Publications by authors named "James A Dowell"

Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) play important roles in many biological processes, including gene regulation and chromatin dynamics, and are thus of high interest across many fields of biological research. Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with sequencing (ChIP-seq) is a powerful tool to profile histone PTMs in vivo. This method, however, is largely dependent on the specificity and availability of suitable commercial antibodies.

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Taniborbactam, an investigational β-lactamase inhibitor that is active against both serine- and metallo-β-lactamases, is being developed in combination with cefepime to treat serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Anticipating the use of cefepime-taniborbactam in patients with impaired renal function, an open-label, single-dose clinical study was performed to examine the pharmacokinetics of both drugs in subjects with various degrees of renal function. Hemodialysis-dependent subjects were also studied to examine the amounts of cefepime and taniborbactam dialyzed.

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Taniborbactam (formerly VNRX-5133), an investigational β-lactamase inhibitor active against both serine- and metallo-β-lactamases, is being developed in combination with cefepime to treat serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. This first-in-human study evaluated the safety and pharmacokinetics of single and multiple doses of taniborbactam in healthy adult subjects. Single doses of 62.

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Study Objective: Lefamulin is a novel pleuromutilin recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia. Given that, lefamulin is primarily metabolized by CYP450 Phase-1 reactions, this study evaluated the pharmacokinetics of IV lefamulin in subjects with various degrees of hepatic impairment as compared with matched healthy subjects.

Design: Open-label, Phase-1 clinical pharmacokinetic study.

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Study Objective: Lefamulin is a novel IV and oral pleuromutilin recently approved for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). Given that renal comorbidities are common in patients admitted for CABP, understanding the pharmacokinetics of lefamulin in the face of severe renal impairment, including those requiring hemodialysis, is needed.

Design: Open-label, Phase-1 pharmacokinetic study.

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Previous benchmarking studies have demonstrated the importance of instrument acquisition methodology and statistical analysis on quantitative performance in label-free proteomics. However, the effects of these parameters in combination with replicate number and false discovery rate (FDR) corrections are not known. Using a benchmarking standard, we systematically evaluated the combined impact of acquisition methodology, replicate number, statistical approach, and FDR corrections.

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Posttranslational modifications of proteins control many complex biological processes, including genome expression, chromatin dynamics, metabolism, and cell division through a language of chemical modifications. Improvements in mass spectrometry-based proteomics have demonstrated protein acetylation is a widespread and dynamic modification in the cell; however, many questions remain on the regulation and downstream effects, and an assessment of the overall acetylation stoichiometry is needed. In this chapter, we describe the determination of acetylation stoichiometry using data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry to expand the number of acetylation sites quantified.

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Transactive response DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) functions as a heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein and is the major pathological protein in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease (ALS/MND). TDP-43 pathology may also be present as a comorbidity in approximately 20-50% of sporadic Alzheimer's disease cases. In a mouse model of MND, full-length TDP-43 increases association with the mitochondria and blocking the TDP-43/mitochondria interaction ameliorates motor dysfunction.

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Although the main focus in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been an investigation of mechanisms causing Aβ plaque deposition and tau tangle formation, recent studies have shown that phosphorylated TDP-43 pathology is present in up to 50% of sporadic cases. Furthermore, elevated phosphorylated TDP-43 has been associated with more severe AD pathology. Therefore, we hypothesized that TDP-43 may regulate amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) trafficking and tau phosphorylation/aggregation.

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Epigenetic modifications play critical roles in diverse biological processes. Histone Lys-to-Met (K-to-M) mutations act as gain-of-function mutations to inhibit a wide range of histone methyltransferases and are thought to promote tumorigenesis. However, it is largely unknown whether K-to-M mutations impact organismal development.

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Mitochondria are essential organelles that adapt to stress and environmental changes. Among the nutrient signals that affect mitochondrial form and function is iron, whose depletion initiates a rapid and reversible decrease in mitochondrial biogenesis through unclear means. Here we demonstrate that, unlike the canonical iron-induced alterations to transcript stability, loss of iron dampens the transcription of genes encoding mitochondrial proteins with no change to transcript half-life.

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The import of acetyl-CoA into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by AT-1/SLC33A1 regulates Nε-lysine acetylation of ER-resident and -transiting proteins. Specifically, lysine acetylation within the ER appears to influence the efficiency of the secretory pathway by affecting ER-mediated quality control. Mutations or duplications in AT-1/SLC33A1 have been linked to diseases such as familial spastic paraplegia, developmental delay with premature death, and autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability.

