, Janelle Rios, Cici Bauer, Catherine Troisi, Eric Boerwinkle, Aanand D Naik

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

An Evolutionary Preamble Towards A Multilevel Framework To Understand Adolescent Mental Health: An International Delphi Study, Federica Sancassiani, Vanessa Barrui, Fabrizio Bert, Sara Carucci, Fatma Charfi, Giulia Cossu, Arne Holte, Jutta Lindert, Simone Marchini, Alessandra Perra, Samantha Pinna, Antonio Egidio Nardi, Alessandra Scano, Cesar A Soutullo, Massimo Tusconi, Diego Primavera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/objectives: Adolescence is a sensitive developmental window shaped by both vulnerabilities and adaptive potential. From an evolutionary standpoint, mental health difficulties in this period may represent functional responses to environmental stressors rather than mere dysfunctions. Despite increasing interest, integrative models capturing the dynamic interplay of risk and protective factors in adolescent mental health remain limited. This study presents a holistic, multi-level framework grounded in ecological and evolutionary theories to improve understanding and intervention strategies.

Methods: A two-round Delphi method was used to develop and validate the framework. Twelve experts in adolescent mental health evaluated a preliminary draft derived from the …

Association Between Body Mass Index And Uterotonic Use In Postpartum Hemorrhage: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Cece Cheng, Bryce T Munter, Michaela Y Lee, Claire D Sundjaja, Natasha D Paul, Margaret M Klausmeyer, Nastassia A Yammine, Patrick S Ramsey, John J Byrne

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background/Objectives: Our primary objective was to determine whether patients with a higher body mass index (BMI) who experienced postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) required ≥2 uterotonics more often than those with lower BMI.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study that included all patients who experienced a PPH between 1 August 2020 and 31 July 2022. Extracted data included patient demographics, PPH risk factors, details regarding the labor course and hemorrhage management, and maternal and neonatal outcomes, such as mode of delivery, etiology of hemorrhage, need for nonpharmacological management, neonatal Apgar scores, requirement for phototherapy, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission, and …

Identifying Bio-Behavioural Signatures Of Persistent Opioid Use Risk In Trauma Injury Patients: A Protocol For A Prospective Cohort Study, Joy M Schmitz, Jin Ho Yoon, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, John A Harvin, Preethi H Gunaratne, Darrion Mouton, Kandice Motley, Erin E Fox, Jessica Vincent, Megan Tarbet, Consuelo Walss-Bass

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Exposure to prescription opioids following traumatic injury can increase the risk of developing tolerance, persistent opioid use and opioid use disorder. The mechanisms underlying opioid tolerance or dependence are not well understood, and no biomarkers predict risk. Opioid exposure causes epigenetic modifications, including alterations in microRNA (miRNA) expression. Several miRNAs, which regulate synaptic plasticity, are hypothesised to underlie substance use disorders and influence µ-opioid receptor levels, modulating opioid tolerance. This project aims to develop a bio-behavioural signature to predict persistent opioid use and chronic pain up to 6 months post-discharge.

Methods and analysis: The study will use a prospective …

Human Papillomavirus Integration Induces Oncogenic Host Gene Fusions In Oropharyngeal Cancers, Nusrat Khan, Keiko Akagi, Shiming Jiang, Joe Dan Dunn, Bo Jiang, Weihong Xiao, Madison P O'Hara, Li Shen, Qi Wang, Vakul Mohanty, Jing Wang, Sara Goodwin, Jamie L Hutchins, Kevin R Coombes, Jagannadha K Sastry, David E Symer, Maura L Gillison

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

HPV integration disrupts host genomic structure and expression, but whether these alterations promote cancer development remains unclear. Multiple genomic analyses of oropharyngeal cancers identified several host fusion genes, including recurrent FGFR3-TACC3 fusions, expressed from rearranged genomic loci adjacent to HPV integration sites. Evolutionary modeling implicated integration of virus concatemers into the host genome as a common initiating event in fusion formation. Co-expression of HPV16 E6/E7 and FGFR3-TACC3, but neither alone, was sufficient for tumor development in both xenograft and syngeneic mouse models and led to unique transcriptional programs implicated in carcinogenesis. FGFR3-TACC3 expression decreased the ubiquitination and degradation of …

Dissecting Microbial Communities With Single-Cell Transcriptome Analysis, Andrew W Pountain, Itai Yanai

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Revealing insights into the function of microbial communities requires moving beyond measuring bulk taxonomic composition to detecting interactions between subpopulations. Following the transformative impact of single-cell gene expression profiling techniques on numerous fields of human biology, recent years have seen increased application to microbes. We review progress in the development of these techniques and discuss challenges in applying them to microbial communities. We highlight applications for dissecting the microbiome in human health and disease that reveal functional heterogeneity within gut communities, antibiotic responses, and the dynamics of mobile genetic elements. As single-cell gene expression technologies continue to develop, they are …

Lewy Body Dementia Promotion By Air Pollutants, Xiaodi Zhang, Haiqing Liu, Xiao Wu, Longgang Jia, Kundlik Gadhave, Lena Wang, Kevin Zhang, Hanyu Li, Rong Chen, Ramhari Kumbhar, Ning Wang, Chantelle E Terrillion, Bong Gu Kang, Bin Bai, Minhan Park, Ma Cristine Faye Denna, Shu Zhang, Wenqiang Zheng, Denghui Ye, Xiaoli Rong, Liu Yang, Lili Niu, Han Seok Ko, Weiyi Peng, Lingtao Jin, Mingyao Ying, Liana S Rosenthal, David W Nauen, Alex Pantelyat, Mahima Kaur, Kezia Irene, Liuhua Shi, Rahel Feleke, Sonia García-Ruiz, Mina Ryten, Valina L Dawson, Francesca Dominici, Rodney J Weber, Xuan Zhang, Pengfei Liu, Ted M Dawson, Shizhong Han, Xiaobo Mao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Evidence links air pollution to dementia, yet its role in Lewy body dementia (LBD) remains unclear. Here we showed in a cohort of 56.5 million individuals across the U.S. that PM2.5 exposure raises LBD risk. Mechanistically, we found PM2.5 exposure led to brain atrophy in wild-type mice, an effect not seen in α-synuclein (αSyn)-deficient mice. PM2.5 exposure generated a highly pathogenic αSyn strain, PM-PFF, with enhanced proteinase K-resistance and neurotoxicity, resembling αSyn LBD strains. PM2.5 samples from China, the U.S., and Europe consistently induced proteinase-resistant αSyn strains and in vivo pathology. Transcriptomic analyses revealed shared responses between PM2.5-exposed mice and …

Detection Of Cancers Three Years Prior To Diagnosis Using Plasma Cell-Free Dna, Yuxuan Wang, Corinne E Joshu, Samuel D Curtis, Christopher Douville, Vernon A Burk, Meng Ru, Maria Popoli, Janine Ptak, Lisa Dobbyn, Natalie Silliman, Josef Coresh, Eric Boerwinkle, Anna Prizment, Chetan Bettegowda, Kenneth W Kinzler, Nickolas Papadopoulos, Elizabeth A Platz, Bert Vogelstein

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To explore how early can cancers be detected prior to clinical signs or symptoms, we assessed prospectively collected serial plasma samples from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, including 26 participants diagnosed with cancer and 26 matched controls. At the index time point, eight of these 52 participants scored positively with a multicancer early detection (MCED) test. All eight participants were diagnosed with cancer within 4 months after blood collection. In six of these 8 participants, we were able to assess an earlier plasma sample collected 3.1 to 3.5 years prior to clinical diagnosis. In four of these six …

Dietary And Consumer Behaviors In Individuals Currently Using Substances: A Cross-Sectional Study Based On Nhanes (2013 - 2018), A Sarah Cohen, Marylou Cardenas-Turanzas, Audrey Lopez, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with metabolic dysregulation and nutritional deficiencies. Studies show that incorporating nutrition interventions into treatment may improve physical and psychological health. This study sought to explore dietary and consumer behavior in individuals currently using substances.

