Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most prevalent cancer among men in the United States (US), affecting one man in six. Recent studies have shown that the glucose-lowering medication metformin and the lipid-lowering medication statins could reduce PCa risk.

Exposure to environmental synthetic estrogens, such as bisphenol A (BPA), has been implicated to contribute to the increasing incidence of breast cancer. Bisphenol A is a most pervasive chemical in modern life as a component of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins used widely for food and beverage containers and dental sealants. Perinatal exposure to low, environmentally relevant doses of BPA in rodents resulted in induction of preneoplastic ductal hyperplasias, carcinoma in situ, and increased susceptibility to tumorigenesis.

Latinos experience a disproportionate burden of hypokinetic-related chronic diseases, threatening the future health of the nation's fastest-growing population. Physical inactivity has been linked to increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and various cancers. Latinos are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to fail to meet physical activity (PA) recommendations, and Latino women are less physically active than Latino men.

Increasing evidence supports the role of arsenic exposure in the development of diabetes. This study will evaluate the role of arsenic exposure and metabolism and their interaction with genetic markers in the development of diabetes in American Indian communities. This study can provide insight into the arsenic- diabetes relationship and inform public health recommendations for arsenic levels in drinking water and food.

Identifying and intervening molecular pathways that directly contribute to vascular complications will have a significant clinical impact in preventinginsulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)-associated vascular complications. We hypothesize that impaired physiological repair mechanisms due to altered endothelium- derived relaxation factor (nitric oxide) signaling pathway mediated by sustained high glucose is responsible for vascular complications.

Our overall objective is to elucidate how extracellular matrix (ECM) stimulates hormone production. Several estrogen-dependent pathological conditions including breast cancer, uterine fibroids, and endometriosis are associated with local overexpression of aromatase, a key enzyme in estrogen biosynthesis and important therapeutic target for postmenopausal ER+ breast cancer. In addition, excessive aromatase expression in adipose tissue at least partially accounts for obesity-associated breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women.

Charged with the responsibility of educating future health professionals and scientists, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) has enthusiastically embraced this mission, training the second highest percentage of Hispanic physicians in the country and providing a steady stream of scientists and health professionals to South Texas and the nation. Historically however, less than 15% of doctoral students in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) are from underrepresented minority (URM) groups.

Proinflammatory cytokines act in the brain to regulate important biobehavioral processes that are critical for physical and mental health. Patients receiving cytokine immunotherapy for treatment of viral infections or malignancies and those suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases are at an increased risk of developing depressive disorders. The neurobiological mechanisms and immune substrates underlying these immune-brain interactions remain unclear. Acute and chronic activation of the peripheral innate immune system in laboratory rodents precipitates depressive-like biobehaviors.

Endothelial dysfunction contributes to microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes. A major defense of endothelial cells against vascular injury is endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which generates nitric oxide (NO) in the presence of optimal concentrations of the substrate L-arginine and the cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4). Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is associated with a state of progressive NO deficiency due to eNOS dysfunction, a phenomenon referred to as 'uncoupling'.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among the U.S. population. Therefore, new and better ways to prevent and treat T2DM are urgently needed. Insulin resistance is one of the earliest and most significant abnormalities in the pathogenesis of T2DM. However, the molecular basis for the insulin resistance of T2DM is not fully understood. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 is a cell surface receptor that generates immune responses by activating a cascade of pro-inflammatory events.