Real-world practitioner perceptions of CARTITUDE-4 results for patients with previously treated multiple myeloma.

Introduction: Initially approved for the fifth-line or later therapeutic setting, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell regimen ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) was recently approved for second-line (2L) treatment in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Oncology practitioners use clinical trials to inform treatment, but real-world impressions and impact on practice are lacking. We aimed to determine whether presenting CARTITUDE-4 clinical trial data would impact real-world preferences/perceptions around CAR T-cell therapy.

Changes in immunofluorescence staining during islet regeneration in a cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) ferret model.

Background: Knockout (KO) ferrets with the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) exhibit distinct phases of dysglycemia and pancreatic remodeling prior to cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) development. Following normoglycemia during the first month of life (Phase l), hyperglycemia occurs during the subsequent 2 months (Phase Il) with decreased islet mass, followed by a period of near normoglycemia (Phase Ill) in which the islets regenerate. We aimed to characterize islet hormone expression patterns across these Phases.

SERCA2 regulates proinsulin processing and processing enzyme maturation in pancreatic beta cells.

Aims/hypothesis: Increased circulating levels of incompletely processed insulin (i.e. proinsulin) are observed clinically in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The Chd4 Helicase Regulates Chromatin Accessibility and Gene Expression Critical for β-Cell Function In Vivo.

Unlabelled: The transcriptional activity of Pdx1 is modulated by a diverse array of coregulatory factors that govern chromatin accessibility, histone modifications, and nucleosome distribution. We previously identified the Chd4 subunit of the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase complex as a Pdx1-interacting factor. To identify how loss of Chd4 impacts glucose homeostasis and gene expression programs in β-cells in vivo, we generated an inducible β-cell-specific Chd4 knockout mouse model.

A discovery-based proteomics approach identifies protein disulphide isomerase (PDIA1) as a biomarker of β cell stress in type 1 diabetes.

Background: Stress responses within the β cell have been linked with both increased β cell death and accelerated immune activation in type 1 diabetes (T1D). At present, information on the timing and scope of these responses as well as disease-related changes in islet β cell protein expression during T1D development is lacking.

Methods: Data independent acquisition-mass spectrometry was performed on islets collected longitudinally from NOD mice and NOD-SCID mice rendered diabetic through T cell adoptive transfer.

A high-fat diet catalyzes progression to hyperglycemia in mice with selective impairment of insulin action in Glut4-expressing tissues.

Insulin resistance impairs postprandial glucose uptake through glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) and is the primary defect preceding type 2 diabetes. We previously generated an insulin-resistant mouse model with human GLUT4 promoter-driven insulin receptor knockout (GIRKO) in the muscle, adipose, and neuronal subpopulations. However, the rate of diabetes in GIRKO mice remained low prior to 6 months of age on normal chow diet (NCD), suggesting that additional factors/mechanisms are responsible for adverse metabolic effects driving the ultimate progression of overt diabetes.

Nmp4, a Regulator of Induced Osteoanabolism, Also Influences Insulin Secretion and Sensitivity.

A bidirectional and complex relationship exists between bone and glycemia. Persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at risk for bone loss and fracture, however, heightened osteoanabolism may ameliorate T2D-induced deficits in glycemia as bone-forming osteoblasts contribute to energy metabolism via increased glucose uptake and cellular glycolysis. Mice globally lacking nuclear matrix protein 4 (Nmp4), a transcription factor expressed in all tissues and conserved between humans and rodents, are healthy and exhibit enhanced bone formation in response to anabolic osteoporosis therapies.

Offspring of Obese Dams Exhibit Sex-Differences in Pancreatic Heparan Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans and Islet Insulin Secretion.

Offspring of obese mothers suffer higher risks of type 2 diabetes due to increased adiposity and decreased β cell function. To date, the sex-differences in offspring islet insulin secretion during early life has not been evaluated extensively, particularly prior to weaning at postnatal day 21 (P21). To determine the role of maternal obesity on offspring islet insulin secretion, C57BL/6J female dams were fed chow or western diet from 4 weeks prior to mating to induce maternal obesity.

A Computational Approach for Defining a Signature of β-Cell Golgi Stress in Diabetes.

