Publications by authors named "M D Van Stine"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the effects of ethanol on skeletal muscle protein balance in alcohol-associated cirrhosis, focusing on how it disrupts signaling pathways like mTORC1 and AMPK.
  • Ethanol leads to increased muscle autophagy by dephosphorylating mTORC1 while inhibiting AMPK, suggesting a complex interaction in energy regulation and muscle maintenance, termed a "pseudofed" state.
  • The research identifies protein phosphatase 2A as a significant player in these processes and shows that altering the activity of PI3Kγ can help counteract the negative effects of ethanol on muscle signaling and function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neuropilin-2, a cell surface receptor involved in angiogenesis and axonal guidance, has recently been shown to be a critical mediator of tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis. Given that lymphangiogenesis is a major conduit of metastasis in melanomas and that blocking neuropilin-2 function in vivo is effective in inhibiting tumor cell metastasis, we sought to determine the clinical relevance of neuropilin-2 expression in cutaneous melanoma. Immunohistochemical analysis of neuropilin-2 expression was evaluated in nevomelanocytic proliferations that included a tissue microarray and histologic sections from samples of primary melanomas (n = 42; 40 for tissue microarray, 2 for histologic sections), metastatic melanomas (n = 30; 22 for tissue microarray, 8 for histologic sections), and nevi (n = 30; 5 for tissue microarray, 25 for histologic sections), as well as a panel of normal human tissues and select nonmelanocytic tumors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tumor-endothelium interactions are critical for tumor survival and metastasis. Melanomas can rapidly metastasize early in tumor progression, but the dependence of this aggressive behavior on tumor-stromal interaction is poorly understood. To probe the mechanisms involved, we developed a heterotypic coculture methodology, allowing simultaneous tracking of genomic and phenotypic changes in interacting tumor and endothelial cells in vitro.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Since its inception, minimally invasive surgery has made a dramatic impact on all branches of surgery. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was first described in the early 1990s and has since become popular in a number of tertiary referral centers. Proponents of this relatively new procedure cite a number of potentially favorable perioperative outcomes, possibly due to reduced surgical trauma and stress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF