Digital Commons Network^™

The Flir Gene Contributes To The Virulence Of S. Marcescens In A Drosophila Intestinal Infection Model, Bechara Sina Rahme, Matthieu Lestradet, Gisela Di Venanzio, Arshad Ayyaz, Miriam Wennida Yamba, Martina Lazzaro, Samuel Liégeois, Eleonora Garcia Véscovi, Dominique Ferrandon

Open Access Publications

Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic bacterium that infects a wide range of hosts including humans. It is a potent pathogen in a septic injury model of Drosophila melanogaster since a few bacteria directly injected in the body cavity kill the insect within a day. In contrast, flies do not succumb to ingested bacteria for days even though some bacteria cross the intestinal barrier into the hemolymph within hours. The mechanisms by which S. marcescens attacks enterocytes and damages the intestinal epithelium remain uncharacterized. To better understand intestinal infections, we performed a genetic screen for loss of virulence of ingested S. …

Understanding Information Needs And Barriers To Accessing Health Information Across All Stages Of Pregnancy: Systematic Review, Yu Lu, Laura A Barrett, Rebecca Z Lin, Muhammad Amith, Cui Tao, Zhe He

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Understanding consumers' health information needs across all stages of the pregnancy trajectory is crucial to the development of mechanisms that allow them to retrieve high-quality, customized, and layperson-friendly health information.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify research gaps in pregnancy-related consumer information needs and available information from different sources.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, and Web of Science for relevant articles that were published from 2009 to 2019. The quality of the included articles was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program. A descriptive data analysis was performed on these articles. …

Eml1 Is Essential For Retinal Photoreceptor Migration And Survival, Deepak Poria, Chi Sun, Andrea Santeford, Michel Kielar, Rajendra S Apte, Oleg G Kisselev, Shimming Chen, Vladimir J Kefalov

Open Access Publications

Calcium regulates the response sensitivity, kinetics and adaptation in photoreceptors. In striped bass cones, this calcium feedback includes direct modulation of the transduction cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels by the calcium-binding protein CNG-modulin. However, the possible role of EML1, the mammalian homolog of CNG-modulin, in modulating phototransduction in mammalian photoreceptors has not been examined. Here, we used mice expressing mutant Eml1 to investigate its role in the development and function of mouse photoreceptors using immunostaining, in-vivo and ex-vivo retinal recordings, and single-cell suction recordings. We found that the mutation of Eml1 causes significant changes in the mouse retinal structure characterized by …

Current And Future Approaches To Classify Vuss In Lgmd-Related Genes, Chengcheng Li, Gabe Haller, Conrad C Weihl

Open Access Publications

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revealed large numbers of genetic variants in LGMD-related genes, with most of them classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUSs). VUSs are genetic changes with unknown pathological impact and present a major challenge in genetic test interpretation and disease diagnosis. Understanding the phenotypic consequences of VUSs can provide clinical guidance regarding LGMD risk and therapy. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the subtypes of LGMD, disease diagnosis, current classification systems for investigating VUSs, and a potential deep mutational scanning approach to classify VUSs in LGMD-related genes.

Release Of Chk-2 From Ppm-1.D Anchorage Schedules Meiotic Entry, Antoine Baudrimont, Dimitra Paouneskou, Ariz Mohammad, Raffael Lichtenberger, Joshua Blundon, Yumi Kim, Markus Hartl, Sebastian Falk, Tim Schedl, Verena Jantsch

Open Access Publications

Transition from the stem/progenitor cell fate to meiosis is mediated by several redundant posttranscriptional regulatory pathways in

Cardiac Outcomes Of Subjects On Adjuvant Trastuzumab Emtansine Vs Paclitaxel In Combination With Trastuzumab For Stage I Her2-Positive Breast Cancer (Atempt) Study (Tbcrc033): A Randomized Controlled Trial, Romualdo Barroso-Sousa, Ron Bose, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Diffusion Mri-Based Spatiotemporal Continuum Of The Embryonic Mouse Brain For Probing Gene-Neuroanatomy Connections, Dan Wu, Linda J Richards, Zhiyong Zhao, Zuozhen Cao, Wanrong Luo, Wei Shao, Song-Hai Shi, Michael I Miller, Susumu Mori, Seth Blackshaw, Jiangyang Zhang

