Publications

Over the past decade, considerable efforts have been made to accelerate pathophysiological understanding of fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with brain banks at the forefront. In addition to exploratory disease mechanisms, brain banks have aided our understanding with regard to clinical diagnosis, genetics and cell biology. Across neurodegenerative disorders, the impact of brain tissue in ALS research has yet to be quantified.

What are the cellular composition and single-cell transcriptomic differences between myometrium and leiomyomas as defined by single-cell RNA sequencing?We discovered cellular heterogeneity in smooth muscle cells (SMCs), fibroblast and endothelial cell populations in both myometrium and leiomyoma tissues.Previous studies have shown the presence of SMCs, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and immune cells in myometrium and leiomyomas.

Osteoporosis affects over 200 million women worldwide, one third of whom are predicted to suffer from an osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime. The most promising anabolic drugs involve administration of expensive antibodies. Because mechanical loading stimulates bone formation, our current data, using a mouse model, replicates the anabolic effects of loading in humans and may identify novel pathways amenable to oral treatment.

Population studies show worrisome trends towards earlier breast development, difficulty in breastfeeding, and increasing rates of breast cancer in young women. Multiple epidemiological studies have linked these outcomes with chemical exposures, and experimental studies have shown that many of these chemicals generate similar effects in rodents, often by disrupting hormonal regulation.

This review offers the basics of lentiviral vector technologies, their advantages and pitfalls, and an overview of their use in the field of ophthalmology. First, the description of the global challenges encountered to develop safe and efficient lentiviral recombinant vectors for clinical application is provided. The risks and the measures taken to minimize secondary effects as well as new strategies using these vectors are also discussed.

IRSp53 (or BAIAP2) is an abundant excitatory postsynaptic scaffolding/adaptor protein that is involved in actin regulation and has been implicated in autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. IRSp53 deletion in mice leads to enhanced NMDA receptor (NMDAR) function and social deficits that are responsive to NMDAR inhibition. However, it remains unclear whether IRSp53 re-expression in the adult IRSp53-mutant mouse brain after the completion of brain development could reverse these synaptic and behavioral dysfunctions.

We have established a mouse papillomavirus (MmuPV1) model that induces both cutaneous and mucosal infections and cancers. In the current study, we use this model to test our hypothesis that passive immunization using a single neutralizing monoclonal antibody can protect both cutaneous and mucosal sites at different time points after viral inoculation. We conducted a series of experiments involving the administration of either a neutralizing monoclonal antibody, MPV.A4, or control monoclonal antibodies to both outbred and inbred athymic mice.

HIV-1 infection within the central nervous system (CNS) includes evolution of the virus, damaging inflammatory cascades, and the involvement of multiple cell types; however, our understanding of how Env tropism and inflammation can influence CNS infectivity is incomplete. In this study, we utilize macrophage-tropic and T cell-tropic HIV-1 Env proteins to establish accurate infection profiles for multiple CNS cells under basal and interferon alpha (IFN-α) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory states.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is the causative agent of the bovine viral diarrhea-mucosal disease, which is a leading cause of economic losses in the cattle industry worldwide. To date, many underlying mechanisms involved in BVDV-host interactions remain unclear, especially the functions of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs).

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide, with nearly two million newly diagnosed cases each year. The survival of patients with CRC greatly depends on the cancer stage at the time of diagnosis, with worse prognosis for more advanced cases. Consequently, considerable effort has been directed towards improving population screening programs for early diagnosis and identifying prognostic markers that can better inform treatment strategies.