Background & Aims: Despite advances in surgical care and chemotherapeutic regimens, the five-year survival rate for Stage IV Hepatoblastoma (HB), the predominant pediatric liver tumor, remains at 27%. YAP1 and β-Catenin co-activation occurs in 80% of children’s HB; however, a lack of conditional genetic models precludes exploration of tumor mainten...
Aedes cadherin (AaeCad, AAEL024535) has been characterized as a receptor for Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) Cry11A toxins. However, its role in development is still unknown. In this study, we modified the cadherin gene using ZFN and TALEN. Even though we obtained heterozygous deletions, no homozygous mutants were viable. Because ZF...
Transcription factor Neurod1 is required for enteroendocrine progenitor differentiation and maturation. Several earlier studies indicated that ectopic expression of Neurod1 converted non- neuronal cells into neurons. However, the functional consequence of ectopic Neurod1 expression has not been examined in the GI tract, and it is not known whether ...
Bifidobacterium longum colonizes mammalian gastrointestinal tracts where it could metabolize host-indigestible oligosaccharides. Although B. longum strains are currently segregated into three subspecies that reflect common metabolic capacities and genetic similarity, heterogeneity within subspecies suggests that these taxonomic boundaries may not b...
BACKGROUND: The role of changes in gut microflora on upper gastrointestinal (UGI) perforations is not known. We conducted a retrospective case-control study to examine the relationship between antibiotic exposure-a proxy for microbiome modulation-and UGI perforations in a national sample. METHODS: We queried a 5% random sample of Medicare (2009-201...
OBJECTIVE: Enteroendocrine cells (EECs) of the large intestine, found scattered in the epithelial layer, are known to express different hormones, with at least partial co-expression of different hormones in the same cell. Here we aimed to categorize colonic EECs and to identify possible targets for selective recruitment of hormones. METHODS: Single...
Previous or current infection with Helicobacter pylori (exposure) has been reported to protect against eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), perhaps owing to H pylori-induced immunomodulation. However, findings vary. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies to define the association between H pylori exposure and EoE more ...
SAB is an outer membrane docking protein for JNK mediated impaired mitochondrial function. Deletion of Sab in hepatocytes inhibits sustained JNK activation and cell death. Current work demonstrated that increasing SAB enhanced the severity of APAP liver injury. Female mice were resistant to liver injury and exhibited markedly decreased hepatic SAB ...
Colorectal cancer is a complex disease driven by well-established mutations such as APC and other yet to be identified pathways. The GTPase Rab11 regulates endosomal protein trafficking and previously we showed that loss of Rab11 caused intestinal inflammation and hyperplasia in mice and flies. To test the idea that loss of Rab11 may promote cancer...
The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children has increased over the past decades, creating a need for animal models that recapitulate the features of the pediatric disease. Iberian pigs have a leptin-resistant phenotype characterized by hyperleptinemia, hyperphagia, and extreme adipogenesis. We hypothesized that neonatal ...
