This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Although targeted therapy and immunotherapy have improved treatment, the 5-year survival rate of lung cancer patients remains low. New therapies are needed to target molecules that drive cancer progression. A new study examined the role of a common mutation in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Loss-of-function mutations in KEAP1, an adapter protein that acts as a cellular sensor of oxidative stress, are present in over 25% of patients with LSCC. Researchers compared human lung cancer cell lines with and without KEAP1 mutations. They found that cells lacking KEAP1 function had increased proliferation, migration, and tumor growth and increased expression of NRF2, a transcription factor that regulates cellular protection against oxidative damage. Blocking NRF2 with a pharmaceutical inhibitor, ML385, inhibited proliferation of lung cancer cells with KEAP1 mutations..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"When intra- or extracellular changes occur, cells respond by triggering intracellular signaling pathways. Aberrant signaling can lead to a variety of diseases, including cancer. A recent study further investigated the link between aberrant signaling pathways and cancer metastasis. The actin-bundling protein L-plastin has been proposed as a marker of metastasis, and phosphorylation on Ser5 of the protein is known to increase its actin-bundling activity. To unravel the signaling network upstream of this phosphorylation event, researchers performed computational modeling based on immunoblot data. They found that in addition to ERK/MAPK, the PI3K pathway contributes to L-plastin phosphorylation at Ser5 through its downstream kinase SGK3. In addition, knocking down L-plastin significantly reduced cell invasion, while stably expressing a phosphomimetic L-plastin variant led to increased migration and invasion..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive cancer in the brain or spinal cord, is a devastating diagnosis. Although therapies exist, GBM has a poor prognosis, with a median survival of only 14-15 months after diagnosis. Key to its aggressiveness is the degree to which migrating GBM cells infiltrate adjacent brain tissue. GBM cells express the protein MACC1, which is a marker of metastasis and tumor cell migration. Unfortunately, how GBM cells learn to migrate is unclear. A recent study used live-cell and atomic force microscopy to evaluate cell migration and mechanical properties of GBM cells overexpressing MACC1. The results showed that MACC1 increased the migratory speed and elasticity of GBM cells while it decreased cell-cell adhesion and inhibited aggregation. MACC1-overexpressing cells also had specific increases in protrusive actin, allowing the cells to adhere to laminin..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips. Learners construct a simple model of a DNA microarray (also known as gene chips) and learn how microarrays can be used to identify and treat disease--including cancer. This resource includes references and an explanation of microarrays.

This course presents a challenging multi-dimensional perspective on the causes of human disease and mortality. The course focuses on analyses of major causes of mortality in the US since 1900: cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, and infectious diseases. Students create analytical models to derive estimates for historically variant population risk factors and physiological rate parameters, and conduct analyses of familial data to separately estimate inherited and environmental risks. The course evaluates the basic population genetics of dominant, recessive and non-deleterious inherited risk factors.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Lung phantoms are dynamic systems that simulate lung motion to predict tumor position for lung radiotherapy These predictions make cancer radiotherapy more precise, as lung tumors move during breathing Unfortunately, current lung motion phantoms don’t account for complex motion and deformation of surrounding organs Now, researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, have developed a lung phantom that can produce complex and irregular motions by using a motion platform with two independently programmable linear actuators The phantom provides reliable measurements of the tumor as well as surrounding organs at risk and can simulate variation in abdominal and thoracic engagement While the new lung phantom can’t fully reproduce human breathing, it comes pretty close It is a valuable tool for evaluating motion management strategies in lung radiotherapy Ranjbar et al. "A novel deformable lung phantom with programably variable external and internal correlation..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In colorectal cancer, resistance to the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a major barrier to treatment success, but the mechanism isn’t clear. To learn more, a recent study investigated 5-FU resistance in two colon cancer cell lines. Cell culture medium derived from 5-FU-resistant cells reduced 5-FU sensitivity when applied to other cells, indicating that the resistant cells secreted a resistance-inducing substance. The resistance development was accompanied by changes in the number and shape of Cajal bodies, nuclear structures that regulate RNA processing and increased phosphorylation of an important Cajal body component called coilin. Additional studies revealed that the protein UHMK1 as a kinase was responsible for resistance induction. Specifically, UHMK1 altered Cajal body assembly/disassembly and phosphorylated coilin. In turn, these effects markedly altered RNA splicing in the nucleus to affect cellular characteristics and survival and to promote protumor signaling..