Methods: Data from the 2013 - 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used for this cross-sectional study. Individuals 18 - 69 who were currently using marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, or injected unprescribed drugs were compared with individuals not using substances. Dietary and consumer behavior, including alcohol consumption was assessed. Analyses were performed using Stata I/C version 15. …

An Allele-Agnostic Mutant-Kras Inhibitor Suppresses Tumor Maintenance Signals And Reprograms Tumor Immunity In Pancreatic Cancer, Kathleen M Mcandrews, Francesca Paradiso, Clint A Stalnecker, Benson S Chellakkan, Fredrik I Thege, David H Peng, Barbara A Moreno Diaz, Hikaru Sugimoto, Sarah I Patel, Krishnan K Mahadevan, Michelle L Kirtley, Danielle Wills, Amari M Sockwell, Andre Luis F Fonseca, Yunhe Liu, Kimal I Rajapakshe, Nathaniel G Yee, Phuong Thao Tran, Huda Alchikh Omar, Antonio Tedeschi, Fiorella Schischlik-Siegl, Andrew S Boghossian, Matthew G Rees, Melissa M Ronan, Jennifer A Roth, Dorothea Rudolph, Martin Aichinger, Florian Ebner, Artem V Artemov, Jesse Lipp, Laura Pisarsky, Valerie Laura Herrmann, John Park, Jörg F Rippmann, Otmar Schaaf, Vanessa Chandler, Mariah Williams, Charles E Deckard, Linghua Wang, Channing J Der, Christopher Vellano, Paola A Guerrero, Timothy P Heffernan, Raghu Kalluri, Anirban Maitra

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

KRAS is among the most frequently mutated oncogenes in cancer, and for decades, efforts at pharmacological blockade of its function in solid cancers have been unsuccessful. A notable advance in this endeavor is the recent development of small molecule KRAS inhibitors, which enable direct targeting of the mutant oncoprotein. Here, we comprehensively evaluate the pre-clinical efficacy of BI-2493 a panKRASi, a first-in-class allele agnostic mutant KRAS inhibitor, in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We report effective tumor growth suppression across a broad range of models, including cell lines, patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), syngeneic orthotopic models, and prolonged survival in genetically engineered mouse …

Gellan Gum Formulations Containing Natural Polyphenolic Compounds To Treat Oral Candidiasis, Narchonai Ganesan, Lewis Oscar Felix, Biswajit Mishra, Liyang Zhang, Charilaos Dellis, Fadi Shehadeh, Danielle Wu, Lissette A Cruz, R M Arce, Eleftherios Mylonakis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Oral candidiasis (OC) is caused by Candida albicans, targeting immunocompromised individuals and developing drug resistance, highlighting the need for advanced therapeutics. Polyphenols such as caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and ellagic acid (EA) display antifungal and immune-modulating properties. Incorporating CAPE and EA in gellan gum (GG) formulation enhances their applicability and effectiveness against OC. We developed GG-based formulations loaded with CAPE (1,000 µg/mL), EA (1,000 µg/mL), or CAPE + EA (1,000 µg/mL each) against C. albicans. GG formulations containing gellan (0.6% and 1.0%), genipin (5 mM), polyethylene glycol 400 (0.5%), and sorbitan monooleate 80 (0.5%) demonstrated enhanced release …

