Medical Sciences Commons^™

Final Report Of The Phase Ii Next/Cns-Gct-4 Trial: Gempox Followed By Marrow-Ablative Chemotherapy For Recurrent Intracranial Germ Cell Tumors, Margaret Shatara, Megan Blue, Joseph Stanek, Yin A Liu, Daniel M Prevedello, Pierre Giglio, Vinay K Puduvalli, Sharon L Gardner, Jeffrey C Allen, Kenneth K Wong, Marvin D Nelson, Floyd H Gilles, Roberta H Adams, Jasmine Pauly, Katrina O'Halloran, Ashley S Margol, Girish Dhall, Jonathan L Finlay

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Patients with relapsed intracranial germinoma can achieve durable remission with standard chemotherapy regimens and/or reirradiation; however, innovative therapies are required for patients with relapsed and/or refractory intracranial nongerminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCTs) due to their poor prognosis. Improved outcomes have been reported using reinduction chemotherapy to achieve minimal residual disease, followed by marrow-ablative chemotherapy (HDCx) with autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell rescue (AuHPCR). We conducted a phase II trial evaluating the response and toxicity of a 3-drug combination developed for recurrent intracranial germ cell tumors consisting of gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and oxaliplatin (GemPOx).

Methods: A total of 9 patients with confirmed …

Author Correction: An Atlas Of Epithelial Cell States And Plasticity In Lung Adenocarcinoma, Guangchun Han, Ansam Sinjab, Zahraa Rahal, Anne M Lynch, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Yuejiang Liu, Alejandra G Serrano, Jiping Feng, Ke Liang, Khaja Khan, Wei Lu, Sharia D Hernandez, Yunhe Liu, Xuanye Cao, Enyu Dai, Guangsheng Pei, Jian Hu, Camille Abaya, Lorena I Gomez-Bolanos, Fuduan Peng, Minyue Chen, Edwin R Parra, Tina Cascone, Boris Sepesi, Seyed Javad Moghaddam, Paul Scheet, Marcelo V Negrao, John V Heymach, Mingyao Li, Steven M Dubinett, Christopher S Stevenson, Avrum E Spira, Junya Fujimoto, Luisa M Solis, Ignacio I Wistuba, Jichao Chen, Linghua Wang, Humam Kadara

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Oral Decitabine And Cedazuridine Plus Venetoclax For Older Or Unfit Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukaemia: A Phase 2 Study, Alexandre Bazinet, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Nicholas Short, Yesid Alvarado, Alex Bataller, Tareq Abuasab, Rabiul Islam, Kathryn Montalbano, Ghayas Issa, Abhishek Maiti, Musa Yilmaz, Nitin Jain, Lucia Masarova, Steven Kornblau, Elias Jabbour, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Caitlin R Rausch, Sherry Pierce, Courtney D Dinardo, Tapan Kadia, Naval Daver, Marina Konopleva, Xuelin Huang, Hagop Kantarjian, Farhad Ravandi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Hypomethylating agents combined with venetoclax are effective regimens in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. Decitabine and cedazuridine (ASTX727) is an oral formulation of decitabine that achieves equivalent area-under-curve exposure to intravenous decitabine. We performed a single centre phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ASTX727 plus venetoclax.

Methods: This study enrolled patients with newly diagnosed (frontline treatment group) acute myeloid leukaemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy (aged ≥75 years, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG] performance status of 2-3, or major comorbidities) or relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia. …

Intraprocedural Versus Initial Follow-Up Minimal Ablative Margin Assessment After Colorectal Liver Metastasis Thermal Ablation: Which One Better Predicts Local Outcomes?, Yuan-Mao Lin, Iwan Paolucci, Jessica Albuquerque Marques Silva, Caleb S O'Connor, Bryan M Fellman, Aaron K Jones, Joshua D Kuban, Steven Y Huang, Zeyad A Metwalli, Kristy K Brock, Bruno C Odisio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of 3-dimensional minimal ablative margin (MAM) quantified by intraprocedural versus initial follow-up computed tomography (CT) in predicting local tumor progression (LTP) after colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) thermal ablation.

Materials and methods: This single-institution, patient-clustered, tumor-based retrospective study included patients undergoing microwave and radiofrequency ablation between 2016 and 2021. Patients without intraprocedural and initial follow-up contrast-enhanced CT, residual tumors, or with follow-up less than 1 year without LTP were excluded. Minimal ablative margin was quantified by a biomechanical deformable image registration method with segmentations of CLMs on intraprocedural preablation …

Neuroendocrine Neoplasms Of The Ovary: A Review Of 63 Cases, Alejandra Flores Legarreta, Reem Saab, Naomi R Gonzales, Gary B Chisholm, Shannon N Westin, R Tyler Hillman, Michael Frumovitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To describe the clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes of ovarian neuroendocrine neoplasms from a curated registry.

Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients in our registry with confirmed ovarian neuroendocrine neoplasms. We excluded patients with small cell carcinoma not otherwise specified, small cell hypercalcemic type, and those with neuroendocrine 'features' or 'differentiation.' Clinicopathological characteristics were described in two separate groups: patients with carcinoid tumors and patients with neuroendocrine carcinomas. Progression-free and overall survival were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier product-limit estimator in these two groups, and multivariable analysis was done to identify predictors of survival for neuroendocrine carcinomas …

Incidence And Presenting Characteristics Of Angiosarcoma In The Us, 2001-2020, Michael J Wagner, Vinod Ravi, Stephanie K Schaub, Ed Y Kim, Jeremy Sharib, Harveshp Mogal, Min Park, Michaela Tsai, Daniela Duarte-Bateman, Anthony Tufaro, Elizabeth T Loggers, Lee D Cranmer, Bonny Chau, Michael J Hassett, Juneko Grilley-Olson, Kelly G Paulson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Angiosarcoma is an aggressive vascular malignant neoplasm presenting either as a primary or secondary cancer, often arising after radiotherapy or in the context of preexisting lymphedema. Comprehensive data describing its incidence and presentation patterns are needed.

Objective: To describe the incidence, presenting characteristics, and change over time of angiosarcoma in the US.

Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the US Cancer Statistics (USCS) National Program of Cancer Registries-Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Combined Database, which captures more than 99% of newly diagnosed cancers in the US. The study included all 19 289 patients in …

Cochlear Implantation After Head And Neck Radiation: A Case Series, Systematic Review, And Meta-Analysis, Jumah G Ahmad, Benjamin D Lovin, Anna Lee, Marc-Elie Nader, Paul W Gidley

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To determine if cochlear implant (CI) is safe and effective in patients with radiation therapy (XRT)-induced sensorineural hearing loss and to discuss considerations in this population through a retrospective cohort review, systematic review, and meta-analysis.

Databases reviewed: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all CI cases after head and neck (HN) XRT at our institution, noting intraoperative findings, postoperative complications, and hearing outcomes. Change in speech discrimination scores (SDSs) was the primary outcome measure. Systematic review was performed to identify all cases of CI after HNXRT. A meta-analysis was performed to assess SDS change.

Results: The …

Oral Decitabine And Cedazuridine Plus Venetoclax For Older Or Unfit Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukaemia: A Phase 2 Study, Alexandre Bazinet, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Nicholas Short, Yesid Alvarado, Alex Bataller, Tareq Abuasab, Rabiul Islam, Kathryn Montalbano, Ghayas Issa, Abhishek Maiti, Musa Yilmaz, Nitin Jain, Lucia Masarova, Steven Kornblau, Elias Jabbour, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Caitlin R Rausch, Sherry Pierce, Courtney D Dinardo, Tapan Kadia, Naval Daver, Marina Konopleva, Xuelin Huang, Hagop Kantarjian, Farhad Ravandi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Hypomethylating agents combined with venetoclax are effective regimens in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. Decitabine and cedazuridine (ASTX727) is an oral formulation of decitabine that achieves equivalent area-under-curve exposure to intravenous decitabine. We performed a single centre phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ASTX727 plus venetoclax.

METHODS: This study enrolled patients with newly diagnosed (frontline treatment group) acute myeloid leukaemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy (aged ≥75 years, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group [ECOG] performance status of 2-3, or major comorbidities) or relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia. …

The Value Of Global Collaborations, Chris Trauernicht, Laurence Court

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Comorbidity Models Within A Population-Based Cohort Of Older Adults With Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Max J Gordon, Zhigang Duan, Hui Zhao, Loretta Nastoupil, Swaminathan Iyer, Alessandra Ferrajoli, Alexey V Danilov, Sharon H Giordano

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Compare the association of individual comorbidities, comorbidity indices, and survival in older adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), including in specific NHL subtypes.

