Digital Commons Network^™

Tribbles 2 Pseudokinase Confers Enzalutamide Resistance In Prostate Cancer By Promoting Lineage Plasticity, Jitender Monga, Indra Adrianto, Craig G. Rogers, Shirish M. Gadgeel, Dhananjay A. Chitale, Joshi J. Alumkal, Himisha Beltran, Amina Zoubeidi, Jagadananda Ghosh

Urology Articles

Enzalutamide, a second-generation antiandrogen, is commonly prescribed for the therapy of advanced prostate cancer, but enzalutamide-resistant, lethal, or incurable disease invariably develops. To understand the molecular mechanism(s) behind enzalutamide resistance, here, we comprehensively analyzed a range of prostate tumors and clinically relevant models by gene expression array, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot, which revealed that enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer cells and tumors overexpress the pseudokinase, Tribbles 2 (TRIB2). Inhibition of TRIB2 decreases the viability of enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer cells, suggesting a critical role of TRIB2 in these cells. Moreover, the overexpression of TRIB2 confers resistance in prostate cancer cells to clinically relevant …

Epigenome-Wide Association Study Of Mitochondrial Genome Copy Number, Penglong Wang, Christina A Castellani, Jie Yao, Tianxiao Huan, Lawrence F Bielak, Wei Zhao, Jeffrey Haessler, Roby Joehanes, Xianbang Sun, Xiuqing Guo, Ryan J Longchamps, Joann E Manson, Megan L Grove, Jan Bressler, Kent D Taylor, Tuuli Lappalainen, Silva Kasela, David J Van Den Berg, Lifang Hou, Alexander Reiner, Yongmei Liu, Eric Boerwinkle, Jennifer A Smith, Patricia A Peyser, Myriam Fornage, Stephen S Rich, Jerome I Rotter, Charles Kooperberg, Dan E Arking, Daniel Levy, Chunyu Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We conducted cohort- and race-specific epigenome-wide association analyses of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) copy number (mtDNA CN) measured in whole blood from participants of African and European origins in five cohorts (n = 6182, mean age = 57-67 years, 65% women). In the meta-analysis of all the participants, we discovered 21 mtDNA CN-associated DNA methylation sites (CpG) (P < 1 × 10-7), with a 0.7-3.0 standard deviation increase (3 CpGs) or decrease (18 CpGs) in mtDNA CN corresponding to a 1% increase in DNA methylation. Several significant CpGs have been reported to be associated with at least two risk factors (e.g. chronological age or smoking) for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Five genes [PR/SET domain 16, nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group H member 3 (NR1H3), DNA repair protein, DNA polymerase kappa and decaprenyl-diphosphate synthase subunit 2], which harbor nine significant CpGs, are known to be involved in mitochondrial biosynthesis and functions. For example, NR1H3 encodes a transcription factor that is differentially expressed during an adipose tissue transition. The methylation level of cg09548275 in NR1H3 was negatively associated with mtDNA CN (effect size = -1.71, P = 4 × 10-8) and was positively associated with the NR1H3 expression level (effect size = 0.43, P = 0.0003), which indicates that the methylation level in NR1H3 may underlie the relationship between mtDNA CN, the NR1H3 transcription factor and energy expenditure. In summary, the study results suggest that mtDNA CN variation in whole blood is associated with DNA methylation levels in genes that are involved in a wide range of mitochondrial activities. These findings will help reveal molecular mechanisms between mtDNA CN and CVD.

Spatially Distributed Infection Increases Viral Load In A Computational Model Of Sars-Cov-2 Lung Infection, Melanie E. Moses, Steven Hofmeyr, Judy L. Cannon, Akil Andrews, Rebekah Gridley, Monica Hinga, Kirtus Leyba, Abigail Pribisova, Vanessa Surjadidjaja, Humayra Tasnim, Stephanie Forrest

Pathology Research and Scholarship

A key question in SARS-CoV-2 infection is why viral loads and patient outcomes vary dramatically across individuals. Because spatial-temporal dynamics of viral spread and immune response are challenging to study in vivo, we developed Spatial Immune Model of Coronavirus (SIMCoV), a scalable computational model that simulates hundreds of millions of lung cells, including respiratory epithelial cells and T cells. SIMCoV replicates viral growth dynamics observed in patients and shows how spatially dispersed infections can lead to increased viral loads. The model also shows how the timing and strength of the T cell response can affect viral persistence, oscillations, and control. …

Trial Of Spesolimab For Generalized Pustular Psoriasis, Hervé Bachelez, Milan J Anadkat, Et Al

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a rare, life-threatening, inflammatory skin disease characterized by widespread eruption of sterile pustules. Interleukin-36 signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of this disorder. Spesolimab, a humanized anti-interleukin-36 receptor monoclonal antibody, is being studied for the treatment of GPP flares.