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Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important regulators of chromatin structure and gene expression. Quantitative analysis of histone PTMs by mass spectrometry remains extremely challenging due to the complex and combinatorial nature of histone PTMs. The most commonly used mass spectrometry-based method for high-throughput histone PTM analysis is data-dependent acquisition (DDA).

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Acetylation of lysine ϵ-amino groups influences many cellular processes and has been mapped to thousands of sites across many organisms. Stoichiometric information of acetylation is essential to accurately interpret biological significance. Here, we developed and employed a novel method for directly quantifying stoichiometry of site-specific acetylation in the entire proteome of Escherichia coli.

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Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is caused by the loss of functional fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Loss of FMRP results in an elevated basal protein expression profile of FMRP targeted mRNAs, a loss of local metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-regulated protein synthesis, exaggerated long-term depression and corresponding learning and behavioral deficits. Evidence shows that blocking mGluR signaling in FXS models ameliorates these deficits.

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The Nrf2 (NF-E2 related factor 2)-ARE (antioxidant response element) pathway controls a powerful array of endogenous cellular antioxidant systems and is an important pathway in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the brain. Using a combination of quantitative proteomics and siRNA screening, we have identified novel protective mechanisms of the Nrf2-ARE pathway against oxidative stress in astrocytes. Studies from our lab and others have shown Nrf2 overexpression protects astrocytes from oxidative stress.

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Due to the complexity of the mammalian central nervous system, neuropeptidomic studies in mammals often yield very complicated mass spectra that make data analysis difficult. Careful sample preparation and extraction protocols must be employed in order to minimize spectral complexity and enable extraction of useful information on neuropeptides from a given sample. Controlling post-mortem protease activity is essential to simplifying mass spectra and to identifying low-abundance neuropeptides in tissue samples.

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Astrocytes are important regulators of normal brain function in mammals, including roles in synaptic signaling, synapse formation, and neuronal health and survival. Many of these functions are executed via secreted proteins. To analyze the astrocyte secretome, a combination of shotgun proteomics and bioinformatics was employed to analyze conditioned media from primary murine astrocyte cultures.

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Three open-label studies assessed the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of intravenous dalbavancin in patients with hepatic or renal impairment, including patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving dialysis. In each study, 4 to 10 patients with mild, moderate, or severe impairment and age-, sex-, and weight-matched controls were administered either a single dose (500 or 1000 mg) or 2 doses (1000 mg followed by 500 mg 1 week apart) of dalbavancin. Dalbavancin exposures were not increased due to mild renal impairment.

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Because of their great biological significance, neuropeptides are the subject of intensive research. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a highly informative and sensitive method used for detecting and characterizing these compounds. Successful MS analysis of neuropeptides is dependent on careful sample preparation.

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Anidulafungin is a novel semisynthetic echinocandin with potent activity against Candida (including azole-resistant isolates) and Aspergillus spp. and is used for serious systemic fungal infections. The purpose of these studies was to characterize the clearance mechanism and potential for drug interactions of anidulafungin.

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Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor known to induce expression of a variety of cytoprotective and detoxification genes. Several of the genes commonly regulated by Nrf2 have been implicated in protection from neurodegenerative conditions. Work from several laboratories has uncovered the potential for Nrf2-mediated transcription to protect from neurodegeneration resulting from mechanisms involving oxidative stress.

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Two-dimensional (2D) fractionation is a commonly used tool to increase dynamic range and proteome coverage for bottom-up, shotgun proteomics. However, there are few reports comparing the relative separation efficiencies of 2D methodologies using low-microgram sample quantities. In order to systematically evaluate 2D separation techniques, we fractionated microgram quantities of E.

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Dalbavancin is a novel glycopeptide with a 2-dose, once-weekly dosing regimen that is being developed for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Monte Carlo simulations were performed for dalbavancin using population pharmacokinetic data and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for clinical trial isolates. The time-dependent target was the maintenance of free drug concentrations above the MIC for 14 days (t>MIC).

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This analysis quantifies the population pharmacokinetics of subcutaneous and intravenous epoetin delta, an epoetin produced in a human cell line, in pediatric patients with chronic kidney disease and estimates the effects of covariate factors on epoetin delta and epoetin alfa pharmacokinetic parameters. Erythropoietin serum concentration data, taken from a phase III study conducted in 60 patients aged 1 to 17 years, were best described by a 1-compartment model with first-order absorption and elimination. The typical point estimates were clearance (0.

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