University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

About: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is a healthcare organization based out in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 39107 authors who have published 75242 publications receiving 4497256 citations. The organization is also known as: UT Southwestern & UT Southwestern Medical School.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 triggers the angiogenic switch during carcinogenesis

Abstract: During carcinogenesis of pancreatic islets in transgenic mice, an angiogenic switch activates the quiescent vasculature Paradoxically, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors are expressed constitutively Nevertheless, a synthetic inhibitor (SU5416) of VEGF signalling impairs angiogenic switching and tumour growth Two metalloproteinases, MMP-2/gelatinase-A and MMP-9/gelatinase-B, are upregulated in angiogenic lesions MMP-9 can render normal islets angiogenic, releasing VEGF MMP inhibitors reduce angiogenic switching, and tumour number and growth, as does genetic ablation of MMP-9 Absence of MMP-2 does not impair induction of angiogenesis, but retards tumour growth, whereas lack of urokinase has no effect Our results show that MMP-9 is a component of the angiogenic switch

Genetic variation in PNPLA3 confers susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a burgeoning health problem of unknown etiology that varies in prevalence among ancestry groups. To identify genetic variants contributing to differences in hepatic fat content, we carried out a genome-wide association scan of nonsynonymous sequence variations (n = 9,229) in a population comprising Hispanic, African American and European American individuals. An allele in PNPLA3 (rs738409[G], encoding I148M) was strongly associated with increased hepatic fat levels (P = 5.9 x 10(-10)) and with hepatic inflammation (P = 3.7 x 10(-4)). The allele was most common in Hispanics, the group most susceptible to NAFLD; hepatic fat content was more than twofold higher in PNPLA3 rs738409[G] homozygotes than in noncarriers. Resequencing revealed another allele of PNPLA3 (rs6006460[T], encoding S453I) that was associated with lower hepatic fat content in African Americans, the group at lowest risk of NAFLD. Thus, variation in PNPLA3 contributes to ancestry-related and inter-individual differences in hepatic fat content and susceptibility to NAFLD.

Axillary dissection vs no axillary dissection in women with invasive breast cancer and sentinel node metastasis: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract: (95% confidence interval [CI], 89.1%-94.5%) with ALND and 92.5% (95% CI, 90.0%95.1%) with SLND alone; 5-year disease-free survival was 82.2% (95% CI, 78.3%86.3%) with ALND and 83.9% (95% CI, 80.2%-87.9%) with SLND alone. The hazard ratio for treatment-related overall survival was 0.79 (90% CI, 0.56-1.11) without adjustment and 0.87 (90% CI, 0.62-1.23) after adjusting for age and adjuvant therapy. Conclusion Among patients with limited SLN metastatic breast cancer treated with breast conservation and systemic therapy, the use of SLND alone compared with ALND did not result in inferior survival.

Biochemical Pathways of Caspase Activation During Apoptosis

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Caspase activation plays a central role in the execution of apoptosis. The key components of the biochemical pathways of caspase activation have been recently elucidated. In this review, we focus on the two most well-studied pathways of caspase activation: the cell surface death receptor pathway and the mitochondria-initiated pathway. In the cell surface death receptor pathway, activation of caspase-8 following its recruitment to the death-inducing signaling complex (DISC) is the critical event that transmits the death signal. This event is regulated at several different levels by various viral and mammalian proteins. Activated caspase-8 can activate downstream caspases by direct cleavage or indirectly by cleaving Bid and inducing cytochrome c release from the mitochondria. In the mitochondrial-initiated pathway, caspase activation is triggered by the formation of a multimeric Apaf-1/cytochrome c complex that is fully functional in recruiting and activating procaspase-9. Activated caspase-9 wil...