METHODS: In a phase 2 trial, we randomly assigned patients with a GPP flare in a 2:1 ratio to receive a single 900-mg intravenous dose of spesolimab or placebo. Patients in both groups could receive an open-label dose of spesolimab on day 8, an open-label dose of spesolimab as a rescue medication after day 8, …

A Next Generation Sequencing-Based Protocol For Screening Of Variants Of Concern In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jie Huang, Jun Liu, Ruiyi Tian, Kevin Liu, Patrick Zhuang, Hannah Tayla Sherman, Christoph Budjan, Michelle Fong, Min-Seo Jeong, Xue-Jun Kong

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with strong genetic influences. There is an increasing demand for ASD genetic testing beyond the traditionally recommended microarray and syndromic autism testing; however, the current whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole exome sequencing (WES) methods are lacking an academic standard for WGS variant annotation, reporting, and interpretation, tailored towards patients with ASD and offer very limited interpretation for clinical significance. Using WGS data from six family trios, we demonstrate the clinical feasibility and technical implementation of an evidence-based, fully transparent bioinformatics pipeline and report framework for an ASD-focused WGS genetic report. We …

Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Mediate T Cell Dysfunction In Nonhuman Primate Tb Granulomas, Bindu Singh, Dhiraj K Singh, Shashank R Ganatra, Ruby A Escobedo, Shabaana Khader, Larry S Schlesinger, Deepak Kaushal, Smriti Mehra

Open Access Publications

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) represent an innate immune cell population comprised of immature myeloid cells and myeloid progenitors with very potent immunosuppressive potential. MDSCs are reported to be abundant in the lungs of active tuberculosis (TB) patients. We sought to perform an in-depth study of MDSCs during latent TB infection (LTBI) and active TB (ATB) using the nonhuman primate (NHP) model of pulmonary TB. We found a higher proportion of granulocytic, polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) in the lungs of ATB animals compared to those with LTBI or naive control animals. Active disease in the lung, but not LTBI, was …

Recurrent High-Impact Mutations At Cognate Structural Positions In Class A G Protein-Coupled Receptors Expressed In Tumors, Eunna Huh, Jonathan Gallion, Melina A Agosto, Sara J Wright, Theodore G Wensel, Olivier Lichtarge

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of human proteins. They have a common structure and, signaling through a much smaller set of G proteins, arrestins, and effectors, activate downstream pathways that often modulate hallmark mechanisms of cancer. Because there are many more GPCRs than effectors, mutations in different receptors could perturb signaling similarly so as to favor a tumor. We hypothesized that somatic mutations in tumor samples may not be enriched within a single gene but rather that cognate mutations with similar effects on GPCR function are distributed across many receptors. To test this possibility, we systematically aggregated …

Emerging Themes In The Molecular Pathogenesis Of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli, James M Fleckenstein, Alaullah Sheikh

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are ubiquitous diarrheal pathogens that thrive in areas lacking basic human needs of clean water and sanitation. These genetically plastic organisms cause tremendous morbidity among disadvantaged young children, in the form of both acute diarrheal illness and sequelae of malnutrition and growth impairment. The recent discovery of additional plasmid-encoded virulence factors and elucidation of their critical role in the molecular pathogenesis of ETEC may inform new approaches to the development of broadly protective vaccines. Although the pathogens have been closely linked epidemiologically with nondiarrheal sequelae, these conditions remain very poorly understood. Similarly, while canonical effects of …

Probing The Role Of Astrocytes In The Pathology Of Fragile X Syndrome With Human Stem Cells, Baiyan Ren

Theses & Dissertations

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder related to intellectual disability and the most common monogenic cause of autism spectrum disorder. FXS is mainly caused by an expansion of CGG repeats in the 5’-untranslated region of fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene, leading to the loss of expression of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS). Loss of FMRP in astrocytes has been found to contribute to structural and functional synaptic deficits in the Fmr1-KO mouse model. The contribution of human astrocytes, however, to the …

Skin Bacterial Metacommunities Of San Francisco Bay Area Salamanders Are Structured By Host Genus And Habitat Quality., Shannon Buttimer, Obed Hernandez-Gomez, Erica Bree Rosenblum

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Faculty Scholarship

Host-associated microbial communities can influence physiological processes of macroorganisms, including contributing to infectious disease resistance. For instance, some bacteria that live on amphibian skin produce antifungal compounds that inhibit two lethal fungal pathogens, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). Therefore, differences in microbiome composition among host species or populations within a species can contribute to variation in susceptibility to Bd/Bsal. This study applies 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the skin bacterial microbiomes of three widespread terrestrial salamander genera native to the western United States. Using a metacommunity structure analysis, we identified dispersal barriers for these influential bacteria between salamander …

Phase 3 Safety And Efficacy Of Azd1222 (Chadox1 Ncov-19) Covid-19 Vaccine, Ann R Falsey, Magdalena E Sobieszczyk, Ian Hirsch, Stephanie Sproule, Merlin L Robb, Lawrence Corey, Kathleen M Neuzil, William Hahn, Julie Hunt, Mark J Mulligan, Charlene Mcevoy, Edwin Dejesus, Michael Hassman, Susan J Little, Barbara A Pahud, Anna Durbin, Paul Pickrell, Eric S Daar, Larry Bush, Joel Solis, Quito Osuna Carr, Temitope Oyedele, Susan Buchbinder, Jessica Cowden, Sergio L Vargas, Alfredo Guerreros Benavides, Robert Call, Michael C Keefer, Beth D Kirkpatrick, John Pullman, Tina Tong, Margaret Brewinski Isaacs, David Benkeser, Holly E Janes, Martha C Nason, Justin A Green, Elizabeth J Kelly, Jill Maaske, Nancy Mueller, Kathryn Shoemaker, Therese Takas, Richard P Marshall, Menelas N Pangalos, Tonya Villafana, Antonio Gonzalez-Lopez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The safety and efficacy of the AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine in a large, diverse population at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in the United States, Chile, and Peru has not been known.

METHODS: In this ongoing, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial, we investigated the safety, vaccine efficacy, and immunogenicity of two doses of AZD1222 as compared with placebo in preventing the onset of symptomatic and severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) 15 days or more after the second dose in adults, including older adults, in the United States, Chile, and Peru.

RESULTS: …

Transcriptional Reprogramming Differentiates Active From Inactive Esr1 Fusions In Endocrine Therapy-Refractory Metastatic Breast Cancer, Xuxu Gou, Shunqiang Li, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Genomic analysis has recently identified multiple

Multicenter Randomized Phase Ii Trial Of Atezolizumab With Or Without Cobimetinib In Biliary Tract Cancers, Mark Yarchoan, Andrea Wang-Gillam, Et Al

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUNDMEK inhibitors have limited activity in biliary tract cancers (BTCs) as monotherapy but are hypothesized to enhance responses to programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibition.METHODSThis open-label phase II study randomized patients with BTC to atezolizumab (anti-PD-L1) as monotherapy or in combination with cobimetinib (MEK inhibitor). Eligible patients had unresectable BTC with 1 to 2 lines of prior therapy in the metastatic setting, measurable disease, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status less than or equal to 1. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).RESULTSSeventy-seven patients were randomized and received study therapy. The trial met its primary endpoint, with a …

Polatuzumab Vedotin In Previously Untreated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Hervé Tilly, Neha Mehta-Shah, Et Al

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is typically treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP). However, only 60% of patients are cured with R-CHOP. Polatuzumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting CD79b, which is ubiquitously expressed on the surface of malignant B cells.

