Article
Oncology
Corinne E. Joshu, Christopher M. Heaphy, John R. Barber, Jiayun Lu, Reza Zarinshenas, Christine Davis, Misop Han, Tamara L. Lotan, Karen S. Sfanos, Angelo M. De Marzo, Alan K. Meeker, Elizabeth A. Platz
Summary: Obesity was found to be associated with shorter telomeres in prostate cancer-associated stromal cells, and in men with aggressive prostate cancer, obesity was linked to an increased risk of having short CAS telomeres.
CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Natthakan Thongon, Feiyang Ma, Andrea Santoni, Matteo Marchesini, Elena Fiorini, Ashley Rose, Vera Adema, Irene Ganan-Gomez, Emma M. Groarke, Fernanda Gutierrez-Rodrigues, Shuaitong Chen, Pamela Lockyer, Sarah Schneider, Carlos Bueso-Ramos, Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, Caleb A. Class, Kelly A. Soltysiak, Matteo Pellegrini, Ergun Sahin, Alison A. Bertuch, Courtney D. DiNardo, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Neal S. Young, Karen Dwyer, Simona Colla
Summary: The study reveals that telomere attrition leads hematopoietic stem cells towards differentiation into megakaryocytic lineage through upregulated innate immune signaling response, ultimately compromising their self-renewal capabilities and leading to depletion. Targeting the IFI16 signaling axis could potentially prevent functional decline of hematopoietic stem cells under conditions affecting telomere maintenance.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Eve Faugeras, Lauren Veronese, Gaelle Jeannin, Henri Janicot, Sebastien Bailly, Jacques-Olivier Bay, Bruno Pereira, Anne Cayre, Frederique Penault-Llorca, Florent Cachin, Patrick Merle, Andrei Tchirkov
Summary: In patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), short telomeres, high levels of telomerase, and aberrant expression of shelterin genes TRF2, RAP1, and TIN2 are significantly associated with shorter survival. The determination of telomere parameters in NSCLC could be useful for individualized treatment decisions.
Article
Oncology
Nicholas G. Zaorsky, Xi Wang, Sara M. Garrett, Eric J. Lehrer, Christine Lin, David J. DeGraff, Daniel E. Spratt, Daniel M. Trifiletti, Amar U. Kishan, Timothy N. Showalter, Henry S. Park, Jonathan T. Yang, Vernon M. Chinchilli, Ming Wang
Summary: This project aimed to redefine staging of metastatic cancer, identified five metastatic phenotypes through latent class analysis, and found long-term survivors. All metastatic cancer is considered as Stage IV disease.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2022)
Article
Pathology
Christopher M. Heaphy, Corinne E. Joshu, John R. Barber, Christine Davis, Jiayun Lu, Reza Zarinshenas, Edward Giovannucci, Lorelei A. Mucci, Meir J. Stampfer, Misop Han, Angelo M. De Marzo, Tamara L. Lotan, Elizabeth A. Platz, Alan K. Meeker
Summary: Current biomarkers are insufficient for predicting the prognosis of localized prostate cancer, leading to challenges in treatment decision-making. A study found that the telomere biomarker, which combines variable telomere length in prostate cancer cells and shorter length in prostate cancer-associated stromal cells, is strongly associated with metastasis and prostate cancer death. This biomarker can independently predict outcomes and is robust in surgically treated men.
JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY CLINICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuki Ohta, Masayuki Fujii, Sirirat Takahashi, Ai Takano, Kosaku Nanki, Mami Matano, Hikaru Hanyu, Megumu Saito, Mariko Shimokawa, Shingo Nishikori, Yoshiko Hatano, Ryota Ishii, Kazuaki Sawada, Akihito Machinaga, Wataru Ikeda, Takeshi Imamura, Toshiro Sato
Summary: This study develops an experimental platform for tracking cancer stem cells in colorectal cancer and identifies dormant LGR5(+) cancer stem cells. Transcriptome analysis reveals an upregulation of cell-adhesion molecule COL17A1 in dormant cancer stem cells, and chemotherapy disrupts this dormancy through FAK-YAP activation. Inhibition of YAP signaling prevents chemoresistant cells from exiting dormancy and delays tumor regrowth.
