168 results match your criteria: "Center for Health Disparities and Molecular Medicine[Affiliation]"

Binge eating (BE) is a highly pervasive maladaptive coping strategy in response to severe early life stress such as emotional and social neglect. BE is described as repeated episodes of uncontrolled eating and is tightly linked with comorbid mental health concerns. Despite social stressors occurring at a young age, the onset of BE typically does not occur until adulthood providing an interval for potential therapeutic intervention.

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Background/objectives: There is increasing evidence linking circulating neurotoxic lipids to the progression of chronic neuroinflammatory diseases in the peripheral and central nervous systems. Strategies to modify lipid profiles, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich supplementation, may aid in managing conditions like painful diabetic neuropathy (pDN). In a previous study, we demonstrated that three months of DHA supplementation significantly altered the metabolomic profile of patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (pDN), resulting in symptom improvement.

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The lens epithelium derived growth factor of 75 kD (LEDGF/p75) is a transcription co-activator and epigenetic reader that has emerged as a stress oncoprotein in multiple human cancers. Growing evidence indicates that it promotes tumor cell survival against certain therapeutic drugs. The amino (N)-terminal region of LEDGF/p75 contains a PWWP domain that reads methylated histone marks, critical for recognizing transcriptionally active chromatin sites.

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Around 285 million people worldwide currently have type 2 diabetes and it is projected that this number will be surpassed by 2030. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to enhance our comprehension of the disease's development. The regulation of diet, obesity, and inflammation in type 2 diabetes is believed to play a crucial role in enhancing insulin sensitivity and reducing the risk of onset diabetes.

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Childhood obesity is a multifactorial disease affecting more than 160 million adolescents worldwide. Adolescent exposure to obesogenic environments, characterized by access to high-fat diets and stress, precipitates maladaptive eating habits in adulthood such as binge eating. Evidence suggests a strong association between Western-like high-saturated-fat (WD) food consumption and dysregulated hormone fluctuations.

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Early-life obesogenic environment integrates immunometabolic and epigenetic signatures governing neuroinflammation.

Brain Behav Immun Health

December 2024

Center for Health Disparities and Molecular Medicine and Department of Basic Sciences, Physiology Division, Department of Basic Sciences, Loma Linda University Health School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, USA.

Childhood overweight/obesity is associated with stress-related psychopathology, yet the pathways connecting childhood obesity to stress susceptibility are poorly understood. We employed a systems biology approach with 62 adolescent Lewis rats fed a Western-like high-saturated fat diet (WD, 41% kcal from fat) or a control diet (CD, 13% kcal from fat). A subset of rats underwent a 31-day model of predator exposures and social instability (PSS).

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the impact of medical mistrust on prostate cancer (PCa) screening behaviors among different subgroups of Black men, including African Americans, Caribbean, and African immigrants.
  • Using a mixed-methods approach, the research highlights both quantitative disparities in mistrust levels and qualitative factors influencing these attitudes, such as cultural perceptions and past negative experiences with healthcare providers.
  • Results suggest that while mistrust exists, those with a family history of PCa tend to prioritize screening, indicating that personal experiences can sometimes override mistrust in seeking healthcare.
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Chemotherapy resistance remains a significant challenge in the treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC), particularly in relation to gemcitabine (Gem), a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to influence cancer progression and chemoresistance. This study investigates the association between miRNA expression profiles and gemcitabine resistance in PDAC.

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Early life adversity impacts alterations in brain structure and food addiction in individuals with high BMI.

Sci Rep

June 2024

Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

Article Synopsis
  • The study explores the relationship between early life adversity (ELA), food addiction, and brain structure in individuals with obesity, revealing distinct brain patterns related to reward processing.
  • It involved 114 participants who underwent MRIs and filled out questionnaires to assess factors like food addiction and resilience, finding that high levels of ELA correlate with reward-related brain changes linked to food addiction.
  • Additionally, resilience was identified as a protective factor that can mitigate the negative impacts of ELA on food addiction, suggesting that incorporating resilience-building strategies could enhance obesity treatment approaches.
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Introduction: Chronic adolescent stress profoundly affects prefrontal cortical networks regulating top-down behavior control. However, the neurobiological pathways contributing to stress-induced alterations in the brain and behavior remain largely unknown. Chronic stress influences brain growth factors and immune responses, which may, in turn, disrupt the maturation and function of prefrontal cortical networks.

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Duocarmycin SA Reduces Proliferation and Increases Apoptosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells In Vitro.

Int J Mol Sci

April 2024

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Loma Linda University, Shryock Hall 24745 Stewart Street, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematological malignancy that is characterized by an expansion of immature myeloid precursors. Despite therapeutic advances, the prognosis of AML patients remains poor and there is a need for the evaluation of promising therapeutic candidates to treat the disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of duocarmycin Stable A (DSA) in AML cells in vitro.

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Introduction: Peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) present a significant clinical challenge with poor prognosis, often unresponsive to systemic chemotherapy. Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a treatment approach for select patients. The use of curcumin, a natural compound with antitumor properties, in HIPEC is of interest due to its lower side effects compared to conventional drugs and potential for increased efficacy through direct delivery to the peritoneal cavity.

