Publications by authors named "Shirin Karimi"

Article Synopsis
  • Mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) enzymes in diffuse gliomas are linked to better patient outcomes, but survival rates vary widely among individuals.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 154 patients, revealing that some IDH mutant gliomas had metabolism patterns similar to IDH wild-type tumors, leading to poorer survival rates.
  • The study found that these metabolism-altered IDH mutant tumors had unique epigenetic changes that promoted growth and stem-like characteristics, suggesting new potential treatment targets.
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Drainage for forestry has created ~ 1 million km of artificial waterways in Sweden, making it one of the largest human-induced environmental disturbances in the country. These extensive modifications of both peatland and mineral soil dominated landscapes still carry largely unknown, but potentially enormous environmental legacy effects. However, the consequences of contemporary ditch management strategies, such as hydrological restoration via ditch blocking or enhancing forest drainage to promote biomass production via ditch cleaning, on water resources and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes are unclear.

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Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a highly aggressive sarcoma, and a lethal neurofibromatosis type 1-related malignancy, with little progress made on treatment strategies. Here, we apply a multiplatform integrated molecular analysis on 108 tumors spanning the spectrum of peripheral nerve sheath tumors to identify candidate drivers of MPNST that can serve as therapeutic targets. Unsupervised analyses of methylome and transcriptome profiles identify two distinct subgroups of MPNSTs with unique targetable oncogenic programs.

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Two supported noble metal species, gold and palladium anchored on an ionic liquid-modified Fe-based metal-organic framework (MOF), were successfully synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TEM, XPS, SEM, EDX, and elemental mapping. The ionic liquid post-modified MOF was used for anchoring Au or Pd at ppm levels, and the resulting materials were employed as catalysts in the reduction of nitrophenol isomers, dyes, and Sonogashira-Hagihara reactions. Using the Au@Fe-MOF-IL catalyst, reduction of nitrophenol isomers, as well as the reductive degradation of dyes, , methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and methyl red (MR) were performed efficiently in water.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop Dental Public Health (DPH) competencies and to assess the self-perceived achievements of undergraduate students in regard to these competencies.

Materials And Methods: In the first phase, by using the mixed method of the RAND-UCLA model, a list of the proposed competencies was developed and validated based on three-round expert consensus using both rating and group discussing method. In the second phase, 120 senior (final-year) dental students were asked to determine their achievements based on the finalised list of competency statements on a 0-10 numerical scale.

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Background: Chordomas are rare malignant bone cancers of the skull-base and spine. Patient survival is variable and not reliably predicted using clinical factors or molecular features. This study identifies prognostic epigenetic chordoma subtypes that are detected noninvasively using plasma methylomes.

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Article Synopsis
  • Accurate diagnosis of CNS tumors can be difficult, but using DNA methylation profiling can help classify these challenging cases effectively.
  • In a study of 1258 surgical samples, 66.4% received high-confidence methylation scores, significantly altering the diagnosis in nearly half of those cases.
  • The research highlights the importance of integrating methylation profiling with other diagnostic tools to tackle issues of low tumor purity and improve diagnosis consistency in difficult cases.
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Article Synopsis
  • Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults, typically treated with surgery as no effective medications exist.
  • The World Health Organization's grading system and surgical extent do not fully predict the tumor's behavior, highlighting the need for clearer molecular classifications.
  • Recent research identified four consensus molecular groups based on genetic and protein analysis, which better predict clinical outcomes and inform treatment options by revealing distinct biological characteristics.
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Background: For people with diabetes, adherence to prescribed medications is essential. However, the rising prevalence of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), and prices of diabetes medications such as insulin, could deter adherence.

Objective: To assess the impact of HDHP on cost-related medication non-adherence (CRN) among non-elderly adults with diabetes in the US.

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Background: There is a critical need for objective and reliable biomarkers of outcome in meningiomas beyond WHO classification. Loss of H3K27me3 has been reported as a prognostically unfavorable alteration in meningiomas. We sought to independently evaluate the reproducibility and prognostic value of H3K27me3 loss by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a multicenter study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Glioblastoma (GBM) is characterized by excessive blood vessel formation, driven by glioma-associated macrophages (GAMs) that are crucial for this process and respond to anti-angiogenic therapies (AATx).
  • GBM cells produce IL-8 and CCL2, which activate GAMs to release TNFα, leading to the activation of endothelial cells (ECs) and promoting tumor vascularization.
  • High TNFα levels are linked to poor responses to Bevacizumab treatment in GBM patients, suggesting that targeting TNFα could improve treatment efficacy and overcome resistance to AATx.
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Introduction: Meningioma is the most common primary brain tumor. Most meningiomas are benign; however, a subset of these tumors can be aggressive, presenting with early or multiple tumor recurrences that are refractory to neurosurgical resection and radiotherapy. There is no standard systemic therapy for these patients, and post-surgical management of these patients is usually complicated due to lack of accurate prediction for tumor progression.