Open Access Publications

The embryonic mouse brain undergoes drastic changes in establishing basic anatomical compartments and laying out major axonal connections of the developing brain. Correlating anatomical changes with gene-expression patterns is an essential step toward understanding the mechanisms regulating brain development. Traditionally, this is done in a cross-sectional manner, but the dynamic nature of development calls for probing gene-neuroanatomy interactions in a combined spatiotemporal domain. Here, we present a four-dimensional (4D) spatiotemporal continuum of the embryonic mouse brain from E10.5 to E15.5 reconstructed from diffusion magnetic resonance microscopy (dMRM) data. This study achieved unprecedented high-definition dMRM at 30- to 35-µm isotropic resolution, …

Cell Specific Peripheral Immune Responses Predict Survival In Critical Covid-19 Patients, Junedh M Amrute, Alexandra M Perry, Gautam Anand, Carlos Cruchaga, Karl G Hock, Christopher W Farnsworth, Gwendalyn J Randolph, Kory J Lavine, Ashley L Steed

Open Access Publications

SARS-CoV-2 triggers a complex systemic immune response in circulating blood mononuclear cells. The relationship between immune cell activation of the peripheral compartment and survival in critical COVID-19 remains to be established. Here we use single-cell RNA sequencing and Cellular Indexing of Transcriptomes and Epitomes by sequence mapping to elucidate cell type specific transcriptional signatures that associate with and predict survival in critical COVID-19. Patients who survive infection display activation of antibody processing, early activation response, and cell cycle regulation pathways most prominent within B-, T-, and NK-cell subsets. We further leverage cell specific differential gene expression and machine learning to …

Stain-Free Detection Of Embryo Polarization Using Deep Learning, Cheng Shen, Adiyant Lamba, Meng Zhu, Ray Zhang, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Changhuei Yang

Open Access Publications

Polarization of the mammalian embryo at the right developmental time is critical for its development to term and would be valuable in assessing the potential of human embryos. However, tracking polarization requires invasive fluorescence staining, impermissible in the in vitro fertilization clinic. Here, we report the use of artificial intelligence to detect polarization from unstained time-lapse movies of mouse embryos. We assembled a dataset of bright-field movie frames from 8-cell-stage embryos, side-by-side with corresponding images of fluorescent markers of cell polarization. We then used an ensemble learning model to detect whether any bright-field frame showed an embryo before or after …

Apparent Sunk Cost Effect In Rational Agents, Torben Ott, Paul Masset, Thiago S Gouvêa, Adam Kepecs

Open Access Publications

Rational decision makers aim to maximize their gains, but humans and other animals often fail to do so, exhibiting biases and distortions in their choice behavior. In a recent study of economic decisions, humans, mice, and rats were reported to succumb to the sunk cost fallacy, making decisions based on irrecoverable past investments to the detriment of expected future returns. We challenge this interpretation because it is subject to a statistical fallacy, a form of attrition bias, and the observed behavior can be explained without invoking a sunk cost-dependent mechanism. Using a computational model, we illustrate how a rational decision …

Iκb-Ζ Signaling Promotes Chondrocyte Inflammatory Phenotype, Senescence, And Erosive Joint Pathology, Manoj Arra, Gaurav Swarnkar, Yael Alippe, Gabriel Mbalaviele, Yousef Abu-Amer

Open Access Publications

Osteoarthritis is a joint disease characterized by a poorly-defined inflammatory response that does not encompass a massive immune cell infiltration yet contributes to cartilage degradation and loss of joint mobility, suggesting a chondrocyte intrinsic inflammatory response. Using primary chondrocytes from joints of osteoarthritic mice and patients, we first show that these cells express ample pro-inflammatory markers and RANKL in an NF-κB dependent manner. The inflammatory phenotype of chondrocytes was recapitulated by exposure of chondrocytes to IL-1β and bone particles, which were used to model bone matrix breakdown products revealed to be present in synovial fluid of OA patients, albeit their …