The Golgi apparatus (GA) is an important site of insulin processing and granule maturation, but whether GA organelle dysfunction and GA stress are present in the diabetic β-cell has not been tested. We used an informatics-based approach to develop a transcriptional signature of β-cell GA stress using existing RNA sequencing and microarray data sets generated using human islets from donors with diabetes and islets where type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes had been modeled ex vivo. To narrow our results to GA-specific genes, we applied a filter set of 1,030 genes accepted as GA associated.

Lipid mediators and biomarkers associated with type 1 diabetes development.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a consequence of autoimmune β cell destruction, but the role of lipids in this process is unknown. We previously reported that activation of Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β) modulates polarization of macrophages (MΦ). Hydrolysis of the sn-2 substituent of glycerophospholipids by iPLA2β can lead to the generation of oxidized lipids (eicosanoids), pro- and antiinflammatory, which can initiate and amplify immune responses triggering β cell death.

Cigarette smoke exposure impairs β-cell function through activation of oxidative stress and ceramide accumulation.

Objectives: Epidemiological studies indicate that first- and second-hand cigarette smoke (CS) exposure are important risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Additionally, elevated diabetes risk has been reported to occur within a short period of time after smoking cessation, and health risks associated with smoking are increased when combined with obesity. At present, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain incompletely understood.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress alters ryanodine receptor function in the murine pancreatic β cell.

Alterations in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium (Ca) levels diminish insulin secretion and reduce β-cell survival in both major forms of diabetes. The mechanisms responsible for ER Ca loss in β cells remain incompletely understood. Moreover, a specific role for either ryanodine receptor (RyR) or inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IPR) dysfunction in the pathophysiology of diabetes remains largely untested.

Impaired Store-Operated Calcium Entry and STIM1 Loss Lead to Reduced Insulin Secretion and Increased Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Diabetic β-Cell.

Store-operated Ca entry (SOCE) is a dynamic process that leads to refilling of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca stores through reversible gating of plasma membrane Ca channels by the ER Ca sensor Stromal Interaction Molecule 1 (STIM1). Pathogenic reductions in β-cell ER Ca have been observed in diabetes. However, a role for impaired SOCE in this phenotype has not been tested.

Combination Immunotherapy for Type 1 Diabetes.

Purpose Of Review: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease marked by β-cell destruction. Immunotherapies for T1D have been investigated since the 1980s and have focused on restoration of tolerance, T cell or B cell inhibition, regulatory T cell (Treg) induction, suppression of innate immunity and inflammation, immune system reset, and islet transplantation. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview and lessons learned from single immunotherapy trials, describe recent and ongoing combination immunotherapy trials, and provide perspectives on strategies for future combination clinical interventions aimed at preserving insulin secretion in T1D.

Temporal Ordering of Dynamic Expression Data from Detailed Spatial Expression Maps.

During somitogenesis, pairs of epithelial somites form in a progressive manner, budding off from the anterior end of the pre-somitic mesoderm (PSM) with a strict species-specific periodicity. The periodicity of the process is regulated by a molecular oscillator, known as the "segmentation clock," acting in the PSM cells. This clock drives the oscillatory patterns of gene expression across the PSM in a posterior-anterior direction.

Polarization of Macrophages toward M2 Phenotype Is Favored by Reduction in iPLA2β (Group VIA Phospholipase A2).

Macrophages are important in innate and adaptive immunity. Macrophage participation in inflammation or tissue repair is directed by various extracellular signals and mediated by multiple intracellular pathways. Activation of group VIA phospholipase A (iPLAβ) causes accumulation of arachidonic acid, lysophospholipids, and eicosanoids that can promote inflammation and pathologic states.

Embryonic Stem Cell Culture Conditions Support Distinct States Associated with Different Developmental Stages and Potency.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are cell lines derived from the mammalian pre-implantation embryo. Here we assess the impact of derivation and culture conditions on both functional potency and ESC transcriptional identity. Individual ESCs cultured in either two small-molecule inhibitors (2i) or with knockout serum replacement (KOSR), but not serum, can generate high-level chimeras regardless of how these cells were derived.

A balance of positive and negative regulators determines the pace of the segmentation clock.

Somitogenesis is regulated by a molecular oscillator that drives dynamic gene expression within the pre-somitic mesoderm. Previous mathematical models of the somitogenesis clock that invoke the mechanism of delayed negative feedback predict that its oscillation period depends on the sum of delays inherent to negative-feedback loops and inhibitor half-lives. We develop a mathematical model that explores the possibility that positive feedback also plays a role in determining the period of clock oscillations.