Methods: Data source was SEER-Medicare, a population-based registry of adults age 65 years and older with cancer. We included all incident cases of NHL diagnosed during 2008-2017 who met study inclusion criteria. Comorbidities were classified using the three-factor risk estimate scale (TRES), Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), and National Cancer Institute (NCI) comorbidity index categories and weights. Overall survival (OS) and lymphoma-specific survival, with death from other causes treated as a competing risk, were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier …

Prognostic Value Of Tumor Volume Doubling Time In Lung-Metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, Eduardo A Dal Lago, Luana G Sousa, Zixi Yang, Camilla O Hoff, Flavia Bonini, Matthew Sawyer, Kaiwen Wang, Whitney Lewis, Kareem A Wahid, Ehab Y Hanna, Adel El-Naggar, Clifton D Fuller, Suprateek Kundu, Myrna Godoy, Renata Ferrarotto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Lung metastases in adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) usually have indolent growth and the optimal timing to start systemic therapy is not established. We assessed ACC lung metastasis tumor growth dynamics and compared the prognostic value of time to progression (TTP) and tumor volume doubling time (TVDT).

Methods: The study included ACC patients with ≥1 pulmonary metastasis (≥5 mm) and at least 2 chest computed tomography scans. Radiology assessment was performed from the first scan showing metastasis until treatment initiation or death. Up to 5 lung nodules per patient were segmented for TVDT calculation. To assess tumor growth rate (TGR), …

Exploring Ferroptosis-Inducing Therapies For Cancer Treatment: Challenges And Opportunities, Guang Lei, Boyi Gan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Conventional cancer therapies typically aim to eliminate tumor cells by inducing cell death. The emergence of resistance to these standard treatments has spurred a shift in focus toward exploring alternative cell death pathways beyond apoptosis. Ferroptosis-an iron-dependent regulated cell death triggered by lipid peroxide accumulation-has gained prominence in cancer research in recent years. Ferroptosis-inducing therapies hold promise for overcoming resistance encountered with conventional treatments. However, challenges, including the lack of distinctive ferroptosis markers and the intricate role of ferroptosis within the tumor microenvironment, currently hinder the clinical translation of these therapies. This perspective article critically outlines these hurdles and highlights …

A Multi-Institutional Comparison Of Retrospective Deformable Dose Accumulation For Online Adaptive Magnetic Resonance-Guided Radiotherapy, Martina Murr, Uffe Bernchou, Edyta Bubula-Rehm, Mark Ruschin, Parisa Sadeghi, Peter Voet, Jeff D Winter, Jinzhong Yang, Eyesha Younus, Cornel Zachiu, Yao Zhao, Hualiang Zhong, Daniela Thorwarth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Application of different deformable dose accumulation (DDA) solutions makes institutional comparisons after online-adaptive magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy (OA-MRgRT) challenging. The aim of this multi-institutional study was to analyze accuracy and agreement of DDA-implementations in OA-MRgRT.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: One gold standard (GS) case deformed with a biomechanical-model and five clinical cases consisting of prostate (2x), cervix, liver, and lymph node cancer, treated with OA-MRgRT, were analyzed. Six centers conducted DDA using institutional implementations. Deformable image registration (DIR) and DDA results were compared using the contour metrics Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), surface-DSC, Hausdorff-distance (HD95%), and accumulated dose-volume histograms (DVHs) …

Clinical Management, Monitoring, And Prophylaxis Of Adverse Events Of Special Interest Associated With Datopotamab Deruxtecan, Rebecca S Heist, Jacob Sands, Aditya Bardia, Toshio Shimizu, Aaron Lisberg, Ian Krop, Noboru Yamamoto, Takahiro Kogawa, Saba Al-Hashimi, Simon S M Fung, Anat Galor, Francesca Pisetzky, Priyanka Basak, Cindy Lau, Funda Meric-Bernstam

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) are an emerging class of treatments designed to improve efficacy and decrease toxicity compared with other systemic therapies through the selective delivery of cytotoxic agents to tumor cells. Datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) is a novel ADC comprising a topoisomerase I inhibitor payload and a monoclonal antibody directed to trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2), a protein that is broadly expressed in several types of solid tumors. Dato-DXd is being investigated across multiple solid tumor indications. In the ongoing, first-in-human TROPION-PanTumor01 phase I study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03401385), encouraging and durable antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile was demonstrated in …

