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Full-Text Articles in Medical Genetics

Regulation Of Insm1 Gene Expression And Neuroendocrine Differentiation In High-Risk Neuroblastoma, Chiachen Chen, Siyuan Cheng, Xiuping Yu, Yisheng Lee, Michael S. Lan Dec 2025

Regulation Of Insm1 Gene Expression And Neuroendocrine Differentiation In High-Risk Neuroblastoma, Chiachen Chen, Siyuan Cheng, Xiuping Yu, Yisheng Lee, Michael S. Lan

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Neuroblastoma (NB), a pediatric cancer of sympatho-adrenal (SA) lineage, is marked by disrupted differentiation and cellular heterogeneity. INSM1, a zinc-finger transcription factor, is highly expressed in NB and developing SA tissues, where it regulates neuroendocrine differentiation, especially in chromaffin cells. We investigated INSM1's role in maintaining an undifferentiated, progenitor-like state in NB and its regulation via metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms. Transcriptomic profiling, promoter assays, and metabolic flux analysis revealed that INSM1 expression correlates with methionine cycle activity, particularly the S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)/S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) ratio. Disruption of SAM/SAH balance altered INSM1 promoter activity and histone methylation, implicating epigenetic control in NB cell …


Genomic Ascertainment Of Chek2 -Related Cancer Predisposition, Sunyoung Kim, Jung Kim, Mark Ramos, Jeremy Haley, Diane Smelser, H. Shanker Rao, Uyenlinh L. Mirshahi, Katherine L. Nathanson, Barry I. Graubard, Hormuzd A. Katki, David Carey, Douglas R. Stewart Dec 2025

Genomic Ascertainment Of Chek2 -Related Cancer Predisposition, Sunyoung Kim, Jung Kim, Mark Ramos, Jeremy Haley, Diane Smelser, H. Shanker Rao, Uyenlinh L. Mirshahi, Katherine L. Nathanson, Barry I. Graubard, Hormuzd A. Katki, David Carey, Douglas R. Stewart

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Importance: There is clear evidence that deleterious germline variants in CHEK2 increase risk for breast and prostate cancers; there is limited or conflicting evidence for other cancers. Objective: To quantify the prevalence of as well as cancer risk and survival associated with CHEK2 germline pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants using genomic ascertainment. Design, Setting, and Participants: This case-control study used 2 electronic health record-linked and exome-sequenced biobanks: UK Biobank (n = 469765) and Geisinger MyCode (adults only; n = 167050). Variants were classified according to American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Molecular Pathology criteria. Cases …


Proteome-Wide Association Study Of Prostate Cancer Risk Across Populations, Hua Zhong, Jingjing Zhu, Shuai Liu, Chong Wu, Liang Wang, Seamus P. Whelton, Catherine H. Marshall, Michael J. Blaha, Peter Durda, Xiuqing Guo, Craig W. Johnson, Henry J. Lin, Kent D. Taylor, Russell P. Tracy, Ronit I. Yarden, Ani W. Manichaikul, Stephen S. Rich, Jerome I. Rotter, Rajat Deo, Ruth F. Dubin, Peter Ganz, Lang Wu Dec 2025

Proteome-Wide Association Study Of Prostate Cancer Risk Across Populations, Hua Zhong, Jingjing Zhu, Shuai Liu, Chong Wu, Liang Wang, Seamus P. Whelton, Catherine H. Marshall, Michael J. Blaha, Peter Durda, Xiuqing Guo, Craig W. Johnson, Henry J. Lin, Kent D. Taylor, Russell P. Tracy, Ronit I. Yarden, Ani W. Manichaikul, Stephen S. Rich, Jerome I. Rotter, Rajat Deo, Ruth F. Dubin, Peter Ganz, Lang Wu

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

There is insufficient understanding of the molecular basis of prostate cancer (PCa) across different populations. We perform a large-scale proteome-wide association study (PWAS) to identify proteins with genetically regulated expression in plasma to be associated with PCa risk across populations. We develop genetic prediction models for expression of 1578, 1993, 1218, and 1390 proteins for African (n = 450), European (n = 758), Asian (n = 289), and Hispanic/Latino (n = 474) males, respectively, and evaluate associations of genetically regulated protein expression with PCa risk in 19,391 PCa cases and 61,608 controls of African population, 122,188 cases and 604,640 controls …


Benchmarking Dna Foundation Models For Genomic And Genetic Tasks, Haonan Feng, Lang Wu, Bingxin Zhao, Chad Huff, Jianjun Zhang, Jia Wu, Lifeng Lin, Peng Wei, Chong Wu Nov 2025

Benchmarking Dna Foundation Models For Genomic And Genetic Tasks, Haonan Feng, Lang Wu, Bingxin Zhao, Chad Huff, Jianjun Zhang, Jia Wu, Lifeng Lin, Peng Wei, Chong Wu

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The rapid evolution of DNA foundation models promises to revolutionize genomics, yet comprehensive evaluations are lacking. Here, we present a comprehensive, unbiased benchmark of five models (DNABERT-2, Nucleotide Transformer V2, HyenaDNA, Caduceus-Ph, and GROVER) across diverse genomic and genetic tasks including sequence classification, gene expression prediction, variant effect quantification, and topologically associating domain (TAD) region recognition, using zero-shot embeddings. Our analysis reveals that mean token embedding consistently and significantly improves sequence classification performance, outperforming other pooling strategies. Model performance varies among tasks and datasets; while general purpose DNA foundation models showed competitive performance in pathogenic variant identification, they were less …


