Kettering University

About: Kettering University is a education organization based out in Flint, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & RNA. The organization has 6842 authors who have published 7689 publications receiving 337503 citations. The organization is also known as: GMI Engineering & Management Institute & General Motors Institute.

Prevalence of Germline Mutations in Cancer Susceptibility Genes in Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Abstract: Importance Identification of patients with hereditary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is important for cancer screening and, in patients with advanced disease, for guiding treatment. The prevalence of cancer-related germline mutations in patients with advanced RCC and the phenotypes associated with some rare mutations are unknown. Objectives To examine the prevalence of germline mutations in both known RCC predisposition genes and other cancer-associated genes and to identify clinical and pathologic factors associated with germline mutations. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cohort study conducted from October 1, 2015, to July 31, 2017, 254 of 267 patients with advanced (American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III or IV) RCC who were seen in medical oncology or urology clinics agreed to germline sequencing and disclosure of results under an institutional protocol of matched tumor-germline DNA sequencing. Main Outcomes and Measures Mutation prevalence and spectrum in patients with advanced RCC were determined. Clinical characteristics were assessed by mutation status. Results Of the 254 patients (median age [range], 56 [13-79] years; 179 [70.5%] male; 211 [83.1%] non-Hispanic white), germline mutations were identified in 41 (16.1%); 14 (5.5%) had mutations in syndromic RCC-associated genes (7 inFH, 3 inBAP1, and 1 each inVHL,MET,SDHA,andSDHB). The most frequent mutations wereCHEK2(n = 9) andFH(n = 7). Of genes not previously associated with RCC risk,CHEK2was overrepresented in patients compared with the general population, with an odds ratio of RCC of 3.0 (95% CI, 1.3-5.8;P = .003). Patients with non–clear cell RCC were significantly more likely to have an RCC-associated gene mutation (9 [11.7%] of 74 vs 3 [1.7%] of 177;P = .001), and 8 (10.0%) had a mutation in a gene that could guide therapy. Of patients with mutations in RCC-associated genes, 5 (35.7%) failed to meet current clinical guidelines for genetic testing. Conclusions and Relevance Of patients with non–clear cell RCC, more than 20% had a germline mutation, of which half had the potential to direct systemic therapy. Current referral criteria for genetic testing did not identify a substantial portion of patients with mutations, supporting the role of a more inclusive sequencing approach.

Single chain FV polynucleotide or peptide constructs of anti-ganglioside GD2 antibodies, cells expressing same and related methods

Abstract: Recombinant antibody constructs comprise the variable regions of the heavy and light chains of anti-G D2 antibodies. These antibody constructs may be coupled to a label such as a radiolabel or to a protein such as streptavidin or pro-drug converting enzymes for use in imaging or therapeutic applications. The antibody constructs may also be transduced into T cells to produce populations of T cells which target G D2 -producing tumor cells.

MDTraj: a modern, open library for the analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories

Abstract: Summary: MDTraj is a modern, lightweight and efficient software package for analyzing molecular dynamics simulations. MDTraj reads trajectory data from a wide variety of commonly used formats. It provides a large number of trajectory analysis capabilities including RMSD, DSSP secondary structure assignment and the extraction of common order parameters. The package has a strong focus on interoperability with the wider scientific Python ecosystem, bridging the gap between molecular dynamics data and the rapidly-growing collection of industry-standard statistical analysis and visualization tools in Python. Availability: Package downloads, detailed examples and full documentation are available at http://mdtraj.org. The source code is distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License at https://github.com/simtk/mdtraj.

Oriented cell motility and division underlie early limb bud morphogenesis

Abstract: The vertebrate limb bud arises from lateral plate mesoderm and its overlying ectoderm. Despite progress regarding the genetic requirements for limb development, morphogenetic mechanisms that generate early outgrowth remain relatively undefined. We show by live imaging and lineage tracing in different vertebrate models that the lateral plate contributes mesoderm to the early limb bud through directional cell movement. The direction of cell motion, longitudinal cell axes and bias in cell division planes lie largely parallel to one another along the rostrocaudal (head-tail) axis in lateral plate mesoderm. Transition of these parameters from a rostrocaudal to a mediolateral (outward from the body wall) orientation accompanies early limb bud outgrowth. Furthermore, we provide evidence that Wnt5a acts as a chemoattractant in the emerging limb bud where it contributes to the establishment of cell polarity that is likely to underlie the oriented cell behaviours.