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  • Welch posted an update 9 months, 1 week ago

    In conclusion, our data reveal the efficacy of a novel HDAC6 inhibitor in glioblastoma preclinical setting.Targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) and ex vivo drug sensitivity/resistance profiling (DSRP) have laid foundations defining the functional genomic landscape of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and premises of personalized medicine to guide treatment options for patients with aggressive and/or chemorefractory hematological malignancies. Here, we have assessed the feasibility of a tailored treatment strategy (TTS) guided by systematic parallel ex vivo DSRP and tNGS for patients with relapsed/refractory AML (number NCT02619071). A TTS issued by an institutional personalized committee could be achieved for 47/55 included patients (85%), 5 based on tNGS only, 6 on DSRP only, while 36 could be proposed on the basis of both, yielding more options and a better rationale. The TSS was available in less then 21 days for 28 patients (58.3%). On average, 3 to 4 potentially active drugs were selected per patient with only five patient samples being resistant to the entire drug panel. Seventeen patients received a TTS-guided treatment, resulting in four complete remissions, one partial remission, and five decreased peripheral blast counts. Our results show that chemogenomic combining tNGS with DSRP to determine a TTS is a promising approach to propose patient-specific treatment options within 21 days.Signalling pathways and cellular interactions defining initial processes of testis morphogenesis, i.e. cord formation, are poorly understood. In vitro cell-based systems modelling cord formation can be utilised as platforms to interrogate processes of tubulogenesis. We aimed at testing our established cord formation in vitro model using adult human testicular cells as a quantitative assay that can facilitate future studies on cord morphogenesis. We challenged the responsiveness of our system with a broad-spectrum protein kinase inhibitor, K252a. Cultured testicular cells were treated with various K252a concentrations under constant exposure and compound withdrawal. To quantify cell reaggregation changes, we performed computer-assisted phase-contrast image analysis of aggregate size and number. learn more Cell reaggregation was analysed in detail by categorisation of aggregates into size groups and accounting for changes in aggregate number per size category. We found a dose-related disturbance of testicular cell reaggregation. K252a decreased aggregate size (IC50 of 203.3 nM) and reduced the large aggregate numbers. Video recordings revealed that treatment with K252a at a concentration above IC50 interfered with aggregate coalescence into cords. Short-term exposure and compound wash-out induced irreversible decrease in large aggregates. We propose our in vitro model as a functional platform to quantitatively investigate seminiferous tubulogenesis under pharmacological impact.Combination antiretroviral therapy reduces mortality of HIV-infected persons. In Spain, where this therapy is widely available, we aim to evaluate mortality trends and causes of death in HIV-infected adults, and to estimate the excess mortality compared to the general population. From 1999 to 2018 mortality by causes was analyzed in a population-based cohort of adults aged 25 to 74 years diagnosed with HIV infection in Spain. Observed deaths and expected deaths according mortality in the general population of the same sex and age were compared using standardized mortality ratios (SMRs). HIV-infected people increased from 839 in 1999-2003 to 1059 in 2014-2018, median age increased from 37 to 47 years, the annual mortality rate decreased from 33.5 to 20.7 per 1000 person-years and the proportion of HIV-related deaths declined from 64% to 35%. HIV-related mortality declined from 21.4 to 7.3 (p less then 0.001), while non-HIV-related mortality remained stable 12.1 and 13.4 per 1000, respectively. Mortality decreased principally in persons diagnosed with AIDS-defining events. In the last decade, 2009-2018, mortality was still 8.1 times higher among HIV-infected people than in the general population, and even after excluding HIV-related deaths, remained 4.8 times higher. Excess mortality was observed in non-AIDS cancer (SMR = 3.7), cardiovascular disease (SMR = 4.2), respiratory diseases (SMR = 7.9), liver diseases (SMR = 8.8), drug abuse (SMR = 47), suicide (SMR = 5.3) and other external causes (SMR = 6). In conclusion, HIV-related mortality continued to decline, while non-HIV-related mortality remained stable. HIV-infected people maintained important excess mortality. Prevention of HIV infections in the population and promotion of healthy life styles in HIV-infected people must be a priority.Mitochondria play a critical role in bioenergetics, enabling stress adaptation, and therefore, are central in biological stress responses and stress-related complex psychopathologies. To investigate the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction on the stress response and the impact on various biological domains linked to the pathobiology of depression, a novel mouse model was created. These mice harbor a gene trap in the first intron of the Ndufs4 gene (Ndufs4GT/GT mice), encoding the NDUFS4 protein, a structural component of complex I (CI), the first enzyme of the mitochondrial electron transport chain. We performed a comprehensive behavioral screening with a broad range of behavioral, physiological, and endocrine markers, high-resolution ex vivo brain imaging, brain immunohistochemistry, and multi-platform targeted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. Ndufs4GT/GT mice presented with a 25% reduction of CI activity in the hippocampus, resulting in a relatively mild phenotype of reduced body weight, increased physical activity, decreased neurogenesis and neuroinflammation compared to WT littermates. Brain metabolite profiling revealed characteristic biosignatures discriminating Ndufs4GT/GT from WT mice. Specifically, we observed a reversed TCA cycle flux and rewiring of amino acid metabolism in the prefrontal cortex. Next, exposing mice to chronic variable stress (a model for depression-like behavior), we found that Ndufs4GT/GT mice showed altered stress response and coping strategies with a robust stress-associated reprogramming of amino acid metabolism. Our data suggest that impaired mitochondrial CI function is a candidate driver for altered stress reactivity and stress-induced brain metabolic reprogramming. These changes result in unique phenomic and metabolomic signatures distinguishing groups based on their mitochondrial genotype.

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