Objective: The TGF-β superfamily member activin, a dimer of the gene products of INHBA and/or INHBB, has been implicated in immune cell maturation and recruitment, but its immune impact within epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is not well characterized. We sought to explore differences in activin (INHBA/ Inhibin-βA and INHBB/ Inhibin-βB) between malignant and ovarian tissues at the RNA and protein level and assess the relationship between activin and immune cells in EOC.
Methods: Publicly available RNA sequencing data were accessed from GEO (#GSE143897) with normalization and quantification performed via DESeq2.
Anoikis resistance or evasion of cell death triggered by cell detachment into suspension is a hallmark of cancer that is concurrent with cell survival and metastasis. The effects of frequent matrix detachment encounters on the development of anoikis resistance in cancer remains poorly defined. Here we show using a panel of ovarian cancer models, that repeated exposure to suspension stress in vitro followed by attached recovery growth leads to the development of anoikis resistance paralleling in vivo development of anoikis resistance in ovarian cancer ascites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe extent of the deleterious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is recognized ubiquitously. However, these effects are subject to many modulatory factors from a plethora of domains of examination. It is important to understand the intersection of societal and individual levels for global stressors compared with local phenomena and physical-health outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRationale: Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a neuropeptide that modulates both physiological and emotional responses to threat. Until recently, drugs that target vasopressin receptors (V1a) in the human central nervous system were unavailable. The development of a novel V1a receptor antagonist, SRX246, permits the experimental validation of vasopressin's role in the regulation of anxiety and fear in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur purpose was to determine whether Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) profiles could differentiate performance invalidity from true impairment in patients with varying levels of memory impairment and functional ability being evaluated for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Seventy-three older adults (13 healthy controls, 25 mild cognitive impairment [MCI], 16 mild AD, 19 moderate AD) were evaluated with a neuropsychological battery including the MSVT and activities of daily living (ADL) measures. Using MSVT classification guidelines, examinees' MSVT profiles were categorized as: 1) valid, 2) invalid, 3) weak memory, or 4) genuine memory impairment (GMIP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has created an unprecedented disruption in work conditions. This study describes the mental health and well-being of workers both with and without clinical exposure to patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Objective: The aim of this study is to measure the prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, work exhaustion, burnout, and decreased well-being among faculty and staff at a university and academic medical center during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and describe work-related and personal factors associated with their mental health and well-being.
We sought to determine whether patients with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) demonstrate a pattern of binding to translocator protein 18 kDa, a marker of microglial activation, that is distinct from that in patients with amnestic presentation of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Eleven PCA patients, 11 amnestic AD patients, and 15 age-matched controls underwent positron emission tomography with C-PBR28 to measure translocator protein 18 kDa. PCA patients showed greater C-PBR28 binding than controls in occipital, posterior parietal, and temporal regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis longitudinal study sought to determine whether the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO), a marker of neuroinflammation, increases over time in Alzheimer's disease. Positron emission tomography imaging with the TSPO radioligand (11)C-PBR28 was performed at baseline and after a median follow-up of 2.7 years in 14 amyloid-positive patients and 8 amyloid-negative controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEfflux transporters at the blood-brain barrier can decrease the entry of drugs and increase the removal of those molecules able to bypass the transporter. We previously hypothesized that (18)F-FCWAY, a radioligand for the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor, is a weak substrate for permeability glycoprotein (P-gp) based on its very early peak and rapid washout from human brain. To determine whether (18)F-FCWAY is a substrate for P-gp, breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and multidrug resistance protein (MRP1) - the three most prevalent efflux transporters at the blood-brain barrier - we performed three sets of experiments.
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