The Non-Coding Rna Journal Club: Highlights On Recent Papers-14, El Cheima Mhamedi, Florent Hubé, Suresh K. Alahari, Francisco J. Enguita, Barbara Pardini, Mark W. Feinberg, Laura Poliseno, Beshoy Armanios, Jing Jin, Xiao-Bo Zhong, Nikolaos Sideris, Salih Bayraktar, Leandro Castellano, Gaetano Santulli, Stanislovas S. Jankauskas, Will S. Plewa, Simon J. Conn, Ling Yang, Patrick K. Shiu, Abhishek Kaushik, Alexander Serganov, Gentile, Giuseppe Viglietto, Nicola Amodio, Tijana Mitić, Andrea Caporali Oct 2025

The Non-Coding Rna Journal Club: Highlights On Recent Papers-14, El Cheima Mhamedi, Florent Hubé, Suresh K. Alahari, Francisco J. Enguita, Barbara Pardini, Mark W. Feinberg, Laura Poliseno, Beshoy Armanios, Jing Jin, Xiao-Bo Zhong, Nikolaos Sideris, Salih Bayraktar, Leandro Castellano, Gaetano Santulli, Stanislovas S. Jankauskas, Will S. Plewa, Simon J. Conn, Ling Yang, Patrick K. Shiu, Abhishek Kaushik, Alexander Serganov, Gentile, Giuseppe Viglietto, Nicola Amodio, Tijana Mitić, Andrea Caporali

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

The field of non-coding RNA research is advancing at a breathtaking pace, continually uncovering new layers of regulatory complexity and functional diversity [...].


Deep Learning-Driven Proteomics Analysis For Gene Annotation In The Renin-Angiotensin System, Mortaza Eivazi, Kamran Hosseini, Shahin Alipanahi, Huijing Xia, Luke Restivo, Ayushi Patel, Mahdieh Gozali, Tahereh Ebrahimi, Amy Scarborough, Vahideh Tarhriz, Eric Lazartigues Sep 2025

Deep Learning-Driven Proteomics Analysis For Gene Annotation In The Renin-Angiotensin System, Mortaza Eivazi, Kamran Hosseini, Shahin Alipanahi, Huijing Xia, Luke Restivo, Ayushi Patel, Mahdieh Gozali, Tahereh Ebrahimi, Amy Scarborough, Vahideh Tarhriz, Eric Lazartigues

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is central to cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and cardiomyopathy, yet the functions of many RAS genes remain unclear. This study developed a multi-label deep learning model to systematically annotate RAS gene functions and elucidate their roles in biological pathways. A total of 39,463 RAS-related publications from PubMed and PMC were processed into text format. Feature matrices were generated using TF-IDF and token processing, followed by dimensionality reduction via Principal Component Analysis (PCA). A Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) was applied for multi-label classification, with performance evaluated using Precision, F1-Score, Ranking Loss, and ROC-AUC metrics. The model outperformed …


Differential Mirna Expressions Linking Environmental Risk Factors To Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Stages At Diagnosis, Amjila Bam, Yawen Hu, Xiaocheng Wu, Meng Luo, Nubaira Rizvi, Luis Del Valle, Arnold H. Zea, Fokhrul Hossain, Denise Moore Danos, Jovanny Zabaleta, Augusto Ochoa, Lucio Miele, Edward Trapido, Qingzhao Yu Aug 2025

Differential Mirna Expressions Linking Environmental Risk Factors To Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Stages At Diagnosis, Amjila Bam, Yawen Hu, Xiaocheng Wu, Meng Luo, Nubaira Rizvi, Luis Del Valle, Arnold H. Zea, Fokhrul Hossain, Denise Moore Danos, Jovanny Zabaleta, Augusto Ochoa, Lucio Miele, Edward Trapido, Qingzhao Yu

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Background/Objectives: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive, molecularly heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer, accounting for approximately 10–15% of all cases. While reproductive and metabolic factors contribute to breast cancer development, growing concerns about environmental exposures, alongside biological and socio-cultural influences, underscore the need for targeted prevention strategies across diverse populations. Despite increasing evidence linking biological, socioeconomic, and environmental factors to TNBC outcomes, the molecular mechanisms underlying these relationships remain poorly understood. Micro-RNAs (miRNAs), which regulate gene expression and play critical roles in cancer development, have emerged as potential mediators between environmental exposures and TNBC progression. The goal of …


Ifi16 Mediates Deacetylation Of Kshv Chromatin Via Interaction With Nurd And Sin3a Co-Repressor Complexes, Anandita Ghosh, Bala Chandran, Arunava Roy Jun 2025

Ifi16 Mediates Deacetylation Of Kshv Chromatin Via Interaction With Nurd And Sin3a Co-Repressor Complexes, Anandita Ghosh, Bala Chandran, Arunava Roy

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

IFI16 is a well-characterized nuclear innate immune DNA sensor that detects foreign dsDNA, including herpesviral genomes, to activate the inflammasome and interferon pathways. Beyond immune signaling, IFI16 also functions as an antiviral restriction factor, promoting the silencing of invading viral genes through transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. We recently demonstrated another role of IFI16, in which it interacts with and recruits the class I histone deacetylases, HDAC1 and 2, to the KSHV latency protein LANA, modulating its acetylation and function. In this study, we asked whether these IFI16-HDAC1/2 interactions contribute to broader epigenetic regulation of the KSHV chromatin. Our findings reveal …


