Digital Commons Network^™

A Cross-Sectional Study Of The Role Of Epithelial Cell Injury In Kidney Transplant Outcomes, Philip F. Halloran, Tarek Alhamad, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Expression of acute kidney injury-associated (AKI-associated) transcripts in kidney transplants may reflect recent injury and accumulation of epithelial cells in "failed repair" states. We hypothesized that the phenomenon of failed repair could be associated with deterioration and failure in kidney transplants.

METHODS: We defined injury-induced transcriptome states in 4,502 kidney transplant biopsies injury-induced gene sets and classifiers previously developed in transplants.

RESULTS: In principal component analysis (PCA), PC1 correlated with both acute and chronic kidney injury and related inflammation and PC2 with time posttransplant. Positive PC3 was a dimension that correlated with epithelial remodeling pathways and anticorrelated with inflammation. …

Untargeted Proteomics Enables Ultra-Rapid Variant Prioritisation In Mitochondrial And Other Rare Diseases, Daniella H Hock, Nikeisha J Caruana, Liana N Semcesen, Nicole J Lake, Luke E Formosa, Sumudu S C Amarasekera, Tegan Stait, Simone Tregoning, Leah E Frajman, Adam M Bournazos, David R L Robinson, Megan Ball, Boris Reljic, Bryony Ryder, Mathew J Wallis, Anand Vasudevan, Cara Beck, Heidi Peters, Joy Lee, Natalie B Tan, Mary-Louise Freckmann, Mitomdt Diagnostic Network For Genomics And Omics, Vasiliki Karlaftis, Chantal Attard, Paul Monagle, Amanda Samarasinghe, Rosie Brown, Weimin Bi, Monkol Lek, Robert Mcfarland, Robert W Taylor, Michael T Ryan, Sandra T Cooper, Zornitza Stark, John Christodoulou, Alison G Compton, David R Thorburn, David A Stroud

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Only half of individuals with suspected rare diseases receive a genetic diagnosis following genomic testing. A genetic diagnosis allows access to appropriate care, restores reproductive confidence and reduces the number of potentially unnecessary interventions. A major barrier is the lack of disease agnostic functional tests suitable for implementation in routine diagnostics that can provide evidence supporting pathogenicity of novel variants, especially those refractory to RNA sequencing.

Methods: Focusing on mitochondrial disease, we describe an untargeted mass-spectrometry based proteomics pipeline that can quantify proteins encoded by > 50% of Mendelian disease genes and > 80% of known mitochondrial disease genes in clinically …

The Perk/Atf4 Pathway Is Required For Metabolic Reprogramming And Progressive Lung Fibrosis, Jyotsana Pandey, Jennifer L Larson-Casey, Mallikarjun H Patil, Chao He, Nisarat Pinthong, A Brent Carter

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Asbestosis is a prototypical type of fibrosis that is progressive and does not resolve. ER stress is increased in multiple cell types that contribute to fibrosis; however, the mechanism(s) by which ER stress in lung macrophages contributes to fibrosis is poorly understood. Here, we show that ER stress resulted in protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK; Eif2ak3) activation in humans with asbestosis. Similar results were seen in asbestos-injured mice. Mice harboring a conditional deletion of Eif2ak3 were protected from fibrosis. Lung macrophages from asbestosis individuals had evidence of metabolic reprogramming to fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Eif2ak3fl/fl mice had increased oxygen …

Identification Of Surrogate Biomarkers For Mucopolysaccharidosis Type Iva, Yasuhiko Ago, Shaukat Khan, Kimberly Klipner, Allison Bradford, Shunji Tomatsu

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA (MPS IVA, Morquio A syndrome) is a rare inherited disorder characterized by skeletal dysplasia due to deficient N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase activity, resulting in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation. Identifying accurate biomarkers reflecting clinical severity and therapeutic response remains challenging. This study evaluated potential surrogate biomarkers, including N-terminal pro-C-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proCNP), collagen types I and II, mono-sulfated keratan sulfate (KS), di-sulfated KS, and chondroitin-6-sulfate (C6S), in blood and urine samples from 60 patients ranging from 1 to 62 years of age. NT-proCNP levels were significantly elevated in patients of all ages and negatively correlated with growth impairment, especially after 8 …