The Association Between Hiv Status, Estradiol, And Sex Hormone Binding Globulin Among Premenopausal Women In The Women's Interagency Hiv Study, Sally B Coburn, Jodie Dionne-Odom, Maria L Alcaide, Caitlin A Moran, Lisa Rahangdale, Elizabeth T Golub, Leslie Stewart Massad, Dominika Seidman, Katherine G Michel, Howard Minkoff, Kerry Murphy, Todd T Brown, Kala Visvanathan, Bryan Lau, Keri N Althoff

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Spatiotemporal Expression Of Regulatory Kinases Directs The Transition From Mitosis To Cellular Morphogenesis In Drosophila, Shuo Yang, Jennifer Mcadow, Yingqiu Du, Jennifer Trigg, Paul H Taghert, Aaron N Johnson

Open Access Publications

Embryogenesis depends on a tightly regulated balance between mitosis, differentiation, and morphogenesis. Understanding how the embryo uses a relatively small number of proteins to transition between growth and morphogenesis is a central question of developmental biology, but the mechanisms controlling mitosis and differentiation are considered to be fundamentally distinct. Here we show the mitotic kinase Polo, which regulates all steps of mitosis in Drosophila, also directs cellular morphogenesis after cell cycle exit. In mitotic cells, the Aurora kinases activate Polo to control a cytoskeletal regulatory module that directs cytokinesis. We show that in the post-mitotic mesoderm, the control of Polo …

Ddr1 Contributes To Kidney Inflammation And Fibrosis By Promoting The Phosphorylation Of Bcr And Stat3, Corina M. Borza, Gema Bolas, Fabian Bock, Xiuqi Zhang, Favour C Akabogu, Ming-Zhi Zhang, Mark De Caestecker, Min Yang, Haichun Yang, Ethan Lee, Leslie Gewin, Agnes B Fogo, W Hayes Mcdonald, Roy Zent, Ambra Pozzi

Open Access Publications

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1), a receptor tyrosine kinase activated by collagen, contributes to chronic kidney disease. However, its role in acute kidney injury and subsequent development of kidney fibrosis is not clear. Thus, we performed a model of severe ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury that progressed to kidney fibrosis in WT and Ddr1-null mice. We showed that Ddr1-null mice had reduced acute tubular injury, inflammation, and tubulointerstitial fibrosis with overall decreased renal monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) levels and STAT3 activation. We identified breakpoint cluster region (BCR) protein as a phosphorylated target of DDR1 that controls MCP-1 production in renal proximal …

Stromal Architecture Directs Early Dissemination In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Arja Ray, Mackenzie K. Callaway, Nelson J. Rodríguez-Merced, Alexandra L. Crampton, Marjorie Carlson, Kenneth B. Emme, Ethan A. Ensminger, Alexander A. Kinne, Jonathan H. Schrope, Haley R. Rasmussen, Hong Jiang, David G. Denardo, David K. Wood, Paolo P. Provenzano

Open Access Publications

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is an extremely metastatic and lethal disease. Here, in both murine and human PDA, we demonstrate that extracellular matrix architecture regulates cell extrusion and subsequent invasion from intact ductal structures through tumor-associated collagen signatures (TACS). This results in early dissemination from histologically premalignant lesions and continual invasion from well-differentiated disease, and it suggests TACS as a biomarker to aid in the pathologic assessment of early disease. Furthermore, we show that pancreatitis results in invasion-conducive architectures, thus priming the stroma prior to malignant disease. Analysis in potentially novel microfluidic-derived microtissues and in vivo demonstrates decreased extrusion and …

A Dominant Negative Variant Of Rab5b Disrupts Maturation Of Surfactant Protein B And Surfactant Protein C, Huiyan Huang, Jiehong Pan, Ariz Mohammad, Tao Huang, Anika G Lindsey, Hyori Kim, Jian Chen, Avinash Ramu, Stephanie A Morrison, Zachary D Dawson, Alex Z Hu, Eric Tycksen, Gary A Silverman, Dustin Baldridge, Jennifer A Wambach, Stephen C. Pak, Steven L Brody, Tim Schedl, Et Al