Scenario Projections Of Covid-19 Burden In The Us, 2024-2025, Sara L Loo, Sung-Mok Jung, Lucie Contamin, Emily Howerton, Samantha J Bents, Harry Hochheiser, Michael C Runge, Claire P Smith, Erica C Carcelén, Katie Yan, Joseph C Lemaitre, Emily Przykucki, Clifton D Mckee, Koji Sato, Allison L Hill, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica T Davis, Clara Bay, Alessandro Vespignani, Shi Chen, Rajib Paul, Daniel Janies, Jean-Claude Thill, Sean M Moore, T Alex Perkins, Ajitesh Srivastava, Majd Al Aawar, Kaiming Bi, Shraddha Ramdas Bandekar, Anass Bouchnita, Spencer J Fox, Lauren Ancel Meyers, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Bryan Lewis, Jiangzhuo Chen, Madhav Marathe, Michal Ben-Nun, James Turtle, Pete Riley, Katriona Shea, Cécile Viboud, Justin Lessler, Shaun Truelove

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: COVID-19 remains a disease with high burden in the US, prompting continued debate about optimal targets for annual vaccination.

Objective: To project COVID-19 burden in the US for April 2024 to April 2025 under 6 scenarios of immune escape (20% and 50% per year) and levels of vaccine recommendation (no recommendation, vaccination for individuals at high risk only, vaccination for all eligible groups) and to assess the potential benefit of vaccine recommendations in reducing disease burden.

Design, setting, and participants: For this decision analytical model, the US Scenario Modeling Hub, a collaborative modeling effort, convened 9 teams to provide …

Optimal Medical Care And Coronary Flow Capacity-Guided Myocardial Revascularization Vs Usual Care For Chronic Coronary Artery Disease: The Century Trial, K Lance Gould, Nils P Johnson, Amanda E Roby, Richard Kirkeeide, Mary Haynie, Tung Nguyen, Linh Bui, Monica B Patel, Danai Kitkungvan, Patricia Mendoza, Dejian Lai, Ruosha Li, Stefano Sdringola, David Mcpherson, Jagat Narula

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and aims: The randomized CENTURY trial tested the hypothesis that a comprehensive strategy integrating intense lifestyle modification and aggressive medical management to goals with revascularization reserved for severely reduced coronary flow capacity (CFC) by positron emission tomography (PET) would reduce risk factors, subsequent revascularization, death and myocardial infarction (MI) compared with standard of care in chronic stable coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to standard or comprehensive care groups. Rest-stress PET quantified CFC for physiological CAD severity at baseline, 2, 5, and up to 11 years. The comprehensive care group reviewed PET results with frequent clinic …

Functional Connectivity Predicting Transdiagnostic Treatment Outcomes In Internalizing Psychopathologies, Kai Zhang, Heide Klumpp, Jagan Jimmy, K Luan Phan, Mohammed R Milad, Zhenfu Wen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Predicting treatment outcomes for internalizing psychopathologies (IPs), such as depression and anxiety, holds promise for advancing precision medicine. The extent to which whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) can predict treatment responses for patients with IPs across different therapeutic modalities remains unclear.

Objective: To examine whether pretreatment FC patterns predict multidimensional treatment outcomes in patients with IPs and whether predictive performance generalizes across diagnoses and treatment modalities.

Design, setting, and participants: This prognostic study analyzed baseline neuroimaging and clinical data from patients with IPs enrolled in 1 of 2 randomized clinical trials (conducted from December 2013 to February 2018 and September …

Identification Of An Rsph4a Founder Variant And Newborn Screening For Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, Wilfredo De Jesús-Rojas, Katherine P Guerra-Torres, Alondra J Rosado-Ayala, Edwin L Acevedo-Soto, Marcos J Ramos-Benitez, Ricardo A Mosquera

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This cross-sectional study estimates the prevalence of an RSPH4A variant identified in Puerto Rico in an effort to evaluate the feasibility of targeted newborn screening for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD).

