Short background:
-driver mutations JAK2, CALR or MPL in 90%
-in concert with epigenetics (eg ASXL1, DNMT3A, SRSF2...)
-aberrant megakaryocytes as quintessence->reduced GATA1 protein expression and plethora of pro-inflammatory cytokines & extra-cellular matrix components 1/15
Now let's go to #ASH22 abstracts covering the following entities of myelofibrosis biology:
D - driver mutations
O - other mutations
C - cell interaction
I - inflammation
JAK2 #ASH22:
-conditionally inducible 🐭model for activation+deletion of Jak2VF from endogenous locus in a Dre-rox/Cre-lox recombinase system
-Jak2VF deletion->depletion of HSC
-mutant-selective inhibition offers greater potential than current JAKi ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 4/15
JAK2/RAS #ASH22:
-RAS mutations: no impact in JAKi naive & worse outcome in JAKi treated patients
-selection of RAS mutations upon JAKi exposure, negatively impacting clinical outcomes
->paradoxical oncogenic mechanism highlights complexity in #mpnsmash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 5/15
JAK2/SRSF2 #ASH22:
-Srsf2 P95H impairs erythropoiesis in the bone marrow and spleen at multiple differentiation levels (mostly stages II and III)
->phenotypic differences between JAK2-mutant MPN ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 6/15
Short background to CALR:
-in endoplasmic reticulum (ER)->key component ensuring proper glycoprotein folding & calcium homeostasis
-type 1 (52-bp deletion; c.1092_1143del) & type 2 (5-bp insertion; c.1154_1155insTTGTC) account for >1/2 and ~1/3 of all mutated CALR cases 7/15
CALR #ASH22:
-CALRins5 (type 2) proteins lose chaperone ability & exhibit dominant negative effect over CALR wild-type chaperone function
-tauroursodeoxycholic acid restores ER chaperone capacity->potential therapeutic target ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 8/15
Other mutations...
HDM2/PPM1D #ASH22:
-key negative regulators of TP53 pathway
- PPM1Di sensitizes MF HSPCs to an HDM2i
->dual targeting has potential to further deplete multiple myelofibrosis HSC clones while allowing persistence of wild-type cells ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 9/15
Cell interaction.
Mesenchymal cells (MSC) #ASH22:
-comprehensive characterization
-gene not previously linked to fibrosis, HOXB7, identified among highly deregulated genes->most relevant HOXB gene ~ with osteoblast differentiation
-novel axis ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 10/15
Blast-phase #ASH22:
-surfaceome of transformed MPN
-increased EGFR signaling and altered lipid metabolism
-proof-of-principle for CALR and C3AR1 CAR-T cells
->more in vivo needed ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 11/15
Metaphyseal stromal cells:
-active bone remodeling co-occurring with fibrotic transformation with skewing of stromal-cell fate towards osteogenesis (WNT activation)
->differences of metaphyseal and diaphyseal macro-niches within bone ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 12/15
Inflammation #ASH22:
-roadmap of cellular & molecular landscape of normal vs MF bone marrow
-eosinophil-basophil-mast cells & inflammatory fibroblasts as mediators of the inflammatory microenvironment
-galectin-1 as a novel biomarker ash.confex.com/ash/2022/webpr… 13/15
In conclusion, the molecular landscape and its interplay is much more complex than just driver mutations and some others dictating the game. And we only begin to see a glimpse of what the MF microenvironment is affected by. Exciting times in #mpnsm! 14/15
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy might revolutionize the management and our understanding of autoimmune diseases
An short educational thread🧵on current status and future directions
Intro:
- CAR T therapy was originally designed to fight cancer
- now showed transformative potential in treating autoimmune diseases by targeting B cells
👉key role in disease (progression)
- safety remains focus, with a milder toxicity profile emerging in autoimmune disease
B cells?
- arise in bone marrow and go to periphery
- differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cell populations
👉short-lived plasmablasts + long-lived plasma cells
👉reside in bone marrow
- CD19, CD20, CD38, BCMA expressed at various stages
👉enable identification
The h-index is one of the most impactful and widely used metrics to assess a researcher’s productivity and citation impact.
How it started & how it's going
A thread🧵
History:
- 2005 by physicist Jorge E. Hirsch
- assess researcher’s productivity and citation impact
- argued that total citations are skewed by few highly cited papers
👉publication counts don’t account for influence of research
We will discuss later the "dilemma of quality"...
What's the h index?
- largest number h such that h articles have at least h citations each
👉if an author has 5 publications with 9, 7, 6, 2, 1 citations
👉h-index=3
👉3 publications with 3 or more citations
BUT
the author does not have 4 publications with >3 citations❗️
Elsevier is one of the largest, most hated and most influential academic publishing companies in the world.
How it started & how it's going
A thread🧵
Founding:
- 1580, family named Elzevir, led by Lodewijk Elzevir, founded original publishing house in Leiden🇳🇱
- family's printer's mark
👉tree entwined with a vine & the words Non Solus
👉Latin for "not alone"
👉symbiosis between publisher & scholar
We will see the irony later!
Early scoops:
- Elzevir was famed for its high-quality, small-format editions of scholarly works in 17th century
- famous publication of "Observationes Medicae", first illustration of chimpanzee
- notable other publications included works by Galileo Galilei and René Descartes
Today is World Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Day #WCMLD24
Time to educate, reflect and celebrate what has been achieved
A short educational thread on CML
Intro to CML:
-BCR-ABL1-positive
-classified as a myeloproliferative neoplasm
-predominantly composed of proliferating granulocytes and determined to have the Philadelphia chromosome/translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11.2)
-affects peripheral blood + bone marrow
Pathophysiology:
-fusion oncoprotein BCR-ABL1 defines CML
-90-95% have a shortened chromosome 22
👉reciprocal translocation t(9;22) (q34;q11.2)
👉Philadelphia chromosome
-oncoprotein acts as constitutively expressed defective tyrosine kinaseö
The stethoscope is the image of medicine, a commonly used tool, and its importance in the field is immeasurable.
But what is its past, present, and future?
A short thread
Can you imagine how anything got done without a stethoscope? In order to earn its place slung around the neck of a physician, it has undergone many changes and evolved with the times. Like all aspects of medicine, it has a long history and background.
So let's dive right in.
The first reference to listening to breath sounds was in the Ebbers Papyrus in 1,500 BCE, almost 4,000 years ago❗️
Some other early cases of listening to breath sounds are recorded in the Hindu Vedas 🇮🇳 from approximately 1,400-1,200 BCE.