This study uses dual lineage tracing to show irradiation reduces SMC investment in atherosclerotic lesions and increases EC-derived cells, leading to reduced plaque stability.

Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology · Aug 6, 2026Peer-reviewedPhysiology

B cell responses specific for polyomavirus-derived oncoprotein are predictive of Merkel cell carcinoma tumor control

Haroldo J. Rodriguez, Allison Jeanne Remington, Matthew D. Gray, Rian Alam, Macy W. Gilmour, Carina Morningstar, Gabriel F. Alencar, Thomas Pulliam, Erin McClure, Neha Singh, Francesca Urselli, Katrina Poljakov, Kimberly S. Smythe, Rima M. Kulikauskas, Kristin L. Robinson, , Justin J. Taylor

The paper shows that B cells specific for viral oncoproteins in Merkel cell carcinoma tumors predict long-term disease control and enhance T cell responses.

bioRxiv · Jul 22, 2025 · PreprintImmunology

Merkel cell carcinoma-derived macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) may promote persistence of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Gabriel F. Alencar, Haroldo J. Rodriguez, Thomas H. Pulliam, Allison Jeanne Remington, Macy W. Gilmour, Rian Alam, Austin J. Jabbour, Logan J. Mullen, Blair L. DeBuysscher, Paul Nghiem, Justin J. Taylor

The paper shows that Merkel cell carcinoma produces MIF, which supports CLL persistence through CD74 and CXCR4 activation, explaining why CLL blood counts normalize after MCC treatment.

bioRxiv · Sep 9, 2024 · PreprintCancer Biology

Loss of endothelial cell heterogeneity in arteries after obesogenic diet

Luke S. Dunaway, Melissa A. Luse, Shruthi Nyshadham, Gamze Betul Bulut, Gabriel F. Alencar, Nicholas W. Chavkin, Miriam Margherita Cortese-Krott, Karen K. Hirschi, Brant E. Isakson

The paper investigates how an obesogenic diet affects endothelial cell heterogeneity in arteries, finding convergence in transcriptional profiles between mesenteric and adipose arterial endothelial cells in obesity.

bioRxiv · Jun 23, 2023 · PreprintMolecular Biology