@article{HeidtKaemmererFobkeretal.2023,
  author    = {Heidt, Christina and K{\"a}mmerer, Ulrike and Fobker, Manfred and R{\"u}ffer, Andreas and Marquardt, Thorsten and Reuss-Borst, Monika},
  title     = {Assessment of intestinal permeability and inflammation bio-markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis},
  series = {Nutrients},
  volume    = {15},
  journal   = {Nutrients},
  number    = {10},
  issn      = {2072-6643},
  doi       = {10.3390/nu15102386},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319377},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Increased intestinal permeability and inflammation, both fueled by dysbiosis, appear to contribute to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. This single-center pilot study aimed to investigate zonulin, a marker of intestinal permeability, and calprotectin, a marker of intestinal inflammation, measured in serum and fecal samples of RA patients using commercially available kits. We also analyzed plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, a marker of intestinal permeability and inflammation. Furthermore, univariate, and multivariate regression analyses were carried out to determine whether or not there were associations of zonulin and calprotectin with LPS, BMI, gender, age, RA-specific parameters, fiber intake, and short-chain fatty acids in the gut. Serum zonulin levels were more likely to be abnormal with a longer disease duration and fecal zonulin levels were inversely associated with age. A strong association between fecal and serum calprotectin and between fecal calprotectin and LPS were found in males, but not in females, independent of other biomarkers, suggesting that fecal calprotectin may be a more specific biomarker than serum calprotectin is of intestinal inflammation in RA. Since this was a proof-of-principle study without a healthy control group, further research is needed to validate fecal and serum zonulin as valid biomarkers of RA in comparison with other promising biomarkers.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MarquardtHartrampfKollmannsbergeretal.2023,
  author    = {Marquardt, Andr{\´e} and Hartrampf, Philipp and Kollmannsberger, Philip and Solimando, Antonio G. and Meierjohann, Svenja and K{\"u}bler, Hubert and Bargou, Ralf and Schilling, Bastian and Serfling, Sebastian E. and Buck, Andreas and Werner, Rudolf A. and Lapa, Constantin and Krebs, Markus},
  title     = {Predicting microenvironment in CXCR4- and FAP-positive solid tumors — a pan-cancer machine learning workflow for theranostic target structures},
  series = {Cancers},
  volume    = {15},
  journal   = {Cancers},
  number    = {2},
  issn      = {2072-6694},
  doi       = {10.3390/cancers15020392},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-305036},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {(1) Background: C-X-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 4 (CXCR4) and Fibroblast Activation Protein Alpha (FAP) are promising theranostic targets. However, it is unclear whether CXCR4 and FAP positivity mark distinct microenvironments, especially in solid tumors. (2) Methods: Using Random Forest (RF) analysis, we searched for entity-independent mRNA and microRNA signatures related to CXCR4 and FAP overexpression in our pan-cancer cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database — representing n = 9242 specimens from 29 tumor entities. CXCR4- and FAP-positive samples were assessed via StringDB cluster analysis, EnrichR, Metascape, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Findings were validated via correlation analyses in n = 1541 tumor samples. TIMER2.0 analyzed the association of CXCR4 / FAP expression and infiltration levels of immune-related cells. (3) Results: We identified entity-independent CXCR4 and FAP gene signatures representative for the majority of solid cancers. While CXCR4 positivity marked an immune-related microenvironment, FAP overexpression highlighted an angiogenesis-associated niche. TIMER2.0 analysis confirmed characteristic infiltration levels of CD8+ cells for CXCR4-positive tumors and endothelial cells for FAP-positive tumors. (4) Conclusions: CXCR4- and FAP-directed PET imaging could provide a non-invasive decision aid for entity-agnostic treatment of microenvironment in solid malignancies. Moreover, this machine learning workflow can easily be transferred towards other theranostic targets.},
  language  = {en}
}