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.

PROMALS3D: a tool for multiple protein sequence and structure alignments.

Abstract: Although multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) are essential for a wide range of applications from structure modeling to prediction of functional sites, construction of accurate MSAs for distantly related proteins remains a largely unsolved problem. The rapidly increasing database of spatial structures is a valuable source to improve alignment quality. We explore the use of 3D structural information to guide sequence alignments constructed by our MSA program PROMALS. The resulting tool, PROMALS3D, automatically identifies homologs with known 3D structures for the input sequences, derives structural constraints through structure-based alignments and combines them with sequence constraints to construct consistency-based multiple sequence alignments. The output is a consensus alignment that brings together sequence and structural information about input proteins and their homologs. PROMALS3D can also align sequences of multiple input structures, with the output representing a multiple structure-based alignment refined in combination with sequence constraints. The advantage of PROMALS3D is that it gives researchers an easy way to produce high-quality alignments consistent with both sequences and structures of proteins. PROMALS3D outperforms a number of existing methods for constructing multiple sequence or structural alignments using both reference-dependent and reference-independent evaluation methods.

Multifunctional polymeric micelles as cancer-targeted, MRI-ultrasensitive drug delivery systems.

Abstract: We describe the development of multifunctional polymeric micelles with cancer-targeting capability via αvβ3 integrins, controlled drug delivery, and efficient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast characteristics. Doxorubicin and a cluster of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles were loaded successfully inside the micelle core. The presence of cRGD on the micelle surface resulted in the cancer-targeted delivery to αvβ3-expressing tumor cells. In vitro MRI and cytotoxicity studies demonstrated the ultrasensitive MRI imaging and αvβ3-specific cytotoxic response of these multifunctional polymeric micelles.

DNA damage and repair

Abstract: The aesthetic appeal of the DNA double helix initially hindered notions of DNA mutation and repair, which would necessarily interfere with its pristine state. But it has since been recognized that DNA is subject to continuous damage and the cell has an arsenal of ways of responding to such injury. Although mutations or deficiencies in repair can have catastrophic consequences, causing a range of human diseases, mutations are nonetheless fundamental to life and evolution.

Lung cancer in never smokers — a different disease

Abstract: Although most lung cancers are a result of smoking, approximately 25% of lung cancer cases worldwide are not attributable to tobacco use, accounting for over 300,000 deaths each year. Striking differences in the epidemiological, clinical and molecular characteristics of lung cancers arising in never smokers versus smokers have been identified, suggesting that they are separate entities. This Review summarizes our current knowledge of this unique and poorly understood disease.