Publications by authors named "D Merrick"

Article Synopsis
  • Adipocyte lipolysis plays a crucial role in regulating overall energy levels and metabolic balance, primarily controlled by specific enzymes and their modifications.
  • The study identifies IRF2BP2 as a transcriptional repressor that, when deleted, boosts lipolysis in human adipocytes without altering glucose uptake, while its overexpression has the opposite effect.
  • The research further reveals that the deletion of IRF2BP2 in mice leads to increased lipolysis and inflammation in adipose tissue, suggesting potential strategies for targeting lipolysis in metabolic disease treatments.
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Article Synopsis
  • The term 'precancer' describes an early stage of abnormal cell development that diverges from normal tissue due to specific molecular and phenotypic changes, making these cells less reliant on typical growth signals.
  • Defining precancer is complex, and while histopathologists can identify cancerous tissues through significant changes, distinguishing precancer from non-cancerous tissues is still a work in progress in both research and clinical settings.
  • The text proposes a conceptual framework to better define precancer, focusing on molecular, pathological, clinical, and epidemiological criteria to enhance understanding and potential early interventions.
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The distinct anatomic environment in which adipose tissues arise during organogenesis is a principle determinant of their adult expansion capacity. Metabolic disease results from a deficiency in hyperplastic adipose expansion within the dermal/subcutaneous depot; thus, understanding the embryonic origins of dermal adipose is imperative. Using single-cell transcriptomics throughout murine embryogenesis, we characterized cell populations, including cells, that regulate the development of dermal white adipose tissue (dWAT).

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Adipocyte lipolysis controls systemic energy levels and metabolic homeostasis. Lipolysis is regulated by post-translational modifications of key lipolytic enzymes. However, less is known about the transcriptional mechanisms that regulate lipolysis.

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A 48-year-old man with history of recent travel to central Mexico and immunosuppression sought treatment with a 1-month-long history of progressive headache, fatigue, word-finding difficulties, and night sweats. The patient had a history of end-stage renal disease; he had undergone a kidney transplantation 7 years prior with good graft function with immunosuppression with tacrolimus, everolimus, and low-dose prednisone. At an outside hospital, he recently had been treated with empiric antibiotics for meningitis, but these were discontinued given the low suspicion for a bacterial cause.

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