Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Early Rescue Of Interneuron Disease Trajectory In Developmental Epilepsies

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The discovery of over 150 monogenic epilepsies and advances in early genetic diagnoses have launched a search for molecular strategies and developmental timetables to reverse or even prevent the course of these debilitating brain disorders. Orthologous rodent models of key disease genes are providing important examples of the range of targets, and serve as valuable test systems for perinatal therapeutic approaches. While gene-specific analyses of single rare 'orphan' diseases are each narrow in scope, they illuminate downstream pathways converging onto interneurons, and treatments that strengthen inhibition during cortical maturation may provide broad protection against these seemingly disparate gene errors. Several …

Efficacy Of Psychosocial Interventions In Inducing And Maintaining Alcohol Abstinence In Patients With Chronic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review, Wt Kayani, Wt Bano, J Lindsay, Hb El-Serag, F Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We conducted a systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial interventions in inducing or maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: We performed structured keyword searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE for original research articles that were published from January 1983 through November 2014 that evaluated the use of psychosocial interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD. RESULTS: We identified 13 eligible studies that comprised 1945 patients; 5 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Delivered therapies included motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), …

Eosinophilic Esophagitis In Children And Its Relationship With Parental Allergies: Texas Children's Hospital Experience, G Constantine, C Davis, R Shulman, A Olive

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergen-mediated, clinicopathological condition affecting all ages. The characteristics of children with EoE in the southwestern USA have not been fully described. Furthermore, very little is known about the relationship between parental allergies and risk of EoE in their offspring in this patient population. AIMS: To characterize children with EoE and to examine the relationship between prevalence of parental allergies and occurrence of EoE in their offspring at a single referral pediatric center in the southwestern USA. METHODS: Demographic and clinical information of 126 children (=18 years of age) with EoE was abstracted in a …

Glial Contributions To Neural Function And Disease

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The nervous system consists of neurons and glial cells. Neurons generate and propagate electrical and chemical signals, whereas glia function mainly to modulate neuron function and signaling. Just as there are many different kinds of neurons with different roles, there are also many types of glia that perform diverse functions. For example, glia make myelin; modulate synapse formation, function, and elimination; regulate blood flow and metabolism; and maintain ionic and water homeostasis to name only a few. Although proteomic approaches have been used extensively to understand neurons, the same cannot be said for glia. Importantly, like neurons, glial cells have …

A Quality Improvement Collaborative To Improve Pediatric Primary Care Genetic Services., Michael L. Rinke, Amy Driscoll, Natalie Mikat-Stevens, Jill Healy, Elizabeth Colantuoni, Abdallah F. Elias, Beth A. Pletcher, Ruth S. Gubernick, Ingrid Larson, Wendy K. Chung, Beth A. Tarini

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if a national pediatric primary care quality improvement collaborative (QIC) could improve and sustain adherence with process measures related to diagnosis and management of children with genetic disorders.

METHODS: Thirteen practices in 11 states from the American Academy of Pediatrics' Quality Improvement Innovation Networks participated in a 6-month QIC that included regular educational opportunities, access to genetic professionals, and performance feedback. The QIC identified 11 aims related to improving diagnosis and management of children with genetic disorders. The practices evaluated adherence by reviewing patient records at baseline, monthly for 6 months (active improvement period), and then once …

Genetic Loci Associated With Renal Function Measures And Chronic Kidney Disease In Children: The Pediatric Investigation For Genetic Factors Linked With Renal Progression Consortium., Matthias Wuttke, Craig S. Wong, Elke Wühl, Daniel Epting, Li Luo, Anselm Hoppmann, Anke Doyon, Yong Li, Gkdgen Consortium, Betül Sözeri, Daniela Thurn, Martin Helmstädter, Tobias B. Huber, Tom D. Blydt-Hansen, Albrecht Kramer-Zucker, Otto Mehls, Anette Melk, Uwe Querfeld, Susan L. Furth, Bradley A. Warady, Franz Schaefer, Anna Köttgen

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children is characterized by rapid progression and a high incidence of end-stage renal disease and therefore constitutes an important health problem. While unbiased genetic screens have identified common risk variants influencing renal function and CKD in adults, the presence and identity of such variants in pediatric CKD are unknown.