Human Endogenous Retroviruses (Hervs) Associated With Glioblastoma Risk And Prognosis, Harun Mazumder, Hui Yi Lin, Melody Baddoo, Wojciech Gałan, Diana Polania-Villanueva, Chindo Hicks, David Otohinoyi, Francesca Peruzzi, Zbigniew Madeja, Victoria P. Belancio, Erik K. Flemington, Krzysztof Reiss, Monika Rak May 2025

Human Endogenous Retroviruses (Hervs) Associated With Glioblastoma Risk And Prognosis, Harun Mazumder, Hui Yi Lin, Melody Baddoo, Wojciech Gałan, Diana Polania-Villanueva, Chindo Hicks, David Otohinoyi, Francesca Peruzzi, Zbigniew Madeja, Victoria P. Belancio, Erik K. Flemington, Krzysztof Reiss, Monika Rak

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Emerging evidence suggests expression from human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) loci likely contributes to, or is a biomarker of, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) disease progression. However, the relationship between HERV expression and GBM malignant phenotype is unclear. Applying several in silico analyses based on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we derived a locus-specific HERV transcriptome for glioma that revealed 211 HERVs significantly dysregulated in the comparisons of GBM vs. normal brain (NB), GBM vs. low-grade glioma (LGG), and LGG vs. NB. Our analysis supported development of a unique HERV scoring algorithm that segregated GBM, LGG, and NB. Interestingly, lower HERV …


Biallelic Fgf4 Variants Linked To Thoracic Dystrophy And Respiratory Insufficiency, Laura M. Watts, Esther Kinning, Donald R. Latner, Marla Johnston, Jessica Patrick-Esteve, Gregory M. Cooper, Stephen R.F. Twigg, Alistair T. Pagnamenta, Jenny C. Taylor Apr 2025

Biallelic Fgf4 Variants Linked To Thoracic Dystrophy And Respiratory Insufficiency, Laura M. Watts, Esther Kinning, Donald R. Latner, Marla Johnston, Jessica Patrick-Esteve, Gregory M. Cooper, Stephen R.F. Twigg, Alistair T. Pagnamenta, Jenny C. Taylor

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The thoracic dystrophies are inherited skeletal conditions where abnormal embryonic development of the thoracic skeleton results in a narrow chest, pulmonary hypoplasia, and respiratory insufficiency, which can be severe or lethal. The majority of thoracic dystrophies are due to biallelic alterations in genes needed for normal ciliary function. However, despite the identification of over 20 genes as causal for the thoracic dystrophy phenotype, around 20% of patients remain without a molecular diagnosis. We present two unrelated families with a clinical diagnosis of thoracic dystrophy with associated respiratory insufficiency without a molecular diagnosis on previous genetic testing. Both harbor rare biallelic …


A Non-Toxic Analgesic Elicits Cell-Specific Genomic And Epigenomic Modulation By Targeting The Pag Brain Region, Hernan A. Bazan, Brian L. Giles, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, Scott Edwards, Nicolas G. Bazan Jan 2025

A Non-Toxic Analgesic Elicits Cell-Specific Genomic And Epigenomic Modulation By Targeting The Pag Brain Region, Hernan A. Bazan, Brian L. Giles, Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee, Scott Edwards, Nicolas G. Bazan

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Acetaminophen (ApAP) is widely used for pain management, but overuse or overdose leads to hepatotoxicity, making it the leading cause of acute liver failure globally. There is an urgent need for safer pain medications, as other non-opioid analgesics like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are nephrotoxic. We have identified SRP-001 as a safer, non-hepatotoxic, novel analgesic that overcomes ApAP's limitations by avoiding NAPQI formation and preserving hepatic tight junctions. Using coupled RNA and ATAC sequencing, from the periaqueductal gray (PAG) midbrain region, we compared the genetic and epigenetic signatures of SRP-001 and ApAP treatments following complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain …


Novel Digital Anomalies, Hippocampal Atrophy, And Mutations Expand The Genotypic And Phenotypic Spectra Of Cnksr2 In The Houge Type Of X-Linked Syndromic Intellectual Development Disorder (Mrxshg), Mohammad Reza Ghasemi, Sahand Tehrani Fateh, Afif Ben-Mahmoud, Vijay Gupta, Lara G. Stühn, Gaetan Lesca, Nicolas Chatron, Konrad Platzer, Patrick Edery, Hossein Sadeghi, Bertrand Isidor, Benjamin Cogné, Heidi L. Schulz, Ilona Krauspe-Stübecke, Radhakrishnan Periyasamy, Sheela Nampoothiri, Reza Mirfakhraie, Sahar Alijanpour, Steffen Syrbe, Ulrich Pfeifer, Stephanie Spranger, Kathrin Grundmann-Hauser, Tobias B. Haack, Maria T. Papadopoulou, Tayrine Da Silva Gonçalves, Eleni Panagiotakaki, Alexis Arzimanoglou, Seyed Hassan Tonekaboni, Yves Lacassie, Et Al Dec 2024

