The cystic fibrosis (CF) modulator drug, elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor (ETI), proved highly effective in controlled clinical trials for individuals with at least one F508del allele, which occurs ...in at least 85% of people with CF.
PROMISE is a postapproval study to understand the broad effects of ETI through 30 months' clinical use in a more diverse U.S. patient population with planned analyses after 6 months.
Prospective, observational study in 487 people with CF age 12 years or older with at least one F508del allele starting ETI for the first time. Assessments occurred before and 1, 3, and 6 months into ETI therapy. Outcomes included change in percent predicted FEV
(ppFEV
), sweat chloride concentration, body mass index (BMI), and self-reported respiratory symptoms.
Average age was 25.1 years, and 44.1% entered the study using tezacaftor/ivacaftor or lumacaftor/ivacaftor, whereas 6.7% were using ivacaftor, consistent with F508del homozygosity and G551D allele, respectively. At 6 months into ETI therapy, ppFEV
improved 9.76 percentage points (95% confidence interval CI, 8.76 to 10.76) from baseline, cystic fibrosis questionnaire-revised respiratory domain score improved 20.4 points (95% CI, 18.3 to 22.5), and sweat chloride decreased -41.7 mmol/L (95% CI, -43.8 to -39.6). BMI also significantly increased. Changes were larger in those naive to modulators but substantial in all groups, including those treated with ivacaftor at baseline.
ETI by clinical prescription provided large improvements in lung function, respiratory symptoms, and BMI in a diverse population naive to modulator drug therapy, using existing two-drug combinations, or using ivacaftor alone. Each group also experienced significant reductions in sweat chloride concentration, which correlated with improved ppFEV
in the overall study population. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT NCT04038047).
Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) improves outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) though most patients progress. There are limited data regarding molecular predictors of progression. In ...particular, there is controversy regarding the role of CDKN2A loss-of-function (LOF) in ICB resistance. We analyzed 139 consecutive patients with advanced NSCLC who underwent NGS prior to ICB initiation to explore the association of CDKN2A LOF with clinical outcomes. 73% were PD-L1 positive (≥ 1%). 48% exhibited high TMB (≥ 10 mutations/megabase). CDKN2A LOF was present in 26% of patients and was associated with inferior PFS (multivariate hazard ratio MVA-HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.02-2.63, p = 0.041) and OS (MVA-HR 2.08, 95% CI 1.21-3.49, p = 0.0087) when compared to wild-type (WT) patients. These findings held in patients with high TMB (median OS, LOF vs. WT 10.5 vs. 22.3 months; p = 0.069) and PD-L1 ≥ 50% (median OS, LOF vs. WT 11.1 vs. 24.2 months; p = 0.020), as well as in an independent dataset. CDKN2A LOF vs. WT tumors were twice as likely to experience disease progression following ICB (46% vs. 21%; p = 0.021). CDKN2A LOF negatively impacts clinical outcomes in advanced NSCLC treated with ICB, even in high PD-L1 and high TMB tumors. This novel finding should be prospectively validated and presents a potential therapeutic target.
Classifying individual bacterial species comprising complex, polymicrobial patient specimens remains a challenge for culture-based and molecular microbiology techniques in common clinical use. We ...therefore adapted practices from metagenomics research to rapidly catalog the bacterial composition of clinical specimens directly from patients, without need for prior culture. We have combined a semiconductor deep sequencing protocol that produces reads spanning 16S ribosomal RNA gene variable regions 1 and 2 (∼360 bp) with a de-noising pipeline that significantly improves the fraction of error-free sequences. The resulting sequences can be used to perform accurate genus- or species-level taxonomic assignment. We explore the microbial composition of challenging, heterogeneous clinical specimens by deep sequencing, culture-based strain typing, and Sanger sequencing of bulk PCR product. We report that deep sequencing can catalog bacterial species in mixed specimens from which usable data cannot be obtained by conventional clinical methods. Deep sequencing a collection of sputum samples from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients reveals well-described CF pathogens in specimens where they were not detected by standard clinical culture methods, especially for low-prevalence or fastidious bacteria. We also found that sputa submitted for CF diagnostic workup can be divided into a limited number of groups based on the phylogenetic composition of the airway microbiota, suggesting that metagenomic profiling may prove useful as a clinical diagnostic strategy in the future. The described method is sufficiently rapid (theoretically compatible with same-day turnaround times) and inexpensive for routine clinical use.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Risk variants for schizophrenia affect more than 100 genomic loci, yet cell- and tissue-specific roles underlying disease liability remain poorly characterized. We have generated for two cortical ...areas implicated in psychosis, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, 157 reference maps from neuronal, neuron-depleted and bulk tissue chromatin for two histone marks associated with active promoters and enhancers, H3-trimethyl-Lys4 (H3K4me3) and H3-acetyl-Lys27 (H3K27ac). Differences between neuronal and neuron-depleted chromatin states were the major axis of variation in histone modification profiles, followed by substantial variability across subjects and cortical areas. Thousands of significant histone quantitative trait loci were identified in neuronal and neuron-depleted samples. Risk variants for schizophrenia, depressive symptoms and neuroticism were significantly over-represented in neuronal H3K4me3 and H3K27ac landscapes. Our Resource, sponsored by PsychENCODE and CommonMind, highlights the critical role of cell-type-specific signatures at regulatory and disease-associated noncoding sequences in the human frontal lobe.