METHODS: The international Pediatric Investigation for Genetic Factors Linked with Renal Progression (PediGFR) Consortium comprises three pediatric CKD cohorts: Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD), Effect of Strict Blood Pressure Control and ACE Inhibition on the Progression of CRF in Pediatric Patients (ESCAPE) and Cardiovascular …

A Large Genome-Wide Association Study Of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Highlights Contributions Of Rare And Common Variants, Lars G. Fritsche, Wilmar Igl, Jessica N. Cooke Bailey, Felix Grassmann, Sebanti Sengupta, Jennifer L. Bragg-Gresham, Kathryn P. Burdon, Scott J. Hebbring, Matthew P. Johnson, John Blangero

School of Medicine Publications

Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly with limited therapeutic options. Here, we report on a study of >12 million variants including 163,714 directly genotyped, most rare, protein-altering variant. Analyzing 16,144 patients and 17,832 controls, we identify 52 independently associated common and rare variants (P < 5×10–8) distributed across 34 loci. While wet and dry AMD subtypes exhibit predominantly shared genetics, we identify the first signal specific to wet AMD, near MMP9 (difference-P = 4.1×10–10). Very rare coding variants (frequency < 0.1%) in CFH, CFI, and TIMP3 suggest causal roles for these genes, as does a splice variant in SLC16A8. Our results support the hypothesis that rare coding variants can pinpoint causal genes within known genetic loci and illustrate …

Phase Of Spontaneous Slow Oscillations During Sleep Influences Memory-Related Processing Of Auditory Cues., Laura J Batterink, Jessica D Creery, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

UNLABELLED: Slow oscillations during slow-wave sleep (SWS) may facilitate memory consolidation by regulating interactions between hippocampal and cortical networks. Slow oscillations appear as high-amplitude, synchronized EEG activity, corresponding to upstates of neuronal depolarization and downstates of hyperpolarization. Memory reactivations occur spontaneously during SWS, and can also be induced by presenting learning-related cues associated with a prior learning episode during sleep. This technique, targeted memory reactivation (TMR), selectively enhances memory consolidation. Given that memory reactivation is thought to occur preferentially during the slow-oscillation upstate, we hypothesized that TMR stimulation effects would depend on the phase of the slow oscillation. Participants learned …

Impact Of Germline And Somatic Missense Variations On Drug Binding Sites., C Yan, N Pattabiraman, J Goecks, P Lam, A Nayak, Y Pan, J Torcivia-Rodriguez, A Voskanian, Q Wan, Raja Mazumder

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Advancements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies are generating a vast amount of data. This exacerbates the current challenge of translating NGS data into actionable clinical interpretations. We have comprehensively combined germline and somatic nonsynonymous single-nucleotide variations (nsSNVs) that affect drug binding sites in order to investigate their prevalence. The integrated data thus generated in conjunction with exome or whole-genome sequencing can be used to identify patients who may not respond to a specific drug because of alterations in drug binding efficacy due to nsSNVs in the target protein's gene. To identify the nsSNVs that may affect drug binding, protein-drug complex …

Biodistribution And Pharmacokinetics Study Of Sirna-Loaded Anti-Ntsr1-Mab-Functionalized Novel Hybrid Nanoparticles In A Metastatic Orthotopic Murine Lung Cancer Model., Maryna Perepelyuk, Chellappagounder Thangavel, Yi Liu, Robert B. Den, Bo Lu, Adam E. Snook, Sunday A. Shoyele

Department of Radiation Oncology Faculty Papers

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is effective in silencing critical molecular pathways in cancer. The use of this tool as a treatment modality is limited by lack of an intelligent carrier system to enhance the preferential delivery of this molecule to specific targets in vivo. In the present study, the in vivo behavior of novel anti-NTSR1-mAb-functionalized antimutant K-ras siRNA-loaded hybrid nanoparticles, delivered by i.p. injection to non-small-cell lung cancer in mice models, was investigated and compared to that of a naked siRNA formulation. The siRNA in anti-NTSR1-mAb-functionalized hybrid nanoparticles was preferentially accumulated in tumor-bearing lungs and metastasized tumor for at least …