Article
Pediatrics
Mohamed E. Suliman, Mohammed G. A. Ansari, Mohamed A. Rayis, Muaawia A. Hamza, Abdullah A. Saeed, Abdul Khader Mohammed, Nasser M. Al-Daghri
Summary: This study investigated telomere length and plasma TRF2 levels in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) in Saudi Arabia. Children with SCD had shorter telomere length compared to healthy controls, with no association between telomere length and TRF2 observed. Hydroxyurea treatment had no impact on telomere length in children with SCD. This study is the first of its kind in children with SCD and may lead to further research with a larger sample size in different populations to validate these findings.
PEDIATRIC RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Zhengtao Lv, Jiarui Cui, Jiaming Zhang
Summary: This study found a negative association between serum urate levels and telomere length, but no association with serum soluble inflammation markers. This suggests that telomere length may be a critical marker for urate-related organismal aging.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Manuela Montanaro, Massimiliano Agostini, Lucia Anemona, Elena Bonanno, Francesca Servadei, Enrico Finazzi Agro, Anastasios D. D. Asimakopoulos, Carlo Ganini, Chiara Cipriani, Marta Signoretti, Pierluigi Bove, Francesco Rugolo, Benedetta Imperiali, Gerry Melino, Alessandro Mauriello, Manuel Scimeca
Summary: Prostate cancer is a common and deadly cancer in men, and the current clinical tools for prognosis are insufficient. This study found that ZNF750 protein levels are reduced in prostate cancer samples, especially in metastatic samples. It also showed that nuclear expression of ZNF750 is significantly reduced in patients with metastatic cancer. The bioinformatics analysis suggests that ZNF750 expression is positively correlated with better prognosis, indicating its potential as a reliable biomarker for metastatic prostate cancer.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marta Dratwa, Piotr Lacina, Aleksandra Butrym, Diana Porzuczek, Grzegorz Mazur, Katarzyna Bogunia-Kubik
Summary: Telomere dysfunction and hTERT genetic variability may serve as potential prognostic markers in multiple myeloma (MM), as telomere length was shorter in MM patients compared to healthy individuals and patients with advanced disease had shorter telomeres. Patients with certain hTERT genetic variants exhibited shorter progression-free survival.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rajeev Mishra, Subhash Haldar, Shea Biondi, Vikash Kumar Bhari, Gyanendra Singh, Neil A. Bhowmick
Summary: Telomere length is primarily regulated by the enzyme telomerase, but it can also be epigenetically regulated. Shorter telomere length in cancer cells and cancer-associated stromal cells is strongly associated with prostate cancer metastasis and death. This study investigates the role of TGF-beta signaling in regulating telomere length in prostate fibroblast cells and finds that it regulates telomere length through increased expression of the histone methyltransferase Suv39h1. Understanding the regulation of telomere length in stromal cells holds significant prospects for prostate cancer treatment, diagnosis, and prognosis.
Article
Dermatology
Reiichi Doi, Natsuki Baba, Hiroshi Kato, Motoki Nakamura, Shigeto Matsushita, Megumi Aoki, Noriki Fujimoto, Takeshi Kato, Shiro Iino, Shintaro Saito, Masahito Yasuda, Jun Asai, Masashi Ishikawa, Hiroshi Yatsushiro, Yu Kawahara, Kazuhiro Inafuku, Taisuke Matsuya, Ryuichiro Araki, Yukiko Teramoto, Minoru Hasegawa, Takekuni Nakama, Yasuhiro Nakamura
Summary: Japanese patients with very high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) have a higher cumulative incidence of relapse and disease-specific death (DSD). Therefore, prognosis prediction is crucial. The novel Japanese Risk Factor Scoring Systems (JARF scoring) can accurately predict the risk of recurrence and death in Japanese patients with very high-risk cSCCs.
