Baylor Research Institute

Yang, Y., W. Weng, J. Peng, L. Hong, L. Yang, Y. Toiyama, R. Gao, M. Liu, M. Yin, C. Pan, H. Li, B. Guo, Q. Zhu, Q. Wei, M. P. Moyer, P. Wang, S. Cai, A. Goel, H. Qin and Y. Ma (2017).”Fusobacterium nucleatum increases proliferation of colorectal cancer cells and tumor development in mice by activating toll like receptor 4 signaling to nuclear factor kappab and upregulating…Gastroenterology 152(4): 851-866.e824.

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BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nearly 20% of the global cancer burden can be linked to infectious agents. Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes tumor formation by epithelial cells via unclear mechanisms. We aimed to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) induced by F nucleatum and evaluate their ability to promote colorectal carcinogenesis in mice…METHODS: Colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines were incubated with F nucleatum or control reagents and analyzed in proliferation and would healing assays…RESULTS: Fusobacterium nucleatum increased proliferation and invasive activities of CRC cell lines compared with control cells. CRC cell lines infected with F nucleatum formed larger tumors, more rapidly, in nude mice than uninfected cells. CONCLUSIONS: We found infection of CRC cells with F nucleatum to increase their proliferation, invasive activity, and ability to form xenograft tumors in mice…Patients with both high amount of tissue F nucleatum DNA and miR21 demonstrated a higher risk for poor outcomes.

Blackbourne, B. D., A. Vasudevan and W. C. Roberts (2017). “Comparison at necropsy of heart weight in women aged 20 to 29 years with fatal trauma or chemical intoxication versus fatal natural cause (a search for the normal adult heart weight).” Am J Cardiol 119(5): 808-812.

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The present obesity epidemic makes determining the normal heart weight in adults difficult. This study examines the heart weight at autopsy in 104 women aged 20 to 29 years who died in 1978 to 1980 before the overweight epidemic ensued. Of the 104 cases, the hearts weighed 300 g in 18 (17%). Of the 67 cases dying from an unnatural cause (trauma or chemical intoxication), only 3 (4%) had hearts weighing >300 g; of the 37 patients dying from a variety of natural causes, 15 (41%) had hearts weighing >300 g (p <0.001). The body mass index (BMI) was 25 kg/m2, the hearts ranged from 230 to 850 g (mean 351 +/- 142; median 300 g). In conclusion, the cases dying from an unnatural cause had smaller mean heart weights than those women dying from a natural cause and those with a normal BMI (25 kg/m2. The normal heart weight in young women dying from an unnatural cause with few exceptions is <300 g.

Salisbury, D. B., S. J. Driver, M. Reynolds, M. Bennett, L. B. Petrey and A. M. Warren (2017). “Hospital-based health care after traumatic brain injury.” Arch Phys Med Rehabil 98(3): 425-433.

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate trends of hospital-based health care utilization after admission to a level I trauma center after acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Large urban trauma hospital and a hospital council data registry consisting of 88 member institutions (>150 hospitals) covering 15,000 square miles. PARTICIPANTS: All patients (N=5291) admitted to a level I trauma center between January 1, 2006, and June 30, 2014, who experienced an acute TBI based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision coding. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Included the incidence and type of select hospital-based services received. Analyses were also categorized based on demographic and injury-related information. RESULTS: Of the 5291 patients with newly acquired TBI who were admitted, 512 died, leaving 4779 patients for inclusion in the final analysis. Additional health care utilization from January 1, 2006, and June 30, 2014, was recorded for 3158 patients (66%), totaling 12,307 encounters, with a median of 3 encounters (interquartile range, 1-5) and a maximum of 102 encounters. Most nonadmission urgent or procedural visits (96%) and inpatient encounters (93%) occurred in the first year. Of all the additional encounters, 9769 visits were nonadmission urgent or procedural visits (79%) with a median charge of $1955. The most common type of encounter was elective (46%), followed by medical emergency (29%). Of the remaining 2538 inpatient encounters (21%), the mean length of stay was 6 days with a median charge of $28,450. Medical emergency (39%) and elective admissions (33%) again were the most common encounter type. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis encompasses health care utilization across the range of TBI severity and numerous hospital systems, allowing for a more comprehensive and objective identification of reasons for readmission. This represents an initial step to developing a preventive intervention to manage secondary complications postinjury.

Askar, M., R. Sobecks, T. Wang, M. Haagenson, N. Majhail, A. Madbouly, D. Thomas, A. Zhang, K. Fleischhauer, K. Hsu, M. Verneris, S. J. Lee, S. R. Spellman and M. Fernandez-Vina (2017). “Mhc class i chain-related gene a (mica) donor-recipient mismatches and mica-129 polymorphism in unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplantations has no impact on outcomes in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, or myelodysplastic syndrome: A center for international blood and marrow transplant research study.” Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 23(3): 436-444.

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Single-center studies have previously reported associations of MHC Class I Chain-Related Gene A (MICA) polymorphisms and donor-recipient MICA mismatching with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). In this study, we investigated the association of MICA polymorphism (MICA-129, MM versus MV versus VV) and MICA mismatches after HCT with 10/10 HLA-matched (n = 552) or 9/10 (n = 161) unrelated donors. Included were adult patients with a first unrelated bone marrow or peripheral blood HCT for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, or myelodysplastic syndrome that were reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research between 1999 and 2011. Our results showed that neither MICA mismatch nor MICA-129 polymorphism were associated with any transplantation outcome (P < .01), with the exception of a higher relapse in recipients of MICA-mismatched HLA 10/10 donors (hazard ratio [HR], 1.7; P = .003). There was a suggestion of association between MICA mismatches and a higher risk of acute GVHD grades II to IV (HR, 1.4; P = .013) There were no significant interactions between MICA mismatches and HLA matching (9/10 versus 10/10). In conclusion, the findings in this cohort did not confirm prior studies reporting that MICA polymorphism and MICA mismatches were associated with HCT outcomes.

Blazkova, J., S. Gupta, Y. Liu, B. Gaudilliere, E. A. Ganio, C. R. Bolen, R. Saar-Dover, G. K. Fragiadakis, M. S. Angst, S. Hasni, N. Aghaeepour, D. Stevenson, N. Baldwin, E. Anguiano, D. Chaussabel, M. C. Altman, M. J. Kaplan, M. M. Davis and D. Furman (2017). “Multicenter systems analysis of human blood reveals immature neutrophils in males and during pregnancy.” J Immunol 198(6): 2479-2488.

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Despite clear differences in immune system responses and in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases between males and females, there is little understanding of the processes involved…Using mass cytometry, we find increased frequencies of immature forms of neutrophils in the blood of women during late pregnancy. Thus, our findings show novel sex differences in innate immunity and identify a common neutrophil signature in males and in pregnant women.