Publications by authors named "Rebekah Starks"

Article Synopsis
  • Acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis (AECRS) are often worsened by rhinovirus (RV) infections, and the study investigates genetic risk factors associated with these infections, focusing on the CDHR3 gene.
  • In a year-long study, individuals carrying the minor allele rs6967330 showed significantly higher rates of RV and bacterial infections compared to those with the major allele.
  • The study also found that nasal airway cultures from minor allele carriers had higher levels of viral replication and exhibited changes in immune response pathways, suggesting that these genetic factors affect how the body responds to RV infections.
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The placenta serves as a connection between the mother and the fetus during pregnancy, providing the fetus with oxygen, nutrients, and growth hormones. However, the regulatory mechanisms and dynamic gene interaction networks underlying early placental development are understudied. Here, we generated RNA-sequencing data from mouse fetal placenta at embryonic days 7.

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SATB homeobox proteins are important regulators of developmental gene expression. Among the stem cell lineages that emerge during early embryonic development, trophoblast stem (TS) cells exhibit robust SATB expression. Both SATB1 and SATB2 act to maintain the trophoblast stem-state.

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The placenta is a temporary organ that provides the developing fetus with nutrients, oxygen, and protection in utero. Defects in its development, which may be caused by misregulated gene expression, can lead to devastating outcomes for the mother and fetus. In mouse, placental defects during midgestation commonly lead to embryonic lethality.

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During pregnancy, the placenta is important for transporting nutrients and waste between the maternal and fetal blood supply, secreting hormones, and serving as a protective barrier. To better understand placental development, we must understand how placental gene expression is regulated. We used RNA-seq data and ChIP-seq data for the enhancer associated mark, H3k27ac, to study gene regulation in the mouse placenta at embryonic day (e) 9.

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Background: The assay for transposase-accessible chromatin (ATAC-seq) is a powerful method to examine chromatin accessibility. While many studies have reported a positive correlation between gene expression and promoter accessibility, few have investigated the genes that deviate from this trend. In this study, we aimed to understand the relationship between gene expression and promoter accessibility in multiple cell types while also identifying gene regulatory networks in the placenta, an understudied organ that is critical for a successful pregnancy.

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