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Background: Anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (APXA) is a rare subtype of CNS astrocytoma. They are generally treated as high-grade gliomas; however, uncertainty exists regarding the optimal therapy. Here, we report on 3 pediatric cases of APXA.

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Schwannomatosis (SWNTS) is a genetic cancer predisposition syndrome that manifests as multiple and often painful neuronal tumors called schwannomas (SWNs). While germline mutations in SMARCB1 or LZTR1, plus somatic mutations in NF2 and loss of heterozygosity in chromosome 22q have been identified in a subset of patients, little is known about the epigenomic and genomic alterations that drive SWNTS-related SWNs (SWNTS-SWNs) in a majority of the cases. We performed multiplatform genomic analysis and established the molecular signature of SWNTS-SWNs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Management of aggressive meningiomas is complicated, and while PD-L1 immune suppression has been researched in cancer, its role in meningiomas remains unclear.
  • Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that 43% of meningiomas showed PD-L1 expression, indicating a potentially significant prognostic marker for recurrence-free survival.
  • The study also found a strong link between PD-L1, NFKB2, and CA9 expression, especially under hypoxic conditions, suggesting that these markers could help predict tumor progression and warrant further investigation into meningioma's molecular mechanisms.
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Article Synopsis
  • The use of DNA methylation profiling in CNS tumor classification has enhanced diagnostic accuracy, especially in challenging cases, improving patient care and treatment decisions.
  • In a study involving 55 uncertain tumor diagnoses, 84% showed clinically relevant alterations post-methylation profiling, with many experiencing changes in histopathological diagnoses and grades.
  • The integration of molecular signatures not only aids in better diagnosis but also helps reduce unnecessary treatments, ultimately benefiting patient outcomes and healthcare costs.
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The transmembrane protein ODZ1 has been associated with the invasive capacity of glioblastoma (GBM) cells through upregulation of RhoA/ROCK signaling, but the mechanisms triggering the ODZ1 pathway remain elusive. In addition, it is widely accepted that hypoxia is one of the main biological hallmarks of the GBM microenvironment and it is associated with treatment resistance and poor prognosis. Here we show that hypoxic tumor regions express higher levels of ODZ1 and that hypoxia induces ODZ1 expression in GBM cells by regulating the methylation status of the ODZ1 promoter.

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Background: Variability in standard-of-care classifications precludes accurate predictions of early tumor recurrence for individual patients with meningioma, limiting the appropriate selection of patients who would benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy to delay recurrence. We aimed to develop an individualized prediction model of early recurrence risk combining clinical and molecular factors in meningioma.

Methods: DNA methylation profiles of clinically annotated tumor samples across multiple institutions were used to develop a methylome model of 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS).

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Background: Meningiomas represent one of the most common brain tumors and exhibit a clinically heterogeneous behavior, sometimes difficult to predict with classic histopathologic features. While emerging molecular profiling efforts have linked specific genomic drivers to distinct clinical patterns, the proteomic landscape of meningiomas remains largely unexplored.

Methods: We utilize liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with an Orbitrap mass analyzer to quantify global protein abundances of a clinically well-annotated formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) cohort (n = 61) of meningiomas spanning all World Health Organization (WHO) grades and various degrees of clinical aggressiveness.

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Purpose: Hexokinase II (HK2) protein expression is elevated in glioblastoma (GBM), and we have shown that HK2 could serve as an effective therapeutic target for GBM. Here, we interrogated compounds that target HK2 effectively and restrict tumor growth in cell lines, patient-derived glioma stem cells (GSCs), and mouse models of GBM. We performed a screen using a set of 15 drugs that were predicted to inhibit the HK2-associated gene signature.

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Minichromosome maintenance complex component 6 (MCM-6) is one of the six proteins of the MCM family, which are involved in the initiation of DNA replication, represents a marker of proliferating cells. The goal of this study was to evaluate the prognostic relevance of the neoplastic cell proliferation rate in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). We evaluated the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lymph node biopsy specimens from 55 patients by using monoclonal antibody against MCM-6 and compared these findings with clinical data and treatment outcome.

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