In Vivo Crispr Activation Screen Identifies Acyl-Coa-Binding Protein As A Driver Of Bone Metastasis, Hongqi Teng, Qinglei Hang, Caishang Zheng, Yuelong Yan, Shaomin Liu, Yang Zhao, Yalan Deng, Litong Nie, Weiche Wu, Marisela Sheldon, Zachary Yu, Wei Shi, Jianxuan Gao, Chenling Meng, Consuelo Martinez, Jie Zhang, Fan Yao, Yutong Sun, Di Zhao, Boyi Gan, Tong Meng, Li Ma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

One of the most common sites of cancer metastasis is to the bone. Bone metastasis is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, and current therapeutic interventions remain largely palliative. Metastasizing tumor cells need to reprogram their metabolic states to adapt to the nutrient environment of distant organs; however, the role and translational relevance of lipid metabolism in bone metastasis remain unclear. Here, we used an in vivo CRISPR activation screening system coupled with positive selection to identify acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) binding protein (ACBP) as a bone metastasis driver. In nonmetastatic and weakly metastatic cancer cells, overexpression of wild-type ACBP, but …

A Review Of Mirvetuximab Soravtansine-Gynx In Folate Receptor Alpha-Expressing Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer, Judith A Smith, Patrick Medina, Mary Miao, Kathleen N Moore

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: To evaluate the pharmacology, efficacy, safety, and dosing and administration considerations (including adjusted ideal body weight [AIBW] dosing) for mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx, a first-in-class folate receptor alpha (FRα)-directed antibody-drug conjugate for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC).

Summary: A literature search was conducted in PubMed using the terms "ovarian cancer" and "mirvetuximab soravtansine" of articles published from inception to April 16, 2024. Relevant publications, abstracts, and clinical trials were reviewed. Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx is dosed at 6 mg/kg AIBW every 3 weeks and comprises an FRα-binding antibody, a hydrophilic disulfide linker, and a maytansinoid DM4 payload. Mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx binds to FRα, which induces …

Conveying The Need For Mental Healthcare – A Qualitative Study Of How Patients Communicate Mental Health Challenges’, Marit Nymoen, Marit Lomeland, Eva Biringer, Mirjam Extedt, Øystein Hetlevik, Rod Sheaff, Olav Thorsen, Miriam Hartveit

Peninsula Medical School

Background: Access to timely mental healthcare relies on patients’ descriptions of their mental health problems. We therefore sought to better understand, from the patients’ perspective, how they communicate their need for specialised mental healthcare to their GPs or mental health specialists and what factors affect communication when patients are referred from their GPs to specialised mental healthcare. Methods: This was an exploratory interview study. Ten adults who started treatment in specialised mental healthcare facilities were interviewed individually. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. A method based on thematic analysis was used to develop patterns and themes within the dataset …

Global Dna Methylation Differences Involving Germline Structural Variation Impact Gene Expression In Pediatric Brain Tumors, Fengju Chen, Yiqun Zhang, Wei Li, Fritz J Sedlazeck, Lanlan Shen, Chad J Creighton

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

The extent of genetic variation and its influence on gene expression across multiple tissue and cellular contexts is still being characterized, with germline Structural Variants (SVs) being historically understudied. DNA methylation also represents a component of normal germline variation across individuals. Here, we combine germline SVs (by short-read sequencing) with tumor DNA methylation across 1292 pediatric brain tumor patients. For thousands of methylation probes for CpG Islands (CGIs) or enhancers, rare and common SV breakpoints upstream or downstream associate with differential methylation in tumors spanning various histologic types, a significant subset involving genes with SV-associated differential expression. Cancer predisposition genes …

Treatment Of Overactive Katp Channels With Glibenclamide In A Zebrafish Model And A Clinical Trial In Humans With Cantú Syndrome, Lotte Kleinendorst, Sarah E Siegelaar, Helen I Roessler, Lema Meiwand, Malou Van Den Boogaard, Rianne H A C M De Bruin-Bon, Kirsten F Van Duinen, R Nils Planken, Elisabeth H Jaspars, Patrick M J H Kemperman, Berto J Bouma, Colin G Nichols, Marcel W Bekkenk, Gijs W Van Haaften, Mieke M Van Haelst

