Publications by authors named "Katherine Robbins"

Article Synopsis
  • Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a severe inflammatory condition caused by overactive immune cells, often linked to infections, cancers, or autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
  • A 29-year-old woman, previously healthy, was diagnosed with HLH after presenting with fever, rash, and low blood cell counts, which led to the discovery of SLE.
  • Her treatment included dexamethasone, etoposide, and belimumab, resulting in a full recovery, emphasizing the need to investigate rheumatological disorders in HLH cases regardless of past health status.
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Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subgroup of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and while not a common form of cancer, it does make up a modest portion of acute leukemia. The genetic hallmark of APL is the t(15;17)(q24.1;q21.

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The present study examined staining of guanylate cyclase C (GCC/GUCY2C) in the small and large intestines of children younger than age 7 years. Normal intestinal tissue from children aged 0 to 7 years was stained using GCC, uroguanylin, and villin antibodies and scored for staining intensity. A subset underwent quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has major morbidity and mortality for children and adults. While in adults CKD often is associated with diabetic complications, genetic variants can be the underlying cause in both populations. Beginning in 2016 with the emergence of more affordable next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, the Molecular Diagnostics Lab at Nemours Children's Hospital-Delaware developed the first clinically actionable pediatric NGS kidney panel comprised of 46 genes including .

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Context: Idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia (IIH), an uncommon disorder characterized by elevated serum concentrations of 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) and low parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels, may present with mild to severe hypercalcemia during the first months of life. Biallelic variants in the CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 genes are associated with severe IIH. Little is known about milder forms.

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Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether mRNA expression of oncostatin-M (OSM) and its receptor (OSMR) in initial, pre-treatment intestinal biopsies is predictive of response to tumor necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) in a pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cohort. Secondary outcomes correlated OSM and OSMR expression with demographic variables; IBD type, extent, phenotype, and severity; laboratory values; and endoscopic findings.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 98 pediatric patients.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe genetic disorder affecting infants, primarily caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene, with varying impacts based on the number of SMN2 gene copies present.
  • - This study introduces a new method called array digital PCR (dPCR) that accurately measures the copy numbers of SMN1 and SMN2 genes, which is important for assessing disease severity in SMA patients.
  • - The dPCR technique can also detect gene conversion events and partial deletions of SMN1, providing valuable insights for clinical assessments and personalized treatment strategies for SMA.
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Specific activating missense HRAS variants cause Costello syndrome (CS), a RASopathy with recognizable facial features. The majority of these dominant disease causing variants affect the glycine residues in position 12 or 13. A clinically suspected CS diagnosis can be confirmed through identification of a dominant pathogenic HRAS variant.

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Article Synopsis
  • - CUB-domain containing protein 1 (CDCP1) enhances signals from cancer-related receptors like EGFR and HER2, making it a promising target for cancer treatment as anti-CDCP1 antibodies can inhibit tumor growth and metastasis.
  • - The study focuses on two specific anti-CDCP1 antibodies, examining their ability to bind CDCP1, inducing receptor internalization, and their effectiveness in detecting and treating ovarian cancer.
  • - Findings showed that the antibodies rapidly bind and internalize CDCP1, leading to its degradation, while imaging and cytotoxin-conjugated antibodies demonstrated potential for detecting and inhibiting ovarian cancer in pre-clinical models.
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Costello syndrome (CS) is an autosomal-dominant condition caused by activating missense mutations in HRAS. There is little literature describing health concerns specific to adults with CS. Parents of individuals with CS need to know what to anticipate as their children age.

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  • Baratela-Scott syndrome (BSS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the XYLT1 gene, leading to symptoms like short stature and developmental delays.
  • In a study involving 10 families with BSS, only two families had identifiable genetic variants, while others showed hypermethylation of the XYLT1 gene, indicating additional non-sequence-based alterations.
  • The findings suggest that BSS is also linked to a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the XYLT1 promoter, highlighting the need for researchers to consider epigenetic changes when studying genetic disorders.
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Costello syndrome (CS) patients suffer from a very high 10% incidence of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS). As tools to discover targeted therapeutic leads, we used a CS patient-derived ERMS cell line (CS242 ERMS) harboring a homozygous p.G12A mutation in , and a control cell line derived from the same patient comprising non-malignant CS242 fibroblasts with a heterozygous p.

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Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a potential emergent complication of oncologic treatment. TLS is commonly reported in hematological malignancies with rapid cell turnover rates, but is relatively rare in solid tumors. TLS is most frequently a result of cancer treatment in combination with a large tumor burden, but has occasionally been reported to occur spontaneously, especially in cases of advanced or metastatic disease.

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Quantification of plastic ingestion across a range of seabirds is required to assess the prevalence of plastics in marine food webs. We quantified plastic ingestion in beached Dovekies (Alle alle), following a wreck in Newfoundland, Canada. Of 171 birds, 30.

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Costello syndrome (CS) arises from a typically paternally derived germline mutation in the proto-oncogene HRAS, and is considered a rasopathy. CS results in failure-to-thrive, intellectual disabilities, short stature, coarse facial features, skeletal abnormalities, congenital heart disease, and a predisposition for cancer, most commonly embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS). The goal of this study was to characterize CS ERMS at the molecular level and to determine how divergent it is from sporadic ERMS.

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Inflammation is linked to numerous chronic disease states. Phenolic compounds have attracted attention because a number of these compounds possess anti-inflammatory properties. A phenolic crude extract was prepared from pecans and separated by Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography into low- and high-molecular-weight (LMW/HMW) fractions.

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Sudan I, II, III and IV dyes are banned for use as food colorants in the United States and European Union because they are toxic and carcinogenic. These dyes have been illegally used as food additives in products such as chilli spices and palm oil to enhance their red colour. From 2003 to 2005, the European Union made a series of decisions requiring chilli spices and palm oil imported to the European Union to contain analytical reports declaring them free of Sudan I-IV.

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Costello syndrome (CS) entails a cancer predisposition and is caused by activating HRAS mutations, typically arising de novo in the paternal germline. Hypoglycemia is common in CS neonates. A previously reported individual with the rare HRAS p.

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