METHODS: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, international phase 3 trial to evaluate a modified regimen of R-CHOP (pola-R-CHP), in which vincristine was replaced with polatuzumab vedotin, as compared with standard R-CHOP, in patients with previously untreated intermediate-risk or high-risk DLBCL. Patients 18 to 80 years of age were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to …

Defining The Transcriptional Control Of Pediatric Aml Highlights Rara As A Superenhancer-Regulated Druggable Dependency, Monika W Perez, Oscar Sias-Garcia, Alfred Daramola, Helen Wei, Maci Terrell, Raushan Rashid, Woojun D Park, Kevin Duong, Terzah M Horton, Feng Li, Nikitha Cherayil, Jost Vrabic Koren, Vincent U Gant, Jacob J Junco, Choladda V Curry, Alexandra M Stevens, Charles Y Lin, Joanna S Yi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Somatic mutations are rare in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (pAML), indicating that alternate strategies are needed to identify targetable dependencies. We performed the first enhancer mapping of pAML in 22 patient samples. Generally, pAML samples were distinct from adult AML samples, and MLL (KMT2A)-rearranged samples were also distinct from non-KMT2A-rearranged samples. Focusing specifically on superenhancers (SEs), we identified SEs associated with many known leukemia regulators. The retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) gene was differentially regulated in our cohort, and a RARA-associated SE was detected in 64% of the study cohort across all cytogenetic and molecular subtypes tested. RARA SE+ pAML …

Inhibition Of Nadph Oxidase Blocks Netosis And Reduces Thrombosis In Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia, Halina H L Leung, Jose Perdomo, Zohra Ahmadi, Feng Yan, Steven E. Mckenzie, Beng H Chong

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is associated with severe and potentially lethal thrombotic complications. NETosis was recently shown to be an important driver of thrombosis in HIT. We investigated the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase 2 (NOX2) and their contributions to thrombus development in HIT. We showed that neutrophil activation by HIT immune complexes induced ROS-dependent NETosis. Analysis of thrombi formed in a microfluidics system showed ROS production in both platelets and neutrophils, and abundant neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and ROS distributed throughout the clot. Neutrophil-targeted ROS inhibition was sufficient to block HIT-induced NETosis …

Peroxisomal Β-Oxidation Acts As A Sensor For Intracellular Fatty Acids And Regulates Lipolysis, Lianggong Ding, Wenfei Sun, Miroslav Balaz, Anyuan He, Manuel Klug, Stefan Wieland, Robert Caiazzo, Violeta Raverdy, Francois Pattou, Philippe Lefebvre, Irfan J Lodhi, Bart Staels, Markus Heim, Christian Wolfrum

Open Access Publications

To liberate fatty acids (FAs) from intracellular stores, lipolysis is regulated by the activity of the lipases adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), hormone-sensitive lipase and monoacylglycerol lipase. Excessive FA release as a result of uncontrolled lipolysis results in lipotoxicity, which can in turn promote the progression of metabolic disorders. However, whether cells can directly sense FAs to maintain cellular lipid homeostasis is unknown. Here we report a sensing mechanism for cellular FAs based on peroxisomal degradation of FAs and coupled with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which in turn regulates FA release by modulating lipolysis. Changes in ROS levels are sensed …

Axicabtagene Ciloleucel As Second-Line Therapy For Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Frederick L Locke, Armin Ghobadi, Et Al

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of patients with early relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after the receipt of first-line chemoimmunotherapy is poor.

METHODS: In this international, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, patients with large B-cell lymphoma that was refractory to or had relapsed no more than 12 months after first-line chemoimmunotherapy to receive axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel, an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy) or standard care (two or three cycles of investigator-selected, protocol-defined chemoimmunotherapy, followed by high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with a response to the chemoimmunotherapy). The primary end point was …

Radioembolization With Chemotherapy For Colorectal Liver Metastases: A Randomized, Open-Label, International, Multicenter, Phase Iii Trial, Mary F Mulcahy, Armeen Mahvash, Marc Pracht, Amir H Montazeri, Steve Bandula, Robert C G Martin, Ken Herrmann, Ewan Brown, Darryl Zuckerman, Gregory Wilson, Tae-You Kim, Andrew Weaver, Paul Ross, William P Harris, Janet Graham, Jamie Mills, Alfonso Yubero Esteban, Matthew S Johnson, Constantinos T Sofocleous, Siddharth A Padia, Robert J Lewandowski, Etienne Garin, Philip Sinclair, Riad Salem

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To study the impact of transarterial Yttrium-90 radioembolization (TARE) in combination with second-line systemic chemotherapy for colorectal liver metastases (CLM).