2020-Current year OA Pubs

This study explores the efficacy of glibenclamide, a K

Caspase-11 Drives Macrophage Hyperinflammation In Models Of Polg-Related Mitochondrial Disease., Jordyn J Vanportfliet, Yuanjiu Lei, Muthumeena Ramanathan, Camila Guerra Martinez, Jessica Wong, Tim J Stodola, Brian Hoffmann, Kathryn Pflug, Raquel Sitcheran, Stephen C. Kneeland, Stephen A Murray, Peter J Mcguire, Carolyn L Cannon, A Phillip West

Faculty Research 2025

Mitochondrial diseases (MtD) represent a significant public health challenge due to their heterogenous clinical presentation, often severe and progressive symptoms, and lack of effective therapies. Environmental exposures, such bacterial and viral infection, can further compromise mitochondrial function and exacerbate the progression of MtD. However, the underlying immune alterations that enhance immunopathology in MtD remain unclear. Here we employ in vitro and in vivo approaches to clarify the molecular and cellular basis for innate immune hyperactivity in models of polymerase gamma (Polg)-related MtD. We reveal that type I interferon (IFN-I)-mediated upregulation of caspase-11 and guanylate-binding proteins (GBP) increase macrophage sensing of …

Evaluation Of Knowledge, Attitudes And Vaccine Hesitancy Towards Mmr Vaccine Among Parents In The United Arab Emirates, Kamel A. Samara, Hiba Jawdat Barqawi, Deema M. Alhayali, Samah Mohamed Kannas, Rim M. Elmorsy, Eman Abu-Gharbieh

Abington Jefferson Health Papers

BACKGROUND: The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective, but vaccine hesitancy (VH) is a key barrier to achieving herd immunity. This study aims to assess the general attitudes and knowledge of UAE parents regarding measles and the MMR vaccine while identifying determinants of VH.

METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was done from 15th April 2024 and 5th June 2024. This study recruited 462 parents residing in the UAE using convenience sampling. Recruitment occurred through various social media platforms including WhatsApp, X, and Instagram, as well as in public by approaching parents in parks and malls. Information collected included …

Effect Of Targeting Apoc-Iii With Plozasiran On Lipoprotein Particle Size And Number In Hypertriglyceridemia, Christie M Ballantyne, Daniel Gaudet, Robert S Rosenson, Robert A Hegele, Rong Zhou, Stacey Melquist, Jennifer Hellawell, Nicholas J Leeper

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Plozasiran, an investigational siRNA targeting hepatic apoC-III, reduces triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs). The impact of plozasiran on lipoprotein particle numbers and sizes is unknown. However, reductions in the number of TRL particles (TRL-P) and a shift to possibly less atherogenic large low-density lipoprotein particles (LDL-P) are expected.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the impact of plozasiran on lipoprotein particle concentration and subclass distribution using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in 2 phase 2 studies.

Methods: Patients (N = 403) from SHASTA-2 (severe hypertriglyceridemia) and MUIR (mixed hyperlipidemia) were administered 2 total subcutaneous doses of plozasiran (10, 25, or 50 mg) …

Epigenome-Wide Dna Methylation Association Study Of Chip Provides Insight Into Perturbed Gene Regulation, Sara Kirmani, Tianxiao Huan, Joseph C Van Amburg, Roby Joehanes, Md Mesbah Uddin, Ngoc Quynh H Nguyen, Bing Yu, Jennifer A Brody, Myriam Fornage, Jan Bressler, Nona Sotoodehnia, David A Ong, Fabio Puddu, James S Floyd, Christie M Ballantyne, Bruce M Psaty, Laura M Raffield, Pradeep Natarajan, Karen N Conneely, Joshua S Weinstock, April P Carson, Leslie A Lange, Kendra Ferrier, Nancy L Heard-Costa, Joanne Murabito, Alexander G Bick, Daniel Levy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