Targeting Aldh16a1 Mediated Thioredoxin Lysosomal Degradation To Enhance Ferroptosis Susceptibility In Smarca4-Deficient Nsclc, Guoshu Bi, Jiaqi Liang, Yunyi Bian, Guangyao Shan, Shencheng Ren, Haochun Shi, Xiaolong Huang, Junkan Zhu, Qun Wang, Wei Jiang, Boyi Gan, Cheng Zhan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, holds promise for cancer therapy. However, the intricate link between ferroptosis and oncogenic mutations remains unclear. Here we show that SMARCA4, a well-established tumour suppressor whose deficiency is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to treatments, sensitizes non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells to ferroptosis. Mechanistically, SMARCA4 promotes chromatin accessibility and expression of ALDH16A1. Surprisingly, ALDH16A1 lacks ALDH enzymatic activity, but binds to the anti-ferroptotic oxidoreductase thioredoxin (TXN), facilitating its translocation to the lysosome and subsequent degradation. Meanwhile, ALDH16A1 directly inhibits TXN's oxidoreductase function by occluding its active site. We also show that …

Inhibition Of Mcl-1 And Mek Overcomes Mek Inhibitor Resistance In Triple-Negative And Inflammatory Breast Cancers, Mohd Mughees, Moises Tacam, Alex W Tan, Mary Kathryn Pitner, Lakesla R Iles, Xiaoding Hu, Emilly S Villodre, Bisrat G Debeb, Takahiro Kogawa, Bora Lim, Rachel M Layman, Wendy A Woodward, Naoto T Ueno, Debu Tripathy, Savitri Krishnamurthy, Yuan Qi, Lajos Pusztai, Jian Wang, Varsha Gandhi, Geoffrey Bartholomeusz, Chandra Bartholomeusz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The MAPK pathway can drive resistance in highly aggressive breast cancers. Our previous work showed that the MEK inhibitor (MEKi) AZD6244 (selumetinib) prevented lung metastasis in a breast cancer xenograft model. In clinical studies, MEKis as single agents have had only modest activity against solid tumors due to the onset of resistance. Using synthetic lethality siRNA screening, we identified myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1) as a potential contributor to AZD6244 resistance. We hypothesized that MCL-1 promotes MEKi resistance in highly aggressive breast cancers and that MCL-1 inhibition overcomes AZD6244 resistance. We established two AZD6244-resistant cell lines: MDA-MB-231-R (triple-negative breast cancer) and …

Trends In Radiation Use From 2004 To 2020 Among Adolescents And Young Adults With Hodgkin Lymphoma, Kelsey L Corrigan, Amy M Berkman, Jillian Gunther, Clark R Andersen, Susan Wu, Amber Gibson, Branko Cuglievan, Miriam B Garcia, Gohar Manzar, Penny Fang, Brian De, Sairah Ahmed, Cesar Nunez, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, David C Mccall, Susan K Parsons, Michael E Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hodgkin lymphoma has excellent survival rates in adolescents and young adults (AYA, diagnosed between ages 15 and 39 years). However, survivors are at risk of treatment-related late effects. Whereas radiotherapy (RT) de-escalation/omission has emerged as an approach to minimize late effects, no prior studies have evaluated RT use over time in AYAs with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, we identified 40,717 AYAs diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma between 2004 and 2020. Differences in sociodemographic and clinical variables were assessed using a two-sample two-sided t test or χ2 test. RT use was summarized per year by frequency with …

Ontology Accelerates Few-Shot Learning Capability Of Large Language Model: A Study In Extraction Of Drug Efficacy In A Rare Pediatric Epilepsy, Pedram Golnari, Katrina Prantzalos, Veronica Hood, Mary Anne Meskis, Lori L Isom, Karen Wilcox, Jack M Parent, Dennis Lal, Samden D Lhatoo, Howard P Goodkin, Elaine C Wirrell, Kelly G Knupp, Manisha Patel, Jeffrey A Loeb, Joseph E Sullivan, Lauren Harte-Hargrove, Brandy E Fureman, Jeffrey Buchhalter, Satya S Sahoo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Dravet Syndrome (DS) is a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that is characterized by severe, prolonged motor seizures and high resistance to multiple antiseizure medications (ASMs) with multiple comorbidities. Evaluating the efficacy of new drugs in DS preclinical models and mapping them to human phenotypes of DS through analysis of published literature is an important goal for improving outcomes in this rare pediatric epilepsy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Large language models (LLM) have demonstrated great promise in parsing published literature; however, the performance of LLMs falls short in medical applications. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of domain ontology developed …

