Rafat Tumor and Tissue Microenvironment Laboratory

Publications

Zhu T, Alves SM, Adamo A, Wen X, Corn KC, Shostak A, Johnson S, Shaub ND, Martello SE, Hacker BC, D’Amore A, Bardhan R, Rafat M. Mammary Tissue-Derived Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels Reveal the Role of Irradiation in Driving a Pro-Tumor and Immunosuppressive Microenvironment. Biomaterials. 2024; 308: 122531.

Martello SE, Xia J, Kusunose J, Hacker BC, Mayeaux MA, Lin EJ, Hawkes A, Singh A, Caskey CF, Rafat M. Ultrasound Imaging Enables Longitudinal Tracking of Vascular Changes that Correlate with Immune Response After Radiotherapy. BioRxiv [preprint]. (2024). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.04.552076

Hacker BC, Lin EJ, Herman DC, Questell AM, Martello SE, Hedges RJ, Walker AJ, Rafat M. Irradiated Mammary Spheroids Elucidate Mechanisms of Macrophage-Mediated Breast Cancer Recurrence. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. 2023; 16(4): 393-403.

Northcutt LA, Questell AM, Rhoades J, Rafat M. Development of an alginate-Matrigel hydrogel system to evaluate cancer cell behavior in the stiffness range of the bone marrow. Frontiers in Biomaterials Science. 2023; 2: 1140641.

Wen X, Ou L, Cutshaw G, Uthaman S, Ou YC, Zhu T, Szakas S, Carney B, Houghton J, Gundlack-Graham A, Rafat M, Yang K, Bardhan R. Physicochemical Properties and Route of Systemic Delivery Control the In Vivo Dynamics and Breakdown of Radiolabeled Gold Nanostars. Small. 2023; e2204293.

Cifuentes J, Cifuentes-Almanza S, Puentes PR, Gonzalez Barrios AF, Calderon-Pelaez MA, Velandia-Romero ML, Rafat M, Munoz-Camargo C, Albarracin SL, Cruz JC. Multifunctional Magnetoliposomes as Drug Delivery Vehicles for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 2023; 5:11: 1181842.

Rafat M*, El Kaffas A*, Swarnakar A, Shostak A, Graves EE. Non-Invasive monitoring of normal tissue radiation using quantitative ultrasound spectroscopy. Medical Physics. 2023; 50(20): 1251-1256. *Equal contribution. Cover Article.

Corn KC, Britto LS, Ivanova YI, Mohamed Y, Rafat M. Radiation-Induced Metabolic Reprogramming of Fibroblasts Regulates the Breast Cancer Microenvironment. BioRxiv [preprint]. May 18, 2022. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.17.492249.

Berumen Sánchez G, Bunn KE, Pua HH, Rafat M. Extracellular Vesicles: Mediators of Intercellular Communication in Tissue Injury and Disease. Cell Communication and Signaling. 2021; 19(1): 104.

Moon EJ, Mello SS, Li C, Chi JT, Thakkar K, LaGory E, Diep A, Miao Y, Rafat M, Lee IJ, Vilalta M, Castellini L, Krieg A, Graves EE, Attardi LD, Giaccia AJ. The HIF Target MAFF Promotes Tumor Invasion and Metastasis through IL11 and STAT3 Signaling. Nature Communications. 2021; 12(1): 4308.

Todd V, Vecchi L, Clements M, Snow K, Ontko C, Himmel L, Pinelli C, Rafat M, Johnson RW. Hypoxia Inducible Factor Signaling in Breast Tumors Controls Spontaneous Tumor Dissemination in a Site-Specific Manner. Communications Biology. 2021; 4(1): 1122.

Tailor D, Resendez A, Garcia-Marques FJ, Pandrala M, Going CC, Bermudez A, Kumar V, Rafat M, Nambiar DK, Honkala A, Le QT, Sledge GW, Graves EE, Pitteri SJ, Malhotra SV. Y box binding protein 1 inhibition as a targeted therapy for ovarian cancer. Cell Chemical Biology. 2021; 28(8): 1206-1220.e6.

Kim YEK, Gwak SH, Hong BH, Oh JM, Choi HS, Kim MS, Oh S, Lartey FM, Rafat M, Schüler E, Kim HS, von Eyben R, Weissman IL, Koch CJ, Maxim PG, Loo BW Jr, Ahn GO. Effects of ultra-high dose rate FLASH irradiation on the tumor microenvironment in Lewis lung carcinoma: role of myosin light chain. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. 2021; 109(5): 1440-1453.

