February 2024 Member Publications

  1. Banerjee M, Srivastava S, Rai SN, States JC. Chronic arsenic exposure induces malignant transformation of human HaCaT cells through both deterministic and stochastic changes in transcriptome expression. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 17;484:116865. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116865. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38373578.
    Impact Statement: Carcinogenesis occurs both as a result of combined deterministic and stochastic (random) changes in gene expression. However, existing data analysis paradigms for transcriptomic studies preferentially select for deterministic lockstep changes eliminating the importance of stochastic processes in carcinogenesis. In this work, we devised a relatively simple statistical approach that can differentiate between deterministic and stochastic processes operative in carcinogenesis and the pathways and networks they modulate using a cell line model of arsenic-induced skin carcinogenesis. This work will lead to a comprehensive understanding of how cells become cancerous and the role of clonal and tumor heterogeneity in the process. 
  2. Cai L, Tan Y, Holland B, Wintergerst K. Diabetic Cardiomyopathy and Cell Death: Focus on Metal-Mediated Cell Death. Cardiovasc Toxicol. 2024 Feb;24(2):71-84. doi: 10.1007/s12012-024-09836-7. Epub 2024 Feb 6. PMID: 38321349.
    Impact Statement: After we published first review “Diabetic cardiomyopathy and cell death” in 2003, this review provided an update with the potential role of metal-mediated cell death, ferroptosis and cuproptosis in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, to advance the knowledge and continue to drive efforts to develop more advanced therapeutic approaches to prevent cell death, particularly metal-dependent cell death, and, ultimately, to reduce or prevent the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. 
  3. Tomlinson MM, Wallis AB, Harris MJ, DuPré NC, Baumgartner RN, Okonofua F. Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in West Africa: A systematic review. Afr J Reprod Health. 2024 Feb 28;28(1):123-156. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2024/v28i1.12. PMID: 38308560.
    Impact Statement: This literature review addresses some of the unmet menstrual hygiene needs for West African girls, highlighting the need for more research and intervention implementation in these areas. At present, lack of private toilets, education, and products causes girls to miss school days, putting them at risk for lower educational achievement and economic opportunity as compared to their male peers. 
  4. Ding T, Weng Y, Huang J, Zou W. Manual angulation of the Arndt endobronchial blocker to improve the ease of lung isolation. Can J Anaesth. 2024 Feb 16. doi: 10.1007/s12630-024-02709-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38366211.
    Impact Statement: Manual angulation of theArndt Endobronchial #Blocker as an innovative, easy, effective, and safe techniquefor #lungisolation using this device.
  5. Haines D, Kertai MD, Abrams B, Huang J. Understanding Physiology and Using Technology to Care for Challenging Patients. Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2024 Feb 20:10892532241233106. doi: 10.1177/10892532241233106. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38378200.
    Impact Statement: Innovation and the advancement of medical knowledge is paramount to the goals and objectives of caring for challenging patients. 
  6. Condon S, Hu H, Kong M, Cave MC, McClain CJ. ALT Poorly Predicts Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Liver Fibrosis as Determined by Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography in Adult National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-2018: ALT Poorly Predicts NAFLD and Hepatic Fibrosis. Am J Med Sci. 2024 Jan 31:S0002-9629(24)01055-3. doi: 10.1016/j.amjms.2024.01.022. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38307172.
    Impact Statement: ALT is the most widely used liver chemistry for NAFLD evaluation. Our study revealed that ALT is an inaccurate marker for NAFLD as measured by FibroScan® with CAP greater than or equal to 300 dB/m. Accuracy improved specific risk factors were considered. These data also showed that ALT was a poor marker for liver fibrosis. We conclude that there is no single ALT level that accurately predicts hepatic steatosis or fibrosis. 
  7. Xu Q, Antimisiaris D, Kong M. Statistical methods for assessing drug interactions using observational data. J Appl Stat. 2022 Sep 20;51(2):298-323. doi: 10.1080/02664763.2022.2123460. PMID: 38283050; PMCID: PMC10810670.
    Impact Statement: We propose using marginal structural models to assess the average treatment effect and causal interaction of two drugs by controlling confounding variables. The method will facilitate the investigation of the causal effects of multiple treatments or exposures while controlling for confounding variables such as demographics and comorbidity conditions.
  8. Sun R, Lei C, Xu Z, Gu X, Huang L, Chen L, Tan Y, Peng M, Yaddanapudi K, Siskind L, Kong M, Mitchell R, Yan J, Deng Z. Neutral ceramidase regulates breast cancer progression by metabolic programming of TREM2-associated macrophages. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 1;15(1):966. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45084-7. PMID: 38302493; PMCID: PMC10834982.