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"In cancer, tumor cells secrete chemicals that suppress immune function by upregulating the expression of immune “brakes”. Immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors can release these brakes to effectively treat certain types of cancer. However, other types of cancer are resistant to checkpoint inhibitors, so alternate treatments are needed. In mouse models, infection with the malaria parasite Plasmodium can activate immune defense against cancer. Similarly, global human epidemiological data indicate that malaria occurrence is inversely associated with cancer mortality. In mice, Plasmodium induces proinflammatory molecule production, immune cell activation, and subsequent systemic immune responses while simultaneously upregulating the expression of brake molecules through a feedback mechanism of the immune system to prevent unchecked damage by these immune responses..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Melanoma is a dangerous skin cancer that can quickly become resistant to treatment, in part through interactions between cancer cells and their surroundings. For example, melanoma cells can secrete factors that activate fibroblasts in the tumor microenvironment, and the resulting cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) facilitate cancer progression. However, the exact interactions between melanoma cells and CAFs remain unclear. To learn more, researchers recently cultured normal human fibroblasts with melanoma cells or melanoma-secreted proteins in vitro. They confirmed that the normal fibroblasts became CAFs with enhanced migration, invasion, and matrix protein degradation abilities, which are properties that facilitate cancer progression. The levels of immune molecules called cytokines and proteins related to blood vessel formation were also upregulated in the CAFs, and secretion of lactate, a common end product of cancer cell metabolism, was increased..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are critical for blood cell development and are valuable resources for regenerative medicine. However, MSCs can promote the progression and aggressiveness of blood cancers like leukemia through both contact-dependent and contact-independent communication. Contact-dependent communication is mediated by temporary intercellular tubes called tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) and by gap junctions, shorter channels that span adjacent cell membranes. The molecules and organelles that pass through these openings can promote cancer cell survival and drug resistance. In contact-independent communication, MSCs release proteins that interact with receptors on nearby cancer cells or microvesicles (MVs) that transport genetic materials or other biological molecules, triggering signaling pathways related to immunosuppression and cancer progression. Notably, the communication can occur in both directions, contributing to an intercellular dialogue that shapes the tumor microenvironment..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Some types of cancer are linked to infection by viruses and bacteria, but many such links remain unexplored, indicating that other carcinogenic microbes are likely to exist. A recent study used a large, high-quality collection of 3025 whole-genome sequencing datasets to identify relationships between cancer, bacteria, and viruses. A custom-built pipeline based on the Kraken taxonomic sequence classification system software was used to identify bacterial and viral sequences in the datasets. A total of 3,534,707 read pairs matching 218 bacterial, viral, or phage species-level taxa were detected in tumor and matched healthy tissues. Of these, 27 taxa were identified to be linked to cancer. The findings support known associations between viruses, bacteria, and tumor and patient phenotypes and also reveal entirely new associations. For example, Pseudomonas spp..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) are a common treatment for lung cancer, but TKI resistance is widespread. TKI treatment also has serious side effects like hair loss, anemia, and hypothyroidism, meaning it is important to identify which patients will benefit from the treatment. MicroRNAs may be a way to do that. MicroRNAs regulate gene expression by blocking transcription or promoting the breakdown of messenger RNA, and because microRNAs are stable in body fluids, they can be particularly useful as diagnostic or prognostic indicators in many applications. In the context of anti-cancer drugs, microRNAs are frequently directly involved in the cellular response. Profiling their expression could be used to predict the response to anti-cancer drugs like TKIs. The research to date has described numerous microRNAs and their roles in TKI response by lung cancer cells. However, most previous research did not measure microRNAs in serum samples..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Researchers from Australia have uncovered a unique way that drug-resistant breast cancer cells trick the immune system, potentially allowing them to spread through the body unchecked. The mechanism relies on cancer cells’ shedding of microparticles, tiny sacs filled with protein and nucleic acids, from their membranes. It’s been shown that these sacs bind with other cells to transfer drug resistance, but now it’s clear that they also use the particles to shut down the immune system. To find out what causes this inhibition, the researchers focused on white blood cells known as macrophages. These cells are found throughout the body and mainly work to destroy pathogens and other harmful cells by engulfing them. But this key defense mechanism fails as breast cancer progresses. Because microparticles help cancer cells spread harmful traits to recipient cells, the researchers thought these particles might also play a role in immune evasion..