Purpose: Ketogenic diets may positively influence cancer through pleiotropic mechanisms, but only a few small and short-term studies have addressed feasibility and efficacy in cancer patients. The primary goals of this study were to evaluate the feasibility and the sustained metabolic effects of a personalized well-formulated ketogenic diet (WFKD) designed to achieve consistent blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) >0.5 mM in women diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer (MBC) undergoing chemotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransient transfection of mammalian cells using plasmid DNA is a standard method to produce adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors allowing for flexible and scalable manufacture. Typically, three plasmids are used to encode the necessary components to facilitate vector production; however, a dual-plasmid system, termed pDG, was introduced over 2 decades ago demonstrating two components could be combined resulting in comparable productivity to triple transfection. We have developed a novel dual-plasmid system, pOXB, with an alternative arrangement of sequences that results in significantly increased AAV vector productivity and percentage of full capsids packaged in comparison to the pDG dual design and triple transfection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a novel "floatation-restricted environmental stimulation therapy" (floatation-REST) on growth hormone responses to an intense resistance exercise stress.
Design: Nine resistance trained men (age: 23.4 ± 2.
The development of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) gene therapies is becoming an increasing priority in the biotherapeutic landscape. One of the challenges associated with the production of rAAV is the formation of empty AAV particles that do not contain a therapeutic gene. The concerns about the impact of empty particles on clinical safety and rAAV-mediated gene expression have necessitated the development of purification processes to remove these species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute ingestion of ketone supplements alters metabolism and potentially exercise performance. No studies to date have evaluated the impact of co-ingestion of ketone salts with caffeine and amino acids on high intensity exercise performance, and no data exists in Keto-Adapted individuals. We tested the performance and metabolic effects of a pre-workout supplement containing beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) salts, caffeine, and amino acids (KCA) in recreationally-active adults habitually consuming a mixed diet (Keto-Naïve; n = 12) or a ketogenic diet (Keto-Adapted; n = 12).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-mediated gene therapy is a fast-evolving field in the biotechnology industry. One of the major challenges in developing a purification process for AAV gene therapy is establishing an effective yet scalable method to remove empty capsids, or viral vectors lacking the therapeutic gene, from full capsids-viral product containing the therapeutic sequence. Several analytical methods that can quantify the empty-to-full capsid ratio have been reported in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBACKGROUNDMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly correlated with obesity and cardiovascular risk, but the importance of dietary carbohydrate independent of weight loss in MetS treatment remains controversial. Here, we test the theory that dietary carbohydrate intolerance (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntioxid Redox Signal
February 2018
Persistent infection contributes to wound chronicity. At the wound site, NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity in immune cells fights infection to enable the healing process. Fermented papaya preparation (FPP) is a carbohydrate-rich nutritional supplement that has demonstrated ability to bolster respiratory burst in experimental rodent systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating form of hemorrhagic stroke with 30-day mortality between 33 and 45%. Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is the chief cause of morbidity and mortality in patients who survive the initial aSAH. DCI accounts for almost 50% of deaths in patients surviving to treatment of the ruptured aneurysm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAny tissue is made up of a heterogeneous mix of spatially distributed cell types. In response to any (patho) physiological cue, responses of each cell type in any given tissue may be unique and cannot be homogenized across cell-types and spatial co-ordinates. For example, in response to myocardial infarction, on one hand myocytes and fibroblasts of the heart tissue respond differently.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFermented papaya preparation (FPP) is a nutritional supplement reported to act as an antioxidant by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and removing "bad ROS," while inducing "respiratory burst" production of necessary "good ROS." We sought to investigate the safety of oral administration of FPP (9 g/day, 6 weeks) to T2D patients with regard to its effect on the hyperglycemia status of these patients. Peripheral blood was collected during a baseline visit, followed by subsequent collections both during and after supplementation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonocytes and macrophages (m) are plastic cells whose functions are governed by microenvironmental cues. Wound fluid bathing the wound tissue reflects the wound microenvironment. Current literature on wound inflammation is primarily based on the study of blood monocyte-derived macrophages, cells that have never been exposed to the wound microenvironment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Supplementation of standardized fermented papaya preparation (FPP) to adult diabetic mice improves dermal wound healing outcomes. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients elicit a compromised respiratory burst activity resulting in increased risk of infections for the diabetic patients.
Aims: The objectives of the current study were to determine the effect of FPP supplementation on human diabetic PBMC respiratory burst activity and to understand underlying mechanisms of such action of FPP.
Glucans are known to promote wound repair. Noncellulosic β-glucans are recognized as potent immunological activators. β-Glucans are generally safe and are known to attenuate the rate of postoperative infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To describe a patient with recent onset of rapidly progressive virilization who was diagnosed with an androgen-secreting tumor of the left ovary, localized by selective ovarian vein catheterization and hormonal sampling (SOVHS).
Design: Case report.
Setting: Tertiary community-based medical center.
Objective: To report the first case of monozygotic twins with discordant congenital anomalies.
Design: Descriptive case report.
Setting: University hospital.