Recent Publications

Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is an enzyme that belongs to the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and antagonizes the classical angiotensin (Ang) II/angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1) receptor pathway. Here, we report that higher ACE2 expression correlates with better overall survival in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Moreover, ACE2 has inhibitory effects on tumor proliferation in ccRCC in vitro and in preclinical animal models of ccRCC. We further show that...

Brain embryonic periventricular endothelial cells (PVEC) crosstalk with neural progenitor cells (NPC) promoting mutual proliferation, formation of tubular-like structures in the former and maintenance of stemness in the latter. To better characterize this interaction, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis of mouse PVEC vs. adult brain endothelial cells (ABEC) in mono-culture or NPC co-culture. We identified > 6000 differentially expressed genes (DEG), regardless of culture condition....

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is generally incurable due to the late diagnosis and absence of markers that are concordant with expression in several sample sources (i.e., tissue, blood, plasma) and platforms (i.e., Microarray, sequencing). We optimized meta-analysis of 19 PDAC (tissue and blood) transcriptome studies from multiple platforms. The key biomarkers for PDAC diagnosis with secretory potential were identified and validated in different cohorts. Machine learning approach i.e.,...

Health disparity related to race/ethnicity has been cited as "the most serious and shameful health care issue of our time"(Peterson et al., 2018). A portion of the now recognized disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities is attributable to social determinants such as socioeconomic status (SES), physical living situation, health care access, and the psychosocial factors associated with socioenvironmental circumstances such as...

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is on the rampage claiming over 297000 lives globally. Disease severity and mortality rates are higher in patients with underlying diabetes mellitus. Till date, there exists no effective vaccine or therapy against COVID-19. However, with limited clinical data, HCQ is being used for treatment and prophylaxis in patients with COVID-19. HCQ is also used as an anti-diabetic drug and has been approved in India as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve...

Nonhealing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are characterized by low-grade chronic inflammation, both locally and systemically. We prospectively followed a group of patients who either healed or developed nonhealing chronic DFUs. Serum and forearm skin analysis, both at the protein expression and the transcriptomic level, indicated that increased expression of factors such as interferon-γ (IFN-γ), vascular endothelial growth factor, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 were associated with...