With age, hematopoietic stem cells can acquire somatic mutations in leukemogenic genes that confer a proliferative advantage in a phenomenon termed CHIP. How these mutations result in increased risk for numerous age-related diseases remains poorly understood. We conduct a multiracial meta-analysis of EWAS of CHIP in the Framingham Heart Study, Jackson Heart Study, Cardiovascular Health Study, and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohorts (N = 8196) to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying CHIP and illuminate how these changes influence cardiovascular disease risk. We functionally validate the EWAS findings using human hematopoietic stem cell models of CHIP. We then use expression quantitative …

Dietary Intake Of Protein By Food Source And Incident Hypertension Among Diverse Us Adults: The Mesa Study, Ji Yun Tark, Ruosha Li, Bing Yu, Alexis C Wood, Nikhil S Padhye, Marcia C De Oliveira Otto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Dietary guidelines recommend adequate protein intake from diverse sources for optimal blood pressure; however, its role in hypertension risk remains unclear. We examined prospective associations of protein intake and diversity, overall and by source, with hypertension risk in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) study.

Methods and results: Among 2294 participants aged 45 to 84 years without hypertension at baseline, total, animal, and plant protein intake was assessed using a 120-item food frequency questionnaire. Protein diversity was evaluated using count and the dissimilarity index. Over a 9-year median follow-up, 1356 hypertension cases were identified through blood pressure measurements and …

Rationale And Design Of The Repeat Trial: A Multicenter Randomized Trial Comparing Redo Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement To Valve-In-Valve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Matthias Raschpichler, Suzanne De Waha, Stefan Blankenberg, Marcio A Diniz, Emilia Bagiella, Annetine C Gelijns, Vinicius F Calsavara, Aakriti Gupta, Niklas Schofer, Tsuyoshi Kaneko, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, Holger Thiele, Raj Makkar, Michael A Borger

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Redo surgical aortic valve replacement (rSAVR) has for long been the therapeutic reference standard for degenerated surgical aortic bioprostheses. Valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement (ViV-TAVR) has emerged as an alternative for patients at high surgical risk due to its lower invasiveness. The long-term clinical efficacy of ViV-TAVR in patients at low to intermediate surgical risk remains unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS: To compare clinical outcomes of redo surgical aortic valve replacement versus ViV-TAVR in low- to intermediate-risk patients with degenerated surgical aortic bioprostheses. REPEAT (Repeat Intervention for Deteriorated Surgical Bioprosthetic Aortic Valves) is an investigator-initiated, international, multicenter, randomized, parallel, open-label …

Patient-Reported Social Determinants Of Health In Patients With Heart Failure, Kenneth E Freedland, Brian C Steinmeyer, Judith A Skala, Robert M Carney, Michael W Rich

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Social determinants of health (SDOH) complicate medical care and affect clinical outcomes, but the lack of a reliable structured interview for medical patients has impeded clinical assessment and research on SDOH. We assessed the reliability and validity of a newly developed SDOH Patient Interview Form and investigated SDOH in patients with heart failure.

METHODS: The SDOH Patient Interview Form was administered to recently hospitalized patients with heart failure between January 2021 and April 2024. The interviews were recorded, and 50 were randomly selected for the interrater reliability analysis.

RESULTS: The sample included 367 participants (mean age, 61.2±12.1 years; 42.5% …

Ccaat/Enhancer-Binding Proteins Α And Β Regulate Ovulation And Gene Expression Via Dose- And Stage-Dependent Mechanisms, Hanxue Zhang, Rainer B Lanz, Jimmy Dhillon, Paul D Soloway, Bo Shui, Yi Athena Ren

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The preovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) surge orchestrates complex cellular and molecular events leading to ovulation. CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins α and β (C/EBPα/β) are transcription factors acutely induced by the LH surge and crucial for ovulation and granulosa cell luteinization. However, biological processes (BPs) and their regulatory mechanisms downstream of C/EBPα/β in the preovulatory ovary are not completely understood. To address this knowledge gap, we generated Cebpa/bfl/fl;Pgr-Cre mutants and compared them with Cebpa/bfl/fl;Cyp19a1-Cre mutant female mice: Cebpa/bfl/fl;Cyp19a1-Cre mutants have undetectable levels of C/EBPα/β throughout the preovulatory stages and do not ovulate, aligning with previous reports; and Cebpa/bfl/fl;Pgr-Cre mutants present gradual depletion of …

