Publication

Patient-derived xenografts retain the genotype of the parent tumors more readily than tumor cells maintained in culture. The two previously reported clival chordoma xenografts were derived from recurrent tumors after radiation. To study the genetics of clival chordoma in the absence of prior radiation exposure we established a patient-derived xenograft at primary resection of a clival chordoma. Epicranial grafting of clival chordoma collected during surgery was performed.

Primary afferents are known to be inhibited by kappa opioid receptor (KOR) signaling. However, the specific types of somatosensory neurons that express KOR remain unclear.

Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, is the major agronomically important pest of maize in the US Corn Belt. To augment the repertoire of the available dsRNA-based traits that control rootworm, we explored a potentially haplolethal gene target, wings up A (wupA), which encodes Troponin I. Troponin I, a component of the Troponin-Tropomyosin complex, is an inhibitory protein involved in muscle contraction.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most prevalent inherited nephropathy. To date, therapies alleviating the disease have largely focused on targeting abnormalities in renal epithelial cell signaling. ADPKD has many hallmarks of cancer, where targeting T cells has brought novel therapeutic interventions. However, little is known about the role and therapeutic potential of T cells in ADPKD.

Iron is an essential mineral for oxygen delivery and for a variety of enzymatic activities, but excessive iron results in oxidative cytotoxicity. Because iron is primarily used in red blood cells, defective erythropoiesis caused by loss of the erythroid growth factor erythropoietin (Epo) elevates iron storage levels in serum and tissues. Here, we investigated the effects of iron in a mouse model of Epo-deficiency anemia, in which serum iron concentration was significantly elevated.

Abstract

Background

Treatment of advanced anal squamous cell cancer (SCC) is usually with the combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil, which is associated with heterogeneous responses across patients and significant toxicity. We examined the safety and efficacy of a modified schedule, FOLFCIS (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and cisplatin), and performed an integrated clinical and genomic analysis of anal SCC.

Patients and Methods

Stratification of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a key challenge in the field of clinical oncology. No predictive biomarkers have yet been found for any available treatment options. Previously, we identified SERPINB7 as a putative biomarker for PDAC and thus, herein, we aimed to validate our previous findings and assessed the predictive value of SERPINB7.

Identifying the source and dynamics of persistent HIV-1 at single-cell resolution during cART is crucial for the design of strategies to eliminate the latent HIV-1 reservoir. An assay to measure latent HIV-1 that can distinguish inducible from defective proviruses with high precision is essential to evaluate the efficacy of HIV-1 cure efforts but is presently lacking. The primary aim of this study was therefore to identify transcription and translation competent latently infected cells through detection of biomolecules that are dependent on transcriptional activation of the provirus.

Midface dysgenesis is a feature of more than 200 genetic conditions in which upper airway anomalies frequently cause respiratory distress, but its etiology is poorly understood. Mouse models of Apert and Crouzon craniosynostosis syndromes exhibit midface dysgenesis similar to the human conditions.

New myelin sheaths can be restored to demyelinated axons in a spontaneous regenerative process called remyelination. In general, new myelin sheaths are made by oligodendrocytes newly generated from a widespread population of adult CNS progenitors called oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). New myelin in CNS remyelination in both experimental models and clinical disease can also be generated by Schwann cells, the myelin forming cells of the peripheral nervous system.