Levy K, Natarajan S, Wang J, Chow S, Eggold JT, Loo P, Manjappa R, Melemenidis S, Lartey FM, Schüler E, Skinner L, Rafat M, Ko R, Kim A, Al Rawi D, von Eyben R, Dorigo O, Casey KM, Graves EE, Bush K, Yu AS, Koong AC, Maxim PG, Loo BW Jr, Rankin EB. Abdominal FLASH irradiation reduced radiation-induced gastrointestinal toxicity for the treatment of ovarian cancer in mice. Scientific Reports. 2020; 10(1): 21600.

Hacker BC and Rafat M. Organoids as Complex In Vitro Models for Studying Radiation-Induced Cell Recruitment. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. 2020; 13(4): 341-357.

Corn KC, Windham MA, Rafat M. Lipids in the tumor microenvironment: From cancer progression to treatment. Progress in Lipid Research. 2020; 80: 101055.

Wang-Bishop L, Wehbe M, Shae D, James JL, Hacker BC, Garland KM, Christov P, Rafat M, Balko JM, Wilson JT. Potent STING Activation Stimulates Immunogenic Cell Death to Enhance Antitumor Immunity in Neuroblastoma. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 2020; 8(1): e000282.

Aguilera TA, Elghonaimy E, Shehade H, Rafat M, Castellini L, Jiang D, Kariolis M, Koong AC, Le QT, Ellies LG, Rankin EB, Graves EE, Giaccia AJ. Induced tumor heterogeneity reveals factors informing radiation and immunotherapy combinations. Clinical Cancer Research. 2020; 26(12): 2972-2985.

Ou YC, Wen X, Johnson CA, Shae D, Ayala OD, Webb JA, Lin EC, DeLapp RC, Boyd KL, Richmond A, Mahadevan-Jansen A, Rafat M, Wilson JT, Balko JM, Tantawy MN, Vilgelm AE, Bardhan R. Multimodal Multiplexed Immunoimaging with Nanostars to Detect Multiple Immunomarkers and Monitor Response to Immunotherapies. ACS Nano. 2020; 14(1): 651-663.

Sherry AD, von Eyben R, Newman NB, Gutkin P, Mayer I, Horst KC, Chakravarthy AB, Rafat M. Systemic Inflammation after Radiation Predicts Locoregional Recurrence, Progression, and Mortality in Stage II-III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. 2020; 108(1): 268-276.

Northcutt LA*, Suarez-Arnedo A*, Rafat M. Emerging Biomimetic Materials for Studying Tumor and Immune Cell Behavior. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2020; 48(7): 204-2077. *Equal contribution.

Carozza JA, Böhnert V, Shaw KE, Nguyen KC, Skariah G, Brown JA, Rafat M, von Eyben R, Graves EE, Glenn JS, Smith M, Li L. Extracellular cGAMP is a cancer cell-produced immunotransmitter involved in radiation-induced anti-cancer immunity. Nature Cancer. 2020; 1: 184-196.

Gholamin S, Youssef OA, Rafat M, Esparza R, Kahn S, Shahin M, Giaccia AJ, Graves EE, Weissman I, Mitra S, Cheshier SH. Irradiation or Temozolomide Chemotherapy Enhances Anti-CD47 Treatment of Glioblastoma. Innate Immunity. 2020; 26(2): 130-137.

Zanganeh S, Georgala P, Corbo C, Arabi L, Ho JQ, Javdani N, Sepand MR, Cruickshank K, Campesato LF, Weng CH, Hemayat S, Andreou C, Alvim R, Hutter G, Rafat M, Mahmoudi M. Immunoengineering in Glioblastoma Imaging and Therapy. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology. 2019; 11(6): e1575.

Simmons DA, Lartey FM, Schüler E, Rafat M, King G, Kim A, Ko R, Semaan S, Gonzalez S, Jenkins MJ, Pradhan P, Shih Z, Wang J, von Eyben R, Graves EE, Maxim PG, Longo FM, Loo BW Jr. Reduced Cognitive Deficits after FLASH Irradiation of Whole Mouse Brain Are Associated with Less Hippocampal Dendritic Spine Loss and Neuroinflammation. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2019; 139: 4-10.

Alves SM, Zhu T, Shostak A, Rossen NS, Rafat M. Studying Normal Tissue Radiation Effects using Extracellular Matrix Hydrogels. Journal of Visual Experiments. 2019; 149: e59304.

Hacker BC, Gomez JD, Silvera Batista CA, Rafat M. Growth and Characterization of Irradiated Organoids from Mammary Glands. Journal of Visual Experiments. 2019; 147: e59293.

Wisdom KM, Adebowale K, Chang J, Lee JY, Nam S, Desai R, Rossen NS, Rafat M, Hodgson L, Chaudhuri O.  Matrix Mechanical Plasticity Regulates Cancer Cell Migration through Confining Microenvironments. Nature Communications. 2018; 9(1): 4144.