Novel Digital Anomalies, Hippocampal Atrophy, And Mutations Expand The Genotypic And Phenotypic Spectra Of Cnksr2 In The Houge Type Of X-Linked Syndromic Intellectual Development Disorder (Mrxshg), Mohammad Reza Ghasemi, Sahand Tehrani Fateh, Afif Ben-Mahmoud, Vijay Gupta, Lara G. Stühn, Gaetan Lesca, Nicolas Chatron, Konrad Platzer, Patrick Edery, Hossein Sadeghi, Bertrand Isidor, Benjamin Cogné, Heidi L. Schulz, Ilona Krauspe-Stübecke, Radhakrishnan Periyasamy, Sheela Nampoothiri, Reza Mirfakhraie, Sahar Alijanpour, Steffen Syrbe, Ulrich Pfeifer, Stephanie Spranger, Kathrin Grundmann-Hauser, Tobias B. Haack, Maria T. Papadopoulou, Tayrine Da Silva Gonçalves, Eleni Panagiotakaki, Alexis Arzimanoglou, Seyed Hassan Tonekaboni, Yves Lacassie, Et Al

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The Houge type of X-linked syndromic intellectual developmental disorder (MRXSHG) encompasses a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by intellectual disability (ID), language/speech delay, attention issues, and epilepsy. These conditions arise from hemizygous or heterozygous deletions, along with point mutations, affecting CNKSR2, a gene located at Xp22.12. CNKSR2, also known as CNK2 or MAGUIN, functions as a synaptic scaffolding molecule within the neuronal postsynaptic density (PSD) of the central nervous system. It acts as a link connecting postsynaptic structural proteins, such as PSD95 and S-SCAM, by employing multiple functional domains crucial for synaptic signaling and protein–protein interactions. Predominantly expressed in dendrites, …


Decoding Ras Mutations In Thyroid Cancer: A Meta-Analysis Unveils Specific Links To Distant Metastasis And Increased Mortality, Isabel Riccio, Alexandra Laforteza, Madeleine B. Landau, Mohammad H. Hussein, Joshua Linhuber, Jonathan Staav, Peter P. Issa, Eman A. Toraih, Emad Kandil Dec 2024

Decoding Ras Mutations In Thyroid Cancer: A Meta-Analysis Unveils Specific Links To Distant Metastasis And Increased Mortality, Isabel Riccio, Alexandra Laforteza, Madeleine B. Landau, Mohammad H. Hussein, Joshua Linhuber, Jonathan Staav, Peter P. Issa, Eman A. Toraih, Emad Kandil

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background/objectives: RAS mutations are common in thyroid cancer, but their impact on clinical outcomes remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of RAS mutations in thyroid cancer and their association with various clinical and pathological features. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting on RAS mutations in thyroid cancer. Both one-arm and pairwise meta-analyses were performed to compare outcomes between RAS-mutated (RAS+) and wild-type (RAS-) thyroid cancers. Results: Our analysis included 2552 thyroid cancer patients from 17 studies. The overall prevalence of RAS mutations was 35.4 % (95 % CI: 22.7 %–50.7 %). NRAS …


Comparative Efficacy, Safety, And Oncological Outcomes Of Percutaneous Thermal And Chemical Ablation Modalities For Recurrent Metastatic Cervical Lymphadenopathy From Thyroid Cancer, Eman A. Toraih, Siva Paladugu, Rami M. Elshazli, Mohammad M. Hussein, Hassan Malik, Humza Pirzadah, Ahmed Abdelmaksoud, Salem I. Noureldine, Emad Kandil Dec 2024

Comparative Efficacy, Safety, And Oncological Outcomes Of Percutaneous Thermal And Chemical Ablation Modalities For Recurrent Metastatic Cervical Lymphadenopathy From Thyroid Cancer, Eman A. Toraih, Siva Paladugu, Rami M. Elshazli, Mohammad M. Hussein, Hassan Malik, Humza Pirzadah, Ahmed Abdelmaksoud, Salem I. Noureldine, Emad Kandil

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Thermal and chemical ablation techniques may consolidate recurrent metastatic cervical lymph nodes as alternatives to repeat neck dissection in thyroid cancer patients. This meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety across modalities. Methods: Four databases were searched for studies on radiofrequency (RFA), microwave (MWA), laser (LA), and ethanol ablation (EA) treating metastatic cervical nodes from thyroid cancer. The outcomes analyzed included treatment response, oncologic control, and complications. Random effects meta-analytical pooling was conducted. Results: There were 25 studies (n = 1061 nodes) examining the four ablation methods. Patients showed comparable baseline characteristics and initial lymph node sizes ranging …


A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Genetic Determinants Of Hemoglobin Glycation Index With Implications Across Sex And Ethnicity, John S. House, Joseph H. Breeyear, Farida S. Akhtari, Violet Evans, John B. Buse, James Hempe, Alessandro Doria, Josyf C. Mychaleckyi, Vivian Fonseca, Mengyao Shi, Changwei Li, Shuqian Liu, Tanika N. Kelly, Daniel Rotroff, Alison A. Motsinger-Reif Oct 2024

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Genetic Determinants Of Hemoglobin Glycation Index With Implications Across Sex And Ethnicity, John S. House, Joseph H. Breeyear, Farida S. Akhtari, Violet Evans, John B. Buse, James Hempe, Alessandro Doria, Josyf C. Mychaleckyi, Vivian Fonseca, Mengyao Shi, Changwei Li, Shuqian Liu, Tanika N. Kelly, Daniel Rotroff, Alison A. Motsinger-Reif

