We have previously demonstrated that high concentrations of glucose stimulate insulin gene expression by causing hyperacetylation of histone H4 at the insulin gene promoter. Furthermore, we have shown that the glucose-mediated hyperacetylation of histone H4 depends on the recruitment of the histone acetyltransferase p300 by the beta cell-specific transcription factor Pdx-1. In this study, we de...

Traditional preclinical studies of cancer therapeutics have relied on the use of established human cell lines that have been adapted to grow in the laboratory and, therefore, may deviate from the cancer they were meant to represent. With the emphasis of cancer drug development shifting from non-specific cytotoxic agents to rationally designed molecularly targeted therapies or immunotherapy come...

Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) is a multifunctional developmental regulator. BMP-4 is synthesized as an inactive precursor that is proteolytically activated by cleavage following the amino acid motif -Arg-Ser-Lys-Arg-. Very little is known about processing and secretion of BMPs. The proprotein convertases (PCs) are a family of seven structurally related serine endoproteases, at least one ...

Depletion of podocytes, common to glomerular diseases in general, plays a role in the pathogenesis of glomerulosclerosis. Whether podocyte injury in adulthood can be repaired has not been established. Here, we demonstrate that in the adult human kidney, CD133+CD24+ cells consist of a hierarchical population of progenitors that are arranged in a precise sequence within Bowman's capsule and exhib...

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) are characterized by frequent alterations in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In this study, we analyzed PI3K pathway activation in 67 patient-derived xenografts (PDX) of breast cancer and investigated the anti-tumor activity of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus in 15 TNBC PDX with different expression and mutational status of PI3K pathway markers. Expressi...

Optimal animal models of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) are necessary to overcome the current lack of novel targeted therapies for this malignancy. Here we report on the establishment and characterization of patient-derived primary xenografts (PDX). Patient tumors were grafted under the renal capsule of mice and subsequently transplanted over multiple generations. Patient tumor and PDX w...

BACKGROUND To monitor accurately injury incidence trends, indicators should measure incidence independently of extraneous factors. Frequencies and rates of New Zealand's serious non-fatal self-harm indicators may be prone to fluctuations in reporting owing, for example, to changing social norms. Hence, they have been considered provisional. AIM To validate empirically the serious non-fatal se...

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) enhances insulin secretion and synthesis. It also regulates the insulin, glucokinase, and GLUT2 genes. It mediates increases in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by activating adenylyl cyclase and elevating free cytosolic calcium levels in the b-cell. In addition, GLP-1 has been shown, both in vitro and in vivo, to be involved in regulation of the transcriptio...

Purpose: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancy in the United States, with high rates of recurrence and eventual resistance to cytotoxic chemotherapy. Model systems that allow for accurate and reproducible target discovery and validation are needed to support further drug development in this disease.Experimental Design: Clinically annotated patient-derived xeno...

BACKGROUND The immune checkpoint of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) commonly expressed in solid cancers, and the blockade of this molecule show promising results in advanced cancers, including lung cancer. The relevance of PD-L1 to patient-derived xenograft (PDX) formation and clinicopathological characteristics in early stage lung cancer have not been fully elucidated. MATERIAL AND METH...