Publications by authors named "Jeffrey MacDonald"

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibits an ∼4:1 male-to-female sex bias and is characterized by early-onset impairment of social/communication skills, restricted interests, and stereotyped behaviors. Disruption of the Xp22.11 locus has been associated with ASD in males.

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We performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in 327 children with cerebral palsy (CP) and their biological parents. We classified 37 of 327 (11.3%) children as having pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants and 58 of 327 (17.

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Article Synopsis
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has a significant male-to-female ratio (~4:1) and is marked by social and communication difficulties, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors.
  • Disruption of the Xp22.11 genetic region has been linked to ASD, highlighting the importance of specific genes and long noncoding RNAs in understanding the condition.
  • In a study of 31 individuals with ASD, rare genetic variants were found predominantly in a specific gene, suggesting a connection between this gene and ASD, which could influence future clinical testing and animal model research.
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  • - The study examined gene copy number variation (CNV) in a large group of 7,100 children and youth, focusing on its impact on mental health, cognitive functioning, and physical health.
  • - Clinically relevant CNVs were found in 3.9% of participants and were linked to higher ADHD traits, cognitive deficits, and increased occurrence of specific mental health diagnoses like ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and learning disorders.
  • - The research highlights the role of rare genetic deletions in brain-related gene sets, suggesting they contribute to ADHD characteristics, and sets a baseline for understanding genetic factors in mental health issues among youth during a growing crisis.
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  • Full understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genetics requires whole-genome sequencing (WGS), highlighted by the latest Autism Speaks MSSNG resource that includes data from over 11,000 individuals.
  • The study found ASD-associated rare genetic variants in about 14% of individuals with ASD, examining data from MSSNG and the Simons Simplex Collection, which suggests similar prevalence in both datasets.
  • The identified variants were mostly nuclear (98%) with a small fraction being mitochondrial, and the research aims to help explore genetic links to ASD traits and identify causes for the 85% of ASD cases that currently lack identified genetic causes.
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  • Research identifies distinct genetic subtypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by analyzing physical traits, categorizing 325 Canadian children with ASD into dysmorphic and nondysmorphic groups.
  • A novel genome-wide rare variant score (GRVS) was developed to assess genetic variants, revealing that children with dysmorphic ASD exhibit significantly higher GRVS than those without physical anomalies.
  • Additional analysis using a polygenic transmission test showed that common ASD variants are more prevalent in nondysmorphic probands, supporting a new classification approach based on morphology to guide treatment strategies.
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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heritable (h = 24-71%) psychiatric illness. Copy number variation (CNV) is a form of rare genetic variation that has been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders, but no large-scale investigation of CNV in PTSD has been performed. We present an association study of CNV burden and PTSD symptoms in a sample of 114,383 participants (13,036 cases and 101,347 controls) of European ancestry.

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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to monitor glutathione metabolism in alginate-encapsulated JM-1 hepatoma cells perfused with growth media containing [3,3′-13C2]-cystine. After 20 h of perfusion with labeled medium, the 13C NMR spectrum is dominated by the signal from the 13C-labeled glutathione. Once 13C-labeled, the high intensity of the glutathione resonance allows the acquisition of subsequent spectra in 1.

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The Environmental Protection Agency's definition of "Green Chemistry" is "the design of chemical products and processes that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances. Green chemistry applies across the life cycle of a chemical product, including its design, manufacture, use, and ultimate disposal." Conventional omic tissue extraction procedures use solvents that are toxic and carcinogenic, such as chloroform and methyl-tert-butyl ether for lipidomics, or caustic chaotropic solutions for genomics and transcriptomics, such as guanidine or urea.

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Background: Imatinib mesylate (imatinib) is the first-line treatment for newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) due to its remarkable hematologic and cytogenetic responses. We previously demonstrated that the imatinib-resistant CML cells (Myl-R) contained elevated Lyn activity and intracellular creatine pools compared to imatinib-sensitive Myl cells.

Methods: Stable isotope metabolic labeling, media creatine depletion, and Na/K-ATPase inhibitor experiments were performed to investigate the origin of creatine pools in Myl-R cells.

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Environmental and endogenous electrophiles cause tissue damage through their high reactivity with endogenous nucleophiles such as DNA, proteins, and lipids. Protection against damage is mediated by glutathione (GSH) conjugation, which can occur spontaneously or be facilitated by the glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzymes. To determine the role of GST enzymes in protection against electrophiles as well as the role of specific GST families in mediating this protection, we exposed mutant mouse lines lacking the GSTP, GSTM, and/or GSTT enzyme families to the model electrophile acrylamide, a ubiquitous dietary contaminant known to cause adverse effects in humans.

