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: RNA & Antigen. 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.

BRAF mutation predicts for poor outcomes after metastasectomy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Abstract: BACKGROUND BRAF mutations occur in 5% to 11% of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and have been associated with poor prognosis. The current study was undertaken to determine the clinicopathologic characteristics, PIK3CA (phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase, catalytic subunit alpha) mutation frequency, and outcomes after metastasectomy in patients with BRAF-mutant mCRC. METHODS Data from 1941 consecutive patients with mCRC who underwent KRAS/BRAF mutation testing between 2009 and 2012 at a single institution were identified to identify BRAF-mutant mCRC cases (92 cases). BRAF wild-type mCRC cases from 2011 (423 cases) served as a control group. RESULTS BRAF-mutated mCRC was found to be significantly associated with older age at diagnosis, female sex, right-sided location, poorly differentiated morphology, and mucinous histology compared with wild-type cases. BRAF-mutant cases more frequently progressed from stage III disease (32% vs 17%; P = .003) and among those patients with stage III disease, T4 disease was more common (48% vs 27%; P = .05). PIK3CA was found to be co-mutated in 5% of BRAF-mutant tumors versus 17% of KRAS-mutant tumors (P < .01) and 4% of BRAF/KRAS wild-type cases. Patients with BRAF-mutated mCRC presented more frequently with peritoneal involvement (26% vs 14%; P < 0.01) and less frequently with liver-limited metastases (41% vs 63%; P < .01). Patients with BRAF-mutated mCRC were less likely to undergo metastasectomy (41% vs 26% at 2 years from diagnosis of metastatic disease; P < .01) and were found to have lower overall survival (P < .01) after metastasectomy. CONCLUSIONS BRAF-mutant mCRC is associated with worse clinical outcome. Patients with BRAF-mutant tumors more commonly develop peritoneal metastases, less frequently present with disease limited to the liver, and have shorter survival after metastasectomy compared with patients with BRAF wild-type tumors. Cancer 2014;120:2316–2324. © 2014 American Cancer Society.

Streptomycin-induced chlorophyll-less races of Euglena.

Abstract: SummaryWhen acted upon by streptomycin, certain strains of Euglena gracilis undergo a permanent loss of chlorophyll, without being inhibited in growth if good energy and carbon sources are supplied to make up for the loss of photosynthesis. The degree of exposure to streptomycin. Proliferating and non-proliferating cells, and cells exposd in the light and in the dark, appear equally susceptible to bleaching.

Clinically-translated silica nanoparticles as dual-modality cancer-targeted probes for image-guided surgery and interventions

Abstract: Early diagnosis and treatment of melanoma are essential to minimizing morbidity and mortality. The presence of lymph node metastases is a vital prognostic predictor, and accurate identification by imaging has important implications for disease staging, prognosis, and clinical outcome. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping procedures are limited by a lack of intraoperative visualization tools that can aid accurate determination of disease spread and delineate nodes from adjacent critical neural and vascular structures. Newer methods for circumventing these issues can exploit a variety of imaging tools, including biocompatible particle-based platforms coupled with portable device technologies for use with image-guided surgical and interventional procedures. We describe herein a clinically-translated, integrin-targeting platform for use with both PET and optical imaging that meets a number of key design criteria for improving SLN tissue localization and retention, target-to-background ratios, and clearance from the site of injection and the body. The use of such agents for selectively probing critical cancer targets may elucidate important insights into cellular and molecular processes that govern metastatic disease spread. Coupled with portable, real-time optical camera systems, we show that pre-operative PET imaging findings for mapping metastatic disease in clinically-relevant larger-animal models can be readily translated into the intraoperative setting for direct visualization of the draining tumor lymphatics and fluorescent SLN/s with histologic correlation. The specificity of this platform, relative to the standard-of-care radiotracer, 18F-FDG, for potentially discriminating metastatic disease from inflammatory processes is also discussed in the setting of surgically-based or interventionally-driven therapies.

Oct4 is required for lineage priming in the developing inner cell mass of the mouse blastocyst

Abstract: The transcription factor Oct4 is required in vitro for establishment and maintenance of embryonic stem cells and for reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotency. In vivo, it prevents the ectopic differentiation of early embryos into trophoblast. Here, we further explore the role of Oct4 in blastocyst formation and specification of epiblast versus primitive endoderm lineages using conditional genetic deletion. Experiments involving mouse embryos deficient for both maternal and zygotic Oct4 suggest that it is dispensable for zygote formation, early cleavage and activation of Nanog expression. Nanog protein is significantly elevated in the presumptive inner cell mass of Oct4 null embryos, suggesting an unexpected role for Oct4 in attenuating the level of Nanog, which might be significant for priming differentiation during epiblast maturation. Induced deletion of Oct4 during the morula to blastocyst transition disrupts the ability of inner cell mass cells to adopt lineage-specific identity and acquire the molecular profile characteristic of either epiblast or primitive endoderm. Sox17, a marker of primitive endoderm, is not detected following prolonged culture of such embryos, but can be rescued by provision of exogenous FGF4. Interestingly, functional primitive endoderm can be rescued in Oct4-deficient embryos in embryonic stem cell complementation assays, but only if the host embryos are at the pre-blastocyst stage. We conclude that cell fate decisions within the inner cell mass are dependent upon Oct4 and that Oct4 is not cell-autonomously required for the differentiation of primitive endoderm derivatives, as long as an appropriate developmental environment is established.