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction: We investigated the genetic determinants of variation in the hemoglobin glycation index (HGI), an emerging biomarker for the risk of diabetes complications. Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for HGI in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial (N = 7,913) using linear regression and additive genotype encoding on variants with minor allele frequency greater than 3%. We conducted replication analyses of top findings in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study with inverse variance-weighted meta-analysis. We followed up with stratified GWAS analyses by sex and self-reported race. Results: In ACCORD, we identified single …


Excess Potassium Promotes Autophagy To Maintain The Immunosuppressive Capacity Of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Independent Of Arginase 1, Ramesh Thylur Puttalingaiah, Matthew J. Dean, Liqin Zheng, Phaethon Philbrook, Dorota Wyczechowska, Timothy Kayes, Luis Del Valle, Denise Danos, Maria Dulfary Sanchez-Pino Oct 2024

Excess Potassium Promotes Autophagy To Maintain The Immunosuppressive Capacity Of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Independent Of Arginase 1, Ramesh Thylur Puttalingaiah, Matthew J. Dean, Liqin Zheng, Phaethon Philbrook, Dorota Wyczechowska, Timothy Kayes, Luis Del Valle, Denise Danos, Maria Dulfary Sanchez-Pino

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Potassium ions (K+) are critical electrolytes that regulate multiple functions in immune cells. Recent studies have shown that the elevated concentration of extracellular potassium in the tumor interstitial fluid limits T cell effector function and suppresses the anti-tumor capacity of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). The effect of excess potassium on the biology of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), another important immune cell component of the tumor microenvironment (TME), is unknown. Here, we present data showing that increased concentrations of potassium chloride (KCl), as the source of K+ ions, facilitate autophagy by increasing the expression of the autophagosome marker LC3β. Simultaneously, excess potassium …


Sars-Cov-2 Vaccine Improved Hemostasis Of A Patient With Protein S Deficiency: A Case Report, Mohammad A. Mohammad, Alaa Malik, Lekha Thangada, Diana Polanía-Villanueva, Jovanny Zabaleta, Rinku Majumder Oct 2024

Sars-Cov-2 Vaccine Improved Hemostasis Of A Patient With Protein S Deficiency: A Case Report, Mohammad A. Mohammad, Alaa Malik, Lekha Thangada, Diana Polanía-Villanueva, Jovanny Zabaleta, Rinku Majumder

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

A 16-year-old patient, while an infant, incurred right-sided hemiparesis and had difficulty breast feeding. She was later diagnosed with a neonatal stroke and her genetic testing showed a missense mutation in her PROS1 (Protein S) gene. Both her grandfather and father, but not her mother, had hereditary Protein S (PS) deficiency. The patient was not prescribed any mediation due to her young age but was frequently checked by her physician. The patient’s plasma was first collected at the age of 13, and the isolated plasma from the patient and her father were analyzed by aPTT, thrombin generation, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent …


Genomic And Socioeconomic Determinants Of Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Survival: Insights From The All Of Us Program, Nubaira Rizvi, Hui Lyu, Leah Vaidya, Xiao Cheng Wu, Lucio Miele, Qingzhao Yu Sep 2024

Genomic And Socioeconomic Determinants Of Racial Disparities In Breast Cancer Survival: Insights From The All Of Us Program, Nubaira Rizvi, Hui Lyu, Leah Vaidya, Xiao Cheng Wu, Lucio Miele, Qingzhao Yu

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Background: Breast cancer outcomes are worse among Black women in the U.S. compared to White women. While extensive research has focused on risk factors contributing to breast cancer; the role of genomic elements in health disparities between these racial groups remains unclear. This study aims to identify genomic variants and socioeconomic status (SES) determinants influencing racial disparities in breast cancer survival through multiple mediation analyses. Methods: Our investigation is based on the NIH-supported All of Us (AoU) program and analyzes 7452 female participants with malignant tumors of breast, including 5073 with genomic data. A log-rank test reveals significant racial differences …


Characterizing The Monomer-Dimer Equilibrium Of Ubch8/Ube2l6: A Combined Saxs And Nmr Study, Kerem Kahraman, Scott A. Robson, Oktay Göcenler, Cansu M. Yenici, Cansu D. Tozkoparan Ceylan, Jennifer M. Klein, Volker Dötsch, Emine Sonay Elgin, Arthur L. Haas, Joshua J. Ziarek, Çağdaş Dağ Sep 2024

Characterizing The Monomer-Dimer Equilibrium Of Ubch8/Ube2l6: A Combined Saxs And Nmr Study, Kerem Kahraman, Scott A. Robson, Oktay Göcenler, Cansu M. Yenici, Cansu D. Tozkoparan Ceylan, Jennifer M. Klein, Volker Dötsch, Emine Sonay Elgin, Arthur L. Haas, Joshua J. Ziarek, Çağdaş Dağ

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Interferon-stimulated gene-15 (ISG15) is an interferon-induced protein with two ubiquitin-like (Ubl) domains linked by a short peptide chain and is a conjugated protein of the ISGylation system. Similar to ubiquitin and other Ubls, ISG15 is ligated to its target proteins through a series of E1, E2, and E3 enzymes known as Uba7, Ube2L6/UbcH8, and HERC5, respectively. Ube2L6/UbcH8 plays a central role in ISGylation, underscoring it as an important drug target for boosting innate antiviral immunity. Depending on the type of conjugated protein and the ultimate target protein, E2 enzymes have been shown to function as monomers, dimers, or both. UbcH8 …


