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In the United States, great inequities exist within the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in individuals who self-identify as belonging to underrepresented groups (e.g., from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, people with disabilities, and Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander). Underrepresentation in STEM careers has been documented to be due to a lack of qualified and diverse teaching personnel, limited access to resources in disadvantaged schools, and implicit bias within US institutions. In recognition of these inequities, an interprofessional team of biomedical faculty members and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) educators from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center (LSUHSC) in New Orleans developed and implemented a STEM educational training pipeline for elementary, middle, and high school (K-12), undergraduate, and medical students, with accompanying DEI training for LSUHSC mentors and staff to mitigate implicit bias and promote a welcoming environment for participants from different backgrounds. Our findings focus on one social determinant of health: access and quality of education. Other institutions can implement a program as described in the present study to address the educational and health inequities in their own communities.

To evaluate a potentially valuable tool to study cancer progression and metastasis, we characterized a novel murine model composed of a parental oncogene-transformed embryonic fibroblast line and five cell lines isolated from progressively advanced tumors. Lines derived from distant metastases displayed significantly greater rates of motility, invasiveness, and extracellular acidification than lines derived from a primary tumor or local metastases. A comprehensive proteomic analysis of these cells showed numerous oncogenes to be upregulated and tumor suppressors to be downregulated in the advanced lines, and provided novel targets for future examination. The first cell line capable of extravasation displayed particularly high proteomic variation, which could provide insight into its epithelial to mesenchymal transition. The proteomic variation was less than that of an established human breast cancer model, indicating that the observed differences are more likely contributive to tumorigenesis. In total, we validated a novel cell model for the study of tumorigenesis, while providing a robust proteomic data set to guide future research.

Upregulation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and Na+/K+-ATPase (sodium pumps) is common across most malignant carcinomas. Targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) is a developing technology in which the concomitant stimulation of VGSCs and pharmacological blockade of sodium pumps causes rapid selective osmotic lysis of carcinoma cells. This treatment of cervical carcinoma is evidence that TOL is a safe, well-tolerated and effective treatment for aggressive advanced carcinomas that has the potential to extend life without compromising its quality. TOL is likely to have broad application for the treatment of advanced-stage carcinomas.

Background. Targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) is a novel technology that involves concomitant stimulation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and the pharmacological blockade of Na+, K+-ATPase causing lysis of highly malignant cancer cells. Hypothesis/Objectives. TOL offers an option for treating advanced carcinomas in companion animals. Animals. Two cats and 2 dogs that presented to veterinary hospitals for evaluation and treatment of one of several forms of carcinoma. Methods. Digoxin was administered to achieve steady-state, therapeutic concentrations. The animals were then exposed to pulsed electric field stimulation. Pre- and posttreatment assessments of tumor size and quality of life were compared. The treatment frequency and survivability varied, based on the patient’s premorbid functioning and response to treatment. Results. Regardless of cancer type, TOL consistently increased survival beyond expected, often improving, but without compromising of quality of life. Conclusions and Clinical Importance. TOL warrants consideration as an option for managing advanced carcinomas.

Concurrent activation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and blockade of Na+ pumps causes a targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) of carcinomas that over-express the VGSCs. Unfortunately, electrical current bypasses tumors or tumor sections because of the variable resistance of the extracellular microenvironment. This study assesses pulsed magnetic fields (PMFs) as a potential source for activating VGSCs to initiate TOL in vitro and in vivo as PMFs are unaffected by nonconductive tissues. In vitro, PMFs (0–80 mT, 10 msec pulses, 15 pps for 10 min) combined with digoxin-lysed (500 nM) MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells stimulus-dependently. Untreated, stimulation-only, and digoxin-only control cells did not lyse. MCF-10a normal breast cells were also unaffected. MDA-MB-231 cells did not lyse in a Na+-free buffer. In vivo, 30 min of PMF stimulation of MDA-MB-231 xenografts in J/Nu mice or 4T1 homografts in BALB/c mice, concurrently treated with 7 mg/kg digoxin reduced tumor size by 60–100%. Kidney, spleen, skin and muscle from these animals were unaffected. Stimulation-only and digoxin-only controls were similar to untreated tumors. BALB/C mice with 4T1 homografts survived significantly longer than mice in the three control groups. The data presented is evidence that the PMFs to activate VGSCs in TOL provide sufficient energy to lyse highly malignant cells in vitro and to reduce tumor growth of highly malignant grafts and improve host survival in vivo, thus supporting targeted osmotic lysis of cancer as a possible method for treating late-stage carcinomas without compromising noncancerous tissues.