@the-asci.bsky.social
The ASCI is a nonprofit honor society of physician-scientists. Founded in 1908, the Society is home to over 3,000 members active across academic medicine and industry. https://the-asci.org
Cancer Therapy and Cachexia
In this review, ASCI member Tobias Janowitz and team explore the contribution of cancer treatments to cachexia, focusing on converging tumor- and treatment-induced pathways, interorgan effects, and treatment elements: buff.ly/gHA77x5
Tumor-based profiling often detects inherited germline variants implicated in cancer susceptibility, but germline testing is not standard practice.
ASCI member Lucy A. Godley & colleagues review the nuances of identifying germline variants and discuss their clinical implications: buff.ly/bU4lZyy
Enterovirus D68 is associated with paralysis in children, but the mechanism for spinal cord injury was unknown.
ASCI member Terence S. Dermody and team reveal immune cell recruitment to the spinal cord promotes EV-D68 paralysis in newborn mice: buff.ly/Y6S9kmJ
An unexpected role for the brain in the pathogenesis of diabetic ketoacidosis
In this Viewpoint, ASCI member Michael W. Schwartz and team provide a framework for an observation that seemed to defy explanation and discuss the brainβs role in meeting
the bodyβs fuel needs.
buff.ly/hs5OG3z
A nod and a wink to kidney-specific WNK1
This issueβs cover features work by Cary R. Boyd-Shiwarski et al. (2023 YPSA) on kidney-specific WNK1 as a scaffolding protein that organizes WNK bodies β structures essential for maintaining blood potassium levels: buff.ly/Cw7u7c1
More than 1 in 4 men will develop an inguinal hernia during their life for which non-surgical treatments remain unavailable.
ASCI member Serdar E. Bulun & team now show antagonism of progesterone reduced hernia size or prevented its formation in mouse models: buff.ly/TGfbAZL
HIV infection accelerates aging, but how does age affect disease course?
ASCI member Ivona Pandrea & team @PittTweet report SIV infection accelerates age in a tissue-specific manner and the hostβs age at infection influences survival in Rhesus macaques.
Full report: buff.ly/cgew3LK
Thermogenesis data hot off the press!
ASCI member Michael D. Jensen and team show that TPH2 deficiency in adipocytes enhances BAT thermogenesis, improves the metabolic profile, and increases energy absorption from food in mice fed a high-fat diet.
See full report: buff.ly/rBE8Q8q
A first-in-human clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumorsβ
ASCI member Wadih Arap & team identify EphA5 as a broad yet specific target in human cancers.
See full report: buff.ly/B3V0GLr
Hypoxia-inducible factor stabilizers lead to red blood cell production & are typically used in the treatment of chronic kidney disease.
ASCI member Holger K. Eltzschig & team now evaluate FDA-approved HIF stabilizer vadadustat in mice & people with SARS-CoV-2-associated lung injury: buff.ly/GCasWYt
Treatment-resistant prostate cancer remains a barrier to optimizing patient outcomes.
ASCI member Donald W. Kufe & team @danafarber.bsky.social now report on MUC1-C as a driver of resistance, and develop a targeted antibody that decreases tumor volume in mouse models.
See more: buff.ly/TdXLSJa
No small potatoes!
ASCI member Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico & team identify the nuclear envelope protein Emerin as a regulator of nuclear size in KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer.
Complete report: buff.ly/G9cZcBQ
TRAPΞ±/SSR1 polymorphisms are associated with type 2 diabetes, but the role for TRAPΞ± in islet beta cells was unknown.
ASCI member Peter Arvan & team discover TrapΞ± deficiency impairs the early events of insulin biosynthesis and glucose homeostasis in mice: buff.ly/fGhpOK0
Susceptibility to Mycobacterium tuberculosis is influenced by genetic factors.
