Publications by authors named "Balys M"

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is fatal in the majority of adults. Identification of new therapeutic targets and their pharmacologic modulators are needed to improve outcomes. Previous studies had shown that immunization of rabbits with normal peripheral WBCs that had been incubated with fluorodinitrobenzene elicited high titer antibodies that bound to a spectrum of human leukemias.

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Background: Heterozygous variants in the gene cause the complex multisystem disorder, MIRAGE syndrome. Patients are characterised by myelodysplasia, infections, growth restriction, adrenal insufficiency, gonadal dysfunction and enteropathies. Pathogenic variants in SAMD9 are gain-of-function and enhance its role as a growth repressor, leading to growth restriction of many tissues.

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Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) offers great new opportunities for increasing our understanding of complex biological processes. In particular, development of an accurate Human Cell Atlas is largely dependent on the rapidly advancing technologies and molecular chemistries employed in scRNA-seq. These advances have already allowed an increase in throughput for scRNA-seq from 96 to 80,000 cells on a single instrument run by capturing cells within nanoliter droplets.

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Article Synopsis
  • Diastolic dysfunction (DD) is hard to diagnose, especially in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) but who show heart failure symptoms.
  • The study evaluated the effectiveness of diastolic stress echocardiography (DSE) and specific heart failure biomarkers in diagnosing DD in these patients, involving 80 participants with various health backgrounds.
  • Results showed that DSE identified DD in 21% of patients, and certain factors like age and resting NT-proBNP levels helped predict positive DSE outcomes, enhancing the overall diagnostic capabilities of echocardiography.
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Carbonaceous adsorbents have been pointed out as promising adsorbents for the recovery of methane from its mixture with carbon dioxide, including biogas. This is because of the fact that CO is more strongly adsorbed and also diffuses faster compared to methane in these materials. Therefore, the present study aimed to test alternative carbonaceous materials for the gas separation process with the purpose of enriching biogas in biomethane and to compare them with the commercial one.

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Ischemia is a major cause of kidney damage. Proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs) are highly susceptible to ischemic insults that frequently cause acute kidney injury (AKI), a potentially life-threatening condition with high mortality. Accumulating evidence has identified altered mitochondrial function as a central pathologic feature of AKI.

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Background: Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the first imaging modality used to assess aortic regurgitation (AR). However, it is not possible to provide precise quantification in all patients.

Aim: Our aim was to compare TTE and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) measurements in grading AR and left ventricle (LV) remodeling.

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Medical oxygen is the key to survival for COVID-19 patients. To meet the pandemic-driven oxygen demand spike, local hospitals began searching for a suitable medical oxygen delivery system. Among the studies published on the impact of COVID-19 on a range of aspects, including the global economy and the environment, no study has been conducted on the environmental impact of medical oxygen supply to hospitals under epidemic conditions.

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Ocular coloboma is a congenital eye malformation, resulting from a failure in optic fissure closure (OFC) and causing visual impairment. There has been little study of the epithelial fusion process underlying closure in the human embryo and coloboma aetiology remains poorly understood. We performed RNAseq of cell populations isolated using laser capture microdissection to identify novel human OFC signature genes and probe the expression profile of known coloboma genes, along with a comparative murine analysis.

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Background: Carotid artery atherosclerosis is a complex and multifactorial chronic disease.

Aims: We aimed to assess the predictive value of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, carotid artery stenosis (CAS), and ultrasound vascular indices for coronary revascularization in patients referred for coronary angiography.

Methods: Patients scheduled for elective coronary angiography were enrolled.

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The persistence of a mutation at the time of complete remission warrants germ line analysis.Not all patients harboring germ line mutations have a family history of AML.

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Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are heterogeneous individuals with different clinical status compared to patients without DM.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the group of diabetic patients with ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) or non-ST-segment elevation infarction (NSTEMI) including risk factors, medical history, laboratory findings, advancement of coronary vessel atherosclerosis, and diagnostics and therapeutic modalities performed. A comparison of groups according to the type of MI was also made.

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Adipose tissue (AT) has previously been identified as an extra-medullary reservoir for normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and may promote tumor development. Here, we show that a subpopulation of leukemic stem cells (LSCs) can utilize gonadal adipose tissue (GAT) as a niche to support their metabolism and evade chemotherapy. In a mouse model of blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), adipose-resident LSCs exhibit a pro-inflammatory phenotype and induce lipolysis in GAT.

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Cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) patients harboring RUNX1 mutations have a dismal prognosis with anthracycline/cytarabine-based chemotherapy. We aimed to develop an in vivo model of RUNX1-mutated, CN-AML in which the nature of residual disease in this molecular disease subset could be explored. We utilized a well-characterized patient-derived, RUNX1-mutated CN-AML line (CG-SH).

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Most patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) relapse and die of their disease. Increasing evidence indicates that AML relapse is driven by the inability to eradicate leukemia stem cells (LSC). Thus, it is imperative to identify novel therapies that can ablate LSCs.

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Identification of agents that target human leukemia stem cells is an important consideration for the development of new therapies. The present study demonstrates that rocaglamide and silvestrol, closely related natural products from the flavagline class of compounds, are able to preferentially kill functionally defined leukemia stem cells, while sparing normal stem and progenitor cells. In addition to efficacy as single agents, flavaglines sensitize leukemia cells to several anticancer compounds, including front-line chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat leukemia patients.

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The development of strategies to eradicate primary human acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells is a major challenge to the leukemia research field. In particular, primitive leukemia cells, often termed leukemia stem cells, are typically refractory to many forms of therapy. To investigate improved strategies for targeting of human AML cells we compared the molecular mechanisms regulating oxidative state in primitive (CD34(+)) leukemic versus normal specimens.

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Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) represent a biologically distinct subpopulation of myeloid leukemias, with reduced cell cycle activity and increased resistance to therapeutic challenge. To better characterize key properties of LSCs, we employed a strategy based on identification of genes synergistically dysregulated by cooperating oncogenes. We hypothesized that such genes, termed "cooperation response genes" (CRGs), would represent regulators of LSC growth and survival.

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