Publications by authors named "M P Quezada"

High-grade gliomas (HGGs) are the leading cause of brain cancer-related death. HGGs include clinically, anatomically and molecularly distinct subtypes that stratify into diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs), such as H3K27M-altered diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, and hemispheric HGGs, such as IDH wild-type glioblastoma. Neuronal activity drives glioma progression through paracrine signalling and neuron-to-glioma synapses.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Intravitreal delivery of therapeutic transgenes to the retina via engineered viral vectors can provide sustained local concentrations of therapeutic proteins and thus potentially reduce the treatment burden and improve long-term vision outcomes for patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), and diabetic retinopathy.

Methods: We performed directed evolution in nonhuman primates (NHP) to invent an adeno-associated viral (AAV) variant (R100) with the capacity to cross vitreoretinal barriers and transduce all regions and layers of the retina following intravitreal injection. We then engineered 4D-150, an R100-based genetic medicine carrying 2 therapeutic transgenes: a codon-optimized sequence encoding aflibercept, a recombinant protein that inhibits VEGF-A, VEGF-B, and PlGF, and a microRNA sequence that inhibits expression of VEGF-C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In heart failure (HF) patients undergoing cardiac surgery, an increased activity of mechanisms related to cardiac remodeling may determine a higher risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). Given that atrial fibrillation (AF) has a negative impact on the course and management of HF, including the need for anticoagulation therapy, identifying the factors associated with AF occurrence after cardiac surgery is crucial for the prognosis of these patients. POAF is thought to occur when various clinical and biochemical triggers act on susceptible cardiac tissue (first hit), with oxidative stress and inflammation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery being potential contributing factors (second hit).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Diffuse hemispheric gliomas, specifically H3G34R/V-mutant, are aggressive brain tumors with no current targeted therapies and come from neural precursor cells.
  • Researchers found that these tumors display developmental patterns similar to healthy brain interneurons and identified key genes that these tumor cells depend on, especially CDK6.
  • Targeting CDK6 with inhibitors showed promising results in reducing tumor growth and improving survival in experimental models, with one patient showing a significant response to treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Different processing techniques are employed to obtain poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with consistent surface quality in terms of topography and tribological function. The purpose of this research is to evaluate its influence on the surface height distribution.

Methods: In this research, samples of conventional and CAD/CAM acrylic resins were prepared.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF