June 2025 Member Publications

  1. Banerjee M, Scott JL, Lykoudi A, Hwang JY, Park JW, States JC. Chronic arsenic exposure and hsa-miR-186 overexpression causes transcriptome-wide differential alternative splicing contributing to skin carcinogenesis in human HaCaT cell line. Arch Toxicol. 2025 Jun 13. doi: 10.1007/s00204-025-04104-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40512198.
    Impact Statement: This publication shows how miRNA-186 overexpression by itself and together with chronic environmental arsenic exposure modulates transcriptome-wide homeostatic alternative splicing program in preclinical human keratinocyte cell line model ushering in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma phenotype. 
  2. Batra L, Saxena D, Poddar T, Zahin M, Amraotkar A, Bezold MM, Kitterman KT, Deitz KA, Lasnik AB, Keith RJ, Bhatnagar A, Kong M, Gabbard JD, Severson WE, Palmer KE. Mucosal and Serum Neutralization Immune Responses Elicited by COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination in Vaccinated and Breakthrough-Infection Individuals: A Longitudinal Study from Louisville Cohort. Vaccines (Basel). 2025 May 24;13(6):559. doi: 10.3390/vaccines13060559. PMID: 40573890; PMCID: PMC12197714.
    Impact Statement: This study found that while mRNA COVID-19 vaccines provide strong initial immune protection, breakthrough infections significantly enhance both systemic and mucosal antibody responses, particularly against emerging Omicron variants. These findings highlight the potential benefits of natural exposure post-vaccination and support the development of next-generation mucosal vaccines to strengthen long-term pandemic preparedness. 
  3. Liu Y, Luo X, Peng Y, Cai L. Cardio-Metabolic Effects of Nickel: A Narrative Review. Cardiovasc Toxicol. 2025 Jul;25(7):944-954. doi: 10.1007/s12012-025-10014-6. Epub 2025 Jun 1. PMID: 40450615.
    Impact Statement: This comprehensive but narrative review, focusing one clinical observations and database analyses derived from human survey datasets, alongside experimental studies conducted on animal models exposed to varying doses of nickel, reveals a potential association between nickel exposure and cardiovascular as well as metabolic disease variables although at low doses, inconclusive findings remain, mainly due to the clinical variables differently used in different studies. Consequently, this review underscores the urgent need for further investigation utilizing both human data and experimental animal models, particularly focusing on low-level nickel exposure, to elucidate the cardiovascular and metabolic consequences of nickel exposure in humans.
  4. Islam R, Yang J, Li M, Mokshagundam SP, Cai L, Li J. Fatty acids and physical activity are critical for β-cell mass and insulin sensitivity: Pathways to T2D and prevention. J Theor Biol. 2025 Jun 16;611:112188. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2025.112188. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40532944.
    Impact Statement: Existing mathematical models investigating the progression of type 2 diabetes (T2D) over time primarily focus on glucose, insulin, β-cell mass, and other related factors, while often omitting fatty acids (FA) as an explicit variable-despite FA being a major energy source for the body. Analysis of our new model supports the notion that glucotoxicity and lipotoxicity accelerate β-cell decline, impair insulin secretion, and drive T2D progression. Elevated FA thus emerges not only as a contributing pathway but also as a potential biomarker for monitoring disease development. Therefore, the observed relationship between glucose and FA levels suggests a quantitative marker that could be used to track progression toward T2D.
  5. Guven I, Bai L, Huang J. Operations research in perioperative clinical decision-making. BJA Educ. 2025 Jul;25(7):289-298. doi: 10.1016/j.bjae.2025.04.001. Epub 2025 May 14. PMID: 40575592; PMCID: PMC12191019.
    Impact Statement: This article introduces the key principles and techniques of operations research—optimization, simulation, decision analysis, and Markov decision processes—and highlights their relevance to anesthesiology. By applying these methods, clinicians and healthcare systems can improve decision-making, resource allocation, and patient care in areas such as operating room scheduling and closed-loop anesthesia control.
  6. Klinge CM, Chariker JH, Piell KM, Petri BJ, Rouchka EC, Cave MC. Polychlorinated Biphenyl Exposure Alters tRNA Transcriptome in High-Fat Diet-Fed Mouse Liver. Noncoding RNA. 2025 May 22;11(3):41. doi: 10.3390/ncrna11030041. PMID: 40559619; PMCID: PMC12195632.
    Impact Statement: This study builds on previous RNA-seq and global epitranscriptome analysis showing that exposures of high fat diet-fed mice to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) resulted in pathways involved in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Here we used the tRNA analysis of expression (tRAX) pipeline to identify PCB-specific changes in the tRNA transcriptome, including tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs), in the livers of the PCB-exposed mice. Some results are concordant with previously identified changes in hepatic Angiogenin (ANG) protein which generates tRF-3s. Four previously reported tRNA modifications corresponded to positions of PCB-associated tRNA modifications identified by tRAX: m1A, m6A, ms2t6A, and Ψ. Overall, the differences in hepatic tRNAs and tRFs with three different PCB exposures suggest that PCB exposures play an unexplored role in regulating translation in mouse liver. 
  7. Huang EC, Xu Q, Liu Y, Liu P, Kong M, Huang J. Effects of Reminders from SanibitTM Electronic Hand Hygiene System and Incentives on Hand Hygiene Compliance - A Prospective, Four Phased, Observational Study. J Hosp Infect. 2025 May 31:S0195-6701(25)00162-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2025.05.014. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40456488.
