Computational Modeling of Macrophage Iron Sequestration during Host Defense against Aspergillus.

Iron is essential to the virulence of Aspergillus species, and restricting iron availability is a critical mechanism of antimicrobial host defense. Macrophages recruited to the site of infection are at the crux of this process, employing multiple intersecting mechanisms to orchestrate iron sequestration from pathogens. To gain an integrated understanding of how this is achieved in aspergillosis, we generated a transcriptomic time series of the response of human monocyte-derived macrophages to Aspergillus and used this and the available literature to construct a mechanistic computational model of iron handling of macrophages during this infection.

A feasibility study on yoga's mechanism of action for chronic low back pain: psychological and neurophysiological changes, including global gene expression and DNA methylation, following a yoga intervention for chronic low back pain.

Introduction: Yoga has been shown to reduce pain and improve function in populations with chronic low back pain (cLBP), yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a yoga research protocol, including recruitment, retention, and data collection, and investigated the preliminary effects of yoga on psychological and neurophysiological functions, including gene expression and DNA methylation profiles, in participants with cLBP.

Methods: A one-arm trial was conducted with 11 participants with cLBP who enrolled in a 12-week yoga intervention.

Multi-scale mechanistic modelling of the host defence in invasive aspergillosis reveals leucocyte activation and iron acquisition as drivers of infection outcome.

Aspergillus species are ubiquitous environmental moulds, with spores inhaled daily by most humans. Immunocompromised hosts can develop an invasive infection resulting in high mortality. There is, therefore, a pressing need for host-centric therapeutics for this infection.

The use of TMZ embedded hydrogels for the treatment of orthotopic human glioma xenografts.

The current treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is limited by the restricted arsenal of agents which effectively cross the blood brain barrier (BBB). For example, only a fraction of temozolomide (TMZ) administered systemically is available for therapeutic effect because of the BBB and the instability of TMZ under physiologic conditions. A novel approach to overcome this obstacle is to bypass the BBB and locally deliver chemotherapeutic agents directly to the tumor mass.

Epigenetic suppression of EGFR signaling in G-CIMP+ glioblastomas.

The intrinsic signaling cascades and cell states associated with the Glioma CpG Island Methylator Phenotype (G-CIMP) remain poorly understood. Using published mRNA signatures associated with EGFR activation, we demonstrate that G-CIMP+ tumors harbor decreased EGFR signaling using three independent datasets, including the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas(CGGA; n=155), the REMBRANDT dataset (n=288), and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA; n=406). Additionally, an independent collection of 25 fresh-frozen glioblastomas confirmed lowered pERK levels in G-CIMP+ specimens (p<0.