Publications by authors named "D Z Avizonis"

In the lower respiratory tract, the alveolar spaces are divided from the bloodstream and the external environment by only a few microns of interstitial tissue. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) defend this delicate mucosal surface from invading infections by regularly patrolling the site. AMs have three behavior modalities to achieve this goal: extending cell protrusions to probe and sample surrounding areas, squeezing the whole cell body between alveoli, and patrolling by moving the cell body around each alveolus.

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In the present study, we investigated the consequences of deleting the glutaredoxin-2 gene (Glrx2) on the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in male and female C57BL6N mice fed a control (CD) or high-fat diet (HFD). We report that the HFD induced a significant increase in body mass in the wild-type (Wt) and Glrx2 male, but not female, mice, which was associated with the hypertrophying of the abdominal fat. Interestingly, while the Wt male mice fed the HFD developed NAFLD, the deletion of the Glrx2 gene mitigated vesicle formation, intrahepatic lipid accumulation, and fibrosis in the males.

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Importance: Prophylactic administration of antibiotics before skin incision is an important component in the prevention of periprosthetic joint infection in arthroplasty surgery. For antibiotics to be effective, the local tissue concentration (LTC) must exceed the minimum inhibitory concentration of typical infecting organisms; however, the LTC of cefazolin during arthroplasty is poorly understood.

Objective: To compare the systemic concentration of cefazolin in serum with the LTC in fat, synovium, and bone during primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) while assessing the effect of tourniquet inflation.

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Metabolic reprogramming, a hallmark of tumorigenesis, involves alterations in glucose and fatty acid metabolism. Here, we investigate the role of Carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1a (Cpt1a), a key enzyme in long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) oxidation, in ErbB2-driven breast cancers. In ErbB2+ breast cancer models, ablation of Cpt1a delays tumor onset, growth, and metastasis.

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Metabolic rewiring is essential for tumor growth and progression to metastatic disease, yet little is known regarding how cancer cells modify their acquired metabolic programs in response to different metastatic microenvironments. We have previously shown that liver-metastatic breast cancer cells adopt an intrinsic metabolic program characterized by increased HIF-1α activity and dependence on glycolysis. Here, we confirm by in vivo stable isotope tracing analysis (SITA) that liver-metastatic breast cancer cells retain a glycolytic profile when grown as mammary tumors or liver metastases.

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