    Impact Statement: This study demonstrates that individualized reminders and a point-based incentive system using the Sanibit™ automated hand hygiene monitoring system significantly improved hand hygiene compliance in an intensive care setting. The combination of light and vibration cues with a point system was most effective, highlighting the value of tailored, multi-modal interventions to enhance infection prevention practices. 
  8. Shine A, Eisa M, Omer E, Heckroth M, Eiswerth M, Rogers B, Tennant P, Nguyen V, Maung AA, Kong M, McClave SA. Does Increasing Size of Bougienage Improve Response to Esophageal Dilation? Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2025 Jun 11;27(1):39. doi: 10.1007/s11894-025-00982-8. PMID: 40498154.
    Impact Statement: This study was designed to determine whether using larger dilators would improve the durability of response to bougienage. A total of 35 patients were recruited. The results suggest that bougienage with dilators larger than 14–16 mm (42–48 Fr) does not enhance the durability of symptomatic relief or other health-related outcomes.
  9. Lindsey ML, LeBlanc AJ, Ripplinger CM, Kassiri Z, Kirk JA, Kleinbongard P, Carter JR, Brunt KR. Progress on Incorporating Sex as a Biological Variable in Cardiovascular Research. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2025 Jun 26. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00230.2025. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40569572.
    Impact Statement: This editorial highlights the progress of the American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology two years after instituting a implemented a pioneering policy for cardiovascular research requiring authors to consider sex as a biological variable (SABV) in their experimental design, analysis, and reporting. Reflecting back, the cardiovascular research community has embraced this change and we’ve complemented this policy with the most successful Call for Papers in journal history, “Considering Sex as a Biological Variable in Cardiovascular Research”. 
  10. Nail AN, Chavez AV, Bailey AN, Banerjee M, Scott JL, Thomas SD, States JC. DNA damage response inhibition is an early event in cadmium-induced breast carcinogenesis. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2025 Jun 10;502:117439. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2025.117439. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40505819.
    Impact Statement: The discovery that long-term cadmium exposure can inhibit BRCA1 protein function in breast epithelial cells is significant, especially given that BRCA1 loss-of-function is common in women with triple-negative breast cancer. This suggests that cadmium exposure may help explain some sporadic cases of triple-negative breast cancer in women without known hereditary risk factors, particularly those living in areas with elevated cadmium pollution. 
  11. Prantzalos ER, Chesser JP, Logan JS, McLaurin KA, Anderson CD, Gabbard JD, Severson WE, Palmer KE, Mullins BJ, Dwoskin L, Turner JR. NMDA receptor antagonists mitigate COVID-19-induced neuroinflammation and improve survival in a mouse model. Sci Rep. 2025 Jun 4;15(1):19603. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-00738-4. PMID: 40467606; PMCID: PMC12137712.
    Impact Statement: This study demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 induces significant neuroinflammation and neuronal damage in the brain’s respiratory centers, contributing to poor survival in a susceptible mouse model. Pre-treatment with the NMDAR antagonist memantine improved survival and mitigated neurological damage, highlighting its potential as a neuroprotective therapy for COVID-19, particularly in older adults. 
  12. Engelbrecht E, Rodriguez OL, Lees W, Vanwinkle Z, Shields K, Schultze S, Gibson WS, Smith DR, Jana U, Saha S, Peres A, Yaari G, Smith ML, Watson CT. Germline polymorphism in the immunoglobulin kappa and lambda loci explain variation in the expressed light chain antibody repertoire. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jun 1:2025.05.28.656470. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.28.656470. PMID: 40501977; PMCID: PMC12154815.
    Impact Statement: This study reveals that genetic variation in immunoglobulin light chain loci (IGK and IGL) shapes baseline antibody repertoires by influencing gene usage through both coding and non-coding mechanisms. By integrating genomic sequencing with antibody profiling, the work advances our understanding of how immunoglobulin polymorphisms contribute to individual differences in immune responses and therapeutic outcomes. 
  13. Stephens KR, Donica WR, Philips P, Martin RCG, McMasters KM, Xie Z, Waits K, Xiao-Fu, Endo T, Van Berkel V, Jones T, Kong M, Egger ME, Scoggins CR. Detection of Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds as Noninvasive Biomarkers for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2025 Jun 23. doi: 10.1245/s10434-025-17685-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40550959.
    Impact Statement: Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have shown promise as noninvasive biomarkers in lung cancer and other pulmonary diseases. This study evaluated the potential of VOCs as noninvasive biomarkers for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and identified a distinctive profile of elevated exhaled VOCs—particularly hexanone, acetaldehyde, and malondialdehyde (MDA)—associated with PDAC. These findings suggest that VOC analysis may offer a novel, noninvasive approach for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
  14. Dlugas H, Zhang X, Kim S. Comparative analysis of continuous similarity measures for compound identification in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. Chemometr Intell Lab Syst. 2025 Aug 15;263:105417. doi: 10.1016/j.chemolab.2025.105417. Epub 2025 May 3. PMID: 40453508; PMCID: PMC12121958.
    Impact Statement: A novel entropy correlation measure, the Tsallis Entropy Correlation, was developed for metabolite identification. The accuracy-based results indicate that the weight factor transformation is essential for achieving higher identification performance in both LC-MS and GC-MS-based compound identification.