Innovative strategies to enhance MSCs efficacy in acute kidney injury (Review).

Acute kidney injury (AKI) remains a significant clinical challenge, characterized by rapid kidney dysfunction with potential progression to chronic kidney disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offer promising therapeutic potential due to their regenerative, immunomodulatory and anti‑inflammatory capabilities. Despite these advantages, clinical translation is hampered by low MSCs retention, limited cell survival and suboptimal secretion of therapeutic factors in injured renal tissues.

Noninvasive Terahertz Therapy Promoted Bone Regeneration via Localized Angiogenesis in a Pre-Clinical Tibial Defect Model.

Bone defects present a significant clinical challenge, often requiring surgical intervention due to delayed healing. Terahertz (THz) radiation, a noninvasive physical energy-based therapy, has shown potential in promoting bone regeneration through biomolecular interactions. This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of THz irradiation in enhancing bone repair using a pre-clinical rat tibial fracture defect model.

Host and environmental determinants of human milk oligosaccharides and microbiota in the Lifelines NEXT cohort.

Human milk is important for infant development, but few large studies have comprehensively investigated milk composition. Here, we characterized human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and milk microbiota, their shaping factors, and their links to infant gut microbiota in the longitudinal Dutch Lifelines NEXT cohort. We measured 24 HMOs in 1,542 milk samples from 524 mothers at 0.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis exhibit prediagnostic antibody signatures with shared and divergent changes towards disease onset.

Background: The development of IBD is known to involve early immunological alterations, but our understanding of the changes in antibody epitope repertoires moving from the prediagnostic phase towards disease onset remains incomplete.

Objective: In this study, we comprehensively characterised systemic antibody responses in patients with IBD before and after disease onset, aiming to identify prediagnostic disease biomarkers.

Design: Within Lifelines, a population-based cohort study collecting and storing longitudinal samples from 167 000 individuals over∼15 years, we identified 178 individuals with blood samples taken both before and after IBD-onset.

Dose-dependent immunotoxic mechanisms of celastrol via modulation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Celastrol, a bioactive compound from , is known for its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, but its immunotoxicity is underexplored. This study investigates the mechanisms of celastrol-induced immunotoxicity, focusing on the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, a key regulator of immune function.

Materials And Methods: An integrative approach combining network toxicology, molecular docking, and experimental biology identified molecular targets in celastrol-induced immune dysfunction.

New insights in amino sugar metabolism by the gut microbiome.

Gut microorganisms inhabiting the intestinal tract play key roles in host's health and disease. A properly functioning gut microbiome requires the availability of adequate carbon, nitrogen and energy sources. One of the main sources of energy for intestinal bacteria are glycans, of which amino sugars are important components.

Early-life development of the gut virome and plasmidome: A longitudinal study in cesarean-born infants.

Mobile genetic elements (MGE) are critical yet understudied determinants of gut microbiome composition. In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (NCT06030713), we characterized the gut virome and plasmidome in 195 samples from 28 mother-infant dyads delivered by cesarean section. Infant mobilome increases in richness over the first 6 postnatal weeks, demonstrating high individual-specificity and temporal stability, establishing a personal persistent mobilome.

Global genetic diversity of human gut microbiome species is related to geographic location and host health.

The human gut harbors thousands of microbial species, each exhibiting significant inter-individual genetic variability. Although many studies have associated microbial relative abundances with human-health-related phenotypes, the substantial intraspecies genetic variability of gut microbes has not yet been comprehensively considered, limiting the potential of linking such genetic traits with host conditions. Here, we analyzed 32,152 metagenomes from 94 microbiome studies across the globe to investigate the human microbiome intraspecies genetic diversity.

High-resolution analysis of the treated coeliac disease microbiome reveals strain-level variation.

Background: Coeliac disease (CeD) is an immune-mediated disorder primarily affecting the small intestine, characterized by an inflammatory immune reaction to dietary gluten. CeD onset results from a multifaceted interplay of genetic and environmental factors. While recent data show that alterations in gut microbiome composition could play an important role, many current studies are constrained by small sample sizes and limited resolution.

Self-Healing Polymeric Puerarin Hydrogel Dressing Promotes Diabetic Wound Healing Through Synergistic Immunomodulation and Tissue-Regenerative Remodeling.

Chronic wound healing is a significant challenge in diabetes. Puerarin is an active compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine . Puerarin has been used in the treatment of diabetes and derives benefits from its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and pro-angiogenesis properties, but its efficacy is hampered by poor water solubility and bioavailability.

Microbiota-derived bile acids antagonize the host androgen receptor and drive anti-tumor immunity.

Microbiota-derived bile acids (BAs) are associated with host biology/disease, yet their causal effects remain largely undefined. Herein, we speculate that characterizing previously undefined microbiota-derived BAs would uncover previously unknown BA-sensing receptors and their biological functions. We integrated BA metabolomics and microbial genetics to functionally profile >200 putative microbiota BA metabolic genes.

MicrobeRX: a tool for enzymatic-reaction-based metabolite prediction in the gut microbiome.

Background: The gut microbiome functions as a metabolic organ, producing numerous enzymes that influence host health; however, their substrates and metabolites remain largely unknown.

Results: We present MicrobeRX, an enzyme-based metabolite prediction tool that employs 5487 human reactions and 4030 unique microbial reactions from 6286 genome-scale models, as well as 3650 drug metabolic reactions from the DrugBank database (v.5.

Association between gut microbiome profiles and host metabolic health across the life course: a population-based study.

Background: The human gut microbiome changes considerably over time. Previous studies have shown that gut microbiome profiles correlate with multiple metabolic traits. As disease development is likely a lifelong process, evidence gathered at different life stages would help gain a better understanding of this correlation.

Linking the gut microbiome to host DNA methylation by a discovery and replication epigenome-wide association study.

Microbiome influences multiple human systems, but its effects on gene methylation is unknown. We investigated the relations between gene methylation in blood and the abundance of common gut bacteria profiled by 16s rRNA gene sequencing in two population-based Dutch cohorts: LifeLines-Deep (LLD, n = 616, discovery) and the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR, n = 296, replication). In LLD, we also explored microbial pathways using data generated by shotgun metagenomic sequencing (n = 683).

Case Report: A Ticking Time Bomb: Femoral Artery Aneurysm as a Complication of Behcet's Disease in Adolescents.

Behcet's disease is a rare, chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect various organs, with large vessel involvement being particularly uncommon. This case report discusses a 17-year-old male with Behcet's disease who presented with a rapidly enlarging, painful mass in the right groin region, later diagnosed as a femoral artery aneurysm. The patient underwent successful surgical intervention and was subsequently managed with immunosuppressive therapy to prevent relapse.

Metabolomics profiling of Type D personality traits.

Objective: Type D (Distressed) personality combines negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) and is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we examined the association of Type D traits with 230 (predominantly) lipid metabolites and metabolite ratios.

Methods: Four Dutch cohorts were included, comprising 10,834 individuals.

Genome-wide Studies Reveal Genetic Risk Factors for Hepatic Fat Content.

Genetic susceptibility to metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is complex and poorly characterized. Accurate characterization of the genetic background of hepatic fat content would provide insights into disease etiology and causality of risk factors. We performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) on two noninvasive definitions of hepatic fat content: magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) in 16,050 participants and fatty liver index (FLI) in 388,701 participants from the United Kingdom (UK) Biobank (UKBB).

Epigenome-wide association study on the plasma metabolome suggests self-regulation of the glycine and serine pathway through DNA methylation.

Background: The plasma metabolome reflects the physiological state of various biological processes and can serve as a proxy for disease risk. Plasma metabolite variation, influenced by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, can also affect the cellular microenvironment and blood cell epigenetics. The interplay between the plasma metabolome and the blood cell epigenome remains elusive.

Reproducible gut microbial signatures in bipolar and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A metagenome-wide study.

Background: Numerous studies report gut microbiome variations in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) compared to healthy individuals, though, there is limited consensus on which specific bacteria are associated with these disorders.

Methods: In this study, we performed a comprehensive metagenomic shotgun sequencing analysis in 103 Dutch patients with BD/SSD and 128 healthy controls matched for age, sex, body mass index and income, while accounting for diet quality, transit time and technical confounders. To assess the replicability of the findings, we used two validation cohorts (total n = 203), including participants from a distinct population with a different metagenomic isolation protocol.

Intestinal Blastocystis is linked to healthier diets and more favorable cardiometabolic outcomes in 56,989 individuals from 32 countries.

Diet impacts human health, influencing body adiposity and the risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases. The gut microbiome is a key player in the diet-health axis, but while its bacterial fraction is widely studied, the role of micro-eukaryotes, including Blastocystis, is underexplored. We performed a global-scale analysis on 56,989 metagenomes and showed that human Blastocystis exhibits distinct prevalence patterns linked to geography, lifestyle, and dietary habits.

Unraveling interindividual variation of trimethylamine -oxide and its precursors at the population level.

Trimethylamine -oxide (TMAO) is a circulating microbiome-derived metabolite implicated in the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated whether plasma levels of TMAO, its precursors (betaine, carnitine, deoxycarnitine, choline), and TMAO-to-precursor ratios are associated with clinical outcomes, including CVD and mortality. This was followed by an in-depth analysis of their genetic, gut microbial, and dietary determinants.

ChatGPT and generative AI are revolutionizing the scientific community: A Janus-faced conundrum.

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies marks a transformative moment for the scientific sphere, unlocking novel avenues to elevate scientific writing's efficiency and quality, expedite insight discovery, and enhance code development processes. Essential to leveraging these advancements is prompt engineering, a method that enhances AI interaction efficiency and quality. Despite its benefits, effective application requires blending researchers' expertise with AI, avoiding overreliance.