University of Texas Medical Branch

About: University of Texas Medical Branch is a education organization based out in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Virus. The organization has 22033 authors who have published 38268 publications receiving 1517502 citations. The organization is also known as: The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston & UTMB.

Testosterone injection stimulates net protein synthesis but not tissue amino acid transport

Abstract: Testosterone administration (T) increases lean body mass and muscle protein synthesis. We investigated the effects of short-term T on leg muscle protein kinetics and transport of selected amino aci...

A submaximal dose of insulin promotes net skeletal muscle protein synthesis in patients with severe burns.

Abstract: Objective To investigate the hypothesis that a submaximal insulin dose reverses the net muscle catabolism associated with severe burns, and to determine its effects on amino acid kinetics Summary Background Data The authors previously showed that a maximal dose of insulin administered to patients with severe burns promoted skeletal muscle glucose uptake and net protein synthesis However, this treatment was associated with caloric overload resulting from the large quantities of exogenous glucose required to maintain euglycemia, and hypoglycemia was a potential problem Methods Thirteen patients were studied after severe burn injury (>60% total body surface area) Patients were randomly treated by standard care (n = 5) or with exogenous insulin (n = 8) Data were derived from an arteriovenous model with primed-continuous infusions of stable isotopes and biopsies of the vastus lateralis muscle Results Net amino acid balance was significantly improved with insulin treatment Skeletal muscle protein synthesis was significantly greater in the group receiving insulin, whereas muscle protein breakdown was not different between the groups This submaximal dose of insulin did not affect glucose or amino acid uptake or require a greater caloric intake to avoid hypoglycemia Conclusions Submaximal insulin can promote muscle anabolism without eliciting a hypoglycemic response

The SCL gene product : a positive regulator of erythroid differentiation

Abstract: The SCL (tal-1, TCL5) gene is a member of the basic domain, helix-loop-helix (bHLH) class of putative transcription factors. We found that (i) the SCL promoter for exon Ia contains a potential recognition site for GATA-binding transcription factors, (ii) SCL mRNA is expressed in all erythroid tissues and cell lines examined, and (iii) SCL mRNA increases upon induced differentiation of murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells, and inferred that SCL may play a physiologic role in erythroid differentiation. We used gel shift and transfection assays to demonstrate that the GATA motif in the SCL promoter binds GATA-1 (and GATA-2), and also mediates transcriptional transactivation. To identify a role for SCL in erythroid differentiation, we generated stable transfectants of MEL and K562 (a human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line that can differentiate along the erythroid pathway) cells overexpressing wild-type, antisense or mutant SCL cDNA. Increasing the level of SCL expression in two independent MEL lines (F4-6 and C19, a 745 derivative) and K562 cells increased the rate of spontaneous (i.e. in the absence of inducer) erythroid differentiation. Conversely, induced differentiation was inhibited in MEL transfectants expressing either antisense SCL cDNA or a mutant SCL lacking the basic domain. Our experiments suggest that the SCL gene can be a target for the erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 and that the SCL gene product serves as a positive regulator of erythroid differentiation.

Effect of Depression on Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survival of Older Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract: Depression is associated with impaired recovery from a number of medical illnesses, such as stroke, hip fracture, and myocardial infarction.1–7 The exact mechanisms whereby depression influences recovery from illness have not been delineated but presumably involve multiple pathways.8,9 Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in women. Breast cancer care has evolved from a relatively straightforward single therapy of modified radical mastectomy into a more complex process involving multiple medical providers and extending over a prolonged time. A large number of studies have demonstrated deficiencies in breast cancer care, including delays in diagnosis and inadequate treatments. Factors that are associated with less-than-optimal breast cancer care include advanced age, minority ethnicity, cognitive impairment, and poor social support.10–17 It was hypothesized that patients with depression would also experience difficulty in breast cancer care, resulting in delays in diagnosis (i.e., increased size and stage at diagnosis), less-than-definitive treatment, and decreased survival. The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) tumor registry, which has been linked to Medicare charge data at the National Cancer Institute, was used.18 In women with breast cancer, Medicare Part A and B charge data for the 2 years before diagnosis were searched for any diagnosis of depression, and stage at diagnosis, choice of treatment, and survival of women with breast cancer with or without a prior diagnosis of depression were compared.