Publications by authors named "Sandra Reznik"

African-American women have a maternal mortality rate approximately three times higher than European-American women. This is partially due to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia. Fetal high-risk genotype increases preeclampsia risk, although mechanisms remain elusive.

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  • Obesity is linked to a disrupted gut microbiome due to high-fat diets, causing conditions like insulin resistance and NASH.
  • In a study with mice, those on high-fat diets showed significant health issues, while treatment with Broncho-Vaxom® (OM-85) prevented obesity and improved gut health.
  • The findings suggest that immune modulators like OM-85 can positively impact metabolism and gut microbiome composition, indicating potential for new obesity therapies.
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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its development into nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are challenging health concerns globally. Clinically, the prevalence and severity of NAFLD/NASH are higher in men than in premenopausal women. NAFLD is strongly correlated with obesity, both of which are tied to high-fat/fructose-rich western diets.

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Background: Neonatal and early-life gut microbiome changes are associated with altered cardiometabolic and immune development. In this study, we explored Cesarean delivery effects on the gut microbiome in our high-risk, under-resourced Bronx, NY population.

Results: Fecal samples from the Bronx MomBa Health Study (Bronx MomBa Health Study) were categorized by delivery mode (vaginal/Cesarean) and analyzed via 16 S rRNA gene sequencing at four timepoints over the first two years of life.

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The protein, N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2), a tumor suppressor, is significantly decreased or absent in many types of cancer. There is a significant negative correlation between the levels of NDRG2 and the development and progression of cancer tumor recurrence and tumor invasion, in different cancers. In contrast, the and overexpression of the NDRG2 protein decreases the proliferation, growth, adhesion and migration of many types of cancer cells.

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The Editorial Office retracts the article, "Palmitic Acid Impedes Extravillous Trophoblast Activity by Increasing MRP1 Expression and Function" [...

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Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic disease later in life and has been shown to affect female and male offspring differently, but the mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify proteomic differences and metabolic risk markers in IUGR male and female neonates when compared to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) babies that will provide a better understanding of IUGR pathogenesis and its associated risks. Our results revealed alterations in IUGR cord plasma proteomes with most of the differentially abundant proteins implicated in peroxisome pathways.

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  • Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves memory decline and cognitive impairment, often linked to neuroinflammation, amyloid plaques, and tau tangles.
  • A novel molecule, T-ALZ01, targets neuroinflammation by inhibiting the complement protein C1r, significantly reducing inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 and TNF-α in a lab model.
  • The study highlights the effectiveness of using exosomes for delivering T-ALZ01 across the blood-brain barrier, leading to decreased neuron degeneration and reduced microglial and astrocytic activation, suggesting T-ALZ01 may be a promising treatment for neuroinflammatory disorders like AD.
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Babies born to severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected mothers are at greater risk for perinatal morbidity and more likely to receive a neurodevelopmental diagnosis in the first year of life. However, the effect of maternal infection on placental function and neonatal outcomes varies depending upon the patient population. We set out to test our hypothesis that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in our underserved, socioeconomically disadvantaged, mostly unvaccinated, predominantly African American and Latina population in the Bronx, NY would have effects evident at birth.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic degenerative brain disorder with no clear pathogenesis or effective cure, accounting for 60-80% of cases of dementia. In recent years, the importance of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of AD and other neurodegenerative disorders has come into focus. Previously, we made the serendipitous discovery that the widely used drug excipient N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) attenuates endotoxin-induced inflammatory responses in vivo.

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  • The study explores the role of mechanical forces in pulmonary emphysema by examining the relationship between airspace size and elastin-specific biomarkers (DID) in human lungs.* -
  • Results showed that larger airspaces (over 400 µm) are associated with increased elastin breakdown and higher levels of DID, indicating a response to alveolar wall distention.* -
  • The findings suggest a two-phase process where initial elastin cross-linking occurs to counteract lung damage, followed by a rapid decline in elastin as the disease progresses, making treatment more difficult.*
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Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in the world. In 2020, 1 in 10 infants were born prematurely in the United States. The World Health Organization estimates that a total of 15 million infants are born prematurely every year.

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Normal function of placental extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs), which are responsible for uteroplacental vascular remodeling, is critical for adequate delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the developing fetus and normal fetal programming. Proliferation and invasion of spiral arteries by EVTs depends upon adequate levels of folate. Multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1), which is an efflux transporter, is known to remove folate from these cells.

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Preterm birth accounts for the majority of perinatal mortality worldwide, and there remains no FDA-approved drug to prevent it. Recently, we discovered that the common drug excipient, N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), delays inflammation-induced preterm birth in mice by inhibiting NF-κB. Since we reported this finding, it has come to light that a group of widely used, structurally related aprotic solvents, including DMA, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and dimethylformamide (DMF), have anti-inflammatory efficacy.

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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects almost 7 million people worldwide and is increasing in incidence. While the precise pathogenesis of IBD remains unknown, the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines play a central role. We have previously found that N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), a widely used non-toxic drug excipient, suppresses cytokine and chemokine secretion and prevents inflammation-induced preterm birth .

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A novel treatment strategy by co-targeting c-Myc and tumor stroma was explored in vemurafenib-resistant melanoma. BRD4 proteolysis targeting chimera (ARV-825) and nintedanib co-loaded PEGylated nanoliposomes (ARNIPL) were developed to incorporate a synergistic cytotoxic ratio. Both the molecules have extremely poor aqueous solubility.

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Alzheimer disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that accounts for 60-70% of dementia and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. The pathogenesis of this debilitating disorder is still not completely understood. New insights into the pathogenesis of AD are needed in order to develop novel pharmacologic approaches.

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There has been a growing and evolving research to find a treatment or a prevention against coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Though mass vaccination will certainly help in reducing number of COVID-19 patients, an effective therapeutic measure must be available too. Intravenous remdesivir (RDV) was the first drug receiving Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of COVID-19.

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  • Multidrug resistance (MDR) often leads to chemotherapy failure due to the overexpression of ABC transporters; compounds to counteract this have been developed with varying success and side effects.
  • BMS-599626 has been identified as a potent inhibitor of the ABCG2 transporter, effectively blocking its function while enhancing the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs like topotecan and mitoxantrone in treatment-resistant cell lines.
  • Experimental results indicate that using BMS-599626 alongside chemotherapeutics could significantly improve treatment outcomes for patients facing ABCG2-mediated MDR without altering the transporter's expression or location, targeting the substrate-binding site instead.
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An adverse maternal in utero and lactation environment can program offspring for increased risk for metabolic disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an anti-inflammatory antioxidant, attenuates programmed susceptibility to obesity and insulin resistance in offspring of mothers on a high-fat diet (HFD) during pregnancy. CD1 female mice were acutely fed a standard breeding chow or HFD.

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