Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
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The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute was named in 2019, and was formerly the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute.
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Browsing Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC by Department "Computer Science"
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- Access to Autism Spectrum Disorder Services for Rural Appalachian CitizensScarpa, Angela; Jensen, Laura S.; Gracanin, Denis; Ramey, Sharon L.; Dahiya, Angela V.; Ingram, L. Maria; Albright, Jordan; Gatto, Alyssa J.; Scott, Jen Pollard; Ruble, Lisa (2020-01)Background: Low-resource rural communities face significant challenges regarding availability and adequacy of evidence-based services. Purposes: With respect to accessing evidence-based services for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this brief report summarizes needs of rural citizens in the South-Central Appalachian region, an area notable for persistent health disparities. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data during focus groups with 33 service providers and 15 caregivers of children with ASD in rural southwest Virginia. Results: Results supported the barriers of availability and affordability of ASD services in this region, especially relating to the need for more ASD-trained providers, better coordination and navigation of services, and addition of programs to assist with family financial and emotional stressors. Results also suggested cultural attitudes related to autonomy and trust towards outside professionals that may prevent families from engaging in treatment. Implications: Relevant policy recommendations are discussed related to provider incentives, insurance coverage, and telehealth. Integration of autism services into already existing systems and multicultural sensitivity of providers are also implicated.
- A large-scale RNA interference screen identifies genes that regulate autophagy at different stagesGuo, Sujuan; Pridham, Kevin J.; Virbasius, Ching-Man; He, Bin; Zhang, Liqing; Varmark, Hanne; Green, Michael R.; Sheng, Zhi (Nature Publishing Group, 2018-02-12)Dysregulated autophagy is central to the pathogenesis and therapeutic development of cancer. However, how autophagy is regulated in cancer is not well understood and genes that modulate cancer autophagy are not fully defined. To gain more insights into autophagy regulation in cancer, we performed a large-scale RNA interference screen in K562 human chronic myeloid leukemia cells using monodansylcadaverine staining, an autophagy-detecting approach equivalent to immunoblotting of the autophagy marker LC3B or fluorescence microscopy of GFP-LC3B. By coupling monodansylcadaverine staining with fluorescence-activated cell sorting, we successfully isolated autophagic K562 cells where we identified 336 short hairpin RNAs. After candidate validation using Cyto-ID fluorescence spectrophotometry, LC3B immunoblotting, and quantitative RT-PCR, 82 genes were identified as autophagy-regulating genes. 20 genes have been reported previously and the remaining 62 candidates are novel autophagy mediators. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that most candidate genes were involved in molecular pathways regulating autophagy, rather than directly participating in the autophagy process. Further autophagy flux assays revealed that 57 autophagy-regulating genes suppressed autophagy initiation, whereas 21 candidates promoted autophagy maturation. Our RNA interference screen identifies identified genes that regulate autophagy at different stages, which helps decode autophagy regulation in cancer and offers novel avenues to develop autophagy-related therapies for cancer.