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Objective: Lupus nephritis (LN) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Despite multiple studies addressing healthcare disparities, disparate outcomes in LN persist. We investigate herein the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and LN as well as the association between SES, SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), and treatment response.

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A CTB-SARS-CoV-2-ACE-2 RBD Mucosal Vaccine Protects Against Coronavirus Infection.

Vaccines (Basel)

December 2023

Center for Health Disparities and Molecular Medicine, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Mortensen Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.

Mucosal vaccines protect against respiratory virus infection by stimulating the production of IgA antibodies that protect against virus invasion of the mucosal epithelium. In this study, a novel protein subunit mucosal vaccine was constructed for protection against infection by the beta coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine was assembled by linking a gene encoding the SARS-CoV-2 virus S1 angiotensin converting enzyme receptor binding domain (ACE-2-RBD) downstream from a DNA fragment encoding the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB), a mucosal adjuvant known to stimulate vaccine immunogenicity.

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Background: Black Americans suffer disparities in risk for cardiometabolic and other chronic diseases. Findings from the Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) cohort have shown associations of plant-based dietary patterns and healthy lifestyle factors with prevention of such diseases. Hence, it is likely that racial differences in metabolic profiles correlating with disparities in chronic diseases are explained largely by diet and lifestyle, besides social determinants of health.

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Pancreatic Cancer Health Disparity: Pharmacologic Anthropology.

Cancers (Basel)

October 2023

Division of Physiology, Department of Basic Science, Center for Health Disparities and Molecular Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.

Pancreatic cancer (PCa) remains a formidable global health challenge, with high mortality rates and limited treatment options. While advancements in pharmacology have led to improved outcomes for various cancers, PCa continues to exhibit significant health disparities, disproportionately affecting certain populations. This paper explores the intersection of pharmacology and anthropology in understanding the health disparities associated with PCa.

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African immigrants (AI) are the fastest growing group of immigrants to the U.S. however, their health and health practices remains poorly characterized.

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(1) Background: Autoantibodies to tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) have emerged as promising cancer biomarkers. Luminex technology offers a powerful approach for the simultaneous detection of multiple anti-TAA autoantibodies. (2) Methods: We aimed to utilize Luminex technology to evaluate and optimize a panel of anti-TAAs autoantibodies for detecting prostate cancer (PCa), which included autoantibodies to fourteen TAAs.

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Article Synopsis
  • Patients with advanced prostate cancer often develop resistance to common treatments like anti-androgen therapy and chemotherapy.
  • The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the co-activator LEDGF/p75 are linked to this resistance, as changes in GR levels affect LEDGF/p75 expression in prostate cancer cells.
  • Targeting the GR-LEDGF/p75 pathway could enhance chemotherapy sensitivity, suggesting new therapeutic approaches for treating advanced prostate cancer.
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Therapy resistance hinders the efficacy of anti-androgen therapies and taxane-based chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer (PCa). Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling mediates resistance to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSI) and has also been recently implicated in PCa resistance to docetaxel (DTX), suggesting a role in therapy cross-resistance. Like GR, β-catenin is upregulated in metastatic and therapy-resistant tumors and is a crucial regulator of cancer stemness and ARSI resistance.

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Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) regulates a myriad of DNA repair mechanisms to preserve genomic integrity following DNA damage. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) confer synthetic lethality in malignancies with a deficiency in the homologous recombination (HR) pathway. Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) fail to respond to most targeted therapies because their tumors lack expression of the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.

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Background: Liquid biopsies have become an integral part of cancer management as minimally invasive options to detect molecular and genetic changes. However, current options show poor sensitivity in peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). Novel exosome-based liquid biopsies may provide critical information on these challenging tumors.

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Childhood traumatic stress profoundly affects prefrontal cortical networks regulating top-down control of eating and body weight. However, the neurobiological mechanisms contributing to trauma-induced aberrant eating behaviors remain largely unknown. Traumatic stress influences brain immune responses, which may, in turn, disrupt prefrontal cortical networks and behaviors.

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The monospecific dense fine speckled (DFS) immunofluorescence assay (IFA) pattern is considered a potential marker to aid in exclusion of antinuclear antibody (ANA)-associated rheumatic diseases (AARD). This pattern is typically produced by autoantibodies against transcription co-activator DFS70/LEDGFp75, which are frequently found in healthy individuals and patients with miscellaneous inflammatory conditions. In AARD patients, these antibodies usually co-exist with disease-associated ANAs.

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TSLP as a Potential Therapy in the Treatment of CRLF2 B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Int J Mol Sci

December 2022

Center for Health Disparities and Molecular Medicine, Department of Basic Sciences, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.

Cytokine receptor-like factor 2 B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (CRLF2 B-ALL) is a high-risk subtype characterized by CRLF2 overexpression with poor survival rates in children and adults. CRLF2 and interleukin-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα) form a receptor for the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which induces JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway signals. Previous studies from our group showed that low TSLP doses increased STAT5, AKT, and S6 phosphorylation and contributed to CRLF2 B-ALL cell survival.

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