Systemic Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Alterations In Chronic Pancreatitis: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Study, Kristyn Gumpper-Fedus, Kaylin Chasser, Valentina Pita-Grisanti, Molly Torok, Timothy Pfau, Thomas A Mace, Rachel M Cole, Martha A Belury, Stacey Culp, Phil A Hart, Somashekar G Krishna, Luis F Lara, Mitchell L Ramsey, William Fisher, Evan L Fogel, Chris E Forsmark, Liang Li, Stephen Pandol, Walter G Park, Jose Serrano, Stephen K Van Den Eeden, Santhi Swaroop Vege, Dhiraj Yadav, Darwin L Conwell, Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate, Consortium For The Study Of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, And Pancreatic Cancer (Cpdpc)

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a progressive fibroinflammatory disorder lacking therapies and biomarkers. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a proinflammatory cytokine elevated during inflammation that binds fatty acids (FAs) such as linoleic acid. We hypothesized that systemic NGAL could serve as a biomarker for CP and, with FAs, provide insights into inflammatory and metabolic alterations.

Methods: NGAL was measured by immunoassay, and FA composition was measured by gas chromatography in plasma (n = 171) from a multicenter study, including controls (n = 50), acute and recurrent acute pancreatitis (AP/RAP) (n = 71), and CP (n = 50). Peripheral blood mononuclear …

Intraprocedural Versus Initial Follow-Up Minimal Ablative Margin Assessment After Colorectal Liver Metastasis Thermal Ablation: Which One Better Predicts Local Outcomes?, Yuan-Mao Lin, Iwan Paolucci, Jessica Albuquerque Marques Silva, Caleb S O'Connor, Bryan M Fellman, Aaron K Jones, Joshua D Kuban, Steven Y Huang, Zeyad A Metwalli, Kristy K Brock, Bruno C Odisio

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of 3-dimensional minimal ablative margin (MAM) quantified by intraprocedural versus initial follow-up computed tomography (CT) in predicting local tumor progression (LTP) after colorectal liver metastasis (CLM) thermal ablation.

Materials and methods: This single-institution, patient-clustered, tumor-based retrospective study included patients undergoing microwave and radiofrequency ablation between 2016 and 2021. Patients without intraprocedural and initial follow-up contrast-enhanced CT, residual tumors, or with follow-up less than 1 year without LTP were excluded. Minimal ablative margin was quantified by a biomechanical deformable image registration method with segmentations of CLMs on intraprocedural preablation …

Socioeconomic Status And Chronic Health Conditions In Asian Survivors Of Adolescent And Young Adult Cancers, Amy M Berkman, Eunju Choi, Christabel K Cheung, John M Salsman, Susan K Peterson, Clark R Andersen, Qian Lu, J Andrew Livingston, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Susan K Parsons, Michael E Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: While there are known disparities in socioeconomic status (SES) and health outcomes among racially and ethnically minoritized adolescent and young adult (AYA; ages 15-39 years at diagnosis) cancer survivors compared with White survivors, outcomes in the Asian survivor population are understudied. To better understand the association of an AYA cancer diagnosis with SES and health outcomes within a minoritized population, the current study makes comparisons between individuals of the same race or ethnicity with and without a history of AYA cancer.

Methods: Non-Hispanic, Asian AYA cancer survivors and non-Hispanic, Asian age- and sex-matched controls were identified from self-reported data …

Flexible Bayesian Product Mixture Models For Vector Autoregressions, Suprateek Kundu, Joshua Lukemire

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bayesian non-parametric methods based on Dirichlet process mixtures have seen tremendous success in various domains and are appealing in being able to borrow information by clustering samples that share identical parameters. However, such methods can face hurdles in heterogeneous settings where objects are expected to cluster only along a subset of axes or where clusters of samples share only a subset of identical parameters. We overcome such limitations by developing a novel class of product of Dirichlet process location-scale mixtures that enables independent clustering at multiple scales, which results in varying levels of information sharing across samples. First, we develop …

Loss-Of-Function Mutation In Prmt9 Causes Abnormal Synapse Development By Dysregulation Of Rna Alternative Splicing, Lei Shen, Xiaokuang Ma, Yuanyuan Wang, Zhihao Wang, Yi Zhang, Hoang Quoc Hai Pham, Xiaoqun Tao, Yuehua Cui, Jing Wei, Dimitri Lin, Tharindumala Abeywanada, Swanand Hardikar, Levon Halabelian, Noah Smith, Taiping Chen, Dalia Barsyte-Lovejoy, Shenfeng Qiu, Yi Xing, Yanzhong Yang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Protein arginine methyltransferase 9 (PRMT9) is a recently identified member of the PRMT family, yet its biological function remains largely unknown. Here, by characterizing an intellectual disability associated PRMT9 mutation (G189R) and establishing a Prmt9 conditional knockout (cKO) mouse model, we uncover an important function of PRMT9 in neuronal development. The G189R mutation abolishes PRMT9 methyltransferase activity and reduces its protein stability. Knockout of Prmt9 in hippocampal neurons causes alternative splicing of ~1900 genes, which likely accounts for the aberrant synapse development and impaired learning and memory in the Prmt9 cKO mice. Mechanistically, we discover a methylation-sensitive protein-RNA interaction between …

