Publications by authors named "A Wassef"

Gabapentin has variable pharmacokinetics (PK), which contributes to difficulty in dosing and increased risk of adverse events. The objective of this study was to leverage gabapentin concentrations from therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to develop a population PK (popPK) model and characterize significant covariates that impact gabapentin PK. Data were retrospectively collected from 82 hospitalized adult patients with TDM gabapentin concentrations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha antisense 1 () is a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) gene physically located next to the transcription factor gene in the human genome. Its transcription products have been reported to inhibit the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and negatively regulate the expression of cytochrome P450s (CYPs), including CYP1A2, 2B6, 2C9, 2C19, 2E1, and 3A4. By altering CYP expression, lncRNA HNF4A-AS1 also contributes to the susceptibility of drug-induced liver injury.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (SGx) is a type of bariatric surgery to treat morbid obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). The molecular mechanisms of SGx to improve MASLD are unclear, but increased bile acids (BAs) and FGF19 (mouse FGF15) were observed. FGF15/19 is expressed in the ileum in response to BAs and is critical in not only suppressing BA synthesis in the liver but also promoting energy expenditure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha (HNF1A) antisense RNA 1 (HNF1A-AS1) is an important lncRNA for liver growth, development, cell differentiation, and drug metabolism. Like many lncRNAs, HNF1A-AS1 has multiple annotated alternative transcripts in the human genome. Several fundamental biological questions are still not solved: (1) How many transcripts really exist in biological samples, such as liver samples and liver cell lines? (2) What are the expression patterns of different alternative HNF1A-AS1 transcripts at different conditions, including during cell growth and development, after exposure to xenobiotics (such as drugs), and in disease conditions, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) cirrhosis, and obesity? (3) Does the siRNA used in previous studies knock down one or multiple transcripts? (4) Do different transcripts have the same or different functions for gene regulation? The presented data confirm the existence of several annotated HNF1A-AS1 transcripts in liver samples and cell lines, but also identify some new transcripts, which are not annotated in the Ensembl genome database.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Scope: Tart cherries (TCs) contain high levels of anthocyanins that exert potent antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects and potentially benefit individuals with gout.

Methods And Results: This study aims to quantitate the major anthocyanins in TC Juice Concentrate (TCJC) and identify the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) parameters of the major anthocyanin cyanidin-3-glucosylrutinoside (C3GR). A PK-PD study enrolling human subjects with a history of gout is performed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF