Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Endoscopic Retrieval Of A Proximally Migrated Biliary Stent Using Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy, Electrohydraulic Lithotripsy, And Cholangioscopy With Minisnare, Michael J Weaver, Vladimir M Kushnir

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Video 1ERCP was notable for a proximally migrated biliary stent. Cholangiogram demonstrated multiple filling defects consistent with choledocholithiasis surrounding the proximally migrated biliary stent. Retrieval of the stent was successful using cholangioscopy-directed electrohydraulic lithotripsy, extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, mechanical lithotripsy, and minisnare over the course of 2 ERCPs. Complete duct clearance of stones was accomplished with balloon sweeps.

A Blood-Based Diagnostic Test Incorporating Plasma Aβ42/40 Ratio, Apoe Proteotype, And Age Accurately Identifies Brain Amyloid Status: Findings From A Multi Cohort Validity Analysis, Tim West, Kristopher M Kirmess, Matthew R Meyer, Mary S Holubasch, Stephanie S Knapik, Yan Hu, John H Contois, Erin N Jackson, Scott E Harpstrite, Randall J Bateman, David M Holtzman, Philip B Verghese, Ilana Fogelman, Joel B Braunstein, Kevin E Yarasheski

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The development of blood-based biomarker tests that are accurate and robust for Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology have the potential to aid clinical diagnosis and facilitate enrollment in AD drug trials. We developed a high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS)-based test that quantifies plasma Aβ42 and Aβ40 concentrations and identifies the ApoE proteotype. We evaluated robustness, clinical performance, and commercial viability of this MS biomarker assay for distinguishing brain amyloid status.

METHODS: We used the novel MS assay to analyze 414 plasma samples that were collected, processed, and stored using site-specific protocols, from six independent US cohorts. We used receiver operating characteristic …

The Effect Of Convalescent Plasma Therapy On Mortality Among Patients With Covid-19: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Stephen A Klassen, Brenda J Grossman, Jeffrey P Henderson, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

To determine the effect of COVID-19 convalescent plasma on mortality, we aggregated patient outcome data from 10 randomized clinical trials, 20 matched control studies, 2 dose-response studies, and 96 case reports or case series. Studies published between January 1, 2020, and January 16, 2021, were identified through a systematic search of online PubMed and MEDLINE databases. Random effects analyses of randomized clinical trials and matched control data demonstrated that patients with COVID-19 transfused with convalescent plasma exhibited a lower mortality rate compared with patients receiving standard treatments. Additional analyses showed that early transfusion (within 3 days of hospital admission) of …

A Neuroskeletal Atlas: Spatial Mapping And Contextualization Of Axon Subtypes Innervating The Long Bones Of C3h And B6 Mice, Madelyn R Lorenz, Jennifer M Brazill, Alec T Beeve, Ivana Shen, Erica L Scheller

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Nerves in bone play well-established roles in pain and vasoregulation and have been associated with progression of skeletal disorders, including osteoporosis, fracture, arthritis, and tumor metastasis. However, isolation of the region-specific mechanisms underlying these relationships is limited by our lack of quantitative methods for neuroskeletal analysis and precise maps of skeletal innervation. To overcome these limitations, we developed an optimized workflow for imaging and quantitative analysis of axons in and around the bone, including validation of Baf53b-Cre in concert with R26R-tdTomato (Ai9) as a robust pan-neuronal reporter system for use in musculoskeletal tissues. In addition, we created comprehensive maps of …

Patient-Reported Outcomes From A Randomized, Active-Controlled, Open-Label, Phase 3 Trial Of Burosumab Versus Conventional Therapy In Children With X-Linked Hypophosphatemia, Raja Padidela, Michael P Whyte, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Changing to burosumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting fibroblast growth factor 23, significantly improved phosphorus homeostasis, rickets, lower-extremity deformities, mobility, and growth versus continuing oral phosphate and active vitamin D (conventional therapy) in a randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial involving children aged 1-12 years with X-linked hypophosphatemia. Patients were randomized (1:1) to subcutaneous burosumab or to continue conventional therapy. We present patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from this trial for children aged ≥ 5 years at screening (n = 35), using a Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaire and SF-10 Health Survey for Children. PROMIS pain interference, physical function mobility, and fatigue …

