Breast Cancer Research and Treatment: KDM1A inhibition is effective in reducing stemness and treating triple negative breast cancer

October 14, 2020

 Abstract Purpose Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are highly tumorigenic, spared by chemotherapy, sustain tumor growth, and are implicated in tumor recurrence after conventional therapies in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Lysine-specific histone demethylase 1A (KDM1A) is highly expressed in several human malignancies and CSCs including TNBC. However, the precise mechanistic role of KDM1A in CSC functions [...]

Cardiovascular Business: Chemotherapy could be damaging children’s heart cells, leading to problems later in life (Aune)

September 30, 2020

Undergoing chemotherapy can have a negative impact on the cells responsible for repairing heart damage, according to a new study published in PLOS One. This may explain why 20% of children treated with anthracyclines go on to experience heart failure later in life. “We don’t fully understand why some children who are exposed to anthracycline therapy […]

Medical Xpress: Childhood Chemo Alters Heart’s Caretaker Cells, Study Finds (Aune Lab)

September 30, 2020

by Will Sansom, UT Health San Antonio Cancer chemotherapy changes the function of cells that repair heart injury, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) discovered. Twenty percent of children treated with drugs called anthracyclines go on to suffer heart failure later in life. The journal […]

Scientific Reports: “Transcriptomic Sex Differences in Sensory Neuronal Populations of Mice”

September 23, 2020

Jennifer Mecklenburg 1, Yi Zou 2, Andi Wangzhou 3, Dawn Garcia 2, Zhao Lai 2 4, Alexei V Tumanov 5, Gregory Dussor 3, Theodore J Price 3, Armen N Akopian 6 7 Abstract Many chronic pain conditions show sex differences in their epidemiology. This could be attributed to the sex-dependent differential expression of genes (DEGs) involved in nociceptive pathways, including sensory neurons. This study aimed to identify sex-dependent DEGs in estrous female versus male […]

PLOS One: Doxorubicin-induced p53 interferes with mitophagy in cardiac fibroblasts (Aune)

September 22, 2020

T. R. Mancilla, L. R. Davis, G. J. Aune  Abstract Anthracyclines are the critical component in a majority of pediatric chemotherapy regimens due to their broad anticancer efficacy. Unfortunately, the vast majority of long-term childhood cancer survivors will develop a chronic health condition caused by their successful treatments and severe cardiac disease is a common life-threatening outcome […]

Scientific Reports: Transcriptomic sex differences in sensory neuronal populations of mice

September 17, 2020

Jennifer Mecklenburg 1, Yi Zou 2, Andi Wangzhou 3, Dawn Garcia 2, Zhao Lai 2 4, Alexei V Tumanov 5, Gregory Dussor 3, Theodore J Price 3, Armen N Akopian 6 7 Abstract Many chronic pain conditions show sex differences in their epidemiology. This could be attributed to sex-dependent differential expression of genes (DEGs) involved in nociceptive pathways, including sensory neurons. This study aimed to identify sex-dependent DEGs in estrous female versus male sensory […]

Advanced Photon Source: How SARS-CoV-2 RNA Evades Host Immune Responses (Gupta Lab)

August 26, 2020

As we all know too well, the virus SARS-CoV-2 causes severe respiratory illness COVID-19. In parallel with the critical search for a cure, scientists are working diligently to develop effective treatments that can help lower the morbidity of this deadly virus. To develop these therapeutics, we must understand how the virus is able to invade […]

Luiz O.F. Penalva PhD Awarded CPRIT Grant to Study New Glioblastoma (GBM) Regulator

August 20, 2020

PROJECT SUMMARY Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and most aggressive brain tumor type among adults with a 14 months average patient survival. Despite all genomic efforts in recent years, novel therapies based on GBM common mutations and alterations have been disappointing. To build an alternative route, we have been focusing on oncogenic RNA binding […]

Genome Biology: The RNA-binding protein SERBP1 functions as a novel oncogenic factor in glioblastoma by bridging cancer metabolism and epigenetic regulation.

August 20, 2020

Background RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) function as master regulators of gene expression. Alterations in RBP expression and function are often observed in cancer and influence critical pathways implicated in tumor initiation and growth. Identification and characterization of oncogenic RBPs and their regulatory networks provide new opportunities for targeted therapy. Results We identify the RNA-binding protein SERBP1 […]