Cd147 And Downstream Adamtss Promote The Tumorigenicity Of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Infected Endothelial Cells, Lu Dai, Jimena Trillo-Tinoco, Yihan Chen, Karlie Bonstaff, Luis Del Valle, Chris Parsons, Augusto C. Ochoa, Jovanny Zabaleta, Bryan P. Toole, Zhiqiang Qin

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiologic agent of several human cancers, including Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), which preferentially arise in immunocompromised patients and lack effective therapeutic options. We have previously shown that KSHV or viral protein LANA up-regulates the glycoprotein CD147, thereby inducing primary endothelial cell invasiveness. In the current study, we identify the global network controlled by CD147 in KSHV-infected endothelial cells using Illumina microarray analysis. Among downstream genes, two specific metalloproteases, ADAMTS1 and 9, are strongly expressed in AIDS-KS tissues and contribute to KSHV-infected endothelial cell invasiveness through up-regulation of IL-6 and VEGF. By using a KS-like nude …

Vitamin D Deficiency: "At Risk" Patient Populations And Potential Drug Interactions, Dana Lycans Md, Elias Salloum Md, Matthew K. Wingate Md, Thomas Melvin Md, Grant S. Buchanan Md, Franklin D. Shuler Md, Phd

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Vitamin D is known to play an essential role in calcium homeostasis; however, excessive amounts can have harmful effects. Calcium and vitamin D levels are known to be influenced by drug interactions and pathology ranging from of cancer to cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D supplementation has become widespread, and it is important for clinicians to understand the way that certain conditions and medications interact with vitamin D and calcium homeostasis. The purpose of this review is to outline the benefits and adverse effects of vitamin D and how its levels are affected by certain pathologic and pharmacologic interactions.

Why Does Obesity Lead To Hypertension? Further Lessons From The Intersalt Study., Preeya T. Shah, Anna P. Shapiro, Zeid Khitan Md, Prasanna Santhanam Md, Joseph I. Shapiro Md

Marshall Journal of Medicine

Objectives

To analyze correlations between major determinants of blood pressure (BP), in efforts to generate and compare predictive models that explain for variance in systolic, diastolic, and mean BP amongst participants of the Intersalt study.

Methods

Data from the Intersalt study, consisting of nearly 10,000 subjects from 32 different countries, were reviewed and analyzed. Published mean values of 24 hour urinary electrolyte excretion (Na+, K+), 24 hour urine creatinine excretion, body mass index (BMI, kg/m^2), and blood pressure data were extracted and imported into Matlab™ for stepwise linear regression analysis.

Results

As shown earlier, strong correlations between urinary sodium excretion …

Association Of Dna Methylation At Cpt1a Locus With Metabolic Syndrome In The Genetics Of Lipid Lowering Drugs And Diet Network (Goldn) Study, Mithun Das, Jin Sha, Bertha Hidalgo, Stella Aslibekyan, Anh N. Do, Degui Zhi, Dianjianyi Sun, Tao Zhang, Shengxu Li, Wei Chen, Sathanur R. Srinivasan, Hemant K. Tiwari, Devin Absher, Jose M. Ordovas, Gerald S. Berenson, Donna K. Arnett, Marguerite R. Irvin

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

In this study, we conducted an epigenome-wide association study of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among 846 participants of European descent in the Genetics of Lipid Lowering Drugs and Diet Network (GOLDN). DNA was isolated from CD4+ T cells and methylation at ~470,000 cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) pairs was assayed using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We modeled the percentage methylation at individual CpGs as a function of MetS using linear mixed models. A Bonferroni-corrected P-value of 1.1 x 10⁻⁷ was considered significant. Methylation at two CpG sites in CPT1A on chromosome 11 was significantly associated with MetS (P for cg00574958 = …

Ceramide Induces Human Hepcidin Gene Transcription Through Jak/Stat3 Pathway., Sizhao Lu, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Justin L. Mott, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Duygu Dee Harrison-Findik