Rafat M, Aguilera TA, Vilalta M, Bronsart LL, Soto LA, von Eyben R, Golla MA, Ahrari Y, Melemenidis S, Afghahi A, Jenkins MJ, Kurian AW, Horst KC, Giaccia AJ, Graves EE. Macrophages Promote Circulating Tumor Cell-Mediated Local Recurrence Following Radiation Therapy in Immunosuppressed Patients. Cancer Research. 2018; 78(15): 4241-4252.

Vilalta M, Brune JE, Rafat M, Soto LA, Graves EE. The Role of Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) in Radiation-Induced Tumor Cell Migration. Clinical and Experimental Metastasis. 2018; 35(4): 247-254.

Rafat M*, Dabagh M*, Heller M, Rabinov J, Stone HA, Randles A, Auguste DT. Impact of Diversity of Morphological Characteristics and Reynolds number on Local Hemodynamics in Basilar Aneurysms. AIChE Journal. 2018; 64(7): 2792-2802. *Equal contribution.

Lartey FM*, Rafat M*, Negahdar M, Malkovskiy AV, Dong X, Sun X, Li M, Doyle T, Rajadas J, Graves EE, Loo BW Jr, Maxim PG. Dynamic CT Imaging of Volumetric Changes in Pulmonary Nodules Correlates with Physical Measurements of Stiffness. Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2017; 122(2): 313-318. *Equal contribution.

Schüler E, Trovati S, King G, Lartey FM, Rafat M, Villegas M, Praxel AJ, Loo BW Jr, Maxim PG. Experimental Platform for Ultra-high Dose Rate FLASH Irradiation of Small Animals using a Clinical Linear Accelerator. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. 2017; 97(1): 195-203.

Vilalta M, Rafat M, Graves EE. Effects of Radiation on Metastasis and Tumor Cell Migration. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 2016; 73 (16): 2999-3007.

Aguilera TA, Rafat M, Castellini L, Shehade H, Kariolis MS, Hui A, Stehr H, von Eyben R, Jiang D, Ellies LG, Koong AC, Diehn M, Rankin EB, Graves EE, Giaccia AJ.  Reprogramming the Immunological Microenvironment Through Radiation and Targeting Axl.  Nature Communications. 2016; 7: 13898.

Rafat M, Ali R, Graves EE. Imaging Radiation Response in Tumor and Normal Tissue. American Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 2015; 5(4): 317-332.

You JO*, Rafat M*, Almeda D, Maldonado N, Guo P, Nabzdyk CS, Chun M, LoGerfo FW, Hutchinson JW, Pradhan-Nabzdyk LK, Auguste DT. pH-Responsive Scaffolds Generate a Pro-Healing Response. Biomaterials. 2015; 57: 22-32. *Equal contribution. Highlighted in Materials Today. May 21, 2015.

Vilalta M, Rafat M, Giaccia AJ, Graves EE.  Recruitment of Circulating Breast Cancer Cells Is Stimulated by Radiotherapy.  Cell Reports. 2014; 8(2): 402-409.

Lartey FM, Ahn GO, Ali R, Rosenblum S, Shen B, Miao Z, Arksey N, Vilalta M, Rafat M, Liu H, Chen JW, Palmer T, Chin FT, Guzman R, Loo BW Jr, Graves EE. The Relationship Between Serial [(18) F]PBR06 PET Imaging of Microglial Activation and Motor Function Following Stroke in Mice. Molecular Imaging & Biology. 2014; 16(6): 821-829.

Rafat M, Rotenstein L, Hu J, Auguste DT. Engineered Endothelial Cell Adhesion via VCAM1 and E-selectin Antibody-Presenting Alginate Hydrogels. Acta Biomaterialia. 2012; 8(7): 2697-2703.

Rafat M, Rotenstein L, You JO, Auguste DT. Dual Functionalized PVA Hydrogels that Adhere Endothelial Cells Synergistically. Biomaterials. 2012; 33(15): 3880-3886.

You JO, Rafat M, Auguste DT. Cross-Linked, Heterogeneous Colloidosomes Exhibit pH-Induced Morphogenesis. Langmuir. 2011; 27(18): 11282-11286.

You JO, Rafat M, Ye GJC, Auguste DT. Nanoengineering the Heart: Conductive Scaffolds Enhance Connexin 43 Expression. Nano Letters. 2011; 11(9): 3643-3648. Highlighted in Nature Nanotechnology. 2011; 6(11): 692-693.

Rafat M, Raad DR, Rowat AC, Auguste DT. Fabrication of Reversibly Adhesive Fluidic Devices using Magnetism. Lab on a Chip. 2009; 9(20): 3016-3019.

Rafat M, Fong KW, Goldsipe A, Stephenson BC, Coradetti ST, Sambandan TG, Sinskey AJ, Rha CK. Association (Micellization) and Partitioning Aglycon Triterpenoids. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 2008; 325(2): 324-330.