Bacterial Sepsis Increases Hippocampal Fibrillar Amyloid Plaque Load And Neuroinflammation In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Jacob M Basak, Aura Ferreiro, Lucy S Cohen, Patrick W Sheehan, Collin J Nadarajah, Michael F Kanan, Kimberley V Sukhum, Gautam Dantas, Erik S Musiek

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Sepsis, a leading cause for intensive care unit admissions, causes both an acute encephalopathy and chronic brain dysfunction in survivors. A history of sepsis is also a risk factor for future development of dementia symptoms. Similar neuropathologic changes are associated with the cognitive decline of sepsis and Alzheimer's disease (AD), including neuroinflammation, neuronal death, and synaptic loss. Amyloid plaque pathology is the earliest pathological hallmark of AD, appearing 10 to 20 years prior to cognitive decline, and is present in 30% of people over 65. As sepsis is also more common in older adults, we hypothesized that sepsis might …

The Poly(Adp-Ribosyl)Ation Of Brd4 Mediated By Parp1 Promoted Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy, Zhenzhen Li, Zhen Guo, Rui Lan, Sidong Cai, Zhirong Lin, Jingyan Li, Junjian Wang, Zhuoming Li, Peiqing Liu

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) family member BRD4 is pivotal in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. BRD4 induces hypertrophic gene expression by binding to the acetylated chromatin, facilitating the phosphorylation of RNA polymerases II (Pol II) and leading to transcription elongation. The present study identified a novel post-translational modification of BRD4: poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation), that was mediated by poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP1) in cardiac hypertrophy. BRD4 silencing or BET inhibitors JQ1 and MS417 prevented cardiac hypertrophic responses induced by isoproterenol (ISO), whereas overexpression of BRD4 promoted cardiac hypertrophy, confirming the critical role of BRD4 in pathological cardiac hypertrophy. PARP1 was activated in ISO-induced …

Gardnerella Vaginalis Promotes Group B Streptococcus Vaginal Colonization, Enabling Ascending Uteroplacental Infection In Pregnant Mice, Nicole M Gilbert, Lynne R Foster, Bin Cao, Yin Yin, Indira U Mysorekar, Amanda L Lewis

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Group B Streptococcus is a common vaginal bacterium and the leading cause of invasive fetoplacental infections. Group B Streptococcus in the vagina can invade through the cervix to cause ascending uteroplacental infections or can be transmitted to the neonate during vaginal delivery. Some studies have found that women with a "dysbiotic" polymicrobial or Lactobacillus-depleted vaginal microbiota are more likely to harbor group B Streptococcus. Gardnerella vaginalis is often the most abundant bacteria in the vaginas of women with dysbiosis, while being detected at lower levels in most other women, and has been linked with several adverse pregnancy outcomes. Mouse …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Well-Being And Cognition Of Older Adults Living In The United States And Latin America, Ganesh M Babulal, Ana Baena, Jorge Llibre-Guerra, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: In the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults from vulnerable ethnoracial groups are at high risk of infection, hospitalization, and death. We aimed to explore the pandemic's impact on the well-being and cognition of older adults living in the United States (US), Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru.

METHODS: 1,608 (646 White, 852 Latino, 77 Black, 33 Asian; 72% female) individuals from the US and four Latin American countries aged ≥ 55 years completed an online survey regarding well-being and cognition during the pandemic between May and September 2020. Outcome variables (pandemic impact, discrimination, loneliness, purpose of life, subjective cognitive concerns) were …

The Efficacy And Safety Of Enzalutamide With Trastuzumab In Patients With Her2+ And Androgen Receptor-Positive Metastatic Or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer, Andrew Wardley, Ron Bose, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Androgen receptor (AR) expression occurs in up to 86% of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) breast cancers. In vitro, AR inhibitors enhance antitumor activity of trastuzumab, an anti-HER2 antibody, in trastuzumab-resistant HER2+ cell lines. This open-label, single-arm, phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide, an AR-signaling inhibitor, in patients with advanced HER2+ AR+ breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab.

