Publications by authors named "E Blais"
Cytotoxic Potencies of Zinc Oxide Nanoforms in A549 and J774 Cells.
Nanomaterials (Basel)
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are widely used in consumer products and medicine, raising health concerns due to potential human exposure and toxicity.
- A study assessed various sized and coated ZnO NPs for cytotoxicity in human lung and mouse immune cells, showing that toxicity varied based on particle characteristics and cell types.
- The research linked cytotoxic effects to cellular oxidative stress and protein signaling alterations, highlighting the need for more studies to further understand the toxicity mechanisms of different ZnO nanoforms for better health risk assessment.
Article Synopsis
- Mutations in the PIK3CA/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway are prevalent in metastatic breast cancers (MBCs), leading researchers to investigate how these genetic changes relate to the activation of proteins in this pathway.
- In a study involving 171 MBC patients, genetic alterations were analyzed through next-generation sequencing, while protein activation levels were measured using advanced proteomic methods to see how they correlated with treatment responses.
- Results showed that nearly half of the cases had oncogenic alterations, but genetic profiles were not strong predictors of protein activity, highlighting the importance of measuring phosphoprotein levels alongside genomic data for better understanding and treatment of MBCs.
Article Synopsis
- K17 expression influences the immune environment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), affecting tumor growth and patient survival.
- A study using advanced imaging techniques found that higher K17 levels lead to reduced presence of important immune cells, such as CD8+ T cells and macrophages, in and around tumors.
- These findings suggest that targeting K17 could enhance the immune response against PDAC, potentially improving immunotherapy strategies for this aggressive cancer.
Diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) contribute to air pollution exposure-related adverse health impacts. Here, we examined in vitro, and in vivo toxicities of DEPs from a Caterpillar C11 heavy-duty diesel engine emissions using ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) and biodiesel blends (20% /) of canola (B20C), soy (B20S), or tallow-waste fry oil (B20T) in ULSD. The in vitro effects of DEPs (DEP, DEP, DEP, and DEP) in exposed mouse monocyte/macrophage cells (J774A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To determine the role of keratin 17 (K17) as a predictive biomarker for response to chemotherapy by defining thresholds of K17 expression based on immunohistochemical tests that could be used to optimize therapeutic intervention for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Methods: We profiled K17 expression, a hallmark of the basal molecular subtype of PDAC, by immunohistochemistry in 2 cohorts of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded PDACs (n = 305). We determined a K17 threshold of expression to optimize prognostic stratification according to the lowest Akaike information criterion and explored the potential relationship between K17 and chemoresistance by multivariate predictive analyses.