Neoadjuvant With Low-Dose Radiotherapy, Tislelizumab, Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel, And Cisplatin For Resectable Locally Advanced Head And Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Phase Ii Single-Arm Trial, Zhigang Liu, Dong Wang, Guanjun Li, Muhua Yi, Zhaoyuan Zhang, Guihua Zhong, Liangfu Xu, Rong Jiang, Yannan Zheng, Linxuan Huang, Yingpeng Peng, Lizhong Liang, Jianpeng Li, Ye Liu, Jun Lai, Xianjuan Lv, Yongqiang Xu, Qiaodan Liu, Zhiqiang Wang, Zhutian Liu, Qinan Yang, Li Nie, Jiao Lei, Xiaotao Huang, Zhijie Liu, Wen Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Although pathological complete response (pCR) and major pathological response (MPR) rates of neoadjuvant immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) trials remain suboptimal, emerging evidence highlights the synergistic potential of combining low-dose radiotherapy with immunotherapy to promote the efficacy of immunotherapy. This phase II, open-label, single-arm, multicenter trial (NCT05343325) enrolled 28 patients with untreated stage III-IVB HNSCC (NeoRTPC02). Patients received neoadjuvant low-dose radiotherapy, the programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor tislelizumab, albumin-bound paclitaxel, and cisplatin for two cycles, followed by radical resection ~4 weeks after treatment completion. The primary endpoint, pCR rate, was achieved in 14 of …

Tacrolimus Dosing In Liver Transplant Recipients Using Phenotypic Personalized Medicine: A Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial, Jeffrey Khong, Megan Lee, Curtis Warren, Un Kim, Sergio Duarte, Kenneth Andreoni, Sunaina Shrestha, Mark Johnson, Narendra Battula, Danielle Mckimmy, Thiago Beduschi, Ji-Hyun Lee, Derek Li, Chih-Ming Ho, Ali Zarrinpar

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Tacrolimus is the most commonly used immunosuppression drug after solid organ transplantation; however, its dosing is challenging due to substantial inter-individual variability, often resulting in blood levels that deviate from the target therapeutic range. We explored whether a dynamically customized, phenotypic-outcome-guided drug dosing method could improve maintenance of drug trough levels within pre-determined target ranges, focusing on tacrolimus immediately after liver transplantation. This single-center, partially blinded, completed clinical trial involved 62 adults undergoing liver transplantation, block randomized into parallel groups: standard-of-care (SOC) clinician-determined or Phenotypic Personalized Medicine (PPM)-guided tacrolimus dosing. The primary outcome was percentage of post-transplant days with large …

Identifying Distinct Subgroups With Severe Pain In Sickle Cell Disease: A Cluster Analysis Of The Grndad Multi-Center Registry, Martha O. Kenney, Samuel Wilson, Morgan Rosser, Sophie Lanzkron, Julie Kanter, Susan Padrino, Payal Desai, Deepa Manwani, Alice Cohen, Stephanie Guarino, Ward Hagar, Joshua Field, Jane Little

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects millions of individuals worldwide, and is characterized by both acute, episodic pain and chronic, persistent pain. Despite the significant burden of the disease, clinicians continue to face significant challenges in treating SCD pain due to variability in pain experiences. The objectives of this study were (1) to identify distinct pain subgroups based on demographic and biopsychosocial characteristics and (2) to evaluate the relationship between the subgroups and pain impact - a SCD-disease specific measure of pain interference. To achieve these objectives, we performed a hierarchical cluster analysis on a cross-sectional sample of adults with SCD …

Prevalence Of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Stages In Us Adolescents And Relationship To Social Determinants Of Health, Carissa M. Baker-Smith, Abigail M. Gauen, Lucia C. Petito, Sadiya S. Khan, Norrina B. Allen

