Uterine leiomyoma (LM), the most common tumor of women, causes severe morbidity. LM cells can be separated into three molecularly and functionally distinct cell populations based on the expression pattern of CD34 and CD49b: stem (LSC, CD34+/CD49b+), intermediate (LIC, CD34+/CD49b-), and differentiated cells (LDC, CD34-/CD49b-). Progesterone via progesterone receptor (PR/PGR)...
Inflammasomes are intracellular multiprotein signaling complexes that link Pathogen Associated and Danger Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs and DAMPs) by Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) to the activation of Caspase-1, leading to the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, and the induction of pyroptosis. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like containing a...
Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are a major source of gynaecologic morbidity in reproductive age women and are characterised by the excessive deposition of a disorganised extracellular matrix, resulting in rigid benign tumours. Clinically, leiomyoma patients usually present with pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, as well as heavy cyclic and non-cyclic bleeding. Curative...
The engineering of human reproduction is one of the defining scientific advances of the past century. Methods to specifically engineer the testis have an equally long and rich history, and have experienced significant progress over the past two decades, leading to current-day breakthroughs which are shifting the paradigms by which...
The planarian flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea is capable of recovery from nearly any injury, including regenerating an entire brain after decapitation, made possible by a pool of pluripotent stem cells which maintain all of the worm’s tissues into adulthood. However, the signals that control the production of new neurons in these...
The goal of this project was to better understand the pathogenesis behind rheumatoid arthritis(RA), an autoimmune disorder that primarily affects the joints. Despite affecting around 1.3 million people in the United States, its causes are not well-understood. Previous research at Pope Lab indicated that when compared to the healthy controls,...
With concerns about how to feed an exponentially growing, increasingly obese population, humanity’s relationship with food is a pressing concern. Evaluating the evolutionary changes in the composition of gut microbiota (GM), defined as the microorganisms that live in the digestive tract, may offer insight into how human bodies have adapted...
The ribosome, the cell’s machine for synthesizing proteins, can be thought of as the chef of the cell. Just as a chef reads a recipe and combines ingredients to create a dish, the ribosome reads cellular instructions and connects building block molecules (amino acids) to construct proteins. Like the final...
With the ability to rapidly screen and manipulate genomes, the in depth study of the functional actors of biology—metabolites and proteins—is necessary to understand complex biochemistry in developmental and disease states. The analytical processes by which biological information is gained from metabolomics and proteomics experiments must also evolve with our...
Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a B cell cancer that develops primarily in children and is associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The EBV latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) drives BL in part by providing constitutively active pro-survival signaling. A double transgenic mouse model of BL expressing LMP2A and the oncogene MYC...