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Migrasomes are newly discovered extracellular vesicles that can mediate communication between cells. These unique vesicles form exclusively at the rear of migrating cells with the help of a protein called TSPAN4. After they’re left behind, the migrasomes and their contents can be captured by nearby cells and affect the recipient cells’ behavior. They can also serve as “breadcrumb trails” that mark the paths of their migrating parent cells. Migrasomes participate in both health and disease. For example, they can dispose of damaged mitochondria to maintain healthy cells and they help establish left–right patterning in zebrafish embryos by releasing the protein CXCL12 to recruit dorsal forerunner cells (DFCs). However, migrasomes can also deliver molecules that promote tumor growth and metastasis and migrasomes released from platelets promote blood clotting after SARS-CoV-2 infection..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Whether it be MRI, CT, or PET scans, nearly every cancer patient undergoes some form of imaging. These images provide important information about the location and stage of tumor growth and can, therefore, inform treatment strategies. But recent advances in Artificial Intelligence make it possible to mine these images for even more data. This emerging field, called ‘radiomics’ aims to utilize the full potential of medical images by extracting high-dimensional data to objectively characterize and monitor individual tumors. Many current cancer-detection and diagnostic techniques rely on invasive approaches such as tissue biopsies. But these practices have both high risk and high cost. Radiomics, on the other hand, offers a promising method to gather important information about tumors -- such as size, shape, and texture -- in a non-invasive and often cost-effective manner..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"When it comes to immune functioning, cancers and autoimmune diseases are opposites. The key immune-related defect in cancer is subverting and evading the immune system, while autoimmune disease is, broadly speaking, an overactive immune system targeting the self. The immune system and the gut microbial community have a reciprocal influence on each other. Therefore, it is possible that cancers and autoimmune diseases have analogous but inverted impacts on the gut microbiome. To test this, researchers conducted a systematic literature review. The included studies covered over 10,000 people from 27 countries. This data revealed a set of microbiome features that show consistent, opposite changes in cancers compared to autoimmune diseases. Fusobacterium and Peptostreptococcus were the most consistently increased bacterial genera in cancer cases. While Bacteroides stood out as a group increased in autoimmune disease and decreased in cancers..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course provides a foundation for understanding the relationship between molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and medicine. It develops explicit connections between basic research, medical understanding, and the perspective of patients. Principles of human genetics are reviewed. We translate clinical understanding into analysis at the level of the gene, chromosome and molecule; we cover the concepts and techniques of molecular biology and genomics, and the strategies and methods of genetic analysis, including an introduction to bioinformatics. Material in the course extends beyond basic principles to current research activity in human genetics.

This course develops and applies scaling laws and the methods of continuum and statistical mechanics to biomechanical phenomena over a range of length scales, from molecular to cellular to tissue or organ level.

This course focuses on the fundamentals of tissue and organ response to injury from a molecular and cellular perspective. There is a special emphasis on disease states that bridge infection, inflammation, immunity, and cancer. The systems approach to pathophysiology includes lectures, critical evaluation of recent scientific papers, and student projects and presentations.
This term, we focus on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), chronic-active hepatitis, and hepatitis virus infections. In addition to lectures, students work in teams to critically evaluate and present primary scientific papers.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. One factor linked to the disease is an aberrant mucin profile in the gastric mucosa. Mucin proteins are the major building blocks of mucus and normally support the barrier function of the gut lining. But abnormal shifts in mucin makeup are believed to disrupt the gut microbiome in ways that facilitate tumor progression. To explore how, researchers examined tumor tissues from 108 patients with gastric cancer. Tumors associated with poor survival were found to overexpress the mucin gene MUC13. Overexpression of MUC13 was, in turn, linked to increased abundance of certain oral bacteria, namely, Neisseria, Prevotella, and Veillonella, which are known to promote inflammation. Deciphering these mucin-microbiome signatures in gastric cancer could make a big impact in prevention and treatment, as they could signal disease before symptoms of gastric cancer set in..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.