Calcium-independent phospholipases A2 and their roles in biological processes and diseases.

Among the family of phospholipases A2 (PLA2s) are the Ca(2+)-independent PLA2s (iPLA2s) and they are designated group VI iPLA2s. In relation to secretory and cytosolic PLA2s, the iPLA2s are more recently described and details of their expression and roles in biological functions are rapidly emerging. The iPLA2s or patatin-like phospholipases (PNPLAs) are intracellular enzymes that do not require Ca(2+) for activity, and contain lipase (GXSXG) and nucleotide-binding (GXGXXG) consensus sequences.

Spatiotemporal oscillations of Notch1, Dll1 and NICD are coordinated across the mouse PSM.

During somitogenesis, epithelial somites form from the pre-somitic mesoderm (PSM) in a periodic manner. This periodicity is regulated by a molecular oscillator, known as the 'segmentation clock', that is characterised by an oscillatory pattern of gene expression that sweeps the PSM in a caudal-rostral direction. Key components of the segmentation clock are intracellular components of the Notch, Wnt and FGF pathways, and it is widely accepted that intracellular negative-feedback loops regulate oscillatory gene expression.

Inhibition of Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β) ameliorates islet infiltration and incidence of diabetes in NOD mice.

Autoimmune β-cell death leads to type 1 diabetes, and with findings that Ca(2+)-independent phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β) activation contributes to β-cell death, we assessed the effects of iPLA2β inhibition on diabetes development. Administration of FKGK18, a reversible iPLA2β inhibitor, to NOD female mice significantly reduced diabetes incidence in association with 1) reduced insulitis, reflected by reductions in CD4(+) T cells and B cells; 2) improved glucose homeostasis; 3) higher circulating insulin; and 4) β-cell preservation. Furthermore, FKGK18 inhibited production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from CD4(+) T cells and antibodies from B cells, suggesting modulation of immune cell responses by iPLA2β-derived products.

Evidence of contribution of iPLA2β-mediated events during islet β-cell apoptosis due to proinflammatory cytokines suggests a role for iPLA2β in T1D development.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from autoimmune destruction of islet β-cells, but the underlying mechanisms that contribute to this process are incompletely understood, especially the role of lipid signals generated by β-cells. Proinflammatory cytokines induce ER stress in β-cells and we previously found that the Ca(2+)-independent phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β) participates in ER stress-induced β-cell apoptosis. In view of reports of elevated iPLA2β in T1D, we examined if iPLA2β participates in cytokine-mediated islet β-cell apoptosis.

Characterization of FKGK18 as inhibitor of group VIA Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2β): candidate drug for preventing beta-cell apoptosis and diabetes.

Ongoing studies suggest an important role for iPLA2β in a multitude of biological processes and it has been implicated in neurodegenerative, skeletal and vascular smooth muscle disorders, bone formation, and cardiac arrhythmias. Thus, identifying an iPLA2βinhibitor that can be reliably and safely used in vivo is warranted. Currently, the mechanism-based inhibitor bromoenol lactone (BEL) is the most widely used to discern the role of iPLA2β in biological processes.

Genetic modulation of islet β-cell iPLA₂β expression provides evidence for its impact on β-cell apoptosis and autophagy.

β-cell apoptosis is a significant contributor to β-cell dysfunction in diabetes and ER stress is among the factors that contributes to β-cell death. We previously identified that the Ca²⁺-independent phospholipase A₂β (iPLA₂β), which in islets is localized in β-cells, participates in ER stress-induced β-cell apoptosis. Here, direct assessment of iPLA₂β role was made using β-cell-specific iPLA₂β overexpressing (RIP-iPLA₂β-Tg) and globally iPLA₂β-deficient (iPLA₂β-KO) mice.

Gene transfer of active Akt1 by an infectivity-enhanced adenovirus impacts β-cell survival and proliferation differentially in vitro and in vivo.

Type 1 Diabetes is characterized by an absolute insulin deficiency due to the autoimmune destruction of insulin producing β-cells in the pancreatic islets. Akt1/Protein Kinase B is the direct downstream target of PI3 Kinase activation, and has shown potent anti-apoptotic and proliferation-inducing activities. This study was designed to explore whether gene transfer of constitutively active Akt1 (CA-Akt1) would promote β-cell survival and proliferation, thus be protective against experimental diabetes.