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Zhen Kang, Jiang-Bo Sun, Fei Lin, Xu-Yun Huang, Qi Huang, Dong-Ning Chen, Qing-Shui Zheng, Xue-Yi Xue, Ning Xu, Yong Wei
Summary: This study identified two immunological subtypes and three gene clusters related to prognosis in prostate cancer. A risk signature model was developed to evaluate tumor immune cell infiltration, prognostic status, and the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Patients in the low-risk group showed high levels of immunogenic cell death, immune competence, and favorable survival probability. Furthermore, potential associations were found between the tumor progression genes selected by an artificial neural network and the risk signature genes.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Laureline Roger, Kelly Miners, Louise Leonard, Julia Grimstead, David Price, Duncan Baird, Kristin Ladell
Summary: This study used specific markers to separate different subsets of CD8+ memory T cells and measured their telomere lengths. The expression of CD45RA was found to be positively correlated with telomere length, while there was a disconnect between replicative history and cellular differentiation.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Tsung-Po Lai, Simon Verhulst, Casey L. Dagnall, Amy Hutchinson, Stephen R. Spellman, Alan Howard, Hormuzd A. Katki, John E. Levine, Wael Saber, Abraham Aviv, Shahinaz M. Gadalla
Summary: The age and hematopoietic cell telomere length of allogeneic HCT donors may affect recipients' outcomes. Donors' age and pre-HCT hematopoietic cell telomere length are major predictors of recipients' post-HCT hematopoietic cell telomere length. Hematopoietic cell telomere length shortening is observed in all recipients post-HCT, with Southern blotting and the Telomeres Shortest Length Assay being more sensitive than quantitative PCR.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Rose-Lima Van Keer, Reginald Deschepper, Luc Huyghens, Johan Bilsen
Summary: The research found that in critical care, physicians play a central role in decision making, with limited contribution from patients and nurses, and more noticeable input from families. Communication difficulties are a major obstacle in decision making, and different approaches are used by physicians to overcome them, often struggling to align families' wishes with their own.
JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Stefaan Six, Johan Bilsen, Reginald Deschepper
Summary: Palliative care is facing challenges due to cultural diversity, which have practical implications. This article explores the issues involved in culture-sensitive palliative care, highlights the limitations of naive culturalism, and suggests directions for further research in this area.
BMJ SUPPORTIVE & PALLIATIVE CARE
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Corinne E. Joshu, Christopher M. Heaphy, John R. Barber, Jiayun Lu, Reza Zarinshenas, Christine Davis, Misop Han, Tamara L. Lotan, Karen S. Sfanos, Angelo M. De Marzo, Alan K. Meeker, Elizabeth A. Platz
Summary: Obesity was found to be associated with shorter telomeres in prostate cancer-associated stromal cells, and in men with aggressive prostate cancer, obesity was linked to an increased risk of having short CAS telomeres.
CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Heidi Hempel Sullivan, Janielle P. Maynard, Christopher M. Heaphy, Jiayun Lu, Angelo M. De Marzo, Tamara L. Lotan, Corinne E. Joshu, Karen S. Sfanos
Summary: This study found that higher numbers of tryptase-only mast cells in benign regions of the prostate are associated with an increased risk of biochemical recurrence, metastases, and death from prostate cancer. Further analysis revealed differential expression of specific genes in mast cells between benign and cancer tissue, highlighting the potential role of extra-tumoral mast cells in driving adverse prostate cancer outcomes.
JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Roel Van Overmeire, Yori Gidron, Stefaan Six, Reginald Deschepper, Marie Vandekerckhove, Johan Bilsen
Summary: The study investigates the association between terrorism and suicide by looking at suicide numbers in Flanders, Belgium before and after the Paris-attacks and Brussels-attacks. The findings suggest that suicide rates increased after both attacks, with a larger impact seen after the Paris-attacks compared to the Brussels-attacks. Foreign attacks may have a bigger impact on suicide numbers than attacks within the country.