METHODS: Eligible patients had measurable or non-measurable evaluable disease per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status ≤ 1, no history of brain metastases, and previously received ≥ 1 …

Ancestry Specific Associations Of A Genetic Risk Score, Dietary Patterns And Metabolic Syndrome: A Longitudinal Aric Study, Dale S Hardy, Susan B Racette, Jane T Garvin, Hirut T Gebrekristos, Tesfaye B Mersha

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Associations have been observed among genetic variants, dietary patterns, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). A gap in knowledge is whether a genetic risk score (GRS) and dietary patterns interact to increase MetS risk among African Americans. We investigated whether MetS risk was influenced by interaction between a GRS and dietary patterns among Whites and African Americans. A secondary aim examined if molecular genetic clusterings differed by racial ancestry.

METHODS: We used longitudinal data over 4-visits (1987-1998) that included 10,681 participants aged 45-64y at baseline from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (8451 Whites and 2230 African Americans). We constructed a …

A Systematic Review Of Higher-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes Clinical Trials To Determine The Benchmark Of Azacitidine And Explore Alternative Endpoints For Overall Survival, Jacqueline S Garcia, Ronan T Swords, Gail J Roboz, Meagan A Jacoby, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Wan-Jen Hong, Xiaoqing Yang, Ying Zhou, Uwe Platzbecker, David P Steensma, Johannes E Wolff, Pierre Fenaux

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The hypomethylating agent azacitidine can prolong overall survival (OS) in patients with higher risk-myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS) compared to conventional regimens. However, outcomes differ largely between studies, making it challenging to determine the contribution of novel therapies added to azacitidine. Further, a discrepancy is seen between complete (CR) or partial (PR) response rates and OS improvement with azacitidine, making it challenging to rely on earlier endpoints than OS. We conducted a systematic literature search and study-level systematic review of 237 clinical studies to better understand outcomes for HR-MDS patients treated with azacitidine. Pooled marrow CR was 9% (N = 2654; 95% …

Long-Term Outcomes Of Operatively Treated Medial Epicondyle Fractures In Pediatric And Adolescent Patients, Ronak M Patel, Yash Tarkunde, Lindley B Wall, Gregory Schimizzi, Charles A Goldfarb

2020-Current year OA Pubs

PURPOSE: Medial epicondyle fractures are among the most common pediatric elbow injuries. The management of these fractures continues to be debated. To better understand patient results with operative fixation, we reviewed the outcomes of operatively treated medial epicondyle fractures.

METHODS: A retrospective review was performed to identify all patients less than 18 years of age at the time of injury who were treated surgically for medial epicondyle fractures. Outcomes were assessed based on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Upper Extremity and Pain Interference domains, Visual Analog Scale for pain, subjective range of motion, ulnar nerve function, and requirement …

The Prove Study: Us Real-World Experience With Chlormethine/Mechlorethamine Gel In Combination With Other Therapies For Patients With Mycosis Fungoides Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma, Ellen J Kim, Joan Guitart, Christiane Querfeld, Michael Girardi, Amy Musiek, Oleg E Akilov, James T Angello, William L Bailey, Larisa J Geskin

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Chlormethine/mechlorethamine gel is a skin-directed therapy for patients with mycosis fungoides cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Currently, real-world data on chlormethine gel are lacking.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to analyze the effect of chlormethine gel in combination with other therapies on efficacy, safety, and health-related quality of life in a real-world setting.

METHODS: This prospective, observational study enrolled adult patients actively using chlormethine gel. Patients were monitored for up to 2 years during standard-of-care clinic visits. No specific visit schedules or clinical assessments, with the exception of patient-completed questionnaires, were mandated because of the expected variability in practice patterns. The primary …

Should Weight-Bearing Activity Be Reduced During Healing Of Plantar Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Even When Using Appropriate Offloading Devices?, Gustav Jarl, Jaap J Van Netten, Peter A Lazzarini, Ryan T Crews, Bijan Najafi, Michael J Mueller