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Changes in lipid metabolism and iron content are observed in the livers of patients with fatty liver disease. The expression of hepcidin, an iron-regulatory and acute phase protein synthesized by the liver, is also modulated. The potential interaction of lipid and iron metabolism is largely unknown. We investigated the role of lipid intermediate, ceramide in the regulation of human hepcidin gene, HAMP. Human hepatoma HepG2 cells were treated with cell-permeable ceramide analogs. Ceramide induced significant up-regulation of HAMP mRNA expression in HepG2 cells. The effect of ceramide on HAMP expression was mediated through transcriptional mechanisms because it was completely blocked …

Ceramide Induces Human Hepcidin Gene Transcription Through Jak/Stat3 Pathway., Sizhao Lu, Sathish Kumar Natarajan, Justin L. Mott, Kusum K. Kharbanda, Duygu Dee Harrison-Findik

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Changes in lipid metabolism and iron content are observed in the livers of patients with fatty liver disease. The expression of hepcidin, an iron-regulatory and acute phase protein synthesized by the liver, is also modulated. The potential interaction of lipid and iron metabolism is largely unknown. We investigated the role of lipid intermediate, ceramide in the regulation of human hepcidin gene, HAMP. Human hepatoma HepG2 cells were treated with cell-permeable ceramide analogs. Ceramide induced significant up-regulation of HAMP mRNA expression in HepG2 cells. The effect of ceramide on HAMP expression was mediated through transcriptional mechanisms because it was completely blocked …

H2ax Deficiency Is Associated With Erythroid Dysplasia And Compromised Haematopoietic Stem Cell Function, Baobing Zhao, Timothy L. Tan, Yang Mei, Jing Yang, Yiting Yu, Amit Verma, Ying Liang, Juehua Gao, Peng Ji

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal disorders of haematopoiesis characterised by dysplastic changes of major myeloid cell lines. However, the mechanisms underlying these dysplastic changes are poorly understood. Here, we used a genetically modified mouse model and human patient data to examine the physiological roles of H2AX in haematopoiesis and how the loss of H2AX contributes to dyserythropoiesis in MDS. H2AX knockout mice showed cell-autonomous anaemia and erythroid dysplasia, mimicking dyserythropoiesis in MDS. Also, dyserythropoiesis was increased in MDS patients with the deletion of chromosome 11q23, where H2AX is located. Although loss of H2AX did not affect the early stage of …

The 40-Residue Insertion In Vibrio Cholerae Fadr Facilitates Binding Of An Additional Fatty Acyl-Coa Ligand, Wei Shi, Gabriela Kovacikova, Wei Lin, Ronald. K. Taylor, Karen Skorupski, F. Jon Kull

Dartmouth Scholarship

FadR is a master regulator of fatty acid metabolism and influences virulence in certain members of Vibrionaceae. Among FadR homologues of the GntR family, the Vibrionaceae protein is unusual in that it contains a C-terminal 40-residue insertion. Here we report the structure of Vibrio cholerae FadR (VcFadR) alone, bound to DNA, and in the presence of a ligand, oleoyl-CoA. Whereas Escherichia coli FadR (EcFadR) contains only one acyl-CoA-binding site in each monomer, crystallographic and calorimetric data indicate that VcFadR has two. One of the binding sites resembles that of EcFadR, whereas the other, comprised residues from the insertion, has not …

Reversible Recruitment Of A Homeostatic Reserve Pool Of Synaptic Vesicles Underlies Rapid Homeostatic Plasticity Of Quantal Content, Xueyong Wang, Martin J. Pinter, Mark M. Rich

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology Faculty Publications

Homeostatic regulation is essential for the maintenance of synaptic strength within the physiological range. The current study is the first to demonstrate that both induction and reversal of homeostatic upregulation of synaptic vesicle release can occur within seconds of blocking or unblocking acetylcholine receptors at the mouse neuromuscular junction. Our data suggest that the homeostatic upregulation of release is due to Ca²⁺-dependent increase in the size of the readily releasable pool (RRP). Blocking vesicle refilling prevented upregulation of quantal content (QC), while leaving baseline release relatively unaffected. This suggested that the upregulation of QC was due to mobilization …

Harvesting Health: A Community-Based Participatory Evaluation Of The Veggie Rx Program, Natalie Royal, Kristin Brown, Fanny Rodriguez, Bianca Fernandez, Leticia Valle, Elizur Bello