Analysis Of Microbiome Data, Christine B Peterson, Satabdi Saha, Kim-Anh Do

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The microbiome represents a hidden world of tiny organisms populating not only our surroundings but also our own bodies. By enabling comprehensive profiling of these invisible creatures, modern genomic sequencing tools have given us an unprecedented ability to characterize these populations and uncover their outsize impact on our environment and health. Statistical analysis of microbiome data is critical to infer patterns from the observed abundances. The application and development of analytical methods in this area require careful consideration of the unique aspects of microbiome profiles. We begin this review with a brief overview of microbiome data collection and processing and …

Predicting Recurrence-Free And Overall Survival For Patients With Stage Ii Melanoma: The Mia Calculator, Alexander H R Varey, Isabel Li, Mary-Ann El Sharouni, Julie Simon, Aikaterini Dedeilia, Sydney Ch'ng, Robyn P M Saw, Andrew J Spillane, Kerwin F Shannon, Thomas E Pennington, Michael Rtshiladze, Jonathan R Stretch, Omgo E Nieweg, Alexander Van Akkooi, Ryan J Sullivan, Genevieve M Boland, Jeffrey E Gershenwald, Paul J Van Diest, Richard A Scolyer, Georgina V Long, John F Thompson, Serigne N Lo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Improvements in recurrence-free survival (RFS) were demonstrated in two recent randomized trials for patients with sentinel node (SN)-negative stage IIB or IIC melanoma receiving adjuvant systemic therapy (pembrolizumab/nivolumab). However, adverse events also occurred. Accurate individualized prognostic estimates of RFS and overall survival (OS) would allow patients to more accurately weigh the risks and benefits of adjuvant therapy. Since the current American Joint Committee on Cancer eighth edition (AJCC-8) melanoma staging system focuses on melanoma-specific survival, we developed a multivariable risk prediction calculator that provides estimates of 5- and 10-year RFS and OS for these patients.

Methods: Data were extracted …

Survival Outcomes And Toxicity Of Adjuvant Immunotherapy After Definitive Concurrent Chemotherapy With Proton Beam Radiation Therapy For Patients With Inoperable Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, Kelsey L Corrigan, Ting Xu, Yuki Sasaki, Ruitao Lin, Aileen B Chen, James W Welsh, Steven H Lin, Joe Y Chang, Matthew S Ning, Saumil Gandhi, Michael S O'Reilly, Carl M Gay, Mehmet Altan, Charles Lu, Tina Cascone, Efstratios Koutroumpakis, Ajay Sheshadri, Xiaodong Zhang, Li Liao, X Ronald Zhu, John V Heymach, Quynh-Nhu Nguyen, Zhongxing Liao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Adjuvant immunotherapy (IO) following concurrent chemotherapy and photon radiation therapy confers an overall survival (OS) benefit for patients with inoperable locally advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (LA-NSCLC); however, outcomes of adjuvant IO after concurrent chemotherapy with proton beam therapy (CPBT) are unknown. We investigated OS and toxicity after CPBT with adjuvant IO versus CPBT alone for inoperable LA-NSCLC.

Materials and methods: We analyzed 354 patients with LA-NSCLC who were prospectively treated with CPBT with or without adjuvant IO from 2009 to 2021. Optimal variable ratio propensity score matching (PSM) matched CPBT with CPBT + IO patients. Survival was estimated …

Translational Potential Of A Contrast Agent For Fgs Applications In Pnets, Solmaz Aghaamiri, Jeannelyn S Estrella, Servando Hernandez Vargas, Mark W Hurd, Sukhen C Ghosh, Ali Azhdarinia, Naruhiko Ikoma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Cytokine Release By Microglia Exposed To Neurologic Injury Is Amplified By Lipopolysaccharide, Michael C Scott, Olivia Leblanc, Harper Day, Candice Haase, Scott D Olson, Charles S Cox