The relationship between social determinants of health and outcomes after heart transplantation has not been examined. The social vulnerability index (SVI) uses United States census data to determine ...the social vulnerability of every census tract based on 15 factors. This retrospective study seeks to examine the impact of SVI on outcomes after heart transplantation. Adult heart recipients who received a graft between 2012 and 2021 were stratified into SVI percentiles of <75% and SVI of ≥75%. The primary endpoint was survival. The median SVI was 48% (interquartile range: 30%-67%) among 23 700 recipients. One-year survival was similar between groups (91.4 vs 90.7%, log-rank P = .169); however, 5-year survival was lower among individuals living in vulnerable communities (74.8% vs 80.0%, P < .001). This finding persisted despite risk adjustment for other factors associated with mortality (survival time ratio 0.819, 95% confidence interval: 0.755-0.890, P < .001). The incidences of 5-year hospital readmission (81.4% vs 75.4%, P < .001) and graft rejection (40.3% vs 35.7%, P = .004) were higher among individuals living in vulnerable communities. Individuals living in vulnerable communities may be at increased risk of mortality after heart transplantation. These findings suggest there is an opportunity to focus on these recipients undergoing heart transplantation to improve survival.
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The second messenger signaling molecule cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (c-di-GMP) drives the transition between planktonic and biofilm growth in many bacterial species.
has two surface sensing ...systems that produce c-di-GMP in response to surface adherence. Current thinking in the field is that once cells attach to a surface, they uniformly respond by producing c-di-GMP. Here, we describe how the Wsp system generates heterogeneity in surface sensing, resulting in two physiologically distinct subpopulations of cells. One subpopulation has elevated c-di-GMP and produces biofilm matrix, serving as the founders of initial microcolonies. The other subpopulation has low c-di-GMP and engages in surface motility, allowing for exploration of the surface. We also show that this heterogeneity strongly correlates to surface behavior for descendent cells. Together, our results suggest that after surface attachment,
engages in a division of labor that persists across generations, accelerating early biofilm formation and surface exploration.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) carries a dismal prognosis and lacks a human cell model of early disease progression. When human PDAC cells are injected into immunodeficient mice, they ...generate advanced-stage cancer. We hypothesized that if human PDAC cells were converted to pluripotency and then allowed to differentiate back into pancreatic tissue, they might undergo early stages of cancer. Although most induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines were not of the expected cancer genotype, one PDAC line, 10–22 cells, when injected into immunodeficient mice, generated pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) precursors to PDAC that progressed to the invasive stage. The PanIN-like cells secrete or release proteins from many genes that are known to be expressed in human pancreatic cancer progression and that predicted an HNF4α network in intermediate-stage lesions. Thus, rare events allow iPSC technology to provide a live human cell model of early pancreatic cancer and insights into disease progression.
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•An iPSC-like line was created from human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)•Teratomas from PDAC iPSC-like cells undergo early to invasive stages of human cancer•Stages of human pancreatic cancer can be studied in live iPSC teratomas and explants•iPSC teratoma cultures reveal biomarkers and pathways of early human pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) carries a dismal prognosis and lacks a human cell model of disease progression. Zaret and colleagues have created a rare iPSC-like line from human PDAC and found that, when injected into nonimmune mice, it generates pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias (PanIN) that progress to the invasive stage. Secreted cell proteomics of the PanINs cultured in vitro predicted an unforeseen regulatory network found to be activated in intermediate-stage PDAC in humans, validating the cells and approach.
Mitochondrial permeability transition is a phenomenon in which the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP) abruptly opens, resulting in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) dissipation, ...loss of ATP production, and cell death. Several genetic candidates have been proposed to form the PTP complex, however, the core component is unknown. We identified a necessary and conserved role for spastic paraplegia 7 (SPG7) in Ca2+- and ROS-induced PTP opening using RNAi-based screening. Loss of SPG7 resulted in higher mitochondrial Ca2+ retention, similar to cyclophilin D (CypD, PPIF) knockdown with sustained ΔΨm during both Ca2+ and ROS stress. Biochemical analyses revealed that the PTP is a heterooligomeric complex composed of VDAC, SPG7, and CypD. Silencing or disruption of SPG7-CypD binding prevented Ca2+- and ROS-induced ΔΨm depolarization and cell death. This study identifies an ubiquitously expressed IMM integral protein, SPG7, as a core component of the PTP at the OMM and IMM contact site.
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•Mitochondrial SPG7 is essential for the PTP complex formation in multiple cell types•SPG7 interacts with CypD and VDAC at the IMM and OMM contact site•C terminus of SPG7 and CsA-binding region of CypD are necessary for PTP formation•Loss of SPG7 protects mitochondria from Ca2+- and ROS-induced PTP-dependent necrosis
Using an RNAi-based screen, Shanmughapriya et al. identify mitochondrial spastic paraplegia 7 as essential for the PTP complex formation. They show that SPG7 interacts with CypD and VDAC1 at the IMM and OMM contact site, and loss of SPG7 protects mitochondria from Ca2+- and ROS-induced PTP-dependent necrosis.