Medical Specialties Commons^™

A Novel Approach To The Removal Of A Silastic Band Via The Peroral Endoscopic Tunneling-Silastic Bandectomy Technique, Wasif M Abidi, Salmaan Jawaid

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The peroral endoscopic tunneling-silastic bandectomy technique to remove a silastic band causing a vertical banded gastroplasty stenosis. This method is a viable alternative to surgical removal of foreign bodies outside the gastrointestinal lumen.

Reconstructive Outcomes Of Multilayered Closure Of Large Skull Base Dural Defects Following Open Anterior Craniofacial Resection, Justin Shi, Tokunbo Ayeni, Kathleen Kelly Gallagher, Akash J Patel, Ali Jalali, David J Hernandez, Angela D Haskins, Vlad C Sandulache, Erich M Sturgis, Andrew T Huang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction  Standardized reconstruction protocols for large open anterior skull base defects with dural resection are not well described. Here we report the outcomes and technique of a multilayered reconstructive algorithm utilizing local tissue, dural graft matrix, and microvascular free tissue transfer (MVFTT) for reconstruction of these deformities.

Design  This study is a retrospective review.

Results  Eleven patients (82% males) met inclusion criteria, with five (45%) having concurrent orbital exenteration and eight (73%) requiring maxillectomy. All patients required dural resection with or without intracranial tumor resection, with the average dural defect being 36.0 ± 25.9 cm ² . Dural graft matrices …

Pathological Implication Of Protein Post-Translational Modifications In Cancer, Sheng Pan, Ru Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) profoundly influence protein functions and play crucial roles in essentially all cell biological processes. The diverse realm of PTMs and their crosstalk is linked to many critical signaling events involved in neoplastic transformation, carcinogenesis and metastasis. The pathological roles of various PTMs are implicated in all aspects of cancer hallmark functions, cancer metabolism and regulation of tumor microenvironment. Study of PTMs has become an important area in cancer research to understand cancer biology and discover novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. With a limited scope, this review attempts to discuss some PTMs of high frequency with recognized …

Patients With Lung Cancer Of Different Racial Backgrounds Harbor Distinct Immune Cell Profiles, Yitian Xu, Licheng Zhang, Jose Thaiparambil, Sunny Mai, Dimuthu Nuwan Perera, Jilu Zhang, Ping-Ying Pan, Cristian Coarfa, Kenneth Ramos, Shu-Hsia Chen, Randa El-Zein

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

UNLABELLED: Tumors accumulated with infiltrated immune cells (hot tumors) have a higher response rate to immune checkpoint blockade, when compared with those with minimal T-cell infiltration (cold tumors). We report here that patients with lung cancer with different racial backgrounds harbored distinct immune cell profiles in the tumor microenvironment. Compared with African Americans (AA), Caucasian Americans (CA) exhibited increased immune cell infiltration and vasculature, and increased survival. Changes of survival and immune profile were most pronounced among active smokers and nonsmokers, compared with former smokers and total patients. Neighborhood analysis showed that immune cells accumulated around cancer cells in CAs …

Exome Sequencing Identifies Genetic Variants In Anophthalmia And Microphthalmia, Jingjing Li, Wei Yang, Yuejun Jessie Wang, Chen Ma, Cynthia J Curry, Daniel Mcgoldrick, Deborah A Nickerson, Jessica X Chong, Elizabeth E Blue, James C Mullikin, Jennita Reefhuis, Wendy N Nembhard, Paul A Romitti, Martha M Werler, Marilyn L Browne, Andrew F Olshan, Richard H Finnell, Marcia L Feldkamp, Faith Pangilinan, Lynn M Almli, Mike J Bamshad, Lawrence C Brody, Mary M Jenkins, Gary M Shaw, University Of Washington Center For Mendelian Genomics, Nisc Comparative Sequencing Program, National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia (A/M) are rare birth defects affecting up to 2 per 10,000 live births. These conditions are manifested by the absence of an eye or reduced eye volumes within the orbit leading to vision loss. Although clinical case series suggest a strong genetic component in A/M, few systematic investigations have been conducted on potential genetic contributions owing to low population prevalence. To overcome this challenge, we utilized DNA samples and data collected as part of the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS employed multi-center ascertainment of infants affected by A/M. We performed exome sequencing on 67 …

