Publications by authors named "Jenny Q Zhang"

Introduction: Xanthogranulomatous cholangitis is an extremely rare diagnosis and is believed to be an extension of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, a benign inflammatory process characterized by lipid-laden foamy macrophages (called "xanthoma cells") occurring in a background of chronic inflammation consisting of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and eosinophils. Here, we report a case of xanthogranulomatous cholangitis mimicking cholangiocarcinoma.

Case Presentation: A 72 year old male with history of recurrent cholangitis had preoperative workup highly suggestive of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

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Downregulation of protein phosphatase Cdc25 activity is linked to remodelling of the cell cycle during the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). Here, we present a structure-function analysis of Cdc25. We use chimeras to show that the N-terminus regions of Cdc25 and Cdc25 control their differential degradation dynamics.

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Background: Determinants of residency program reputation are multifactorial and include operative training, academic productivity, and geographic location. However, little is known about these relationships. This study aims to investigate the correlation between academic reputation of integrated plastic surgery programs and the research productivity of their respective full time faculty members.

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Uveal melanoma (UM) is characterized by mutually exclusive activating mutations in GNAQ, GNA11, CYSLTR2, and PLCB4, four genes in a linear pathway to activation of PLCβ in almost all tumors and loss of BAP1 in the aggressive subset. We generated mice with melanocyte-specific expression of GNA11 with and without homozygous Bap1 loss. The GNA11 mice recapitulated human Gq-associated melanomas, and they developed pigmented neoplastic lesions from melanocytes of the skin and non-cutaneous organs, including the eye and leptomeninges, as well as at atypical sites, including the lymph nodes and lungs.

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Aberrant activation of MAPK signaling leads to the activation of oncogenic transcriptomes. How MAPK signaling is coupled with the transcriptional response in cancer is not fully understood. In 2 MAPK-activated tumor types, gastrointestinal stromal tumor and melanoma, we found that ETV1 and other Pea3-ETS transcription factors are critical nuclear effectors of MAPK signaling that are regulated through protein stability.

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The cellular context that integrates upstream signaling and downstream nuclear response dictates the oncogenic behavior and shapes treatment responses in distinct cancer types. Here, we uncover that in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), the forkhead family member FOXF1 directly controls the transcription of two master regulators, and , both required for GIST precursor-interstitial cells of Cajal lineage specification and GIST tumorigenesis. Further, FOXF1 colocalizes with ETV1 at enhancers and functions as a pioneer factor that regulates the ETV1-dependent GIST lineage-specific transcriptome through modulation of the local chromatin context, including chromatin accessibility, enhancer maintenance, and ETV1 binding.

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Uveal melanomas are molecularly distinct from cutaneous melanomas and lack mutations in BRAF, NRAS, KIT, and NF1. Instead, they are characterized by activating mutations in GNAQ and GNA11, two highly homologous α subunits of Gαq/11 heterotrimeric G proteins, and in PLCB4 (phospholipase C β4), the downstream effector of Gαq signaling. We analyzed genomics data from 136 uveal melanoma samples and found a recurrent mutation in CYSLTR2 (cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 2) encoding a p.

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