Publications by authors named "Denise Serra"

The development of intestinal organoids from single adult intestinal stem cells in vitro recapitulates the regenerative capacity of the intestinal epithelium. Here we unravel the mechanisms that orchestrate both organoid formation and the regeneration of intestinal tissue, using an image-based screen to assay an annotated library of compounds. We generate multivariate feature profiles for hundreds of thousands of organoids to quantitatively describe their phenotypic landscape.

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Complex 3D tissues arise during development following tightly organized events in space and time. In particular, gene regulatory networks and local interactions between single cells lead to emergent properties at the tissue and organism levels. To understand the design principles of tissue organization, we need to characterize individual cells at given times, but we also need to consider the collective behavior of multiple cells across different spatial and temporal scales.

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Intestinal organoids are complex three-dimensional structures that mimic the cell-type composition and tissue organization of the intestine by recapitulating the self-organizing ability of cell populations derived from a single intestinal stem cell. Crucial in this process is a first symmetry-breaking event, in which only a fraction of identical cells in a symmetrical sphere differentiate into Paneth cells, which generate the stem-cell niche and lead to asymmetric structures such as the crypts and villi. Here we combine single-cell quantitative genomic and imaging approaches to characterize the development of intestinal organoids from single cells.

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Background & Aims: Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FL-HCC) is a primary liver cancer that predominantly affects children and young adults with no underlying liver disease. A somatic, 400 Kb deletion on chromosome 19 that fuses part of the DnaJ heat shock protein family (Hsp40) member B1 gene (DNAJB1) to the protein kinase cAMP-activated catalytic subunit alpha gene (PRKACA) has been repeatedly identified in patients with FL-HCC. However, the DNAJB1-PRKACA gene fusion has not been shown to induce liver tumorigenesis.

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Purpose: To evaluate whether inhibition of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β or IL-17A by canakinumab or secukinumab, respectively, influence the signs and symptoms of dry eye.

Methods: In a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, outpatient clinical trial, 72 patients with moderate to severe dry eye were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to treatment with a single intravenous dose of canakinumab, of secukinumab, or of placebo. Signs and symptoms of dry eye were evaluated on the treatment day and 1 week, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after treatment.

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A double fixed dose combination of amlodipine/valsartan and triple fixed dose combination of amlodipine/valsartan/HCTZ tablets have been developed to treat patients with moderate-to-severe hypertension. Here, we present the effect of food on the oral bioavailability of these two fixed dose combination tablets from two separate clinical studies in healthy subjects. Single oral doses of amlodipine/valsartan (10/160 mg) and amlodipine/valsartan/HCTZ (10/320/25 mg were administered under fasted or fed conditions.

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Background: Cyclophilin inhibitors have shown activity against a variety of viruses, including HCV. NIM811, a novel, non-immunosuppressive cyclophilin inhibitor was studied in ascending doses in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 14-day trial in genotype 1 HCV patients. Doses of 10 up to 600 mg were given orally once or twice daily as monotherapy (9:3 randomization of NIM811:placebo).

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Albinterferon alfa-2b (albIFN) is being developed, in combination with ribavirin, for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection. This study was designed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of a 900-μg dose of albIFN administered as a single subcutaneous injection in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on hemodialysis and matched healthy volunteers (by age [±5 years], weight [±5 kg], and gender). The maximum concentration in plasma (C(max)) and the area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC(0-∞)) were 42.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism by which dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors lower postprandial glucose concentrations.

Research Design And Methods: We measured insulin secretion and action as well as glucose effectiveness in 14 subjects with type 2 diabetes who received vildagliptin (50 mg b.i.

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Objectives: The incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) retards gastric emptying and decreases caloric intake. It is unclear whether increased GLP-1 concentrations achieved by inhibition of the inactivating enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) alter gastric volumes and satiation in people with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, 14 subjects with type 2 diabetes received vildagliptin (50 mg bid) or placebo for 10 days in random order separated by a 2-week washout.

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Objective: Pharmacological inhibition with the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitor vildagliptin prolongs the action of endogenously secreted incretin hormones leading to improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We undertook a double-blinded, randomized-order, crossover study to examine the vildagliptin mechanisms of action on islet function and glucose utilization.

Research Design And Methods: Participants with T2DM (n = 16) who had a baseline hemoglobin A(1c) of 7.

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Background: Vildagliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-4) inhibitor currently under development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: To assess the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics and tolerability of vildagliptin at doses of 10 mg, 25 mg and 100 mg twice daily following oral administration in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Thirteen patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled in this randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, four-period, crossover study.

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Objective: We sought to determine whether alterations in meal absorption and gastric emptying contribute to the mechanism by which inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) lower postprandial glucose concentrations.

Research Design And Methods: We simultaneously measured gastric emptying, meal appearance, endogenous glucose production, and glucose disappearance in 14 subjects with type 2 diabetes treated with either vildaglipitin (50 mg b.i.

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The purpose of this double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to measure the effects of FTY720, a novel immunomodulator, on heart rate and rhythm in healthy volunteers. Subjects (n = 66) were randomized to FTY720 1.25 mg or 5 mg or placebo administered once daily for 7 days.

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Prolongation of QT interval on an electrocardiogram is a valuable predictor of a drug's ability to cause potentially fatal ventricular tachyarrhythmia (torsades de pointes). Darifenacin is a muscarinic M3 selective receptor antagonist developed for the treatment of overactive bladder, a debilitating condition that is particularly prevalent in the older population. This 7-day, randomized, parallel-group study (n=188) measured QT/QTc interval in healthy volunteers receiving once-daily darifenacin at steady-state therapeutic (15 mg) and supratherapeutic (75 mg) doses, alongside controls receiving placebo or moxifloxacin (positive control, 400 mg) once daily.

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