Discovery of a Novel ATP-Competitive MEK Inhibitor DS03090629 that Overcomes Resistance Conferred by BRAF Overexpression in BRAF-Mutated Melanoma.

Patients with melanoma with activating BRAF mutations (BRAF V600E/K) initially respond to combination therapy of BRAF and MEK inhibitors. However, their clinical efficacy is limited by acquired resistance, in some cases driven by amplification of the mutant BRAF gene and subsequent reactivation of the MAPK pathway. DS03090629 is a novel and orally available MEK inhibitor that inhibits MEK in an ATP-competitive manner.

De novo and rare mutations in the HSPA1L heat shock gene associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Genetic risk factors for IBD are not well understood.

Methods: We performed a family-based whole exome sequencing (WES) analysis on a core family (Family A) to identify potential causal mutations and then analyzed exome data from a Caucasian pediatric cohort (136 patients and 106 controls) to validate the presence of mutations in the candidate gene, heat shock 70 kDa protein 1-like (HSPA1L).

Systematic Analysis of Known and Candidate Lysine Demethylases in the Regulation of Myoblast Differentiation.

Histone methylation dynamics plays a critical role in cellular programming during development. For example, specific lysine methyltransferases (KMTs) and lysine demethylases (KDMs) have been implicated in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into various cell lineages. However, a systematic and functional analysis for an entire family of KMT or KDM enzymes has not been performed.

Microfluidic perfusion culture chip providing different strengths of shear stress for analysis of vascular endothelial function.

We developed a microfluidic perfusion cell culture chip that provides three different shear stress strengths and a large cell culture area for the analysis of vascular endothelial functions. The microfluidic network was composed of shallow flow-control channels of three different depths and deep cell culture channels. The flow-control channels with high fluidic resistances created shear stress strengths ranging from 1.