ASCI member Thomas R. Hawn and team perform a genome-wide association study in myeloid cells and identify multiple variants and pathways associated with clinical tuberculosis susceptibility: buff.ly/kzc5EdQ
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: The Everest of Cancer Biology
ASCI member @benstanger01.bsky.social @pennmedicine.bsky.social introduces the JCI review collection on pancreas cancer
Full report: buff.ly/0FlpiMm
The neonatal intestinal tract contains bacteriophages that influence the gut microbiome, but their origins were unclear.
ASCI member @pbollyky.bsky.social & team now report matching phage sequences present in maternal cord blood and umbilical cord blood.
Full report: buff.ly/0LafbLD
Finding success with demethylating drugs in preclinical models of a deadly malignancyβ
ASCI member Kevin B. Jones & team report on hypomethylation of CpG islands in synovial sarcoma and the use of decitabine and azacytidine in the inhibition of tumor growth:
buff.ly/4RUF6aM
How does luspatercept relieve anemia in myelodysplastic syndromes?
ASCI member Amit Verma & team discover splicing of erythroid transcription factor is associated with therapeutic response in MDS: buff.ly/KFd7ri7
A novel way to restore neurofibromin levels in Neurofibromatosis type 1β
ASCI member D. Wade Clapp & team demonstrate correction of neurobehavioral deficits in a preclinical NF1 model: buff.ly/jSNm0Dp
Out now: Activation of intestinal endogenous retroviruses by alcohol exacerbates liver disease: buff.ly/kl52g1k
ASCI member Bernd Schnabl & team reveal patients with alcohol-associated liver disease have increased expression of human ERVs compared with controls.
Harnessing lymphocyte self-renewal in immunotherapy: buff.ly/75CVrv3
ASCI member Steven Reiner's review describes signaling pathways in T cells that balance regenerative and differentiated states, which may be leveraged to boost the efficacy of immunotherapies and more.
Ameliorating myeloproliferative neoplasms with cyclosporin A in preclinical modelsβ
ASCI member Peng Ji & team discover PPIL2 as a target of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway that promotes myeloproliferation through p53 degradation: buff.ly/t79dupJ
Endometriosis and its links to ovulation: buff.ly/KK8eGvp
Endo is a chronic, painful condition that remains difficult to diagnose and adequately manage.
ASCI member Serdar Bulun's review asserts that suppressing ovulation should be a goal for managing this disease.
A crab-eating macaque with a spontaneous mutation bridges the gap between preclinical and clinical research for an inherited macular diseaseβ
ASCI member Elia J. Duh & team present the first non-human primate model of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy
Complete report: buff.ly/LxaIn6s
Tissue-resident memory T cells persist in skin and gut where they can activate upon infection, but their temporal development was unclear.
ASCI member Thomas Kupper and team analyzed gene programs across developmental time points, revealing AP-1 expression in mature cells: buff.ly/4YOV0Fp
Evidence of HIV-1-associated DNA and RNA can be found in multiple tissues despite adequate anti-retroviral therapy.
Research letter by ASCI member H. Clifford Lane & team out now: buff.ly/R4tkQVB
An insiderβs guide to understanding and obtaining an NIH K career development award-
ASCI member Don C. Rockey et al. provide advice to physician-scientist applicants: buff.ly/eHgujYR
Understanding the predictors of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver diseaseβ
ASCI member Peter Crawford & team suggest ketogenesis serves a protective role in MASLD-MASH progression via processes other than fat oxidation: buff.ly/f26w63M
In glioma, T cell immunotherapies are limited by the quantity of available T cells.
ASCI member Peter Fecci & team address this challenge in preclinical models by peripheral injection of autologous T cells after pre-treatment with IL-7.
Full report: buff.ly/gslmMgl
Urinary biomarkers that predict the progression of diabetic kidney disease!
ASCI member Chirag R. Parikh & team evaluated over 1000 participants with T2D and suggest EGF and UMOD as candidate biomarkers in diabetic kidney disease.
See full report: buff.ly/J4FCMhs