Open Access Publications

Pathogenic variants in surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C cause surfactant deficiency and interstitial lung disease. Surfactant proteins are synthesized as precursors (proSP-B, proSP-C), trafficked, and processed via a vesicular-regulated secretion pathway; however, control of vesicular trafficking events is not fully understood. Through the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, we evaluated a child with interstitial lung disease suggestive of surfactant deficiency. Variants in known surfactant dysfunction disorder genes were not found in trio exome sequencing. Instead, a de novo heterozygous variant in

Outcome Of Allogeneic Transplantation For Mature T-Cell Lymphomas: Impact Of Donor Source And Disease Characteristics, Mehdi Hamadani, Amanda F Cashen, Et Al

Open Access Publications

Mature T-cell lymphomas constitute the most common indication for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) of all lymphomas. Large studies evaluating contemporary outcomes of allo-HCT in mature T-cell lymphomas relative to commonly used donor sources are not available. Included in this registry study were adult patients who had undergone allo-HCT for anaplastic large cell lymphoma, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), or peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS) between 2008 and 2018. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) platforms compared were posttransplant cyclophosphamide-based haploidentical (haplo-)HCT, matched sibling donor (MSD) HCT, matched unrelated donor HCT with in vivo T-cell depletion (MUD TCD+), and matched unrelated …

Live-Dead Assay On Unlabeled Cells Using Phase Imaging With Computational Specificity, Chenfei Hu, Shenghua He, Young Jae Lee, Yuchen He, Edward M Kong, Hua Li, Mark A Anastasio, Gabriel Popescu

Open Access Publications

Existing approaches to evaluate cell viability involve cell staining with chemical reagents. However, the step of exogenous staining makes these methods undesirable for rapid, nondestructive, and long-term investigation. Here, we present an instantaneous viability assessment of unlabeled cells using phase imaging with computation specificity. This concept utilizes deep learning techniques to compute viability markers associated with the specimen measured by label-free quantitative phase imaging. Demonstrated on different live cell cultures, the proposed method reports approximately 95% accuracy in identifying live and dead cells. The evolution of the cell dry mass and nucleus area for the labeled and unlabeled populations reveal …

Protocol For Development Of A Core Outcome Set For Clinical Trials In Melasma, Sarah Ibrahim, Bianca Kang, Daniel Schlessinger, Sarah Chiren, Jennifer Tang, Jamie Kirkham, Jochen Schmitt, Emily Poon, Ian Maher, Joseph Sobanko, Todd Cartee, Murad Alam

Open Access Publications

INTRODUCTION: Melasma is a pigmentation disorder of the skin. Characterised by brown to gray-brown patches on the face and neck, the condition predominantly affects women and has been associated with pregnancy, hormonal variation and sun exposure. Melasma can be disfiguring and anxiety-provoking, and quality of life is often adversely impacted. Management includes sun protection, laser and energy device therapy, topical and oral skin-bleaching agents and chemical peels. While clinical trials of melasma exist, there is a lack of consistency in reported outcomes, which has been a barrier to the aggregation of data in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. This protocol describes …

Using Smartphones To Reduce Research Burden In A Neurodegenerative Population And Assessing Participant Adherence: A Randomized Clinical Trial And Two Observational Studies, Anna L Beukenhorst, Katherine M Burke, Zoe Scheier, Timothy M Miller, Sabrina Paganoni, Mackenzie Keegan, Ella Collins, Kathryn P Connaghan, Anna Tay, James Chan, James D Berry, Jukka-Pekka Onnela

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Smartphone studies provide an opportunity to collect frequent data at a low burden on participants. Therefore, smartphones may enable data collection from people with progressive neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at high frequencies for a long duration. However, the progressive decline in patients' cognitive and functional abilities could also hamper the feasibility of collecting patient-reported outcomes, audio recordings, and location data in the long term.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the completeness of survey data, audio recordings, and passively collected location data from 3 smartphone-based studies of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