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Copy number variations (CNVs) are implicated across many neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and contribute to their shared genetic etiology. Multiple studies have attempted to identify shared etiology among NDDs, but this is the first genome-wide CNV analysis across autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at once. Using microarray (Affymetrix CytoScan HD), we genotyped 2,691 subjects diagnosed with an NDD (204 SCZ, 1,838 ASD, 427 ADHD and 222 OCD) and 1,769 family members, mainly parents.

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Nano-in-micro (NIM) system is a promising approach to enhance the performance of devices for a wide range of applications in disease treatment and tissue regeneration. In this study, polymeric nanofibre-integrated alginate (PNA) hydrogel microcapsules were designed using NIM technology. Various ratios of cryo-ground poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanofibres (CPN) were incorporated into PNA hydrogel microcapsule.

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  • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) relies on KRAS and autophagy for tumor growth, but KRAS's role in autophagy was unclear.
  • Research found that blocking KRAS or its pathway (ERK MAPK) actually boosted autophagy while lowering metabolic functions in cancer cells.
  • Combining ERK inhibitors with autophagy blockers, like chloroquine, showed potential for better cancer treatment, suggesting a new approach for managing KRAS-driven PDAC.
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In this Letter, affiliation number 1 was originally missing from the HTML; the affiliations were missing for author Ming-Yow Hung in the HTML; and the Fig. 4 legend erroneously referred to panels a-h, instead of a-g. These errors have been corrected online.

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Oxidized phospholipids (OxPL) are ubiquitous, are formed in many inflammatory tissues, including atherosclerotic lesions, and frequently mediate proinflammatory changes . Because OxPL are mostly the products of non-enzymatic lipid peroxidation, mechanisms to specifically neutralize them are unavailable and their roles in vivo are largely unknown. We previously cloned the IgM natural antibody E06, which binds to the phosphocholine headgroup of OxPL, and blocks the uptake of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) by macrophages and inhibits the proinflammatory properties of OxPL.

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  • The Personal Genome Project Canada focuses on collecting and sharing data from whole genome sequencing alongside health information from volunteers, starting with an initial group of 56 participants.
  • The study identified a vast number of genetic variants, including over 207 million sequence variants and nearly 28,000 copy number variations, revealing potential health implications for 25% of those involved.
  • Findings included pathogenic variants, risk factors for various conditions, and a significant number of recessive disease alleles, highlighting the potential for whole genome sequencing to uncover important medical insights for participants, despite being primarily for research access.
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A remaining hurdle to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) becoming a first-tier genetic test has been accurate detection of copy-number variations (CNVs). Here, we used several datasets to empirically develop a detailed workflow for identifying germline CNVs >1 kb from short-read WGS data using read depth-based algorithms. Our workflow is comprehensive in that it addresses all stages of the CNV-detection process, including DNA library preparation, sequencing, quality control, reference mapping, and computational CNV identification.

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IMMP2L, the gene encoding the inner mitochondrial membrane peptidase subunit 2-like protein, has been reported as a candidate gene for Tourette syndrome, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and additional neurodevelopmental disorders. Here we genotyped 100 trio families with an index proband with autism spectrum disorder in Han Chinese population and found three cases with rare exonic IMMP2L deletions. We have conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to quantify the association of IMMP2L deletions with ASD using 5,568 cases and 10,279 controls.

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Real-time dose-response curves for fructose have been non-invasively determined in primary rat hepatocyte alginate spheroids cultured in a NMR-compatible fluidized-bed bioreactor. Using C-labeled glucose and glycine culture medium, fructose dose was compared to glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis rate using C NMR spectroscopy, and to ATP and fructose-1-phosphate concentration using P NMR spectroscopy. A highly efficient multicoaxial perfusion system maintains high density 3-D hepatocyte cultures, permitting C and P NMR spectral time courses with 1min time points.

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PurposeHemiplegia is a subtype of cerebral palsy (CP) in which one side of the body is affected. Our earlier study of unselected children with CP demonstrated de novo and clinically relevant rare inherited genomic copy-number variations (CNVs) in 9.6% of participants.

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Autotrophic microalgae are a promising bioproducts platform. However, the fundamental requirements these organisms have for nitrogen fertilizer severely limit the impact and scale of their cultivation. As an alternative to inorganic fertilizers, we investigated the possibility of using amino acids from deconstructed biomass as a nitrogen source in the genus We found that only four amino acids (glutamine, histidine, cysteine, and tryptophan) rescue spp.

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Aerobic glycolysis supports proliferation through unresolved mechanisms. We have previously shown that aerobic glycolysis is required for the regulated proliferation of cerebellar granule neuron progenitors (CGNP) and for the growth of CGNP-derived medulloblastoma. Blocking the initiation of glycolysis via deletion of () disrupts CGNP proliferation and restricts medulloblastoma growth.

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