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Physical activity is an essential part of general health and diabetes management. However, recommending weight-bearing physical activity for people with plantar diabetic foot ulcers is controversial, even when gold standard offloading devices are used, as it is commonly thought to delay healing. We aimed to narratively review relevant studies investigating the relationship between plantar diabetic foot ulcer healing and weight-bearing activity, plantar pressure and device adherence. We defined relevant studies as those from two systematic reviews, along with those identified since using a similar updated Pubmed search strategy. We identified six studies. One study found that more daily steps were …

Association Of Physician Group Practice Participation In Bundled Payments With Patient Selection, Costs, And Outcomes For Joint Replacement, Karen E Joynt Maddox, E John Orav, Jie Zheng, Arnold M Epstein

2020-Current year OA Pubs

IMPORTANCE: Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program, which ran from 2013 to 2018, was an important experiment in physician-focused alternative payment models. However, little is known about whether the program was associated with better quality or outcomes or lower costs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether participation in BPCI among physician group practices was associated with advantageous or deleterious changes in costs or patient outcomes.

DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used 2013 to 2017 Medicare files and difference-in-differences (DID) models to compare the change over time in Medicare payments, patient selection, and clinical outcomes between 91 orthopedic groups …

Increasing Metadata Coverage Of Sra Biosample Entries Using Deep Learning-Based Named Entity Recognition, Adam Klie, Brian Y Tsui, Shamim Mollah, Dylan Skola, Michelle Dow, Chun-Nan Hsu, Hannah Carter

2020-Current year OA Pubs

High-quality metadata annotations for data hosted in large public repositories are essential for research reproducibility and for conducting fast, powerful and scalable meta-analyses. Currently, a majority of sequencing samples in the National Center for Biotechnology Information's Sequence Read Archive (SRA) are missing metadata across several categories. In an effort to improve the metadata coverage of these samples, we leveraged almost 44 million attribute-value pairs from SRA BioSample to train a scalable, recurrent neural network that predicts missing metadata via named entity recognition (NER). The network was first trained to classify short text phrases according to 11 metadata categories and achieved …

Indole-3-Carbinol-Dependent Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Signaling Attenuates The Inflammatory Response In Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Lila S Nolan, Belgacem Mihi, Qingqing Gong, Jamie M Rimer, Shay S Bidani, Sarah E Gale, Martin Goree, Elise Hu, Wyatt E Lanik, Elizabeth Huang, Jennifer K Bando, Angela N Lewis, Marie L Laury, Misty Good, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) causes significant morbidity and mortality in premature infants; therefore, the identification of therapeutic and preventative strategies against NEC remains a high priority. The ligand-dependent transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is well known to contribute to the regulation of intestinal microbial communities and amelioration of intestinal inflammation. However, the role of AhR signaling in NEC is unclear. Experimental NEC was induced in 4-d-old wild-type mice or mice lacking AhR expression in the intestinal epithelial cells or AhR expression in CD11c

A Retrospective Look At The Predictions And Recommendations From The 2009 Amia Policy Meeting: Did We See Ehr-Related Clinician Burnout Coming?, Justin B Starren, William M Tierney, Marc S Williams, Paul Tang, Charlene Weir, Ross Koppel, Philip Payne, George Hripcsak, Don E Detmer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Clinicians often attribute much of their burnout experience to use of the electronic health record, the adoption of which was greatly accelerated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009. That same year, AMIA's Policy Meeting focused on possible unintended consequences associated with rapid implementation of electronic health records, generating 17 potential consequences and 15 recommendations to address them. At the 2020 annual meeting of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI), ACMI fellows participated in a modified Delphi process to assess the accuracy of the 2009 predictions and the response to the recommendations. Among …

Optimized Polyepitope Neoantigen Dna Vaccines Elicit Neoantigen-Specific Immune Responses In Preclinical Models And In Clinical Translation, Lijin Li, Xiuli Zhang, Xiaoli Wang, Samuel W Kim, John M Herndon, Michelle K Becker-Hapak, Beatriz M Carreno, Nancy B Myers, Mark A Sturmoski, Michael D Mclellan, Christopher A Miller, Tanner M Johanns, Benjamin R Tan, Gavin P Dunn, Timothy P Fleming, Ted H Hansen, S Peter Goedegebuure, William E Gillanders

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Preclinical studies and early clinical trials have shown that targeting cancer neoantigens is a promising approach towards the development of personalized cancer immunotherapies. DNA vaccines can be rapidly and efficiently manufactured and can integrate multiple neoantigens simultaneously. We therefore sought to optimize the design of polyepitope DNA vaccines and test optimized polyepitope neoantigen DNA vaccines in preclinical models and in clinical translation.

METHODS: We developed and optimized a DNA vaccine platform to target multiple neoantigens. The polyepitope DNA vaccine platform was first optimized using model antigens in vitro and in vivo. We then identified neoantigens in preclinical breast cancer …

Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex Encodes The Integrated Incentive Motivational Value Of Cognitive Task Performance, Debbie M Yee, Jennifer L Crawford, Bidhan Lamichhane, Todd S Braver

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Humans can seamlessly combine value signals from diverse motivational incentives, yet it is not well understood how these signals are "bundled" in the brain to modulate cognitive control. The dorsal ACC (dACC) is theorized to integrate motivational value dimensions in the service of goal-directed action, although this hypothesis has yet to receive rigorous confirmation. In the present study, we examined the role of human dACC in motivational incentive integration. Healthy young adult men and women were scanned with fMRI while engaged in an experimental paradigm that quantifies the combined effects of liquid (e.g., juice, neutral, saltwater) and monetary incentives on …

Solvent Exposed Occupations And Risk Of Parkinson Disease In Finland, Susan Searles Nielsen, Mark N Warden, Markku Sallmén, Markku Sainio, Sanni Uuksulainen, Harvey Checkoway, Christer Hublin, Brad A Racette

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Epidemiologic and toxicology studies suggest that exposure to various solvents, especially chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents, might increase Parkinson disease (PD) risk.

METHODS: In a population-based case-control study in Finland, we examined whether occupations with potential for solvent exposures were associated with PD. We identified newly diagnosed cases age 45-84 from a nationwide medication reimbursement register in 1995-2014. From the population register, we randomly selected non-PD controls matched on sex, along with birth and diagnosis years (age). We included 11,757 cases and 23,236 controls with an occupation in the 1990 census, corresponding to age 40-60. We focused on 28 occupations with …

Risk Factors Associated With Physician Trainee Concern Over Missed Educational Opportunities During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sunny S Lou, Charles W Goss, Bradley A Evanoff, Jennifer G Duncan, Thomas Kannampallil

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a transformation of clinical care practices to protect both patients and providers. These changes led to a decrease in patient volume, impacting physician trainee education due to lost clinical and didactic opportunities. We measured the prevalence of trainee concern over missed educational opportunities and investigated the risk factors leading to such concerns.

METHODS: All residents and fellows at a large academic medical center were invited to participate in a web-based survey in May of 2020. Participants responded to questions regarding demographic characteristics, specialty, primary assigned responsibility during the previous 2 weeks (clinical, education, or …

Real-World Outcomes Of Patients With Locally Advanced Or Metastatic Epithelioid Sarcoma, Mrinal M Gounder, Brian A Van Tine, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on the real-world effectiveness and safety of systemic therapies for advanced (surgically unresectable and/or metastatic) epithelioid sarcoma (ES).

METHODS: A retrospective medical records review was conducted in patients with advanced ES who were initiating first-line or ≥2 lines of systemic therapy (2000-2017) at 5 US cancer centers. The real-world overall response rate (rwORR), the duration of response (rwDOR), the disease control rate (rwDCR) (defined as stable disease for ≥32 weeks or any duration of response), and progression-free survival (rwPFS) were assessed by radiology reports. Overall survival (OS), rwDOR, and rwPFS were estimated from the time …

The Antigenic Anatomy Of Sars-Cov-2 Receptor Binding Domain, Wanwisa Dejnirattisai, James Brett Case, Natasha M. Kafai, Adam L. Bailey, Rita E. Chen, Baoling Ying, Michael S. Diamond, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

No abstract provided.