METHODS: In this international, multicenter, open-label phase III trial, patients with CLM who progressed on oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based first-line therapy were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive second-line chemotherapy with or without TARE. The two primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and hepatic PFS (hPFS), assessed by blinded independent central review. Random assignment was performed using a web- or voice-based system stratified by unilobar or bilobar disease, oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based first-line chemotherapy, and

RESULTS: Four hundred twenty-eight patients from …

Epigenome-Wide Association Study Of Serum Urate Reveals Insights Into Urate Co-Regulation And The Slc2a9 Locus, Adrienne Tin, Pascal Schlosser, Pamela R Matias-Garcia, Chris H L Thio, Roby Joehanes, Hongbo Liu, Zhi Yu, Antoine Weihs, Anselm Hoppmann, Franziska Grundner-Culemann, Josine L Min, Victoria L Halperin Kuhns, Adebowale A Adeyemo, Charles Agyemang, Johan Ärnlöv, Nasir A Aziz, Andrea Baccarelli, Murielle Bochud, Hermann Brenner, Jan Bressler, Monique M B Breteler, Cristian Carmeli, Layal Chaker, Josef Coresh, Tanguy Corre, Adolfo Correa, Simon R Cox, Graciela E Delgado, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Arif B Ekici, Karlhans Endlich, James S Floyd, Eliza Fraszczyk, Xu Gao, Xīn Gào, Allan C Gelber, Mohsen Ghanbari, Sahar Ghasemi, Christian Gieger, Philip Greenland, Megan L Grove, Sarah E Harris, Gibran Hemani, Peter Henneman, Christian Herder, Steve Horvath, Lifang Hou, Mikko A Hurme, Shih-Jen Hwang, Sharon L R Kardia, Silva Kasela, Marcus E Kleber, Wolfgang Koenig, Jaspal S Kooner, Florian Kronenberg, Brigitte Kühnel, Christine Ladd-Acosta, Terho Lehtimäki, Lars Lind, Dan Liu, Donald M Lloyd-Jones, Stefan Lorkowski, Ake T Lu, Riccardo E Marioni, Winfried März, Daniel L Mccartney, Karlijn A C Meeks, Lili Milani, Pashupati P Mishra, Matthias Nauck, Christoph Nowak, Annette Peters, Holger Prokisch, Bruce M Psaty, Olli T Raitakari, Scott M Ratliff, Alex P Reiner, Ben Schöttker, Joel Schwartz, Sanaz Sedaghat, Jennifer A Smith, Nona Sotoodehnia, Hannah R Stocker, Silvia Stringhini, Johan Sundström, Brenton R Swenson, Joyce B J Van Meurs, Jana V Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Andrea Venema, Uwe Völker, Juliane Winkelmann, Bruce H R Wolffenbuttel, Wei Zhao, Yinan Zheng, Marie Loh, Harold Snieder, Melanie Waldenberger, Daniel Levy, Shreeram Akilesh, Owen M Woodward, Katalin Susztak, Alexander Teumer, Anna Köttgen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Elevated serum urate levels, a complex trait and major risk factor for incident gout, are correlated with cardiometabolic traits via incompletely understood mechanisms. DNA methylation in whole blood captures genetic and environmental influences and is assessed in transethnic meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) of serum urate (discovery, n = 12,474, replication, n = 5522). The 100 replicated, epigenome-wide significant (p < 1.1E-7) CpGs explain 11.6% of the serum urate variance. At SLC2A9, the serum urate locus with the largest effect in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), five CpGs are associated with SLC2A9 gene expression. Four CpGs at SLC2A9 have significant causal effects on serum urate levels and/or gout, and two of these partly mediate the effects of urate-associated GWAS variants. In other genes, including SLC7A11 and PHGDH, 17 urate-associated CpGs are associated with conditions defining metabolic syndrome, suggesting that these CpGs may represent a blood DNA methylation signature of cardiometabolic risk factors. This study demonstrates that EWAS can provide new insights into GWAS loci and the correlation of serum urate with other complex traits.

Practical Considerations Of Dissolved Oxygen Levels For Platelet Function Under Hypoxia, Branden Kusanto, Andrew Gordon, Leigh Naylor-Adamson, Lloyd Atkinson, Charlie Coupland, Zoe Booth, Yusra Ahmed, Isabel M Pires, Graeme J Stasiuk, Roger Sturmey, Simon D J Calaminus, Mònica Arman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Investigating human platelet function in low-oxygen environments is important in multiple settings, including hypobaric hypoxia (e.g., high altitude), sea level hypoxia-related disease, and thrombus stability. These studies often involve drawing blood from which platelets are isolated and analysed at atmospheric conditions or re-exposed to low oxygen levels in hypoxia chambers before testing. However, it remains unknown how the in vitro handling of the samples itself changes their dissolved oxygen concentration, which might affect platelet function and experimental results. Here, we prepared healthy donor platelet-rich plasma and washed platelet (WP) suspensions and exposed them to 2% oxygen. We found that the …

Hypothalamic Steroid Receptor Coactivator-2 Regulates Adaptations To Fasting And Overnutrition, Yongjie Yang, Yanlin He, Hailan Liu, Wenjun Zhou, Chunmei Wang, Pingwen Xu, Xing Cai, Hesong Liu, Kaifan Yu, Zhou Pei, Ilirjana Hyseni, Makoto Fukuda, Qingchun Tong, Jianming Xu, Zheng Sun, Bert W O'Malley, Yong Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The neuroendocrine system coordinates metabolic and behavioral adaptations to fasting, including reducing energy expenditure, promoting counterregulation, and suppressing satiation and anxiety to engage refeeding. Here, we show that steroid receptor coactivator-2 (SRC-2) in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons is a key regulator of all these responses to fasting. POMC-specific deletion of SRC-2 enhances the basal excitability of POMC neurons; mutant mice fail to efficiently suppress energy expenditure during food deprivation. SRC-2 deficiency blunts electric responses of POMC neurons to glucose fluctuations, causing impaired counterregulation. When food becomes available, these mutant mice show insufficient refeeding associated with enhanced satiation and discoordination of anxiety …

Overexpression Screen Of Interferon-Stimulated Genes Identifies Rarres3 As A Restrictor Of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection, Nicholas Rinkenberger, Michael E Abrams, Sumit K Matta, John W Schoggins, Neal M Alto, L David Sibley

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Association Of Low-Frequency And Rare Coding Variants With Information Processing Speed, Jan Bressler, Gail Davies, Albert V Smith, Yasaman Saba, Joshua C Bis, Xueqiu Jian, Caroline Hayward, Lisa Yanek, Jennifer A Smith, Saira S Mirza, Ruiqi Wang, Hieab H H Adams, Diane Becker, Eric Boerwinkle, Archie Campbell, Simon R Cox, Gudny Eiriksdottir, Chloe Fawns-Ritchie, Rebecca F Gottesman, Megan L Grove, Xiuqing Guo, Edith Hofer, Sharon L R Kardia, Maria J Knol, Marisa Koini, Oscar L Lopez, Riccardo E Marioni, Paul Nyquist, Alison Pattie, Ozren Polasek, David J Porteous, Igor Rudan, Claudia L Satizabal, Helena Schmidt, Reinhold Schmidt, Stephen Sidney, Jeannette Simino, Blair H Smith, Stephen T Turner, Sven J Van Der Lee, Erin B Ware, Rachel A Whitmer, Kristine Yaffe, Qiong Yang, Wei Zhao, Vilmundur Gudnason, Lenore J Launer, Annette L Fitzpatrick, Bruce M Psaty, Myriam Fornage, M Arfan Ikram, Cornelia M Van Duijn, Sudha Seshadri, Thomas H Mosley, Ian J Deary

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Measures of information processing speed vary between individuals and decline with age. Studies of aging twins suggest heritability may be as high as 67%. The Illumina HumanExome Bead Chip genotyping array was used to examine the association of rare coding variants with performance on the Digit-Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) in community-dwelling adults participating in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. DSST scores were available for 30,576 individuals of European ancestry from nine cohorts and for 5758 individuals of African ancestry from four cohorts who were older than 45 years and free of dementia and …

