Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN
Kudose, S;Santoriello, D;Bomback, AS;Sekulic, M;Batal, I;Stokes, MB;Ghavami, IA;Kim, JS;Marasa, M;Xu, K;Peleg, Y;Barasch, J;Canetta, P;Rasouly, HM;Gharavi, AG;Markowitz, GS;D'Agati, VD;
PMID: 34670811 | DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2021070931
The long-term outcome of COVID-19-associated collapsing glomerulopathy is unknown.We retrospectively identified 76 native kidney biopsies from patients with history of COVID-19 between March 2020 and April 2021. Presenting and outcome data were obtained for all 23 patients with collapsing glomerulopathy and for seven patients with noncollapsing podocytopathies. We performed APOL1 genotyping by Sanger sequencing, immunostaining for spike and nucleocapsid proteins, and in situ hybridization for SARS-CoV-2.The 23 patients with COVID-19-associated collapsing glomerulopathy were median age 57 years (range, 35-72), included 16 men, and were predominantly (91%) Black. Severity of COVID-19 was mild or moderate in most (77%) patients. All but one patient presented with AKI, 17 had nephrotic-range proteinuria, and six had nephrotic syndrome. Fourteen (61%) patients required dialysis at presentation. Among 17 patients genotyped, 16 (94%) were high-risk APOL1. Among 22 (96%) patients with median follow-up at 155 days (range, 30-412), 11 (50%) received treatment for COVID-19, and eight (36%) received glucocorticoid therapy for podocytopathy. At follow-up, 19 (86%) patients were alive, and 15 (68%) were dialysis free, including seven of 14 who initially required dialysis. The dialysis-free patients included 64% (seven of 11) of those treated for COVID-19 and 75% (six of eight) of those treated with glucocorticoids for podocytopathy. Overall, 36% achieved partial remission of proteinuria, 32% had no remission, and 32% reached combined end points of ESKD or death. Viral infection of the kidney was not detected.Half of 14 patients with COVID-19-associated collapsing glomerulopathy requiring dialysis achieved dialysis independence, but the long-term prognosis of residual proteinuric CKD remains guarded, indicating a need for more effective therapy.
CCL21 activation of the MALAT1/SRSF1/mTOR axis underpins the development of gastric carcinoma
Journal of translational medicine
Fu, Q;Tan, X;Tang, H;Liu, J;
PMID: 34001131 | DOI: 10.1186/s12967-021-02806-5
As a significant cause of malignancy mortality, gastric carcinoma (GC) has been well documented to be an often-fatal diagnosis. Despite the limitations of effective therapy, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach capable of killing cancer cells via the immune system. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of cytokine C-C motif chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21) on GC progression through the metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1/serine arginine-rich splicing factor 1/mammalian target of rapamycin (MALAT1/SRSF1/mTOR) axis. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to identify the key genes associated with GC and to subsequently predict their downstream genes. The effect of CCL21, MALAT1, and SRSF1 on the malignant phenotypes and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells in-vitro and the tumorigenesis of SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells in-vivo were assessed by expression determination and plasmid transfection. Additionally, RNA pull-down and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation experiments were performed to determine the MALAT1-microRNA-202-3p (miR-203-3p) interaction and miR-202-3p-SRSF1 interaction followed by the analysis of their effect on the mTOR pathway. CCL21 was identified as a key GC immune gene. Overexpressed CCL21, MALAT1, and SRSF1 along with poorly expressed miR-202-3p were identified in the GC cells. CCL21 induced the MALAT1 expression in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Functionally, MALAT1 targeted miR-202-3p but upregulated SRSF1 and activated mTOR. Crucially, evidence was obtained indicating that CCL21 promoted both the malignant phenotypes and EMT of SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells in-vitro and the tumorigenesis of SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells in-vivo by increasing the MALAT1-induced upregulation of SRSF1. Taken together, the key observations of our study provide evidence that CCL21 enhances the progression of GC via the MALAT1/SRSF1/mTOR axis, providing a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of GC.
