Augmenting astrophysical scaling relations with machine learning: Application to reducing the Sunyaev-Zeldovich flux-mass scatter.

Complex astrophysical systems often exhibit low-scatter relations between observable properties (e.g., luminosity, velocity dispersion, oscillation period).

Combination of NKG2A and PD-1 Blockade Improves Radiotherapy Response in Radioresistant Tumors.

Radiotherapy (RT) is commonly employed to treat solid tumors. Immune checkpoint blockade of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and CTLA-4 improves survival in RT patients, yet many fail to respond to combination therapy. Natural killer group 2 (NKG2) family receptors, particularly inhibitory NKG2A and activating NKG2D, have emerged as promising therapeutic targets to improve antitumor T cell responses; thus, we examined how these receptors and their ligands (Qa-1 and retinoic acid early inducible 1 [Rae-1], respectively) regulate the RT response in C57BL/6 mice bearing syngeneic B16F10 melanoma and MC38 colorectal adenocarcinoma tumors.

Identification of a Vitamin-D Receptor Antagonist, MeTC7, which Inhibits the Growth of Xenograft and Transgenic Tumors .

Vitamin-D receptor (VDR) mRNA is overexpressed in neuroblastoma and carcinomas of lung, pancreas, and ovaries and predicts poor prognoses. VDR antagonists may be able to inhibit tumors that overexpress VDR. However, the current antagonists are arduous to synthesize and are only partial antagonists, limiting their use.

Development of an Orthotopic Murine Model of Rectal Cancer in Conjunction With Targeted Short-Course Radiation Therapy.

Purpose: Orthotopic tumors more closely recapitulate human cancers than do ectopic models; however, precision targeting of such internal tumors for radiation therapy (RT) without inducing systemic toxicity remains a barrier. We developed an innovative murine orthotopic rectal tumor model where the insertion of clinical grade titanium fiducial clips on opposing sides of the rectal tumor allowed for targeted administration of short-course radiation therapy (SCRT). With this novel approach, clinically relevant RT regimens can be administered to orthotopic tumors to explore the biology and efficacy of radiation alone or as a combination therapy in a murine model that closely recapitulates human disease.

Coadministration of a Clinically Relevant Dexamethasone Dosage With Ablative Radiation Therapy Reduces Peripheral Lymphocytes But Does Not Alter In Vivo Intratumoral Lymphocyte Phenotype or Inhibit Efficacy of Radiation Therapy in a Murine Colorectal Tumor Model.

Purpose: Dexamethasone is commonly given during radiation therapy (RT) to manage toxicities. Our study examines if dexamethasone coadministration with RT inhibits the RT-induced antitumor T cell response in mouse.

Methods And Materials: Intramuscularly implanted MC38 tumors were irradiated with 15 Gy after establishing for 7 days.

Adrenergic Receptor Signaling Regulates the Response of Tumors to Ionizing Radiation.

While ionizing radiation is a major form of cancer therapy, radioresistance remains a therapeutic obstacle. We have previously shown that the mandated housing temperature for laboratory mice (∼22°C) induces mild, but chronic, cold stress resulting in increased circulating norepinephrine, which binds to, and triggers activation of, beta-adrenergic receptors (β-AR) on tumor and immune cells. This adrenergic signaling increases tumor cell intrinsic resistance to chemotherapy and suppression of the anti-tumor immune response.

Oral interleukin-10 alleviates polyposis via neutralization of pathogenic T-regulatory cells.

Immune dysregulation drives the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory, autoimmune, and dysplastic disorders. While often intended to address localized pathology, most immune modulatory therapies are administered systemically and carry inherent risk of multiorgan toxicities. Here, we demonstrate, in a murine model of spontaneous gastrointestinal polyposis, that site-specific uptake of orally administered IL10 microparticles ameliorates local and systemic disease to enhance survival.

Clinical and statistical correlation of various lumbar pathological conditions.

Current clinical evaluations often rely on static anatomic imaging modalities for diagnosis of mechanical low back pain, which provide anatomic snapshots and a surrogate analysis of a functional disease. Three dimensional in vivo motion is available with the use of digital fluoroscopy, which was used to capture kinematic data of the lumbar spine in order to identify coefficients of motion that may assist the physician in differentiating patient pathology. Forty patients distributed among 4 classes of lumbar degeneration, from healthy to degenerative, underwent CT, MRI, and digital x-ray fluoroscopy.