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 (Fgf23) Levels, Phosphate Intake And Its Association With Indices Of Renal Handling Of Phosphate In Healthy Volunteers, Noreen Abbas, Aysha Habib Khan, Farooq Ghani, Imran Siddiqui

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

FGF23 is a novel phosphaturic hormone; we aimed to assess the FGF23 levels and its association with dietary phosphate intake and indices of renal handling of phosphate in this study. Prospective study was conducted in which dietary phosphate intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) along with blood and spot urine samples were collected after overnight fast for determining serum phosphate, FGF23, fractional excretion of phosphate (FePO4 ) and tubular maximum for phosphate (TmP/GFR). FGF23 (C-Term) was measured by a sandwich ELISA. The mean dietary phosphate intake of eighty healthy adults (mean age of 29 ± 5 years) was …

Gene Deletion By Fluorescence-Reported Allelic Exchange Mutagenesis In Chlamydia Trachomatis, Konrad E. Mueller, Katerina Wolf, Kenneth A. Fields

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

Although progress in Chlamydia genetics has been rapid, genomic modification has previously been limited to point mutations and group II intron insertions which truncate protein products. The bacterium has thus far been intractable to gene deletion or more-complex genomic integrations such as allelic exchange. Herein, we present a novel suicide vector dependent on inducible expression of a chlamydial gene that renders Chlamydia trachomatis fully genetically tractable and permits rapid reverse genetics by fluorescence-reported allelic exchange mutagenesis (FRAEM). We describe the first available system of targeting chlamydial genes for deletion or allelic exchange as well as curing plasmids from C. trachomatis …

Week Of January 19, 2016, New York Medical College

InTouch

• SOM Hosts Children's Health Translational Science Institute Workshop
• Renowned Exercise Scientist Set To Speak at 19th Annual Medical Student Research Forum
• AOA History of Medicine Lecture Is Set for February 2
• Micro Mentee is Named an Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalist
• From the Collection of Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A.
• Join Mill Etienne, M.D. '02, M.P.H., at Local Event on Brain Health Awareness

Overexpression Of Pd2 Leads To Increased Tumorigenicity And Metastasis In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma., Arokia Priyanka Vaz, Shonali Deb, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Parama Dey, Sakthivel Muniyan, Imayavaramban Lakshmanan, Saswati Karmakar, Lynette M. Smith, Sonny L. Johansson, Subodh M. Lele, M Ouellette, Moorthy P. Ponnusamy, Surinder K. Batra

Journal Articles: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Pancreatic differentiation 2 (PD2), an important subunit of the human PAF complex, was identified after differential screening analysis of 19q13 amplicon, and its overexpression induces oncogenic transformation of NIH3T3 cells, hence raising the possibility of a role for PD2 in tumorigenesis and metastasis. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed here the functional role and clinical significance of PD2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and its pathogenesis. Using immunohistochemical analysis, we found that PD2 is detected in the acini but not in the ducts in the normal pancreas. In human PDAC specimens, PD2 was instead primarily detected in the ducts (12/48 …

Vaccines And The Looming Threat Of Syphilis, Charles T. Ambrose

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications

During the past several decades, syphilis has increased in the US and explosively so in China and Russia.While most current cases can be cured by penicillin or second line antibiotics, strains of the syphilis spirochete (Treponema pallidum) resistant to the latter have emerged.And the potential of strains to acquire resistance to penicillin via plasmids has recently been recognized.The 36 million-plus undertreated cases of syphilis in the world represent metaphorically a vast global 37°C incubator allowing exchange of antibiotic resistant genes among the human-borne bacteria and theoretically permitting the emergence of penicillin resistant strains.None has yet been identified but …

The Pseudorabies Virus Protein, Pul56, Enhances Virus Dissemination And Virulence But Is Dispensable For Axonal Transport, Gina R. Daniel, Patricia J. Sollars, Gary E. Pickard, Gregory A. Smith

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Faculty Publications

Neurotropic herpesviruses exit the peripheral nervous system and return to exposed body surfaces following reactivation from latency. The pUS9 protein is a critical viral effector of the anterograde axonal transport that underlies this process. We recently reported that while pUS9 increases the frequency of sorting of newly assembled pseudorabies virus particles to axons from the neural soma during egress, subsequent axonal transport of individual virus particles occurs with wild-type kinetics in the absence of the protein. Here, we examine the role of a related pseudorabies virus protein, pUL56, during neuronal infection. The findings indicate that pUL56 is a virulence factor …

Adjunctive Phosphodiesterase-4 Inhibitor Therapy Improves Antibiotic Response To Pulmonary Tuberculosis In A Rabbit Model, Selvakumar Subbian, Liana Tsenova, Jennifer Holloway, Blas Peixoto, Paul O'Brien, Veronique Dartois, Vikram Khetani, Jerome B. Zeldis, Gilla Kaplan

Publications and Research

Objectives: Adjunctive host-directed therapy is emerging as a new potential approach to improve the outcome of conventional antimicrobial treatment for tuberculosis (TB).We tested the ability of a phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor (PDE4i) CC-11050, co-administered with the first-line anti-TB drug isoniazid (INH), to accelerate bacillary killing and reduce chronic inflammation in the lungs of rabbits with experimental Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection.

Methods: A rabbit model of pulmonary TB that recapitulates the pathologic manifestations seen in humans was used. Rabbits were infected with virulent Mtb by aerosol exposure and treated for eight weeks with INH with orwithout CC-11050, starting at fourweeks post infection. The …

A New Genotype Of Bovine Leukemia Virus In South America Identified By Ngs-Based Whole Genome Sequencing And Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis., Meripet Polat, Shin-Nosuke Takeshima, Kazuyoshi Hosomichi, Jiyun Kim, Taku Miyasaka, Kazunori Yamada, Mariluz Araínga, Tomoyuki Murakami, Yuki Matsumoto, Veronica De La Barra Diaz, Carlos Javier Panei, Ester Teresa González, Misao Kanemaki, Misao Onuma, Guillermo Giovambattista, Yoko Aida

Journal Articles: Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience

BACKGROUND: Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a member of retroviridae family, together with human T cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and -2) belonging to the genes deltaretrovirus, and infects cattle worldwide. Previous studies have classified the env sequences of BLV provirus from different geographic locations into eight genetic groups. To investigate the genetic variability of BLV in South America, we performed phylogenetic analyses of whole genome and partial env gp51 sequences of BLV strains isolated from Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia, for which no the molecular characteristics of BLV have previously been published, and discovered a novel BLV …

Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis Recurrence After Kidney Transplantation: Using The New Classification., Sami Alasfar, Naima Carter-Monroe, Avi Z Rosenberg, Robert A Montgomery, Nada Alachkar

Pathology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is an uncommon glomerular disorder that may lead to end stage renal disease (ESRD). With new understanding of the disease pathogenesis, the classical classification as MPGN types I, II, III has changed. Data on post-transplant MPGN, in particular with the newly refined classification, is limited. We present our center's experience of MPGN after kidney transplantation using the new classification.

METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 34 patients with ESRD due to MPGN who received 40 kidney transplants between 1994 and 2014. We reviewed the available biopsies' data using the new classification. We assessed post transplantation …

Characterization Of Rna Helicase Csha And Its Role In Protecting Mrnas And Small Rnas Of Staphylococcus Aureus Strain Newman, Samin Kim, Anna-Rita Corvaglia, Stefano Léo, Ambrose Cheung, Patrice Francois

Dartmouth Scholarship

The toxin MazF_sa in Staphylococcus aureus is a sequence-specific endoribonuclease that cleaves the majority of the mRNAs in vivo but spares many essential mRNAs (e.g., secY mRNA) and, surprisingly, an mRNA encoding a regulatory protein (i.e., sarA mRNA). We hypothesize that some mRNAs may be protected by RNA-binding protein(s) from degradation by MazF_sa. Using heparin-Sepharose-enriched fractions that hybridized to sarA mRNA on Northwestern blots, we identified among multiple proteins the DEAD box RNA helicase CshA (NWMN_1985 or SA1885) by mass spectroscopy. Purified CshA exhibits typical RNA helicase activities, as exemplified by RNA-dependent ATPase activity and unwinding of …