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease begin in youth. Knowledge of the prevalence of cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome in adolescents and its risk factors is critical to understanding the cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk burden.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 2017 to 2020 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data and determined the prevalence of each CKM stage in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. We then assessed the relationship between the family income-to-poverty ratio, health insurance, routine health care access, food security, health behaviors, and CKM stage. We quantified associations between social factors, behaviors, …

Development And Validation Of A Clinical Risk Model For Postoperative Outcome In Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma: A Report Of The Rano Resect Group, Philipp Karschnia, Jacob S Young, Gilbert C Youssef, Antonio Dono, Levin Häni, Tommaso Sciortino, Francesco Bruno, Stephanie T Juenger, Nico Teske, Jorg Dietrich, Michael Weller, Michael A Vogelbaum, Martin Van Den Bent, Juergen Beck, Niklas Thon, Jasper K W Gerritsen, Shawn Hervey-Jumper, Daniel P Cahill, Susan M Chang, Roberta Rudà, Lorenzo Bello, Oliver Schnell, Yoshua Esquenazi, Maximilian I Ruge, Stefan J Grau, Raymond Y Huang, Patrick Y Wen, Mitchel S Berger, Annette M Molinaro, Joerg-Christian Tonn

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Following surgery, patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma frequently enter clinical trials. Nuanced risk assessment is warranted to reduce imbalances between study arms. Here, we aimed (I) to analyze the interactive effects of residual tumor with clinical and molecular factors on outcome and (II) to define a postoperative risk assessment tool.

Methods: The response assessment in neuro-oncology (RANO) resect group retrospectively compiled an international, seven-center training cohort of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The combined associations of residual tumor with molecular or clinical factors and survival were analyzed, and recursive partitioning analysis was performed for risk modeling. The resulting model …

Long-Term Efficacy Of Pembrolizumab And The Clinical Utility Of Ctdna In Locally Advanced Dmmr/Msi-H Solid Tumors, Michael Lapelusa, Wei Qiao, Bryan Iorgulescu, Francis San Lucas, Keyur Patel, Deepak Bhamidipati, Jane Varkey Thomas, Nancy You, Wai Chin Foo, Dipen Maru, Selvi Thirumurthi, Van Morris, Scott Kopetz, Michael Overman, Kaysia Ludford

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Neoadjuvant immunotherapy can induce pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with localized deficient mismatch repair (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors. The long-term outcomes of these patients are unknown, as is the clinical utility of measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Follow-up was evaluated in patients enrolled in a phase II trial (NCT04082572) that evaluated the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab in patients with localized dMMR/MSI-H tumors. The primary outcomes of this trial have previously been reported. 3-year EFS and OS rates were 80% (95% CI: 66% - 93%) and 94% (95% CI: 86% - 100%). Patients without detectable ctDNA after pembrolizumab had …

Functional Brain Connectivity Of The Salience Network In Alcohol Use And Anxiety Disorders, Dhruv M Patel, Guillermo F Poblete, Alexandra Castellanos, Ramiro Salas

Staff and Researcher Publications

The interplay between alcohol use disorder (AUD) and anxiety disorders (ANX) is well-documented, yet the underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain elusive. This study aims to elucidate these mechanisms by examining the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) within the salience network and to the amygdala, both implicated in alcohol and anxiety disorders. We analyzed data from 264 inpatient participants culled from a wider group of 518 inpatients at The Menninger Clinic in Houston, TX, categorized into four groups (n = 66 each) based on DSM-IV diagnoses: AUD without ANX (AUD), ANX without AUD (ANX), concurrent AUD and ANX (BOTH), and neither (NEITHER). Our …

A Phase I Dose-Escalation Study Of The Hif-2 Alpha Inhibitor Dff332 In Patients With Advanced Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, Sumanta K Pal, Joel Picus, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Mutations or silencing of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene accumulate hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF). HIF-2α is implicated in the oncogenesis of ∼50% of patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) but has been considered "undruggable." DFF332, an orally administered novel allosteric inhibitor of HIF-2α, showed dose-dependent antitumor efficacy in preclinical models of ccRCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This first-in-human study evaluated the safety, tolerability, antitumor activity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of DFF332 in patients with heavily pretreated advanced ccRCC. Preliminary data from the dose escalation of DFF332 monotherapy, administered orally at 50 or 100 mg weekly or 25, 50, 100, or …

