Weill Cornell Medicine

Metabolomic profiling reveals distinct and shared biology in COPD and IPF

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) are chronic pulmonary disorders with distinct pathologies but shared risk factors. Metabolomics may provide insights into mechanisms. To identify metabolites associated with COPD and IPF, and to...

Hypoxia-activated scleraxis a mediates epicardial progenitor differentiation into a unique cardiac perivascular cell type

Abstract The epicardium is a crucial source of progenitor cells and paracrine signals that support heart development and regeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms that guide epicardial cell fate decisions remain incompletely understood. Here, we identify the transcription f...

Wnt Pathway Agonism as a Therapeutic Strategy for Retinal Vascular Diseases: A Narrative Review of Evidence to Date

Breakdown of the blood–retinal barrier (BRB) is implicated in many blinding retinal diseases, including diabetic macular edema, neovascular age-related macular degeneration, and retinal vein occlusion. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies or laser photoco...

Commensal bacteria inhibit viral infections via a tryptophan metabolite

Clinical outcomes following viral exposures exhibit substantial interindividual variability. Although developing evidence suggests commensal bacteria modulate viral infections, the specific bacteria and mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, we define a pathway by which viral inf...

CAR T cell therapy beyond cancer: current status, challenges and future prospects

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has revolutionized oncology, and its foundational logic-precise antigen recognition coupled with durable effector activity-extends naturally to chronic non-malignant diseases sustained by long-lived pathological cells. These include...

Outcomes of Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in a Low-Resource Setting

Importance: No study from a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) has reported long-term mortality and quality of life (QOL) after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI), highlighting its burden and recovery trajectories. Objectives: To measure short- and long-term mor...

Gut microbiota and complications in kidney transplantation: a balancing act between commensal and pathogenic bacteria

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Recent work has linked gut dysbiosis, an imbalance of commensal and pathogenic bacteria, to complications in kidney transplant recipients. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the gut microbiota's relationship to important complications in kidney transplan...

Targeting Oncogenic KRAS Using Peptide Nucleic Acid Oligomers Attached to Cell-Penetrating Peptides

Approximately 30% of tumors contain an activating mutation in the oncogene KRAS, leading to increased cell proliferation that often promotes non-small cell lung cancers, colorectal adenocarcinomas, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC), and other cancers. Among the most common...

Macrophages tune NK cell IFNγ production through direct lipid transfer

Abstract Natural killer (NK) cells are critical effectors of innate immunity, but their activity is strongly influenced by metabolic state. While intrinsic NK metabolism has been studied extensively, less is known about how surrounding immune cells shape NK cell function. Here, w...

Lipidomic and transcriptomic remodeling underlies early retinal pathogenesis in dry age-related macular degeneration

Abstract Dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is initiated by retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) dysfunction, yet early metabolic mechanisms linking RPE injury to photoreceptor dysfunction remain unclear. Using a physiologically relevant mouse model, we performed cell-type–re...

Is Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation Truly “Post” in People With Darker Skin Tones?

This Viewpoint reviews how inflammation can coexist with hyperpigmentation, explains why inflammatory activity may be underrecognized in people with darker skin tones, and proposes an approach in which hyperpigmentation prompts continued assessment for persistent inflammation.

A compendium of next-generation patient-derived models for diverse cancers

Abstract The development of new therapeutics and the validation of pathogenetic cancer mechanisms require representative laboratory models 1,2 . However, existing collections represent only a fraction of the diversity observed in human cancer 2–4 . Recent technologies have enable...

Hypertension Management in Pregnancy and Postpartum

Abstract Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy affect approximately 9% of pregnancies in the United States and are a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. For nephrologists, these conditions sit at a critical intersection: chronic kidney disease is among the strongest...

Hospice Care in the Era of AI : Hospices' Views on Data‐Driven Tools to Support Live Discharge Decisions

BACKGROUND: Live discharge occurs for 20% of hospice enrollees, resulting in loss of support and disruptive care transitions, with higher risk for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Little is understood about how data-driven clinical decision support...