PSYCHOLOGY HEALTH & MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Wenzel M. Hackeng, Lodewijk A. A. Brosens, Joo Young Kim, Roderick O'Sullivan, You-Na Sung, Ta-Chiang Liu, Dengfeng Cao, Michelle Heayn, Jacqueline Brosnan-Cashman, Soyeon An, Folkert H. M. Morsink, Charlotte M. Heidsma, Gerlof D. Valk, Menno R. Vriens, Els Nieveen van Dijkum, G. Johan A. Offerhaus, Koen M. A. Dreijerink, Herbert Zeh, Amer H. Zureikat, Melissa Hogg, Kenneth Lee, David Geller, J. Wallis Marsh, Alessandro Paniccia, Melanie Ongchin, James F. Pingpank, Nathan Bahary, Muaz Aijazi, Randall Brand, Jennifer Chennat, Rohit Das, Kenneth E. Fasanella, Asif Khalid, Kevin McGrath, Savreet Sarkaria, Harkirat Singh, Adam Slivka, Michael Nalesnik, Xiaoli Han, Marina N. Nikiforova, Rita Teresa Lawlor, Andrea Mafficini, Boris Rusev, Vincenzo Corbo, Claudio Luchini, Samantha Bersani, Antonio Pea, Sara Cingarlini, Luca Landoni, Roberto Salvia, Massimo Milione, Michele Milella, Aldo Scarpa, Seung-Mo Hong, Christopher M. Heaphy, Aatur D. Singhi
Summary: Recent studies have shown that ATRX/DAXX and ALT are important prognostic factors for NF-PanNETs, especially in tumors less than or equal to 2.0 cm. These biomarkers are highly specific for pancreatic origin among NET metastases of unknown primary.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Christopher M. Heaphy, Christopher J. VandenBussche
CANCER CYTOPATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Hyo Jeong Kang, Ji-Hye Oh, Yeon Wook Kim, Wonkyung Kim, Jihyun An, Chang Ohk Sung, Jihun Kim, Ju Hyun Shim, Shin Hwang, Eunsil Yu, Christopher M. Heaphy, Seung-Mo Hong
Summary: Chromophobe hepatocellular carcinoma is a unique subtype of HCC with a prevalence of around 10%, featuring female predominance and enrichment of ALT. However, overall and recurrence-free survival outcomes are similar to conventional HCC.
LIVER INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Pathology
Jacqueline A. Brosnan-Cashman, Christine M. Davis, Bill H. Diplas, Alan K. Meeker, Fausto J. Rodriguez, Christopher M. Heaphy
Summary: The study found that a subset of giant cell GBM utilizes the ALT telomere maintenance mechanism, and in addition to ATRX loss, tumors with SMARCAL1 alterations are prevalent in giant cell GBM.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eva Shrestha, Jonathan B. Coulter, William Guzman, Busra Ozbek, Megan M. Hess, Luke Mummert, Sarah E. Ernst, Janielle P. Maynard, Alan K. Meeker, Christopher M. Heaphy, Michael C. Haffner, Angelo M. De Marzo, Karen S. Sfanos
Summary: The study suggests that bacterial infections may initiate driver gene alterations in prostate cancer, with infection-induced ERG+ fusions being an early alteration in the carcinogenic process, potentially originating from proliferative inflammatory atrophy as a precursor.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Health Policy & Services
Roel Van Overmeire, Stefaan Six, Reginald Deschepper, Marie Vandekerckhove, Johan Bilsen
Summary: Research suggests that long-term perception of terrorist threats may have impact on mental health and behaviors; findings indicate that in Brussels, terrorist threats significantly predict mental health issues, while avoidance behavior is also prevalent.
COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL
(2022)
Letter
Clinical Neurology
Stefaan Six, Jan Poelaert, Steven Laureys, Olivier Mairesse, Peter Theuns, Johan Bilsen, Reginald Deschepper
Meeting Abstract
Psychology, Clinical
Yori Gidron, Einav Levy, Lena Fleig, Lisa Warner, Michel Kaufman, Reginald Deschepper
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Stefaan Six, Steven Laureys, Jan Poelaert, Olivier Mairesse, Peter Theuns, Johan Bilsen, Reginald Deschepper
Summary: This study found that subjective caregiver assessments of consciousness and pain during continuous sedation until death were often inconsistent with objective neurophysiological monitoring results, indicating the unreliability of caregiver subjective assessments during this process.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Levy Einav, Lisa M. Warner, Lena Fleig, Michelle R. Kaufman, Reginald Deschepper, Gidron Yori
Summary: Condom use is essential in preventing HIV contraction. Research suggests that psychological inoculation (PI) is more effective than education in promoting condom use, especially in individuals engaging in sexual activity. However, individuals in the PI group showed higher levels of cognitive dissonance compared to the control group. Further examination is needed to understand the role of relationship status and mechanisms of PI.
PSYCHOLOGY & HEALTH
(2021)