Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common primary malignant brain tumor, is a highly lethal form of cancer with a very limited set of treatment options. High heterogeneity in the tumor cell population and the invasive nature of these cells decrease the likely efficacy of traditional cancer treatments, thus requiring research into novel treatment options. The use of oncolytic viruses as potential therapeutics has been researched for some time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol
November 2023
Background & Aims: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a complex disease involving both genetic and environmental factors in its onset and progression. We analyzed NASH phenotypes in a genetically diverse cohort of mice, the Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel, to identify genes contributing to disease susceptibility.
Methods: A "systems genetics" approach, involving integration of genetic, transcriptomic, and phenotypic data, was used to identify candidate genes and pathways in a mouse model of NASH.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) targeting programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and its corresponding ligand PD-L1 are being increasingly used for a wide variety of cancers, including refractory sarcomas. Autoimmune hepatitis is a known side effect of ICIs, and is typically managed with broad, non-specific immunosuppression. Here, we report a case of severe autoimmune hepatitis occurring after anti-PD-1 therapy with nivolumab in a patient with osteosarcoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRNA viruses continue to remain a threat for potential pandemics due to their rapid evolution. Potentiating host antiviral pathways to prevent or limit viral infections is a promising strategy. Thus, by testing a library of innate immune agonists targeting pathogen recognition receptors, we observe that Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), stimulator of interferon genes (STING), TLR8, and Dectin-1 ligands inhibit arboviruses, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), West Nile virus, and Zika virus to varying degrees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRNA viruses continue to remain a clear and present threat for potential pandemics due to their rapid evolution. To mitigate their impact, we urgently require antiviral agents that can inhibit multiple families of disease-causing viruses, such as arthropod-borne and respiratory pathogens. Potentiating host antiviral pathways can prevent or limit viral infections before escalating into a major outbreak.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, causes respiratory failure and damage to multiple organ systems. The emergence of viral variants poses a risk of vaccine failures and prolongation of the pandemic. However, our understanding of the molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent COVID-19 pathophysiology is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProteins including FUS, hnRNPA2, and TDP-43 reversibly aggregate into amyloid-like fibrils through interactions of their low-complexity domains (LCDs). Mutations in LCDs can promote irreversible amyloid aggregation and disease. We introduce a computational approach to identify mutations in LCDs of disease-associated proteins predicted to increase propensity for amyloid aggregation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, causes respiratory failure and damage to multiple organ systems. The emergence of viral variants poses a risk of vaccine failures and prolongation of the pandemic. However, our understanding of the molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent COVID-19 pathophysiology is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFibroblast activation protein (FAP)-expressing cancer-associated fibroblasts confer treatment resistance and promote metastasis and immunosuppression. Because FAP is overexpressed in many cancers, radiolabeled molecules targeting FAP are studied for their use as pancancer theranostic agents. This study aimed to establish the spectrum of FAP expression across various cancers by immunohistochemistry and to explore whether Ga FAP inhibitor (FAPi)-46 PET biodistribution faithfully reflects FAP expression from resected cancer and non-cancer specimens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with increased overall morbidity and mortality in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. Liver fibrosis is the strongest prognostic factor for clinical outcomes, liver-related mortality and liver transplantation. Currently, no single therapy or medication for NASH has been approved by the U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDisordered lysosomal/autophagy pathways initiate and drive pancreatitis, but the underlying mechanisms and links to disease pathology are poorly understood. Here, we show that the mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) pathway of hydrolase delivery to lysosomes critically regulates pancreatic acinar cell cholesterol metabolism. Ablation of the Gnptab gene encoding a key enzyme in the M6P pathway disrupted acinar cell cholesterol turnover, causing accumulation of nonesterified cholesterol in lysosomes/autolysosomes, its depletion in the plasma membrane, and upregulation of cholesterol synthesis and uptake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViruses hijack host cell metabolism to acquire the building blocks required for replication. Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 alters host cell metabolism may lead to potential treatments for COVID-19. Here we profile metabolic changes conferred by SARS-CoV-2 infection in kidney epithelial cells and lung air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures, and show that SARS-CoV-2 infection increases glucose carbon entry into the TCA cycle via increased pyruvate carboxylase expression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMallory-Denk Bodies (MDBs) are prevalent in a variety of liver diseases including alcoholic hepatitis (AH) and are formed in mice livers by feeding DDC. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are considered as emerging new gene regulators, which participates in many functional activities through diverse mechanisms. We previously reported the mechanisms involved in the formation of liver MDBs in mouse model and in AH livers where MDBs had formed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 71-year-old man underwent 18F-FDG and 68Ga-FAPI-46 PET/CT for initial staging prior to surgery of a squamous cell carcinoma of the lower esophagus under the prospective study NCT04147494. Both scans showed increased uptake in the mid and distal esophagus without evidence of metastatic disease. A soft tissue right infrascapular mass with mild 18F-FDG and moderate 68Ga-FAPI-46 uptake was incidentally found.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFAT10 expression is highly up-regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines IFNγ and TNFα in all cell types and tissues. Increased FAT10 expression may induce increasing mitotic non-disjunction and chromosome instability, leading to tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarized others' and our work on FAT10 expression in liver biopsy samples from patients with alcoholic hepatitis (AH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rise in multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms portends a serious global threat to the health care system with nearly untreatable infectious diseases, including pneumonia and its often fatal sequelae, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and sepsis. Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), including , , and carbapenemase-producing (CPKP), are among the World Health Organization's and National Institutes of Health's high-priority MDR pathogens for targeted development of new therapies. Here, we show that stabilizing the host's vasculature by genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of the small GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) increases survival rates of mice infected with , , and CPKP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world and one of the most lethal. MGN-3/Biobran is a natural product derived from rice bran hemicelluloses and has been reported to possess a potent anticancer effect in a clinical study of patients with HCC. The current study examines the mechanisms by which Biobran protects against chemically induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe following review article presents clinical and experimental features of alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD). Basic aspects of alcohol metabolism leading to the development of liver hepatotoxicity are discussed. ALD includes fatty liver, acute alcoholic hepatitis with or without liver failure, alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis, and hepatocellular cancer (HCC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZika virus (ZIKV) is a reemerging human pathogen that causes congenital abnormalities, including microcephaly and eye disease. The cellular/molecular basis of ZIKV and host interactions inducing ocular and neuronal pathogenesis are unclear. Herein, we noted that the Hippo/Salvador-Warts-Hippo signaling pathway, which controls organ size through progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation, is dysregulated after ZIKV infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol
February 2020
mutations are associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Although tobacco smoking, pancreatitis, and obesity are known environmental risk factors for PDAC, the contribution of moderate alcohol intake to PDAC remains elusive. In the present study, we tested whether a combination of risk factors or moderate alcohol intake induces PDAC development in mice.
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