Becoming A Doctor During A Pandemic: Impact On Medical Student Social Identity Formation, Sanghamitra M Misra, Nital P Appelbaum, Maria A Jaramillo, Ruifei Wang, Connor T Hoch, Nadia Ismail, Jennifer Christner

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic required modifications to undergraduate medical education that likely affected medical students' social identity formation (SIF). SIF is shaped by experiences throughout the medical education continuum. This commentary explores factors potentially affecting medical student SIF during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on students' perceptions of being part of the healthcare team, their role in medicine, and their engagement during the pandemic. Based on such considerations, we propose that educators should aim to design effective learning environments to support a full educational experience that encompasses acquiring medical knowledge and building strong social identities even during a pandemic.

Roles And Responsibilities Of Medicine Subinternship Directors : Medicine Subinternship Director Roles, Nicholas S Duca, Cindy J Lai, Temple A Ratcliffe, Irene Alexandraki, Nadia Ismail, Michael Kisielewski, Jackcy Jacob, Katherine Walsh, Diane L Levine, Karen Szauter, Harish Jasti, Amber T Pincavage, Jeffrey Larochelle, Susan A Glod

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The internal medicine (IM) subinternship (also referred to as acting internship) plays a crucial part in preparing medical students for residency. The roles, responsibilities, and support provided to subinternship directors have not been described.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe the current role of IM subinternship directors with respect to their responsibilities, salary support, and reporting structure.

DESIGN: Nationally representative, annually recurring thematic survey of IM core clerkship directors with membership in an academic professional association as of September 2017.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 129 core clinical medicine clerkship directors at Liaison Committee on Medical Education fully accredited U.S./U.S.-territory-based medical …

Glutathione Peroxidase 2 Is A Metabolic Driver Of The Tumor Immune Microenvironment And Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Response, Kazi Mokim Ahmed, Ratna Veeramachaneni, Defeng Deng, Nagireddy Putluri, Vasanta Putluri, Maria F Cardenas, David A Wheeler, William K Decker, Andy I Frederick, Sawad Kazi, Andrew G Sikora, Vlad C Sandulache, Mitchell J Frederick

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The existence of immunologically 'cold tumors' frequently found across a wide spectrum of tumor types represents a significant challenge for cancer immunotherapy. Cold tumors have poor baseline pan-leukocyte infiltration, including a low prevalence of cytotoxic lymphocytes, and not surprisingly respond unfavorably to immune checkpoint (IC) inhibitors. We hypothesized that cold tumors harbor a mechanism of immune escape upstream and independent of ICs that may be driven by tumor biology rather than differences in mutational neoantigen burden.

METHODS: Using a bioinformatic approach to analyze TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) RNA sequencing data we identified genes upregulated in cold versus hot …

Performance Evaluation Of The Xt Microslide Assay Pairs On The Vitros Xt 7600 Compared To Vitros Single Microslide Assays On Vitros 5600, Lily Olayinka, Estella Tam, Sridevi Devaraj

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Pediatric hospitals are always challenged by specimen volumes and thus any innovation in this realm is very welcome. With the introduction of Microslide assay pairs, we aimed to evaluate the analytical performance of the Vitros XT MicroSlide assay pairs on the Vitros XT 7600 compared to single MicroSlides.

DESIGN: Performance characteristics included within-run precision, analytical measurable range, method comparison, and interference verification. We compared six XT MicroSlide pairs on the Vitros XT 7600 with twelve corresponding single slide assays on the Vitros 5600 system.

RESULTS: The XT MicroSlides on Vitros XT 7600 demonstrated excellent precision, equivalent analytical measurable range, …

Assessment Of The Impact Of A Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel On Hospital Length Of Stay: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Kyle D Hueth, Philippe Thompson-Leduc, Todor I Totev, Katherine Milbers, Tristan T Timbrook, Noam Kirson, Rodrigo Hasbun

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Meningitis and encephalitis are central nervous system infections with considerable morbidity and mortality. The BioFire® FilmArray® Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel (multiplex ME panel) can identify pathogens rapidly potentially aiding in targeted therapy and curtail antimicrobial exposure. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized the literature on the association between the multiplex ME panel and length of hospital stay (LOS), length of acyclovir therapy, and days with antibiotics. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched. Only studies presenting novel data were retained. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to assess the impact of the multiplex ME panel on outcomes. Of 169 retrieved publications, 13 met the criteria for …

Advances In Management And Therapeutics Of Cutaneous Basal Cell Carcinoma, Olivia M Chen, Keemberly Kim, Chelsea Steele, Kelly M Wilmas, Nader Aboul-Fettouh, Carrick Burns, Hung Quoc Doan, Sirunya Silapunt, Michael R Migden

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common cancer in humans, is a malignant neoplasm of cells derived from the basal layer of the epidermis. Tumor characteristics such as histologic subtype, primary versus recurrent tumor, anatomic location, size, and patient attributes determine the risk level and acceptable treatment options. Surgical options offer histologic confirmation of tumor clearance. Standard excision provides post-treatment histologic assessment, while Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) provides complete margin assessment intraoperatively. Additional treatment options may be employed in the correct clinical context. Small and low-risk BCCs, broad field cancerization, locally-advanced disease, metastatic disease, cosmetic concerns, or morbidity with surgical …

Genomic And Functional Characterization Of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci-Specific Bacteriophages In The Galleria Mellonella Wax Moth Larvae Model, Lynn El Haddad, Georgios Angelidakis, Justin R Clark, Jesus F Mendoza, Austen L Terwilliger, Christopher P Chaftari, Mark Duna, Serena T Yusuf, Cynthia P Harb, Mark Stibich, Anthony Maresso, Roy F Chemaly

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Phages are naturally occurring viruses that selectively kill bacterial species without disturbing the individual’s normal flora, averting the collateral damage of antimicrobial usage. The safety and the effectiveness of phages have been mainly confirmed in the food industry as well as in animal models. In this study, we report on the successful isolation of phages specific to Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, including Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) and Enterococcus faecalis from sewage samples, and demonstrate their efficacy and safety for VREfm infection in the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella model. No virulence-associated genes, antibiotic resistance genes or integrases were detected in …

Maladaptive Positive Feedback Production Of Chrebpβ Underlies Glucotoxic Β-Cell Failure, Liora S Katz, Gabriel Brill, Pili Zhang, Anil Kumar, Sharon Baumel-Alterzon, Lee B Honig, Nicolás Gómez-Banoy, Esra Karakose, Marius Tanase, Ludivine Doridot, Alexandra Alvarsson, Bennett Davenport, Peng Wang, Luca Lambertini, Sarah A Stanley, Dirk Homann, Andrew F Stewart, James C Lo, Mark A Herman, Adolfo Garcia-Ocaña, Donald K Scott

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Preservation and expansion of β-cell mass is a therapeutic goal for diabetes. Here we show that the hyperactive isoform of carbohydrate response-element binding protein (ChREBPβ) is a nuclear effector of hyperglycemic stress occurring in β-cells in response to prolonged glucose exposure, high-fat diet, and diabetes. We show that transient positive feedback induction of ChREBPβ is necessary for adaptive β-cell expansion in response to metabolic challenges. Conversely, chronic excessive β-cell-specific overexpression of ChREBPβ results in loss of β-cell identity, apoptosis, loss of β-cell mass, and diabetes. Furthermore, β-cell "glucolipotoxicity" can be prevented by deletion of ChREBPβ. Moreover, ChREBPβ-mediated cell death is …

Effect Of A Glp-1 Mimetic On The Insulin Response To Oral Sugar Testing In Horses, Darko Stefanovski, Mary A Robinson, Andrew Van Eps

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Insulin dysregulation (ID) is the most important risk factor for the development of laminitis in horses and therapies to control it are needed.

HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of a single dose of the synthetic GLP-1 analog exenatide on postprandial insulin dynamics. We hypothesized that exenatide would improve insulin sensitivity and lower postprandial blood insulin concentrations.

STUDY DESIGN: Randomized, crossover, experimental study.

ANIMALS: Six horses (3 mares, 3 geldings; 2 with normal insulin regulation [NIR] and 4 with mild ID).

METHODS: Horses completed both study arms: subcutaneous administration of exenatide (or no treatment) 30 min before an oral sugar …

Clinical Outcomes Of Patients With Recurrent Microsatellite-Stable Endometrial Cancer In Early-Phase Immunotherapy Clinical Trials, Jeffrey A How, Amir A Jazaeri, Siqing Fu, Jordi Rodon Ahnert, Jing Gong, Bettzy Stephen, Hanna Ferreira Dalla Pria, Priya Bhosale, Amber Johnson, Ying Yuan, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Aung Naing

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Recurrent microsatellite stable (MSS) endometrial cancer has poor response to conventional therapy and limited efficacy with immune checkpoint monotherapy. We conducted a retrospective study of recurrent MSS endometrial cancer patients enrolled in immunotherapy-based clinical trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019. Patients were evaluated for radiologic response using RECIST 1.1 criteria, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Thirty-five patients were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: 8 with monotherapy, 17 with immunotherapy (IO) in combination with another IO-only, and 10 with IO in combination with non-IO therapy. Among those treated with combination IO …

Ppp1r7 Is A Novel Translocation Partner Of Cbfb Via T(2; 16)(Q37; Q22) In Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Lulu Wang, Wei Wang, Hannah C Beird, Xueqian Cheng, Hong Fang, Guilin Tang, Gokce A Toruner, C Cameron Yin, M James You, Ghayas C Issa, Gautam Borthakur, Guang Peng, Joseph D Khoury, L Jeffrey Medeiros, Zhenya Tang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases, the core binding factor beta subunit gene (CBFB) was rearranged via inv(16)(p13.1q22) or t(16;16)(p13.1;q22), in which the smooth muscle myosin heavy chain 11 gene (MYH11) was the partner (CBFB::MYH11). Rare variants of CBFB rearrangement occurring via non-classic chromosomal aberrations have been reported, such as t(1;16), t(2;16), t(3;16), t(5;16), and t(16;19), but the partners of CBFB have not been characterized. We report a case of AML with a complex karyotype, including t(2;16)(q37;q22), in which the protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 7 gene (PPP1R7) at …

A Multitask Deep Learning Approach For Pulmonary Embolism Detection And Identification, Xiaotian Ma, Emma C Ferguson, Xiaoqian Jiang, Sean I Savitz, Shayan Shams

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blood clot traveling to the lungs and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Therefore, rapid diagnoses and treatments are essential. Chest computed tomographic pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) is the gold standard for PE diagnoses. Deep learning can enhance the radiologists'workflow by identifying PE using CTPA, which helps to prioritize important cases and hasten the diagnoses for at-risk patients. In this study, we propose a two-phase multitask learning method that can recognize the presence of PE and its properties such as the position, whether acute or chronic, and the corresponding right-to-left ventricle diameter (RV/LV) ratio, thereby …

Stem Cell Transplantation For Systemic Sclerosis, Sebastian Bruera, Harish Sidanmat, Donald A Molony, Maureen D Mayes, Maria E Suarez-Almazor, Kate Krause, Maria Angeles Lopez-Olivo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by systemic inflammation, fibrosis, vascular injury, reduced quality of life, and limited treatment options. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has emerged as a potential intervention for severe SSc refractory to conventional treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the benefits and harms of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of systemic sclerosis (specifically, non-selective myeloablative HSCT versus cyclophosphamide; selective myeloablative HSCT versus cyclophosphamide; non-selective non-myeloablative HSCT versus cyclophosphamide).

SEARCH METHODS: We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and trial registries from database insertion to 4 February …

Plasma Amyloid-Β Dynamics In Late-Life Major Depression: A Longitudinal Study, Nunzio Pomara, Davide Bruno, Chelsea Reichert Plaska, Jaime Ramos-Cejudo, Ricardo S Osorio, Anilkumar Pillai, Bruno P Imbimbo, Henrik Zetterberg, Kaj Blennow

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Depressed individuals are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as compared to controls. Brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition is believed to have a major role in AD pathogenesis but studies also suggest associations of Aβ dynamics and depression. The aim of this study was to test if plasma Aβ levels are longitudinally associated to late-life depression. We measured plasma levels of amyloid-β1-40 (Aβ40) and amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ42) peptides longitudinally for three consecutive years in 48 cognitively intact elderly subjects with late-life major depressive disorder (LLMD) and 45 age-matched cognitively healthy controls. We found that the Aβ42/Aβ40 plasma ratio was significantly …

The Lupus Susceptibility Allele Drb1*03:01 Encodes A Disease-Driving Epitope, Bruna Miglioranza Scavuzzi, Vincent Van Drongelen, Bhavneet Kaur, Jennifer Callahan Fox, Jianhua Liu, Raquel A Mesquita-Ferrari, J Michelle Kahlenberg, Evan A Farkash, Fernando Benavides, Frederick W Miller, Amr H Sawalha, Joseph Holoshitz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The HLA-DRB1*03:01 allele is a major genetic risk factor in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but the mechanistic basis of the association is unclear. Here we show that in the presence of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), a short DRB1*03:01-encoded allelic epitope activates a characteristic lupus transcriptome in mouse and human macrophages. It also triggers a cascade of SLE-associated cellular aberrations, including endoplasmic reticulum stress, unfolded protein response, mitochondrial dysfunction, necroptotic cell death, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Parenteral administration of IFN-γ to naïve DRB1*03:01 transgenic mice causes increased serum levels of anti-double stranded DNA antibodies, glomerular immune complex deposition and histopathological renal …

Maternal Iron Deficiency Programs Rat Offspring Hypertension In Relation To Renin-Angiotensin System And Oxidative Stress, Ya-Hui Chang, Wan-Hsuan Chen, Chung-Hao Su, Hong-Ren Yu, You-Lin Tain, Li-Tung Huang, Jiunn-Ming Sheen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Hypertension is an important public health challenge, affecting up to 30-50% of adults worldwide. Several epidemiological studies indicate that high blood pressure originates in fetal life-the so-called programming effect or developmental origin of hypertension. Iron-deficiency anemia has become one of the most prevalent nutritional problems globally. Previous animal experiments have shown that prenatal iron-deficiency anemia adversely affects offspring hypertension. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We used a maternal low-iron diet Sprague Dawley rat model to study changes in blood pressure, the renal renin-angiotensin system, oxidative stress, inflammation, and sodium transporters in adult male offspring. Our study revealed that 16-week-old …

Advances In Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Management, Carrick Burns, Shelby Kubicki, Quoc-Bao Nguyen, Nader Aboul-Fettouh, Kelly M Wilmas, Olivia M Chen, Hung Quoc Doan, Sirunya Silapunt, Michael R Migden

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

cSCC is increasing in prevalence due to increased lifespans and improvements in survival for conditions that increase the risk of cSCC. The absolute mortality of cSCC exceeds melanoma in the United States and approaches that of melanoma worldwide. This review presents significant changes in the management of cSCC, focusing on improvements in risk stratification, new treatment options, optimization of existing treatments, and prevention strategies. One major breakthrough in cSCC treatment is the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), which have ushered in a renaissance in the treatment of …

Ketamine For Acute Pain After Trauma: The Kapt Randomized Controlled Trial, Thaddeus J Puzio, James Klugh, Michael W Wandling, Charles Green, Julius Balogh, Samuel J Prater, Christopher T Stephens, Paulina B Sergot, Charles E Wade, Lillian S Kao, John A Harvin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Evidence for effective pain management and opioid minimization of intravenous ketamine in elective surgery has been extrapolated to acutely injured patients, despite limited supporting evidence in this population. This trial seeks to determine the effectiveness of the addition of sub-dissociative ketamine to a pill-based, opioid-minimizing multi-modal pain regimen (MMPR) for post traumatic pain.

METHODS: This is a single-center, parallel-group, randomized, controlled comparative effectiveness trial comparing a MMPR to a MMPR plus a sub-dissociative ketamine infusion. All trauma patients 16 years and older admitted following a trauma which require intermediate (IMU) or intensive care unit (ICU) level of care are …

Targeting De Novo Lipogenesis And The Lands Cycle Induces Ferroptosis In Kras-Mutant Lung Cancer, Caterina Bartolacci, Cristina Andreani, Gonçalo Vale, Stefano Berto, Margherita Melegari, Anna Colleen Crouch, Dodge L Baluya, George Kemble, Kurt Hodges, Jacqueline Starrett, Katerina Politi, Sandra L Starnes, Daniele Lorenzini, Maria Gabriela Raso, Luisa M Solis Soto, Carmen Behrens, Humam Kadara, Boning Gao, Ignacio I Wistuba, John D Minna, Jeffrey G Mcdonald, Pier Paolo Scaglioni

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Mutant KRAS (KM), the most common oncogene in lung cancer (LC), regulates fatty acid (FA) metabolism. However, the role of FA in LC tumorigenesis is still not sufficiently characterized. Here, we show that KMLC has a specific lipid profile, with high triacylglycerides and phosphatidylcholines (PC). We demonstrate that FASN, the rate-limiting enzyme in FA synthesis, while being dispensable in EGFR-mutant or wild-type KRAS LC, is required for the viability of KMLC cells. Integrating lipidomic, transcriptomic and functional analyses, we demonstrate that FASN provides saturated and monounsaturated FA to the Lands cycle, the process remodeling oxidized phospholipids, such as PC. Accordingly, …

Hematopoietic-Mesenchymal Signals Regulate The Properties Of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Sanshiro Kanazawa, Hiroyuki Okada, Dan Riu, Yo Mabuchi, Chihiro Akazawa, Junichi Iwata, Kazuto Hoshi, Atsuhiko Hikita

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

It is well known that the properties of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSCs), such as their self-renewal ability and multipotency, are maintained through interactions with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). MSCs are rare cells that are present in the bone marrow and are useful for clinical applications due to their functional ability. To obtain the necessary number of cells, MSCs must be cultured to expand, but this causes a remarkable decrease in stem cell properties, such as multipotency and proliferation ability. In this study, we show that the c-Mpl signal, which is related to the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, has an …

Heart Failure In General And Cardiac Transplant Patients With Covid-19, Munish Sharma, Gowthami Sai Kogilathota Jagirdhar, Kalpalatha K Guntupalli, Rahul Kashyap, Salim Surani

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily an infection of the respiratory tract, but it can have multisystem manifestations. Cardiac complications of COVID-19 can range from acute myocardial injury, cardiac arrhythmias, or heart failure, amongst others. Heart failure (HF) in COVID-19 can be a de novo process or due to worsening of pre-existing cardiovascular ailment. HF in a patient with COVID-19 not only poses challenges in clinical presentation and management of COVID-19 but also affect prognosis of the patient. This article aims to succinctly revisit the implications of this pandemic regarding pre-existing HF or new-onset HF based on prevailing data. It …

Persistent Ethnicity-Associated Disparity In Anti-Tumor Effectiveness Of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Despite Equal Access, Marcus A Florez, Jan O Kemnade, Nan Chen, Wendy Du, Anita L Sabichi, Daniel Y Wang, Quillan Huang, Courtney N Miller-Chism, Aparna Jotwani, Albert C Chen, David Hernandez, Vlad C Sandulache

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We reviewed response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) of 207 patients with diagnoses of lung or head and neck cancer treated with chemotherapy/ICI combination therapy and ICI monotherapy between 2015 and 2020 at one of three clinical pavilions associated with the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Two of these pavilions (Harris Health System and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center) serve large minority populations and provide equal access to care regardless of means. 174 patients had a diagnosis of lung cancer (non-small cell or small cell) and 33 had a diagnosis of …

Effect Of High- Vs Low-Dose Tranexamic Acid Infusion On Need For Red Blood Cell Transfusion And Adverse Events In Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: The Optimal Randomized Clinical Trial, Jia Shi, Chenghui Zhou, Wei Pan, Hansong Sun, Sheng Liu, Wei Feng, Weijian Wang, Zhaoyun Cheng, Yang Wang, Zhe Zheng, Optimal Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

IMPORTANCE: Tranexamic acid is recommended for reducing blood loss and transfusion in cardiac surgery. However, it remains unknown whether a high dose of tranexamic acid provides better blood-sparing effect than a low dose without increasing the risk of thrombotic complications or seizures in cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and adverse events of high-dose vs low-dose tranexamic acid in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Multicenter, double-blind, randomized clinical trial among adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The study enrolled 3079 patients at 4 hospitals in China from December 26, 2018, to …

An Integrated Proteomic And Glycoproteomic Investigation Reveals Alterations In The N-Glycoproteomic Network Induced By 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Cheng Ma, Hong-Yuan Tsai, Qi Zhang, Lakmini Senavirathna, Lian Li, Lih-Shen Chin, Ru Chen, Sheng Pan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

As a well-known glycolysis inhibitor for anticancer treatment, 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) inhibits the growth and survival of cancer cells by interfering with the ATP produced by the metabolism of D-glucose. In addition, 2DG inhibits protein glycosylation in vivo by competing with D-mannose, leading to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein responses in cancer cells. However, the molecular details underlying the impact of 2DG on protein glycosylation remain largely elusive. With an integrated approach to glycoproteomics and proteomics, we characterized the 2DG-induced alterations in N-glycosylation, as well as the cascading impacts on the whole proteome using the HT29 colorectal cancer …

Holarctic Species In The Pluteus Romellii Clade Five New Species Described And Old Names Reassessed, Hana Ševčíková, Ekaterina Malysheva, Giuliano Ferisin, Francesco Dovana, Egon Horak, Jacob Kalichman, Oğuzhan Kaygusuz, Renée Lebeuf, Guillermo Muñoz González, Andrew M Minnis, Stephen D Russell, Michal Sochor, Bálint Dima, Vladimír Antonín, Alfredo Justo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

We studied the taxonomy of Pluteus romellii, and morphologically similar Holarctic species in the/romellii clade of section Celluloderma, using morphological and molecular data (nrITS, TEF1-α). Pluteus romellii is lectotypified and epitypified and accepted as an exclusively Eurasian species. Pluteus lutescens and P. pallescens are considered synonyms of P. romellii. Pluteus fulvibadius is accepted as a related, but separate, North American species. Five species in the/romellii clade are described as new to science: two from North America (P. austrofulvus and P. parvisporus), one from Asia (P. parvicarpus), one from Europe (P. siccus …