Kidney lesions associated with risk of heart disease in chronic kidney disease patients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an independent risk factor for heart diseases, such as heart attacks, strokes or heart failure. A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and Boston Medical Center (BMC) analyzed this relationship in greater detail by examining kidney tissue collected during clinically indicated biopsies. In a paper published in JAMA Cardiology, the team reports associations between different types of kidney lesions, markers of CKD progression, and heart disease based on 597 adults without any history of heart disease from the Boston Kidney Biopsy Cohort.

Gender-affirming androgen therapy ‘reprograms’ breast tissue in transgender men to more closely resemble cis-male tissue

For the first time, researchers examine the effects of gender-affirming androgen therapy on breast tissue in transgender men with single-cell resolution. Their results give an unprecedented look into the changes that occur as a result of gender-affirming androgen therapy—a common and highly effective form of transgender care—but also have implications for the treatment of breast cancer across all populations. Notably, they show that gene expression in breast cells is silenced, and male gene programs are activated. This work appears in the journal Cell Genomics on March 8.

Novel role of RNA editing by ADAR2 in core binding factor acute myelogenous leukemia

A team of researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS), co-led by Professor Daniel G. Tenen and Associate Professor Polly Chen Leilei, made an unprecedented discovery of a hitherto unappreciated mechanism leading to ADAR2 (adenosine deaminases acting on RNA) dysregulation in core binding factor acute myelogenous leukemias (CBF-AML), and highlighted the functional relevance of the role of ADAR2 role in leukemogenesis. The research was published in the journal Blood on Feb. 16, 2023.

Scientists show validity of using social media to predict users’ psychological well-being

Curious about your mental well-being without seeing a psychiatrist? Or are you curious about how you can get a sense of your psychological well-being through social media? In reality, psychological well-being is difficult to assess in real time on a large scale. However, the popularity and proliferation of social media make it possible to sense and monitor the psychological well-being of online users in a nonintrusive way.