Implementation Strategies To Improve Statin Utilization In Individuals With Hypercholesterolemia: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Laney K Jones, Stephanie Tilberry, Christina Gregor, Lauren H Yaeger, Yirui Hu, Amy C Sturm, Terry L Seaton, Thomas J Waltz, Alanna K Rahm, Anne Goldberg, Ross C Brownson, Samuel S Gidding, Marc S Williams, Michael R Gionfriddo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Numerous implementation strategies to improve utilization of statins in patients with hypercholesterolemia have been utilized, with varying degrees of success. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the state of evidence of implementation strategies on the uptake of statins.

METHODS AND RESULTS: This systematic review identified and categorized implementation strategies, according to the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation, used in studies to improve statin use. We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Clinicaltrials.gov from inception to October 2018. All included studies were reported in …

A Risk Assessment Tool For Resumption Of Research Activities During The Covid-19 Pandemic For Field Trials In Low Resource Settings, Suzanne M Simkovich, Victor G Davila-Roman, Lisa De Las Fuentes, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

RATIONALE: The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 has suspended many non-COVID-19 related research activities. Where restarting research activities is permitted, investigators need to evaluate the risks and benefits of resuming data collection and adapt procedures to minimize risk.

OBJECTIVES: In the context of the multicountry Household Air Pollution Intervention (HAPIN) trial conducted in rural, low-resource settings, we developed a framework to assess the risk of each trial activity and to guide protective measures. Our goal is to maximize the integrity of reseach aims while minimizing infection risk based on the latest scientific understanding of the virus.

METHODS: We …

Pfmfr3: A Multidrug-Resistant Modulator In Plasmodium Falciparum, Frances Rocamora, Purva Gupta, Eva S Istvan, Madeline R Luth, Emma F Carpenter, Krittikorn Kümpornsin, Erika Sasaki, Jaeson Calla, Nimisha Mittal, Krypton Carolino, Edward Owen, Manuel Llinás, Sabine Ottilie, Daniel E Goldberg, Marcus C S Lee, Elizabeth A Winzeler

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In malaria, chemical genetics is a powerful method for assigning function to uncharacterized genes. MMV085203 and GNF-Pf-3600 are two structurally related napthoquinone phenotypic screening hits that kill both blood- and sexual-stage

Periostin Loss-Of-Function Protects Mice From Post-Traumatic And Age-Related Osteoarthritis, Mukundan Attur, Xin Duan, Lei Cai, Tianzhen Han, Weili Zhang, Eric D Tycksen, Jonathan Samuels, Robert H Brophy, Steven B Abramson, Muhammad Farooq Rai

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Elevated levels of periostin (Postn) in the cartilage and bone are associated with osteoarthritis (OA). However, it remains unknown whether Postn loss-of-function can delay or prevent the development of OA. In this study, we sought to better understand the role of Postn in OA development and assessed the functional impact of Postn deficiency on post-traumatic and age-related OA in mice.

METHODS: The effects of Postn deficiency were studied in two murine experimental OA models using Postn

RESULTS: Postn

CONCLUSIONS: Postn deficiency protects against DMM-induced post-traumatic and age-related spontaneous OA. RNA-seq findings warrant further investigations to better understand the mechanistic …

Molecular Classification Of A Complex Structural Rearrangement Of The Rb1 Locus In An Infant With Sporadic, Isolated, Intracranial, Sellar Region Retinoblastoma, Kathleen M Schieffer, Margaret Shatara, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Retinoblastoma is a childhood cancer of the retina involving germline or somatic alterations of the RB Transcriptional Corepressor 1 gene, RB1. Rare cases of sellar-suprasellar region retinoblastoma without evidence of ocular or pineal tumors have been described. A nine-month-old male presented with a sellar-suprasellar region mass. Histopathology showed an embryonal tumor with focal Flexner-Wintersteiner-like rosettes and loss of retinoblastoma protein (RB1) expression by immunohistochemistry. DNA array-based methylation profiling confidently classified the tumor as pineoblastoma group A/intracranial retinoblastoma. The patient was subsequently enrolled on an institutional translational cancer research protocol and underwent comprehensive molecular profiling, including paired tumor/normal exome and genome …