High-Throughput Functional Analysis Of Cftr And Other Apically Localized Proteins In Ipsc-Derived Human Intestinal Organoids, Sunny Xia, Zoltán Bozóky, Michelle Di Paola, Onofrio Laselva, Saumel Ahmadi, Jia Xin Jiang, Amy L Pitstick, Chong Jiang, Daniela Rotin, Christopher N Mayhew, Nicola L Jones, Christine E Bear

Open Access Publications

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) can be differentiated into epithelial organoids that recapitulate the relevant context for CFTR and enable testing of therapies targeting Cystic Fibrosis (CF)-causing mutant proteins. However, to date, CF-iPSC-derived organoids have only been used to study pharmacological modulation of mutant CFTR channel activity and not the activity of other disease-relevant membrane protein constituents. In the current work, we describe a high-throughput, fluorescence-based assay of CFTR channel activity in iPSC-derived intestinal organoids and describe how this method can be adapted to study other apical membrane proteins. Specifically, we show how this assay can be employed to study …

Bi-Allelic Variants In Ogdhl Cause A Neurodevelopmental Spectrum Disease Featuring Epilepsy, Hearing Loss, Visual Impairment, And Ataxia, Zheng Yie Yap, Stephanie Efthymiou, Simone Seiffert, Karen Vargas Parra, Sukyeong Lee, Alessia Nasca, Reza Maroofian, Isabelle Schrauwen, Manuela Pendziwiat, Sunhee Jung, Elizabeth Bhoj, Pasquale Striano, Kshitij Mankad, Barbara Vona, Sanmati Cuddapah, Anja Wagner, Javeria Raza Alvi, Elham Davoudi-Dehaghani, Mohammad-Sadegh Fallah, Srinitya Gannavarapu, Costanza Lamperti, Andrea Legati, Bibi Nazia Murtaza, Muhammad Shahid Nadeem, Mujaddad Ur Rehman, Kolsoum Saeidi, Vincenzo Salpietro, Sarah Von Spiczak, Abigail Sandoval, Sirous Zeinali, Massimo Zeviani, Adi Reich, Synaps Study Group, University Of Washington Center For Mendelian Genomics, Cholsoon Jang, Ingo Helbig, Tahsin Stefan Barakat, Daniele Ghezzi, Suzanne M Leal, Yvonne Weber, Henry Houlden, Wan Hee Yoon

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase-like (OGDHL) protein is a rate-limiting enzyme in the Krebs cycle that plays a pivotal role in mitochondrial metabolism. OGDHL expression is restricted mainly to the brain in humans. Here, we report nine individuals from eight unrelated families carrying bi-allelic variants in OGDHL with a range of neurological and neurodevelopmental phenotypes including epilepsy, hearing loss, visual impairment, gait ataxia, microcephaly, and hypoplastic corpus callosum. The variants include three homozygous missense variants (p.Pro852Ala, p.Arg244Trp, and p.Arg299Gly), three compound heterozygous single-nucleotide variants (p.Arg673Gln/p.Val488Val, p.Phe734Ser/p.Ala327Val, and p.Trp220Cys/p.Asp491Val), one homozygous frameshift variant (p.Cys553Leufs∗16), and one homozygous stop-gain variant (p.Arg440Ter). To support the …

Controlled Release Of Multiple Therapeutics From Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses For Post-Cataract/Post-Refractive Surgery And Uveitis Treatment., Stephen A Dipasquale, Biaggio Uricoli, Matthew C Dicerbo, Thea L Brown, Mark Byrne

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

PURPOSE: This work demonstrates seven-day controlled and extended in vitro physiological flow dual release of multiple post-ocular surgery therapeutics from extended-wear contact lenses as a dropless alternative for treatment of uveitis and corneal inflammation, pain, and infection. Lens replacement each week optimizes treatment matching patient recall time with the ability to increase or decrease dosage.

