ARHGAP29 Is Involved in Increased Invasiveness of Tamoxifen-resistant Breast Cancer Cells and its Expression Levels Correlate With Clinical Tumor Parameters of Breast Cancer Patients.

Background/aim: Aggressive breast cancer (BC) cells show high expression of Rho GTPase activating protein 29 (ARHGAP29), a negative regulator of RhoA. In breast cancer cells in which mesenchymal transformation was induced, ARHGAP29 was the only one of 32 GTPase-activating enzymes whose expression increased significantly. Therefore, we investigated whether there is a correlation between expression of ARHGAP29 and tumor progression in BC.

Chronic metabolic stress drives developmental programs and loss of tissue functions in non-transformed liver that mirror tumor states and stratify survival.

Under chronic stress, cells must balance competing demands between cellular survival and tissue function. In metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly NAFLD/NASH), hepatocytes cooperate with structural and immune cells to perform crucial metabolic, synthetic, and detoxification functions despite nutrient imbalances. While prior work has emphasized stress-induced drivers of cell death, the dynamic adaptations of surviving cells and their functional repercussions remain unclear.

Cardiac radiation improves ventricular function in mice and humans with cardiomyopathy.

Background: Rapidly dividing cells are more sensitive to radiation therapy (RT) than quiescent cells. In the failing myocardium, macrophages and fibroblasts mediate collateral tissue injury, leading to progressive myocardial remodeling, fibrosis, and pump failure. Because these cells divide more rapidly than cardiomyocytes, we hypothesized that macrophages and fibroblasts would be more susceptible to lower doses of radiation and that cardiac radiation could therefore attenuate myocardial remodeling.

Glucocorticoid Receptor Gene () Polymorphisms and Metabolic Syndrome: Insights from the Mennonite Population.

The regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is associated with polymorphisms and the methylation degree of the glucocorticoid receptor gene () and is potentially involved in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). In order to evaluate the association between MetS with the polymorphisms, methylation, and gene expression of the in the genetically isolated Brazilian Mennonite population, we genotyped 20 polymorphisms in 74 affected (MetS) and 138 unaffected individuals without affected first-degree relatives (Co), using exome sequencing, as well as five variants from non-exonic regions, in 70 MetS and 166 Co, using mass spectrometry. The methylation levels of 11 1F CpG sites were quantified using pyrosequencing (66 MetS and 141 Co), and the expression was evaluated via RT-qPCR (14 MetS and 25 Co).

Magnetic hydrogel particles improve nanopore sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses.

Presented here is a magnetic hydrogel particle enabled workflow for capturing and concentrating SARS-CoV-2 from diagnostic remnant swab samples that significantly improves sequencing results using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencing platform. Our approach utilizes a novel affinity-based magnetic hydrogel particle, circumventing low input sample volumes and allowing for both rapid manual and automated high throughput workflows that are compatible with Nanopore sequencing. This approach enhances standard RNA extraction protocols, providing up to 40 × improvements in viral mapped reads, and improves sequencing coverage by 20-80% from lower titer diagnostic remnant samples.