METHODS: …

Genetically Stable Crispr-Based Kill Switches For Engineered Microbes, Austin G Rottinghaus, Aura Ferreiro, Skye R S Fishbein, Gautam Dantas, Tae Seok Moon

Open Access Publications

Microbial biocontainment is an essential goal for engineering safe, next-generation living therapeutics. However, the genetic stability of biocontainment circuits, including kill switches, is a challenge that must be addressed. Kill switches are among the most difficult circuits to maintain due to the strong selection pressure they impart, leading to high potential for evolution of escape mutant populations. Here we engineer two CRISPR-based kill switches in the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, a single-input chemical-responsive switch and a 2-input chemical- and temperature-responsive switch. We employ parallel strategies to address kill switch stability, including functional redundancy within the circuit, modulation of the …

Constitutive Activation Of Canonical Wnt Signaling Disrupts Choroid Plexus Epithelial Fate, Arpan Parichha, Varun Suresh, Mallika Chatterjee, Aditya Kshirsagar, Lihi Ben-Reuven, Tsviya Olender, M Mark Taketo, Velena Radosevic, Mihaela Bobic-Rasonja, Sara Trnski, Michael J Holtzman, Nataša Jovanov-Milosevic, Orly Reiner, Shubha Tole

Open Access Publications

The choroid plexus secretes cerebrospinal fluid and is critical for the development and function of the brain. In the telencephalon, the choroid plexus epithelium arises from the Wnt- expressing cortical hem. Canonical Wnt signaling pathway molecules such as nuclear β-CATENIN are expressed in the mouse and human embryonic choroid plexus epithelium indicating that this pathway is active. Point mutations in human β-CATENIN are known to result in the constitutive activation of canonical Wnt signaling. In a mouse model that recapitulates this perturbation, we report a loss of choroid plexus epithelial identity and an apparent transformation of this tissue to a …

Liposomal Phytohemagglutinin: In Vivo T-Cell Activator As A Novel Pan-Cancer Immunotherapy, Kinan Alhallak, Jennifer Sun, Barbara Muz, Amanda Jeske, Julie O'Neal, Julie K Ritchey, Samuel Achilefu, John F Dipersio, Abdel Kareem Azab

Open Access Publications

Immunotherapy is an attractive approach for treating cancer. T-cell engagers (TCEs) are a type of immunotherapy that are highly efficacious; however, they are challenged by weak T-cell activation and short persistence. Therefore, alternative solutions to induce greater activation and persistence of T cells during TCE immunotherapy is needed. Methods to activate T cells include the use of lectins, such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA). PHA has not been used to activate T cells in vivo, for immunotherapy, due to its biological instability and toxicity. An approach to overcome the limitations of PHA while also preserving its function is needed. In this study, …

The Ascc2 Cue Domain In The Alkbh3-Ascc Dna Repair Complex Recognizes Adjacent Ubiquitins In K63-Linked Polyubiquitin, Patrick M Lombardi, Timur Rusanov, Rebecca Rodell, Nima Mosammaparast, Et Al

Open Access Publications

Alkylation of DNA and RNA is a potentially toxic lesion that can result in mutations and even cell death. In response to alkylation damage, K63-linked polyubiquitin chains are assembled that localize the Alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase alkB homolog 3-Activating Signal Cointegrator 1 Complex Subunit (ASCC) repair complex to damage sites in the nucleus. The protein ASCC2, a subunit of the ASCC complex, selectively binds K63-linked polyubiquitin chains via its coupling of ubiquitin conjugation to ER degradation (CUE) domain. The basis for polyubiquitin-binding specificity was unclear, because CUE domains in other proteins typically bind a single ubiquitin and do not discriminate among different …

Neurotoxicity: A Rare Side Effect Of Programmed Cell Death 1 (Pd-1) Inhibitors, Syed Ehsanullah, Syed Hasan, Faran S Polani, Syeda Zarmeena Rashid, Syed Ijlal Ahmed

Open Access Publications

Immunotherapy is a biological therapy that helps the body's immune system to fight against cancer cells. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first immune checkpoint inhibitor in 2011. Since 2011, many immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors are now commonly used in multiple malignancies due to their remarkable response. Thus, immune-related adverse events are now coming into the limelight due to the increasing use of PD-1 inhibitors. Here, we present a case of a 54-year-old female with non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) treated with pembrolizumab and later presented with severe neurotoxicity.

