M. Kulkarni

Discovery of free glycated amines and glycated urea as potential markers of diabetic nephropathy

The paper identifies glycated amines and glycated urea in diabetic patients' plasma as potential biomarkers for diabetic nephropathy.

Cryptococcus neoformans rapidly invades the murine brain by sequential breaching of airway and endothelial tissues barriers, followed by engulfment by microglia

Environmental fungi from cool and warm neighborhoods in the urban heat island of Baltimore City show differences in thermal susceptibility and pigmentation

The paper collects and analyzes fungal isolates from urban neighborhoods in Baltimore, finding that warmer area isolates show greater thermotolerance and lighter pigmentation, suggesting local adaptation to heat.

Bulky glycocalyx drives cancer invasiveness by modulating substrate-specific adhesion

This study shows that MUC1 expression levels modulate breast cancer cell motility and invasiveness through substrate-specific adhesion mechanisms.

Spatiotemporal mapping of immune and stem cell dysregulation after volumetric muscle loss

This study identifies a pro-fibrotic immune-progenitor cell interaction in VML that impairs muscle regeneration, showing conservation across mouse and canine models.

Melanization is an important antifungal defense mechanism in Galleria mellonella hosts

This study shows that melanization in Galleria mellonella larvae directly kills Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans by encapsulating fungal cells, with some yeast forms surviving and breaking through encapsulation.

Gene-dependent yeast cell death pathway requires AP-3 vesicle trafficking leading to vacuole membrane permeabilization

The paper identifies an AP-3-dependent pathway in yeast leading to vacuole membrane permeabilization and cell death, conserved in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Expression of extracellular Hsp90 is a molecular signature of T cell activation, providing a means to image and target T Cell activation in autoimmune disease

This study identifies eHsp90 as a marker of T cell activation, showing its upregulation in autoimmune diseases and demonstrating the efficacy of an inhibitor in delaying disease progression.

Free Energy Landscape and Rate Estimation of the Aromatic Ring Flips in Basic Pancreatic Trypsin Inhibitor Using Metadynamics

This study uses metadynamics to estimate ring-flip rates of aromatic residues in BPTI and identifies limitations of using chi2 as a sole collective variable.

PTPN11/SHP2 negatively regulates growth in breast epithelial cells: implications on tumorigenesis

This study shows PTPN11/SHP2 negatively regulates growth in breast epithelial cells, with potential tumor-suppressor roles in luminal A breast cancer.

Overwhelming presence of non-food vegetation undermines the reliability of NDVI as a surrogate of forage abundance for a large herbivore in a tropical forest habitat

This study shows NDVI is not reliable for estimating forage abundance for Asian elephants in tropical forests due to non-food vegetation dominance and canopy cover effects.

Reproductive biology of three Ziziphus species (Rhamnaceae)

This study compares the reproductive biology of three Ziziphus species, finding significant variation in fruit weight, seed viability, and embryo abortion rates among species and genotypes.

Stomatal and physiological response of contrasting Z. mauritiana (Lamk.) clones to water stress.

The paper evaluates physiological responses of Z. mauritiana clones to water stress, finding that diploid clones show greater sensitivity than tetraploid clones, with Fv/Fm, leaf water potential, RWC, and LT as reliable indicators.