Modulation Of Her2 Internalization Enhances Single-Dose Antibody-Drug Potency In Her2+ Gastric Cancer, Abbey Zidel, Alex Benton, Emma Brown, Shayla Shmuel, Alex Vanover, Sandeep Surendra Panikar, Ron Bose, Haeseong Park, Andrew A Davis, Patrícia M R Pereira

2020-Current year OA Pubs

HER2 is a membrane receptor tyrosine kinase overexpressed in 18-20% of gastric tumors. Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets HER2-positive (HER2

Label-Free Multimodal Optical Biopsy Reveals Biomolecular And Morphological Features Of Diabetic Kidney Tissue In 2d And 3d, Anthony A Fung, Zhi Li, Craig Boote, Petar Markov, Joseph P Gaut, Sanjay Jain, Lingyan Shi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Kidney disease, the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, suffers from poor diagnostic efficiency (10%). Traditional biopsies use molecular reagents to enhance diagnostic power but are limited by overlapping spatial and chromatic signals, product quality variability, and additional processing. To address these challenges without disrupting routine diagnostics, we implement label-free imaging modalities-stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), second harmonic generation (SHG), and two-photon fluorescence (TPF)-within a single setup. We identify morphological, lipidomic, and metabolic biomarkers in control and diabetic kidney samples at subcellular resolution. Label-free Stimulated Raman Histology (SRH) reveals distinct collagen morphology, mesangial-glomerular volumes, lipid saturation, redox status, …

Meningeal Lymphatics-Microglia Axis Regulates Synaptic Physiology, Kyungdeok Kim, Daviti Abramishvili, Siling Du, Zachary Papadopoulos, Jay Cao, Jasmin Herz, Igor Smirnov, Jean-Leon Thomas, Marco Colonna, Jonathan Kipnis

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Meningeal lymphatics serve as an outlet for cerebrospinal fluid, and their dysfunction is associated with various neurodegenerative conditions. Previous studies have demonstrated that dysfunctional meningeal lymphatics evoke behavioral changes, but the neural mechanisms underlying these changes have remained elusive. Here, we show that prolonged impairment of meningeal lymphatics alters the balance of cortical excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs, accompanied by deficits in memory tasks. These synaptic and behavioral alterations induced by lymphatic dysfunction are mediated by microglia, leading to increased expression of the interleukin 6 gene (Il6). IL-6 drives inhibitory synapse phenotypes via a combination of trans- and classical IL-6 …

Network Analysis Of The Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteome Reveals Shared And Unique Differences Between Sporadic And Familial Forms Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Adam N Trautwig, Cindy V Ly, Timothy M Miller, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease involving loss of motor neurons, typically results in death within 3-5 years of disease onset. Although roughly 10% of cases can be linked to a specific inherited mutation (e.g., C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion or SOD1 mutation), the cause(s) of most cases are unknown. Consequently, there is a critical need for biomarkers that reflect disease onset and progression across ALS subgroups.

METHODS: We employed tandem mass tag mass spectrometry (TMT-MS) based proteomics on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to identify and quantify 2105 proteins from sporadic, C9orf72, and SOD1 ALS patients, asymptomatic C9orf72 expansion carriers, …

Causes Of Death Among Us Medical Residents, Nicholas A. Yaghmour, William E. Bynum, Frederic W. Hafferty, Karen D. Könings, Thomas Richter, Timothy P. Brigham, Thomas J. Nasca

Division of Nephrology Faculty Papers

IMPORTANCE: From 2000 to 2014, the leading causes of medical resident death in the United States were neoplastic diseases and suicide.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether US medical resident rates of death have changed since 2014 and whether causes of resident death differ by specialty.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this cross-sectional study, residents and fellows who were enrolled in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited training programs and who died from January 2015 to December 2021 were submitted to the National Death Index to obtain causes of death. These decedents were compared with residents and fellows who died between …