Discovering cancer stem-like molecule, nuclear factor I X, using spatial transcriptome in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by significant intratumoral heterogeneity, and stem cells are promising therapeutic targets. Despite advancements in spatial transcriptome analyses, unexplored targets for addressing cancer stemness remain unknown. This study aimed to identify Nuclear Factor IX (NFIX) as a critical regulator of cancer stemness in GC and evaluate its clinicopathological significance and function.

Correction: Linking bacterial enterotoxins and alpha defensin 5 expansion in the Crohn's colitis: A new insight into the etiopathogenetic and differentiation triggers driving colonic inflammatory bowel disease.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Ending of the COVID-19 Related Public and National Health Emergency Declarations: Implications for Medically Underserved Populations in Tennessee.

The Biden administration decided to end the COVID-19 National and Public Health emergencies on May 11, 2023. These emergency declarations were established by the Trump Administration in early 2020. Under the COVID-19 emergency declarations, US citizens were provided with COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and treatments at little or no cost.

LOX-1 acts as an N-methyladenosine-regulated receptor for Helicobacter pylori by binding to the bacterial catalase.

The role of N-methyladenosine (mA) modification of host mRNA during bacterial infection is unclear. Here, we show that Helicobacter pylori infection upregulates host mA methylases and increases mA levels in gastric epithelial cells. Reducing mA methylase activity via hemizygotic deletion of methylase-encoding gene Mettl3 in mice, or via small interfering RNAs targeting mA methylases, enhances H.

Spatiotemporal genomic profiling of intestinal metaplasia reveals clonal dynamics of gastric cancer progression.

Intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a pre-malignant condition of the gastric mucosa associated with increased gastric cancer (GC) risk. Analyzing 1,256 gastric samples (1,152 IMs) across 692 subjects from a prospective 10-year study, we identify 26 IM driver genes in diverse pathways including chromatin regulation (ARID1A) and intestinal homeostasis (SOX9). Single-cell and spatial profiles highlight changes in tissue ecology and IM lineage heterogeneity, including an intestinal stem-cell dominant cellular compartment linked to early malignancy.

IQGAP1 mediates the communication between the nucleus and the mitochondria via NDUFS4 alternative splicing.

Constant communication between mitochondria and nucleus ensures cellular homeostasis and adaptation to mitochondrial stress. Anterograde regulatory pathways involving a large number of nuclear-encoded proteins control mitochondrial biogenesis and functions. Such functions are deregulated in cancer cells, resulting in proliferative advantages, aggressive disease and therapeutic resistance.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake among Minority Populations in Tennessee.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among Southern states in the US has been problematic throughout the pandemic. To characterize COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among medically underserved communities in Tennessee. We surveyed 1482 individuals targeting minority communities in Tennessee from 2 October 2021 to 22 June 2022.

The Rare Case of Esophageal Cancer Presenting With Hematemesis in a 29-Year-Old Adult.

Esophageal cancer is a disease with high mortality. This is mainly due to late presentations with nonspecific symptoms. Despite advances in surgery and chemoradiotherapy, it is the eighth most common cancer but the sixth deadliest.

Vaccine Confidence and Uptake of the Omicron Bivalent Booster in Tennessee: Implications for Vulnerable Populations.

The COVID-19 Omicron variant and its subvariants are now the dominant variants circulating in the US. Therefore, the original COVID-19 vaccine cannot offer full protection. Instead, vaccines that target the spike proteins of the Omicron variants are warranted.

Comprehensive molecular phenotyping of -deficient gastric cancer reveals pervasive epigenomic reprogramming and therapeutic opportunities.

Objective: Gastric cancer (GC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality, with being the second most frequently mutated driver gene in GC. We sought to decipher -specific GC regulatory networks and examine therapeutic vulnerabilities arising from loss.

Design: Genomic profiling of GC patients including a Singapore cohort (>200 patients) was performed to derive mutational signatures of inactivation across molecular subtypes.

The COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnant Minority Women in the US: Implications for Improving Vaccine Confidence and Uptake.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AGOG) recommends the FDA-approved Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for all eligible pregnant women in the US. However, COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among pregnant minority women have been poor. While the underlying reasons are unclear, they are likely to be associated with myths and misinformation about the vaccines.

Circ_CEA promotes the interaction between the p53 and cyclin-dependent kinases 1 as a scaffold to inhibit the apoptosis of gastric cancer.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to play essential roles in tumorigenesis and progression. This study aimed to identify dysregulated circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) and investigate the functions and underlying mechanism of these circRNAs in GC development. Here, we identify circ_CEA, a circRNA derived from the back-splicing of CEA cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEA) gene, as a novel oncogenic driver of GC.

Vimentin binds to a novel tumor suppressor protein, GSPT1-238aa, encoded by circGSPT1 with a selective encoding priority to halt autophagy in gastric carcinoma.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed, endogenous molecules that are widespread in eukaryotes. Recent evidence indicates that circRNAs play important roles in carcinogenesis. Several circRNAs have been reported to comprise translatable RNA; however, whether circRNAs encode functional proteins remains unknown.

Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections in the US: Implications for Prolonging the Pandemic.

The incidence of COVID-19 breakthrough infections-an infection that occurs after you have been vaccinated-has increased in frequency since the Delta and now Omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus have become the dominant strains transmitted in the United States (US). Evidence suggests that individuals with breakthrough infections, though rare and expected, may readily transmit COVID-19 to unvaccinated populations, posing a continuing threat to the unvaccinated. Here, we examine factors contributing to breakthrough infections including a poor immune response to the vaccines due to the fact of advanced age and underlying comorbidities, the natural waning of immune protection from the vaccines over time, and viral variants that escape existing immune protection from the vaccines.

Meharry Medical College Mobile Vaccination Program: Implications for Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Minority Communities in Middle Tennessee.

To end or curtail the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to incorporate mobile vaccination programs into the national vaccination strategy. Mobile COVID-19 vaccination programs play an important role in providing comprehensive vaccination from federally qualified institutions to underserved communities facing a higher risk for COVID-19 acquisition. The Meharry Medical College COVID-19 mobile vaccine program (MMC-MVP) has provided lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, free of charge, to communities throughout Middle Tennessee.

The Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership (MVTCP): History and Highlights of 20 Years of Accomplishments.

Cancer health disparities among populations are the result of a combination of socioeconomic, environmental, behavioral, and biological factors, which affect cancer incidence, prevalence, mortality, survivorship, financial burden, and screening rates. The long-standing Meharry Medical College (MMC), Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), Tennessee State University (TSU) Cancer Partnership has built an exceptional cancer research and training environment to support the efforts of diverse investigators in addressing disparities. Over the past 20 years, collaborative partnership efforts across multiple disciplines have supported research into the determinants of cancer health disparities at a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center (VICC) along with enhancing research infrastructure and training at MMC and TSU, two institutions that serve predominantly underserved populations and underrepresented students.

Depletion of NK6 Homeobox 3 (NKX6.3) causes gastric carcinogenesis through copy number alterations by inducing impairment of DNA replication and repair regulation.

Genomic stability maintenance requires correct DNA replication, chromosome segregation, and DNA repair, while defects of these processes result in tumor development or cell death. Although abnormalities in DNA replication and repair regulation are proposed as underlying causes for genomic instability, the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether NKX6.

A novel protein AXIN1-295aa encoded by circAXIN1 activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote gastric cancer progression.

Background: Circular RNA (circRNA), a subclass of non-coding RNA, plays a critical role in cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis. It has been suggested that circRNA acts as a microRNA sponge or a scaffold to interact with protein complexes; however, its full range of functions remains elusive. Recently, some circRNAs have been found to have coding potential.

WITHDRAWN: FOXC1 modulates stem-like cell properties and chemoresistance through hedgehog and EMT signaling in gastric adenocarcinoma.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the editors. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.