Yanzhe Li

All Publications

• c-FOS drives reversible basal to squamous cell carcinoma transition. Cell reports Kuonen, F., Li, N. Y., Haensel, D., Patel, T., Gaddam, S., Yerly, L., Rieger, K., Aasi, S., Oro, A. E. 2021; 37 (1): 109774

  Abstract

  While squamous transdifferentiation within subpopulations of adenocarcinomas represents an important drug resistance problem, its underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, using surface markers of resistant basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and patient single-cell and bulk transcriptomic data, we uncover the dynamic roadmap of basal to squamous cell carcinoma transition (BST). Experimentally induced BST identifies activator protein 1 (AP-1) family members in regulating tumor plasticity, and we show that c-FOS plays a central role in BST by regulating the accessibility of distinct AP-1 regulatory elements. Remarkably, despite prominent changes in cell morphology and BST marker expression, we show using inducible model systems that c-FOS-mediated BST demonstrates reversibility. Blocking EGFR pathway activation after c-FOS induction partially reverts BST in vitro and prevents BST features in both mouse models and human tumors. Thus, by identifying the molecular basis of BST, our work reveals a therapeutic opportunity targeting plasticity as a mechanism of tumor resistance.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109774

  View details for PubMedID 34610301

• A Prediction Tool for the Presence of Ceftriaxone-Resistant Uropathogens upon Hospital Admission. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) Li, N. Y., Poh, G. Q., Teng, G. C., Chen, H. H., Chan, D. S., Chan, S., Tambyah, P. A., Bagdasarian, N., Wu, J. E. 2020; 9 (6)

  Abstract

  Antimicrobial resistance among uropathogens is a particularly pressing problem in the Asia-Pacific region. The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence and susceptibility of uropathogens upon hospital admission and to develop a risk-scoring model to predict the presence of ceftriaxone-resistance uropathogens (CrP). This was a retrospective observational cohort study of patients with a positive urine culture within 48 h of presentation at National University Hospital, Singapore between June 2015 and August 2015. Escherichia coli was the most common uropathogen isolated (51.7%), followed by Klebsiella pneumonia (15.1%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.2%). Overall, 372 out of 869 isolates (42.8%) were resistant to ceftriaxone. Hospitalization for ≥2 days within past 30 days, antibiotic use within the past 3 months and male gender were associated with the presence of CrP. A risk score based on these parameters successfully predicted CrP with an area under the curve of 0.68. The risk score will help clinicians to accurately predict antibiotic resistance at the individual patient level and allow physicians to safely prescribe empiric ceftriaxone in patients at low risk of CrP, thus reducing the antibiotic selection pressure that is driving carbapenem resistance in hospitals throughout Asia.

  View details for DOI 10.3390/antibiotics9060316

  View details for PubMedID 32531880