Looking Beyond Hospital Discharge: One-Year Mortality Following Tracheostomy Creation In Traumatically Injured Older Adults, Heather R Kregel, Jan-Michael Van Gent, Fatimah Sunez, Michael W Wandling, Krislynn M Mueck, Bryan A Cotton, David E Meyer, Laura J Moore, Lillian S Kao, Thaddeus J Puzio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate long-term outcomes following tracheostomy in older trauma patients and hypothesized that 1-year survival decreases with older age.

Methods: This was a descriptive analysis of intensive care unit patients ≥65 y old who underwent tracheostomy from 2015 to 2020. The National Death Index was accessed to determine time from tracheostomy creation to death. Groups were categorized by age. The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. Survival by age strata was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: Of 205 eligible patients, 125 (61%) were 65-74, 68 (33%) were 75-84, and 12 (6%) were >85 y old. Median injury …

Exploring Boundaries With Food, Substances, And People In Substance Use Recovery: A Qualitative Analysis, Tiffany Champagne-Langabeer, Audrey Sarah Cohen, Kriti Shrestha, Jie Zhu, Audrey Lopez, Alisha Campbell, Christine Bakos-Block

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: In the United States, over 47 million youth and adults live with a substance use disorder (SUD). These individuals are frequently malnourished and have metabolic dysregulation as a result. Nutrition interventions incorporating a mindfulness-based approach help recovery efforts that are physical and mental.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and analyze the perspectives and experiences of individuals with SUD regarding emotional regulation and nutrition. The study used a mixed methods approach to generate insights for improving recovery support and developing future interventions.

Design: In 2024, an exploratory mixed methods study was conducted based on a large …

Replication Of Blood Dna Methylomic Signatures Associated With Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels Of Ykl-40 And Nfl Biomarkers, Timo Kaleck, Rafael Campos-Martin, Amanda Cano, Maria Victoria Fernández, Pamela Martino-Adami, Luca Kleineidam, Victor M Andrade Fuentes, Kumar P Tripathi, Kayenat Parveen, Raquel Puerta, Itziar De Rojas, Kishore A Ravichandran, Oliver Peters, Julian Hellmann-Regen, Josef Priller, Maria Gemenetzi, Anja Schneider, Jens Wiltfang, Emrah Düzel, Katharina Buerger, Robert Perneczky, Stefan Teipel, Christoph Laske, Frederic Brosseron, Marta Marquié, Daniel La Van Den Hove, Mercè Boada, Michael T Heneka, Michael Wagner, Natalie Marchant, Jean-Charles Lambert, Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, Frank Jessen, Agustín Ruiz, Alfredo Ramirez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Drivers Of Frequent Emergency Department Use In Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Older Adults: A Qualitative Study, Anita Chary, Annika Bhananker, Michelle Suh, David Leavitt, Elise Brickhouse, Shreya Tamma, Jose Ramirez, Mariana Rios, Aanand D Naik, Margaret Samuels-Kalow, Naomi George

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The emergency department (ED) is the safety net for and a common point of healthcare access for socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults. Little is known about socioeconomically disadvantaged older ED patients' perspectives on their health, healthcare access, and ED use. Such insights could guide tailored interventions to address unmet clinical and health-related social needs (HRSN).

Methods: We performed a qualitative study with older adults in a single public safety net hospital ED. We interviewed patients age 60+ who had ≥ 4 ED 4 visits in the past year. Semi-structured interviews explored perceived health needs and motivations underlying ED visits. We …