Publications by authors named "Sophia Khoury"
Article Synopsis
- The study explores how hypoxia affects blood vessel behavior in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) through a genetic and epigenetic mechanism involving HIF-2α.
- HIF-2α enhances the expression of certain genes and long noncoding RNAs that contribute to increased vascular dysfunction, creating a feedback loop that further boosts HIF-2α activity.
- A specific genetic variant (rs73184087) is linked to an increased risk of PAH; interventions that either inhibit this pathway or reduce HIF-2α levels showed protective effects against the disease in animal models.
Article Synopsis
- Animal venoms are rich in bioactive components that target important cell surface receptors, such as ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors, which are crucial for sperm cell motility and the acrosome reaction.
- Researchers screened venom from the Egyptian black snake and discovered a new toxin called walterospermin that enhances sperm motility in vitro from male mice.
- Walterospermin is a 57-amino acid peptide with a structure resembling other snake toxins and shows potential in activating sperm motility across various species, including humans, indicating its possible therapeutic applications for infertility.
Objectives: The role of F-fluorocholine positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-Choline PET/CT) in different clinical situations remains controversial and current practices are very heterogeneous. The aim of this study was to evaluate the "real-world" practice of F-Choline PET/CT in patients with prostate cancer and its potential impacts on therapeutic strategy.
Methods And Materials: This is a retrospective multicenter observational study including 265 consecutive men who underwent F-Choline PET/CT for prostate cancer between November 2014 and November 2015.
The venom peptide maurocalcin (MCa) is atypical among toxins because of its ability to rapidly translocate into cells and potently activate the intracellular calcium channel type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1). Therefore, MCa is potentially subjected to posttranslational modifications within recipient cells. Here, we report that MCa Thr(26) belongs to a consensus PKA phosphorylation site and can be phosphorylated by PKA both in vitro and after cell penetration in cellulo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlucocorticoids (GCs) are frequently used in anticancer combination regimens; however, their continuous use adds selective pressure on cancer cells to develop GC-resistance via impairment of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), therefore creating a need for GC-alternatives. Based on the drug repurposing approach and the commonalities between inflammation and neoplasia, drugs that are either in late-stage clinical trials and/or already marketed for GC-refractory inflammatory diseases could be evaluated as GC-substitutes in the context of cancer. Advantageously, unlike new molecular entities currently being de novo developed to restore GC-responsiveness of cancer cells, such drugs have documented safety and efficacy profile, which overall simplifies their introduction in clinical cancer trials.
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