MEK/ERK signaling is a critical regulator of high-risk human papillomavirus oncogene expression revealing therapeutic targets for HPV-induced tumors
Luna, AJ;Sterk, RT;Griego-Fisher, AM;Chung, JY;Berggren, KL;Bondu, V;Barraza-Flores, P;Cowan, AT;Gan, GN;Yilmaz, E;Cho, H;Kim, JH;Hewitt, SM;Bauman, JE;Ozbun, MA;
PMID: 33481911 | DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009216
Intracellular pathogens have evolved to utilize normal cellular processes to complete their replicative cycles. Pathogens that interface with proliferative cell signaling pathways risk infections that can lead to cancers, but the factors that influence malignant outcomes are incompletely understood. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) predominantly cause benign hyperplasia in stratifying epithelial tissues. However, a subset of carcinogenic or "high-risk" HPV (hr-HPV) genotypes are etiologically linked to nearly 5% of all human cancers. Progression of hr-HPV-induced lesions to malignancies is characterized by increased expression of the E6 and E7 oncogenes and the oncogenic functions of these viral proteins have been widely studied. Yet, the mechanisms that regulate hr-HPV oncogene transcription and suppress their expression in benign lesions remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that EGFR/MEK/ERK signaling, influenced by epithelial contact inhibition and tissue differentiation cues, regulates hr-HPV oncogene expression. Using monolayer cells, epithelial organotypic tissue models, and neoplastic tissue biopsy materials, we show that cell-extrinsic activation of ERK overrides cellular control to promote HPV oncogene expression and the neoplastic phenotype. Our data suggest that HPVs are adapted to use the EGFR/MEK/ERK signaling pathway to regulate their productive replicative cycles. Mechanistic studies show that EGFR/MEK/ERK signaling influences AP-1 transcription factor activity and AP-1 factor knockdown reduces oncogene transcription. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibitors of EGFR, MEK, and ERK signaling quash HPV oncogene expression and the neoplastic phenotype, revealing a potential clinical strategy to suppress uncontrolled cell proliferation, reduce oncogene expression and treat HPV neoplasia.
Bewley, D;Lee, J;Popescu, O;Oviedo, A;
| DOI: 10.7759/cureus.20833
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Journal of virology, 87(5), 2979–2982.
Ouwendijk WJ, Abendroth A, Traina-Dorge V, Getu S, Steain M, Wellish M, Andeweg AC, Osterhaus AD, Gilden D, Verjans GM, Mahalingam R (2013).
PMID: 23269790 | DOI: 10.1128/JVI.03181-12.
Ganglia of monkeys with reactivated simian varicella virus (SVV) contained more CD8 than CD4 T cells around neurons. The abundance of CD8 T cells was greater less than 2 months after reactivation than that at later times and correlated with that of CXCL10 RNA but not with those of SVV protein or open reading frame 61 (ORF61) antisense RNA. CXCL10 RNA colocalized with T-cell clusters. After SVV reactivation, transient T-cell infiltration, possibly mediated by CXCL10, parallels varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation in humans.
Ukah OB, Puray-Chavez M, Tedbury PR, Herschhorn A, Sodroski JG, Sarafianos SG.
PMID: 30274333 | DOI: 10.3390/v10100534
We have recently developed the first microscopy-based strategy that enables simultaneous multiplex detection of viral RNA (vRNA), viral DNA (vDNA), and viral protein. Here, we used this approach to study the kinetics of latency reactivation in cells infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We showed the transcription of nascent vRNA from individual latently integrated and reactivated vDNA sites appearing earlier than viral protein. We further demonstrated that this method can be used to quantitatively assess the efficacy of a variety of latency reactivating agents. Finally, this microscopy-based strategy was augmented with a flow-cytometry-based approach, enabling the detection of transcriptional reactivation of large numbers of latently infected cells. Hence, these approaches are shown to be suitable for qualitative and quantitative studies of HIV-1 latency and reactivation.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Busch, M;Wenzel, A;Pfeil, JM;Stahl, A;
METHODS : To induce OIR, C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 75% oxygen from postnatal day (p) 7 to p12 and then maintained under normal room air conditions. Control mice were kept under room air conditions throughout. At p12, p17, and p25, one eye of each mouse was harvested to prepare retinal flatmounts to analyze retinal vascular changes. From the contralateral eye, total RNA was isolated and reverse transcribed into cDNA for relative quantification of miRNA expression using qRT-PCR. An in situ hybridization technique (miRNAscopeTM) was used to visualize miR-21-5p expression on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded mouse eye tissue sections.
Golm, SK;Hübner, W;Müller, KM;
PMID: 37243260 | DOI: 10.3390/v15051174
Research on adeno-associated virus (AAV) and its recombinant vectors as well as on fluorescence microscopy imaging is rapidly progressing driven by clinical applications and new technologies, respectively. The topics converge, since high and super-resolution microscopes facilitate the study of spatial and temporal aspects of cellular virus biology. Labeling methods also evolve and diversify. We review these interdisciplinary developments and provide information on the technologies used and the biological knowledge gained. The emphasis lies on the visualization of AAV proteins by chemical fluorophores, protein fusions and antibodies as well as on methods for the detection of adeno-associated viral DNA. We add a short overview of fluorescent microscope techniques and their advantages and challenges in detecting AAV.
Carisì, M;Howell, O;Morgan, A;Davies, J;
| DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101896
We describe a modified BaseScope Assay protocol (ACDBio) for RNA in situ hybridization on fixed-frozen human brain tissue. The original protocol caused tissue detachment due to harsh tissue pre-treatment. We therefore optimized it to improve tissue stability while providing high stain quality in fragile post-mortem tissue from aged donors with advanced neurodegeneration. The main changes include two additional fixation steps and modifications to the pre-treatment protocol. We also describe tissue imaging and stain quantification using the open-source QuPath software. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Hornsby et al. (2020).
The Extracellular Matrix and the Tumor Microenvironment
Tamma, R;Annese, T;Ribatti, D;
| DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-99708-3_14
Tumor growth depends on angiogenesis. The complex tissue environment surrounding tumor cells, which is composed of a variety of resident and infiltrating host cells, secreted factors and extracellular matrix proteins, influences tumor angiogenesis and progression. Moreover, the tumor microenvironment contributes to determining therapeutic responses and resistance to therapy. The ability to block tumor resistance is related to the understanding of the cellular and molecular pathways activated in the tumor microenvironment. Novel emerging targeted therapeutic strategies are based on the combination of different antitumor approaches with the aim of resolving refractory tumors and improving cancer treatment efficiency.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Zhu, X;Xu, M;Grachtchouk, M;
RESULTS : Short-term lineage tracing data showed that _Lrig1_, _Lgr6_ and _Axin2_ label basal cells in MG ducts and acini. Long-term lineage tracing results showed that clones of labeled cells persist through multiple rounds of ductal and acinar renewal and give rise to differentiated progeny, identifying _Lrig1_+, _Lgr6_+ and _Axin2+_ ductal and acinar basal cells as self-renewing SCs. Forced expression of GLI2ΔN enhanced basal proliferation, caused expansion of _Lrig1_+ SCs, and lead to replacement of lipid-filled meibocytes by proliferative and poorly differentiated acinar cells. Transcriptional profiling of GLI2ΔN-expressing and control MGs revealed that forced GLI2ΔN expression caused greatly increased expression of _Lrig1_ and _Lgr6_ and suppressed expression of meibocyte differentiation genes.
Gurumurthy, RK;Kumar, N;Chumduri, C;
PMID: 34841280 | DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100969
Visualizing precise spatial patterns of an organ-wide gene and protein expression among diverse cell types can provide critical insights into the fundamental processes underlying normal tissue homeostasis and disease development. Here, we describe an optimized protocol for single-molecule RNA in situ hybridization (smRNA-ISH), immunohistochemistry, and cell lineage analysis of the female reproductive tract organs using commercially available smRNA-ISH probes, antibodies, and inducible Cre-mice. The high-resolution multispectral fluorescence imaging is performed using wide-field epifluorescence or confocal microscopy combined with a slide scanner. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Chumduri et al. (2021).