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and morbidity in the trauma population. Microglia drive the secondary neuroinflammatory response after TBI. We sought to determine if the microglial response to neurologic injury was exacerbated by a second stimulus after exposure to neurologic injury.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (age 2-3 wk) were divided into injured and noninjured groups. Injured rats underwent a controlled cortical impact injury; noninjured rats remained naïve to any injury and served as the control group. Primary rat microglia were isolated and applied to in vitro cultures. After incubation for 24 h, the microglia were …

C2h2 Zinc Finger Transcription Factors Associated With Hemoglobinopathies, Xing Zhang, Fangfang Xia, Xiaotian Zhang, Robert M Blumenthal, Xiaodong Cheng

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In humans, specific aberrations in β-globin results in sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia, symptoms of which can be ameliorated by increased expression of fetal globin (HbF). Two recent CRISPR-Cas9 screens, centered on ∼1500 annotated sequence-specific DNA binding proteins and performed in a human erythroid cell line that expresses adult hemoglobin, uncovered four groups of candidate regulators of HbF gene expression. They are (1) members of the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex proteins that are already known for HbF control; (2) seven C2H2 zinc finger (ZF) proteins, including some (ZBTB7A and BCL11A) already known for directly silencing the fetal γ-globin …

Promoting Diverse Perspectives: Addressing Health Disparities Related To Alzheimer's And All Dementias, Gladys Maestre, Carl Hill, Percy Griffin, Stephen Hall, William Hu, Jason Flatt, Ganesh Babulal

School of Medicine Publications

Dementia research lacks appropriate representation of diverse groups who often face substantial adversity and greater risk of dementia. Current research participants are primarily well-resourced, non-Hispanic White, cisgender adults who live close to academic medical centers where much of the research is based. Consequently, the field faces a knowledge gap about Alzheimer's-related risk factors in those other groups. The Alzheimer's Association hosted a virtual conference on June 14–16, 2021, supported in part by the National Institute on Aging (R13 AG072859-01), focused on health disparities. The conference was held entirely online and consisted of 2 days of core programming and a day …

The Influence Of Cards Toxin In Abetting The Virulence Of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae, Layla Abdulbaki

Posters - 2024

Mycoplasma pneumonia is a human bacterial pathogen known to induce chronic upper and lower respiratory infections. This bacterium commonly causes acute, chronic infections, such as atypical pneumonia, and spreads through droplet transmission (> 5 microns). M. pneumoniae damages cells by attacking the epithelium of the respiratory tract, resulting in epithelium shedding. Infection of the airway tract by M. pneumoniae will usually express itself in people with chronic symptoms such as coughing, dyspnea, diarrhea, and epiphora. With this being said, this bacterium is ambit, meaning that it is versatile in who it affects (children to adults), how it manifests (pneumonia, tracheobronchitis, …

Signaling Mechanisms Underlying Activity-Dependent Integration Of Adult-Born Neurons In The Mouse Olfactory Bulb, Suyang Bao, Juan M Romero, Benjamin D W Belfort, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

Adult neurogenesis has fascinated the field of neuroscience for decades given the prospects of harnessing mechanisms that facilitate the rewiring and/or replacement of adult brain tissue. The subgranular zone of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle are the two main areas in the brain that exhibit ongoing neurogenesis. Of these, adult-born neurons within the olfactory bulb have proven to be a powerful model for studying circuit plasticity, providing a broad and accessible avenue into neuron development, migration, and continued circuit integration within adult brain tissue. This review focuses on some of the recognized molecular and signaling …

Glial Lipid Droplets Resolve Ros During Sleep, Lindsey D Goodman, Matthew J Moulton, Hugo J Bellen

Duncan NRI Faculty and Staff Publications

The Sehgal lab presents data showing that the non-cell autonomous pathway of glial lipid droplet formation occurs during sleep and helps to resolve neuronal reactive oxygen species (ROS). This promotes neuronal function after an active day. Hence, this pathway has an important physiological function beyond its previously described role in ROS-associated diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Understanding The Evolutionary Conservation Of Ilp3 Gene Across Drosophila, Elias Ciudad, Cassandra Morales, Kendra Lancaster, Lori Boies

Posters - 2024

Drosophila melanogaster is a commonly used model organism in genetics and developmental biology. Research on the insulin signaling pathway in D. melanogaster provides evidence that it is similar to the human pathway and involved in metabolism, growth and lifespan regulation (5). The Genomic Education Partnership’s (GEP) Pathways Project is a network analysis that focuses on insulin signaling in the genus Drosophila through the annotation of genes (1). The approach of the project is to understand the evolutionary change in genes across species over time in biological pathways and look at the growth and metabolic homeostasis (2). Insulin, in Drosophila, is …