Epigenetic Mechanisms Differentially Regulate Blood Pressure And Renal Dysfunction In Male And Female Npr1 Haplotype Mice, Prerna Kumar, Kandasamy Neelamegam, Chandramohan Ramasamy, Ramachandran Samivel, Huijing Xia, Daniel R. Kapusta, Kailash N. Pandey Aug 2024

Epigenetic Mechanisms Differentially Regulate Blood Pressure And Renal Dysfunction In Male And Female Npr1 Haplotype Mice, Prerna Kumar, Kandasamy Neelamegam, Chandramohan Ramasamy, Ramachandran Samivel, Huijing Xia, Daniel R. Kapusta, Kailash N. Pandey

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

We determined the epigenetic mechanisms regulating mean arterial pressure (MAP) and renal dysfunction in guanylyl cyclase/natriuretic peptide receptor-A (GC-A/NPRA) gene-targeted mice. The Npr1 (encoding NPRA) gene-targeted mice were treated with class 1 specific histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) mocetinostat (MGCD) to determine the epigenetic changes in a sex-specific manner. Adult male and female Npr1 haplotype (1-copy; Npr1+/−), wild-type (2-copy; Npr1+/+), and gene-duplicated heterozygous (3-copy; Npr1++/+) mice were intraperitoneally injected with MGCD (2 mg/kg) for 14 days. BP, renal function, histopathology, and epigenetic changes were measured. One-copy male mice showed significantly increased MAP, renal dysfunction, and fibrosis than 2-copy and 3-copy mice. …


Cluster Effect For Snp-Snp Interaction Pairs For Predicting Complex Traits, Hui Yi Lin, Harun Mazumder, Indrani Sarkar, Po Yu Huang, Rosalind A. Eeles, Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Kenneth R. Muir, Johanna Schleutker, Nora Pashayan, Jyotsna Batra, David E. Neal, Sune F. Nielsen, Børge G. Nordestgaard, Henrik Grönberg, Fredrik Wiklund, Robert J. Macinnis, Christopher A. Haiman, Ruth C. Travis, Janet L. Stanford, Adam S. Kibel, Cezary Cybulski, Kay Tee Khaw, Christiane Maier, Stephen N. Thibodeau, Manuel R. Teixeira, Lisa Cannon-Albright, Hermann Brenner, Radka Kaneva, Hardev Pandha, Et Al Aug 2024

Cluster Effect For Snp-Snp Interaction Pairs For Predicting Complex Traits, Hui Yi Lin, Harun Mazumder, Indrani Sarkar, Po Yu Huang, Rosalind A. Eeles, Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Kenneth R. Muir, Johanna Schleutker, Nora Pashayan, Jyotsna Batra, David E. Neal, Sune F. Nielsen, Børge G. Nordestgaard, Henrik Grönberg, Fredrik Wiklund, Robert J. Macinnis, Christopher A. Haiman, Ruth C. Travis, Janet L. Stanford, Adam S. Kibel, Cezary Cybulski, Kay Tee Khaw, Christiane Maier, Stephen N. Thibodeau, Manuel R. Teixeira, Lisa Cannon-Albright, Hermann Brenner, Radka Kaneva, Hardev Pandha, Et Al

School of Public Health Faculty Publications

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) interactions are the key to improving polygenic risk scores. Previous studies reported several significant SNP-SNP interaction pairs that shared a common SNP to form a cluster, but some identified pairs might be false positives. This study aims to identify factors associated with the cluster effect of false positivity and develop strategies to enhance the accuracy of SNP-SNP interactions. The results showed the cluster effect is a major cause of false-positive findings of SNP-SNP interactions. This cluster effect is due to high correlations between a causal pair and null pairs in a cluster. The clusters with a …


Novel Immunomodulatory Properties Of Adenosine Analogs Promote Their Antiviral Activity Against Sars-Cov-2, Giulia Monticone, Zhi Huang, Peter Hewins, Thomasina Cook, Oygul Mirzalieva, Brionna King, Kristina Larter, Taylor Miller-Ensminger, Maria D. Sanchez-Pino, Timothy P. Foster, Olga V. Nichols, Alistair J. Ramsay, Samarpan Majumder, Dorota Wyczechowska, Darlene Tauzier, Elizabeth Gravois, Judy S. Crabtree, Jone Garai, Li Li, Jovanny Zabaleta, Mallory T. Barbier, Luis Del Valle, Kellie A. Jurado, Lucio Miele Jul 2024

Novel Immunomodulatory Properties Of Adenosine Analogs Promote Their Antiviral Activity Against Sars-Cov-2, Giulia Monticone, Zhi Huang, Peter Hewins, Thomasina Cook, Oygul Mirzalieva, Brionna King, Kristina Larter, Taylor Miller-Ensminger, Maria D. Sanchez-Pino, Timothy P. Foster, Olga V. Nichols, Alistair J. Ramsay, Samarpan Majumder, Dorota Wyczechowska, Darlene Tauzier, Elizabeth Gravois, Judy S. Crabtree, Jone Garai, Li Li, Jovanny Zabaleta, Mallory T. Barbier, Luis Del Valle, Kellie A. Jurado, Lucio Miele