Quantifying Regional Α -Synuclein, Amyloid Β, And Tau Accumulation In Lewy Body Dementia, Rebecca L Miller, Dhruva D Dhavale, Jennifer Y O'Shea, Kristin M Andruska, Jialu Liu, Erin E Franklin, Chandana Buddhala, Susan K Loftin, John R Cirrito, Richard J Perrin, Nigel J Cairns, Meghan C Campbell, Joel S Perlmutter, Paul T Kotzbauer

Open Access Publications

OBJECTIVE: Parkinson disease (PD) is defined by the accumulation of misfolded α-synuclein (α-syn) in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. It affects multiple cortical and subcortical neuronal populations. The majority of people with PD develop dementia, which is associated with Lewy bodies in neocortex and referred to as Lewy body dementia (LBD). Other neuropathologic changes, including amyloid β (Aβ) and tau accumulation, occur in some LBD cases. We sought to quantify α-syn, Aβ, and tau accumulation in neocortical, limbic, and basal ganglia regions.

METHODS: We isolated insoluble protein from fresh frozen postmortem brain tissue samples for eight brains regions from 15 …

Macrophage Global Metabolomics Identifies Cholestenone As Host/Pathogen Cometabolite Present In Human Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection, Pallavi Chandra, Héloise Coullon, Mansi Agarwal, Charles W Goss, Jennifer A Philips

Open Access Publications

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) causes an enormous burden of disease worldwide. As a central aspect of its pathogenesis, M. tuberculosis grows in macrophages, and host and microbe influence each other's metabolism. To define the metabolic impact of M. tuberculosis infection, we performed global metabolic profiling of M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. M. tuberculosis induced metabolic hallmarks of inflammatory macrophages and a prominent signature of cholesterol metabolism. We found that infected macrophages accumulate cholestenone, a mycobacterial-derived, oxidized derivative of cholesterol. We demonstrated that the accumulation of cholestenone in infected macrophages depended on the M. tuberculosis enzyme 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-Hsd) and correlated with pathogen …

Identification Of Novel Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier Inhibitors By Homology Modeling And Pharmacophore-Based Virtual Screening, Lamees Hegazy, Lauren Gill, Kelly Pyles, Christopher Kaiho, Sophia Kchouk, Brian Finck, Kyle Mccommis, Bahaa Elgendy

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Antiretroviral Therapy Timing Impacts Latent Tuberculosis Infection Reactivation In A Mycobacterium Tuberculosis/Siv Coinfection Model, Riti Sharan, Allison N Bucsan, Shabaana A Khader, Et Al

Open Access Publications

Studies using the nonhuman primate model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis/simian immunodeficiency virus coinfection have revealed protective CD4+ T cell-independent immune responses that suppress latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) reactivation. In particular, chronic immune activation rather than the mere depletion of CD4+ T cells correlates with reactivation due to SIV coinfection. Here, we administered combinatorial antiretroviral therapy (cART) 2 weeks after SIV coinfection to study whether restoration of CD4+ T cell immunity occurred more broadly, and whether this prevented reactivation of LTBI compared to cART initiated 4 weeks after SIV. Earlier initiation of cART enhanced survival, led to better control of viral replication, …

Ras And Beyond: The Many Faces Of The Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Protein, Corina Anastasaki, Paola Orozco, David H Gutmann

Open Access Publications

Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a rare neurogenetic syndrome, characterized by pigmentary abnormalities, learning and social deficits, and a predisposition for benign and malignant tumor formation caused by germline mutations in the NF1 gene. With the cloning of the NF1 gene and the recognition that the encoded protein, neurofibromin, largely functions as a negative regulator of RAS activity, attention has mainly focused on RAS and canonical RAS effector pathway signaling relevant to disease pathogenesis and treatment. However, as neurofibromin is a large cytoplasmic protein the RAS regulatory domain of which occupies only 10% of its entire coding sequence, both canonical and …