    Impact Statement: We find that deletion of neutral ceramidase in multiple breast cancer models in female mice accelerates tumor growth, and metabolite ceramide leads to reprogramming of macrophages toward immune suppressive TREM2+ tumor associated macrophages, which promote CD8 T cells exhaustion. 
  9. Egger ME, Alexander E, Van Meter T, Kong M, Maung AA, Valdes R Jr, Hall MB, Linder MW. Corresponding ctDNA and tumor burden dynamics in metastatic melanoma patients on systemic treatment. Transl Oncol. 2024 Feb 1;42:101883. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2024.101883. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38306914.
    Impact Statement: We evaluated the relationship between longitudinal radiographic measures of tumor burden and plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) concentrations. We found that measurements of plasma ctDNA during therapy are a better surrogate for responding versus non-responding disease compared to absolute tumor burden. 
  10. Gawrieh S, Dasarathy S, Tu W, Kamath PS, Chalasani NP, McClain CJ, Bataller R, Szabo G, Tang Q, Radaeva S, Barton B, Nagy LE, Shah VH, Sanyal AJ, Mitchell MC. Randomized-controlled trial of anakinra plus zinc vs. prednisone for severe alcohol-associated hepatitis. J Hepatol. 2024 Feb 9:S0168-8278(24)00109-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2024.01.031. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38342441.
    Impact Statement: There is no approved treatment for severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (SAH). In this double-blind randomized trial, patients with SAH treated with prednisone using the Lille stopping rule on Day-7 had higher 90-day overall and transplant-free survival and lower rate of acute kidney injury compared to patients treated with a combination of anakinra and zinc. The data support continued use of glucocorticoids for patients with SAH, with treatment discontinuation for those with Lille score > 0.45 on Day-7.
  11. Walter MN, Montoya-Durango D, Rodriguez W, Wang Y, Zhang J, Chariker JH, Rouchka EC, Maldonado C, Bennett A, McClain CJ, Barve S, Gobejishvili L. Hepatocyte-specific mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 in sexual dimorphism and susceptibility to alcohol induced liver injury. Front Immunol. 2024 Feb 1;15:1316228. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1316228. PMID: 38370409; PMCID: PMC10871047.
    Impact Statement: Hepatocyte Mkp1 plays a significant role in alcohol induced liver injury. Alcohol downregulates Mkp1 expression in hepatocytes in a sex dependent manner and could play a role in sexual dimorphism in increased female susceptibility to alcohol. 
  12. Augenstein II, Nail AN, Ferragut Cardoso AP, States JC, Banerjee M. Chronic arsenic exposure suppresses proteasomal and autophagic protein degradation. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 23;107:104398. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2024.104398. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38403142.
    Impact Statement: Chronic arsenic exposure causes proteome-wide changes across target tissues, but the mechanisms involved are not clearly understood. In this work, we demonstrate that chronic arsenic exposure suppresses both the arms of protein degradation pathway, viz., autophagy and ubiquitin proteasomal system across skin and lung cell line models. This work will help us better understand how environmental exposure impact proteome-wide changes during carcinogenesis and identify possible therapeutic targets. 
  13. Xin Y, Wise JY, Rajesh M, Cai L. Editorial: Cardiovascular diseases related to diabetes and obesity, volume III. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Feb 13;15:1381446. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1381446. PMID: 38414820; PMCID: PMC10897048.
    Impact Statement: The escalating global burden of obesity, diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) demands urgent attention. Through comprehensive clinical studies and reviews, this Research Topic underscores the critical need for early detection and intervention strategies, highlighting novel markers like metabolic insulin resistance scores and triglyceride-glucose indices, offering a pathway towards individualized therapeutic regimens and enhanced patient outcomes in the face of these intertwined chronic diseases. 
  14. Dong J, Browning M, Reuben A, McAnirlin O, Yuan S, Stephens C, Maisonet M, Zhang K, Hart JE, James P, Yeager R. The paradox of high greenness and poor health in rural Central Appalachia. Environ Res. 2024 Feb 1:118400. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118400. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38309568.
    Impact Statement: While extensive evidence reflects that those living in greener areas have better health, rural Central Appalachia is a major exception. In this paper, we describe potential reasons for this, draw attention to public health challenges in Central Appalachia, and provide recommendations for future research and public health action.