A review of vedolizumab and ustekinumab for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Recent advancement in the understanding of the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease has seen an expansion in therapeutic options. Vedolizumab, a selective α4β7 inhibitor, and ustekinumab, an IL 12/23 p40 inhibitor, have provided the much-awaited out-of-class alternatives for patients who have failed or who are intolerant to anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) therapy. However, questions remain as to how we may best use these novel therapeutic agents.

Predictive role of NUDT15 variants on thiopurine-induced myelotoxicity in Asian inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Background: Genetic variants of TPMT and NUDT15 have been reported to predict the inter-patient variability in response and toxicity profiles of patients receiving thiopurine therapy. However, the clinical utility of TPMT genotyping in guiding thiopurine doses has been questionable, in part due to underlying differences in the prevalence of TPMT variants in both Caucasian and Asian populations. Several NUDT15 variants have been associated with thiopurine-induced leukopenia, particularly in Asian cohorts.

Risk factors for the development of intra-abdominal fungal infections in acute pancreatitis.

Objectives: Intra-abdominal fungal infections (AFIs) complicating acute pancreatitis arise in the context of pancreatic necrosis. Our goal was to determine which risk factors contribute to AFI in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Methods: Records were reviewed from 479 nontransfer patients admitted to our medical center with acute pancreatitis from 1985 to 2009.

Complementary roles of CT and endoscopic ultrasound in evaluating a pancreatic mass.

Objective: The objectives of our study were to illustrate normal pancreatic anatomy using endoscopic ultrasound and to show the imaging findings of solid pancreatic masses on endoscopic ultrasound and CT.

Conclusion: CT and endoscopic ultrasound have complementary roles in the diagnosis of solid pancreatic masses.

Histamine receptor antagonists and incident colorectal adenomas.

Background: Prior studies suggest that histamines may modulate the development of colorectal neoplasia.

Aim: To assess whether histamine receptor antagonist use was associated with adenoma formation.

Methods: Patients (n = 2366) were drawn from three adenoma chemoprevention trials.

Myosin-VIIb, a novel unconventional myosin, is a constituent of microvilli in transporting epithelia.

Mouse myosin-VIIb, a novel unconventional myosin, was cloned from the inner ear and kidney. The human myosin-VIIb (HGMW-approved symbol MYO7B) sequence and exon structure were then deduced from a human BAC clone. The mouse gene was mapped to chromosome 18, approximately 0.

Proteome studies of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: identification and characterization of abundant proteins.

Two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis can now be coupled with protein identification techniques and genome sequence information for direct detection, identification, and characterization of large numbers of proteins from microbial organisms. 2-D electrophoresis, and new protein identification techniques such as amino acid composition, are proteome research techniques in that they allow direct characterization of many proteins at the same time. Another new tool important for yeast proteome research is the Yeast Protein Database (YPD), which provides the sequence-derived protein properties needed for spot identification and tabulations of the currently known properties of the yeast proteins.

Molecular cloning and domain structure of human myosin-VIIa, the gene product defective in Usher syndrome 1B.

Myosin-VIIa is an unconventional myosin with relatively restricted expression. Cloned first from an intestinal epithelium cell line, it occurs most notably in the testis, in the receptor cells of the inner ear, and in the pigment epithelium of the retina. Defects in myosin-VIIa cause the shaker-1 phenotype in mice and Usher syndrome 1B in human, which are characterized by deafness, lack of vestibular function, and (in human) progressive retinal degeneration.

Protein identifications for a Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein database.

The rapid progress in understanding the genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be supplemented by two-dimensional (2-D) gel studies to understand global patterns of protein synthesis, protein modification, and protein degradation. The first step in building a protein database for yeast is to identify many of the spots on 2-D gels. We are using protein sequencing, overexpression of genes on high-copy number plasmids, and amino acid analysis to identify the proteins from 2-D gels of yeast.