Browsing by Author "Francis, Joseph"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Caveolin-1 knockout mitigates breast cancer metastasis to the lungs via integrin α3 dysregulation in 4T1-induced syngeneic breast cancer model
    (Springer Nature, 2024) Singh, Dhirendra Pratap; Pathak, Rashmi; Chintalaramulu, Naveen; Pandit, Abhishek; Kumar, Avinash; Ebenezer, Philip J.; Kumar, Sanjay; Duplooy, Alexander; White, Mary Evelyn; Jambunathan, Nithya; Dharmakumar, Rohan; Francis, Joseph; Radiology and Imaging Sciences, School of Medicine
    Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is a critical lipid raft protein playing dual roles as both a tumor suppressor and promoter. While its role in tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis has been recognized, the explicit contribution of Cav-1 to the onset of lung metastasis from primary breast malignancies remains unclear. Here, we present the first evidence that Cav-1 knockout in mammary epithelial cells significantly reduces lung metastasis in syngeneic breast cancer mouse models. In vitro, Cav-1 knockout in 4T1 cells suppressed extracellular vesicle secretion, cellular motility, and MMP secretion compared to controls. Complementing this, in vivo analyses demonstrated a marked reduction in lung metastatic foci in mice injected with Cav-1 knockout 4T1 cells as compared to wild-type cells, which was further corroborated by mRNA profiling of the primary tumor. We identified 21 epithelial cell migration genes exhibiting varied expression in tumors derived from Cav-1 knockout and wild-type 4T1 cells. Correlation analysis and immunoblotting further revealed that Cav-1 might regulate metastasis via integrin α3 (ITGα3). In silico protein docking predicted an interaction between Cav-1 and ITGα3, which was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, Cav-1 and ITGα3 knockdown corroborated its role in metastasis in the cell migration assay.
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    Intramyocardial hemorrhage drives fatty degeneration of infarcted myocardium
    (Springer Nature, 2022-10-27) Cokic, Ivan; Chan, Shing Fai; Guan, Xingmin; Nair, Anand R.; Yang, Hsin-Jung; Liu, Ting; Chen, Yinyin; Hernando, Diego; Sykes, Jane; Tang, Richard; Butler, John; Dohnalkova, Alice; Kovarik, Libor; Finney, Robert; Kali, Avinash; Sharif, Behzad; Bouchard, Louis S.; Gupta, Rajesh; Krishnam, Mayil Singaram; Vora, Keyur; Tamarappoo, Balaji; Howarth, Andrew G.; Kumar, Andreas; Francis, Joseph; Reeder, Scott B.; Wood, John C.; Prato, Frank S.; Dharmakumar, Rohan; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Sudden blockage of arteries supplying the heart muscle contributes to millions of heart attacks (myocardial infarction, MI) around the world. Although re-opening these arteries (reperfusion) saves MI patients from immediate death, approximately 50% of these patients go on to develop chronic heart failure (CHF) and die within a 5-year period; however, why some patients accelerate towards CHF while others do not remains unclear. Here we show, using large animal models of reperfused MI, that intramyocardial hemorrhage - the most damaging form of reperfusion injury (evident in nearly 40% of reperfused ST-elevation MI patients) - drives delayed infarct healing and is centrally responsible for continuous fatty degeneration of the infarcted myocardium contributing to adverse remodeling of the heart. Specifically, we show that the fatty degeneration of the hemorrhagic MI zone stems from iron-induced macrophage activation, lipid peroxidation, foam cell formation, ceroid production, foam cell apoptosis and iron recycling. We also demonstrate that timely reduction of iron within the hemorrhagic MI zone reduces fatty infiltration and directs the heart towards favorable remodeling. Collectively, our findings elucidate why some, but not all, MIs are destined to CHF and help define a potential therapeutic strategy to mitigate post-MI CHF independent of MI size.
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    Myocardial Infarction and the Fine Balance of Iron
    (Elsevier, 2021-07-26) Dharmakumar, Rohan; Nair, Anand R.; Kumar, Andreas; Francis, Joseph; Medicine, School of Medicine