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us of the urgent need for new antivirals to control emerging infectious diseases and potential future pandemics. Immunotherapy has revolutionized oncology and could complement the use of antivirals, but its application to infectious diseases remains largely unexplored. Nucleoside analogs are a class of agents widely used as antiviral and anti-neoplastic drugs. Their antiviral activity is generally based on interference with viral nucleic acid replication or transcription. Based on our previous work and computer modeling, we hypothesize that antiviral adenosine analogs, like remdesivir, have previously unrecognized immunomodulatory properties which contribute to their therapeutic activity. In the case …


Genetic Alchemy Unveiled: Microrna-Mediated Gene Therapy As The Artisan Craft In The Battlefront Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma—A Comprehensive Chronicle Of Strategies And Innovations, Abduh Murshed, Mohammed A.H. Alnoud, Saleem Ahmad, Safir Ullah Khan, Mohammed Alissa, Meshari A. Alsuwat, Ahmed Ezzat Ahmed, Munir Ullah Khan Jun 2024

Genetic Alchemy Unveiled: Microrna-Mediated Gene Therapy As The Artisan Craft In The Battlefront Against Hepatocellular Carcinoma—A Comprehensive Chronicle Of Strategies And Innovations, Abduh Murshed, Mohammed A.H. Alnoud, Saleem Ahmad, Safir Ullah Khan, Mohammed Alissa, Meshari A. Alsuwat, Ahmed Ezzat Ahmed, Munir Ullah Khan

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Investigating therapeutic miRNAs is a rewarding endeavour for pharmaceutical companies. Since its discovery in 1993, our understanding of miRNA biology has advanced significantly. Numerous studies have emphasised the disruption of miRNA expression in various diseases, making them appealing candidates for innovative therapeutic approaches. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a significant malignancy that poses a severe threat to human health, accounting for approximately 70%–85% of all malignant tumours. Currently, the efficacy of several HCC therapies is limited. Alterations in various biomacromolecules during HCC progression and their underlying mechanisms provide a basis for the investigation of novel and effective therapeutic approaches. MicroRNAs, also …


Pancreatic Cancer And Venous Thromboembolism, Teagan Prouse, Mohammad A. Mohammad, Sonali Ghosh, Narender Kumar, Ma Lorena Duhaylungsod, Rinku Majumder, Samarpan Majumder May 2024

Pancreatic Cancer And Venous Thromboembolism, Teagan Prouse, Mohammad A. Mohammad, Sonali Ghosh, Narender Kumar, Ma Lorena Duhaylungsod, Rinku Majumder, Samarpan Majumder

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for more than 90% of all pancreatic cancers and is the most fatal of all cancers. The treatment response from combination chemotherapies is far from satisfactory and surgery remains the mainstay of curative strategies. These challenges warrant identifying effective treatments for combating this deadly cancer. PDAC tumor progression is associated with the robust activation of the coagulation system. Notably, cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) is a significant risk factor in PDAC. CAT is a concept whereby cancer cells promote thromboembolism, primarily venous thromboembolism (VTE). Of all cancer types, PDAC is associated with the highest risk of developing …


Clinical Significance Of Pno1 As A Novel Biomarker And Therapeutic Target Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Sanjit K. Roy, Shivam Srivastava, Caroline Mccance, Anju Shrivastava, Jason Morvant, Sharmila Shankar, Rakesh K. Srivastava May 2024

Clinical Significance Of Pno1 As A Novel Biomarker And Therapeutic Target Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Sanjit K. Roy, Shivam Srivastava, Caroline Mccance, Anju Shrivastava, Jason Morvant, Sharmila Shankar, Rakesh K. Srivastava

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The RNA-binding protein PNO1 plays an essential role in ribosome biogenesis. Recent studies have shown that it is involved in tumorigenesis; however, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine whether PNO1 can be used as a biomarker of HCC and also examine the therapeutic potential of PNO1 knockout for the treatment of HCC. PNO1 expression was upregulated in HCC and associated with poor prognosis. PNO1 expression was positively associated with tumour stage, lymph node metastasis and poor survival. PNO1 expression was significantly higher in HCC compared to that in …


A Bioinformatic Analysis Of T-Cell Epitope Diversity In Sars-Cov-2 Variants: Association With Covid-19 Clinical Severity In The United States Population, Grace J. Kim, Jacob H. Elnaggar, Mallory Varnado, Amy K. Feehan, Darlene Tauzier, Rebecca Rose, Susanna L. Lamers, Maya Sevalia, Najah Nicholas, Elizabeth Gravois, Daniel Fort, Judy S. Crabtree, Lucio Miele May 2024

A Bioinformatic Analysis Of T-Cell Epitope Diversity In Sars-Cov-2 Variants: Association With Covid-19 Clinical Severity In The United States Population, Grace J. Kim, Jacob H. Elnaggar, Mallory Varnado, Amy K. Feehan, Darlene Tauzier, Rebecca Rose, Susanna L. Lamers, Maya Sevalia, Najah Nicholas, Elizabeth Gravois, Daniel Fort, Judy S. Crabtree, Lucio Miele

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Long-term immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires the identification of T-cell epitopes affecting host immunogenicity. In this computational study, we explored the CD8+ epitope diversity estimated in 27 of the most common HLA-A and HLA-B alleles, representing most of the United States population. Analysis of 16 SARS-CoV-2 variants [B.1, Alpha (B.1.1.7), five Delta (AY.100, AY.25, AY.3, AY.3.1, AY.44), and nine Omicron (BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.4, BA.5, BQ.1, BQ.1.1, XBB.1, XBB.1.5)] in analyzed MHC class I alleles revealed that SARS-CoV-2 CD8+ epitope conservation was estimated at 87.6%–96.5% in spike (S), 92.5%–99.6% in membrane (M), and 94.6%–99% in …


Effects Of Sars-Cov-2 Variants On Cd8+ T Cell Epitope Diversity: Estimating Clinical Severity In The United States, Grace Kim, Jacob Elnaggar, Maya Sevalia, Najah Nicholas, Mallory Varnado, Judy Crabtree, Lucio Miele Apr 2024

Effects Of Sars-Cov-2 Variants On Cd8+ T Cell Epitope Diversity: Estimating Clinical Severity In The United States, Grace Kim, Jacob Elnaggar, Maya Sevalia, Najah Nicholas, Mallory Varnado, Judy Crabtree, Lucio Miele

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Association for Clinical and Translational Science 2024; April 3 - April 5, 2024; Las Vegas, NV


Genetic Ancestry And Radical Prostatectomy Findings In Hispanic/Latino Patients, Natalia L. Acosta-Vega, Rodolfo Varela, Jorge Andrés Mesa, Jone Garai, Alberto Gómez-Gutiérrez, Silvia J. Serrano-Gómez, Jovanny Zabaleta, María Carolina Sanabria-Salas, Alba L. Combita Apr 2024

Genetic Ancestry And Radical Prostatectomy Findings In Hispanic/Latino Patients, Natalia L. Acosta-Vega, Rodolfo Varela, Jorge Andrés Mesa, Jone Garai, Alberto Gómez-Gutiérrez, Silvia J. Serrano-Gómez, Jovanny Zabaleta, María Carolina Sanabria-Salas, Alba L. Combita

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: African ancestry is a known factor associated with the presentation and aggressiveness of prostate cancer (PC). Hispanic/Latino populations exhibit varying degrees of genetic admixture across Latin American countries, leading to diverse levels of African ancestry. However, it remains unclear whether genetic ancestry plays a role in the aggressiveness of PC in Hispanic/Latino patients. We explored the associations between genetic ancestry and the clinicopathological data in Hispanic/Latino PC patients from Colombia. Patients and methods: We estimated the European, Indigenous and African genetic ancestry, of 230 Colombian patients with localized/regionally advanced PC through a validated panel for genotypification of 106 Ancestry …


The Role Of Long Noncoding Rnas In Ocular Angiogenesis And Vascular Oculopathy, Pranali Gandhi, Yuzhi Wang, Guigang Li, Shusheng Wang Mar 2024

The Role Of Long Noncoding Rnas In Ocular Angiogenesis And Vascular Oculopathy, Pranali Gandhi, Yuzhi Wang, Guigang Li, Shusheng Wang

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA transcripts over 200 nucleotides in length that do not code for proteins. Initially considered a genomic mystery, an increasing number of lncRNAs have been shown to have vital roles in physiological and pathological conditions by regulating gene expression through diverse mechanisms depending on their subcellular localization. Dysregulated angiogenesis is responsible for various vascular oculopathies, including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, age-related macular degeneration, and corneal neovascularization. While anti-VEGF treatment is available, it is not curative, and long-term outcomes are suboptimal, and some patients are unresponsive. Results and summary: To better understand these diseases, …


Ensuring Successful Biomarker Studies In Bladder Preservation Clinical Trials For Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, David J. Mcconkey, Brian C. Baumann, Stephanie Cooper Greenberg, David J. Degraff, Scott E. Delacroix, Jason A. Efstathiou, Jared Foster, Susan Groshen, Edward E. Kadel, Francesca Khani, William Y. Kim, Seth P. Lerner, Trevor Levin, Joseph C. Liao, Matthew I. Milowsky, Joshua J. Meeks, David T. Miyamoto, Kent W. Mouw, Eugene J. Pietzak, David B. Solit, Debasish Sundi, Abdul Tawab-Amiri, Pamela J. West, Sara E. Wobker, Alexander W. Wyatt, Andrea B. Apolo, Peter C. Black Mar 2024

Ensuring Successful Biomarker Studies In Bladder Preservation Clinical Trials For Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer, David J. Mcconkey, Brian C. Baumann, Stephanie Cooper Greenberg, David J. Degraff, Scott E. Delacroix, Jason A. Efstathiou, Jared Foster, Susan Groshen, Edward E. Kadel, Francesca Khani, William Y. Kim, Seth P. Lerner, Trevor Levin, Joseph C. Liao, Matthew I. Milowsky, Joshua J. Meeks, David T. Miyamoto, Kent W. Mouw, Eugene J. Pietzak, David B. Solit, Debasish Sundi, Abdul Tawab-Amiri, Pamela J. West, Sara E. Wobker, Alexander W. Wyatt, Andrea B. Apolo, Peter C. Black

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Recent technological advances have created new opportunities for performing biomarker studies within the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) clinical trials. These new platforms yield more robust measurements when tissue and blood handling is optimized. At the same time, there is a strong interest in banking tissue and derivatives, such as DNA and RNA, for future biomarker studies using novel platforms that may emerge during the intervening time to trial completion. The NCI recently hosted a Clinical Trials Planning Meeting focused on two trial concepts for bladder preservation in patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) …