METHODS: Lenses were synthesized using molecular imprinting to create lenses with macromolecular memory for diclofenac sodium (DS) and dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DMSP), as well as bromfenac sodium (BS) and moxifloxacin (MOX). Drug uptake and release were analyzed, and physical properties were measured and compared to …

Investigation Of Human Adipose-Derived Stem-Cell Behavior Using A Cell-Instructive Polydopamine-Coated Gelatin-Alginate Hydrogel., Settimio Pacelli, Aparna R Chakravarti, Saman Modaresi, Siddharth Subham, Kyley Burkey, Cecilia Kurlbaum, Madeline Fang, Christopher A Neal, Adam J Mellott, Aishik Chakraborty, Arghya Paul

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Publications

Hydrogels can be fabricated and designed to exert direct control over stem cells' adhesion and differentiation. In this study, we have investigated the use of polydopamine (pDA)-treatment as a binding platform for bioactive compounds to create a versatile gelatin-alginate (Gel-Alg) hydrogel for tissue engineering applications. Precisely, pDA was used to modify the surface properties of the hydrogel and better control the adhesion and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs). pDA enabled the adsorption of different types of bioactive molecules, including a model osteoinductive drug (dexamethasone) as well as a model pro-angiogenic peptide (QK). The pDA treatment efficiently retained …

Genomes For Kids: The Scope Of Pathogenic Mutations In Pediatric Cancer Revealed By Comprehensive Dna And Rna Sequencing, Scott Newman, Joy Nakitandwe, Chimene A Kesserwan, Elizabeth M Azzato, David A Wheeler, Michael Rusch, Sheila Shurtleff, Dale J Hedges, Kayla V Hamilton, Scott G Foy, Michael N Edmonson, Andrew Thrasher, Armita Bahrami, Brent A Orr, Jeffery M Klco, Jiali Gu, Lynn W Harrison, Lu Wang, Michael R Clay, Annastasia Ouma, Antonina Silkov, Yanling Liu, Zhaojie Zhang, Yu Liu, Samuel W Brady, Xin Zhou, Ti-Cheng Chang, Manjusha Pande, Eric Davis, Jared Becksfort, Aman Patel, Mark R Wilkinson, Delaram Rahbarinia, Manish Kubal, Jamie L Maciaszek, Victor Pastor, Jay Knight, Alexander M Gout, Jian Wang, Zhaohui Gu, Charles G Mullighan, Rose B Mcgee, Emily A Quinn, Regina Nuccio, Roya Mostafavi, Elsie L Gerhardt, Leslie M Taylor, Jessica M Valdez, Stacy J Hines-Dowell, Alberto S Pappo, Giles Robinson, Liza-Marie Johnson, Ching-Hon Pui, David W Ellison, James R Downing, Jinghui Zhang, Kim E Nichols

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

Genomic studies of pediatric cancer have primarily focused on specific tumor types or high-risk disease. Here, we used a three-platform sequencing approach, including whole-genome sequencing (WGS), whole-exome sequencing (WES), and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), to examine tumor and germline genomes from 309 prospectively identified children with newly diagnosed (85%) or relapsed/refractory (15%) cancers, unselected for tumor type. Eighty-six percent of patients harbored diagnostic (53%), prognostic (57%), therapeutically relevant (25%), and/or cancer-predisposing (18%) variants. Inclusion of WGS enabled detection of activating gene fusions and enhancer hijacks (36% and 8% of tumors, respectively), small intragenic deletions (15% of tumors), and mutational signatures revealing …

Spatial Concordance Of Dna Methylation Classification In Diffuse Glioma., Niels Verburg, Floris P Barthel, Kevin J Anderson, Kevin C Johnson, Thomas Koopman, Maqsood M Yaqub, Otto S Hoekstra, Adriaan A Lammertsma, Frederik Barkhof, Petra J W Pouwels, Jaap C Reijneveld, Annemieke J M Rozemuller, Jeroen A M Beliën, Ronald Boellaard, Michael D Taylor, Sunit Das, Joseph F Costello, William Peter Vandertop, Pieter Wesseling, Philip C De Witt Hamer, Roel G W Verhaak

Faculty Research 2021

BACKGROUND: Intratumoral heterogeneity is a hallmark of diffuse gliomas. DNA methylation profiling is an emerging approach in the clinical classification of brain tumors. The goal of this study is to investigate the effects of intratumoral heterogeneity on classification confidence.

METHODS: We used neuronavigation to acquire 133 image-guided and spatially separated stereotactic biopsy samples from 16 adult patients with a diffuse glioma (7 IDH-wildtype and 2 IDH-mutant glioblastoma, 6 diffuse astrocytoma, IDH-mutant and 1 oligodendroglioma, IDH-mutant and 1p19q codeleted), which we characterized using DNA methylation arrays. Samples were obtained from regions with and without abnormalities on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion …