Clotting Promotes Glioma Growth and Infiltration Through Activation of Focal Adhesion Kinase.

High-grade gliomas are associated with intratumoral thrombosis, tumor cell necrosis, and hemorrhage. The resulting blood clot serves as an adhesive matrix for glioma cell integrins that activate FAK. Knocking down FAK with CRISPR cas9, on the other hand, is highly effective at halting GBM growth in mice.

Activation of the Acute-Phase Response in Hemophilia.

To identify recurrent inflammation in hemophilia, we assessed the acute-phase response in the blood of patients with hemophilia A and B. Compared to age- and weight-matched controls, blood levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and LPS-binding protein (LBP) were significantly elevated in the entire cohort of hemophilia patients but exhibited a particularly pronounced increase in obese hemophilia patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30. Subgroup analysis of the remaining nonobese hemophilia patients (BMI: 18-29.