Deciphering opsonized zymosan-induced phosphorylation of p47phox and NADPH oxidase activation in human neutrophils.

Neutrophils play a key role in innate immunity by killing microbes through phagocytosis and superoxide anion production by the phagocyte NADPH oxidase. The signaling pathways regulating NADPH oxidase activation in neutrophils have been extensively studied using soluble agonists, but are less understood during phagocytosis, a fundamental function of neutrophils. The aim of this study was to investigate the phosphorylation of the cytosolic NADPH oxidase protein p47phox in human neutrophils stimulated by serum-opsonized zymosan (OZ), which induces phagocytosis, using antibodies against phosphorylated sites.

Ultrasound hepatorenal index for the diagnosis of steatosis in patients with type 2 diabetes: a prospective validation study.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of the ultrasound hepatorenal index (US-HRI) for the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis in patients with type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), using MRI proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) as reference.

Materials And Methods: This two-center prospective study included 129 and 263 patients in the training and validation cohorts, respectively, between 2019 and 2022. Hepatic steatosis was classified according to MRI-PDFF as S0 (≤ 6.

Fat taste sensitivity in women with obesity: transcriptomic analysis of fungiform papillae before and after bariatric surgery.

Objective: Fat taste sensitivity has been implicated in long-term weight loss after bariatric surgery. Unexpectedly, improvement of orosensory fat acuity was not systematic in operated patients.

Methods: Obesity-induced alterations of gene expression in gustatory papillae having been recently reported, we have explored the fungiform transcriptomic activity in the bariatric surgery context.

A classification of laparoscopic central pancreatectomy determined on the basis of anatomical landmarks in 109 patients.

Background: Laparoscopic central pancreatectomy (LCP) is usually proposed for non-malignant neck-body neoplasms, but it can be proposed for head-neck lesions to avoid pancreaticoduodenectomy or for body-tail lesions to avoid distal pancreatectomy. The aim of this study was to classify CP on the basis of the proximal resection level.

Method: We retrospectively studied all consecutive LCPs performed in our institution from 2011 to 2024.

An optimized peritonitis-induced ACLF model that reproduces the full spectrum of extrahepatic organ failures in mice.

Background: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), which develops in patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis, is characterized by multiple extrahepatic organ failures leading to high short-term mortality. Although major advances in the understanding of ACLF have been accomplished in the last years, the understanding of driving mechanisms underlying ACLF is hindered by the lack of proper animal models that faithfully reproduce both the systemic hyperinflammatory response and the full spectra of extrahepatic organ failures present in this condition.

Methods: ACLF was induced by acute induction of polymicrobial peritonitis secondary to the ligation and puncture of the cecum (CLP) in mice with chronic carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced cirrhosis.

Altered liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in MASLD and their evolution following lanifibranor treatment.

Background & Aims: Data on changes in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and their response to treatment are limited. This study aimed at determining (i) features associated with LSEC capillarisation in patients with MASLD; (ii) whether LSEC changes can regress with the pan-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist lanifibranor; (iii) the role of the different PPAR isotypes on LSEC changes in MASLD.

Methods: We analysed CD34 expression, a marker of LSEC capillarisation, on liver biopsies from patients considered for inclusion in the NATIVE trial at baseline (n = 249), and after 24 weeks of placebo or lanifibranor (n = 173).

The Vasopressin Biomarker Copeptin is Linked to Systemic Inflammation and Refines Prognostication in Decompensated Cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Copeptin, an arginine-vasopressin biomarker, may confer prognostic information in patients with advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD).

Methods: Patients with ACLD included in the Vienna Cirrhosis Study (NCT03267615) between January 2017 and April 2023 and available copeptin levels were prospectively recruited and classified into 6 predefined clinical ACLD stages from S0 (subclinical portal hypertension) to S5 (further decompensation). A prognostic score (MELD-copeptin score) in patients with decompensated ACLD (dACLD) was developed in a derivation cohort (n = 150) and validated in an internal (n = 148) and an external validation cohort (n = 771).

Bee venom modulates human neutrophil inflammatory functions in Vitro and exerts an anti- inflammatory effect in Vivo in rats.

Bee venom (BV) is a complex bioactive mixture known for its paradoxical ability to exert both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects, making it a compelling modulator of inflammatory responses. In this study, we investigated the effect of BV on human neutrophil inflammatory functions in vitro and its effect on inflammation in vivo in rats. Results revealed that BV exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLF)-induced superoxide production by neutrophils, without affecting PMA-induced superoxide production or superoxide production by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system.

Immune characterization of lupus nephritis patients undergoing dialysis.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) activity decreases in some patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The impact of ESKD on the immune cell profile of SLE patients and lupus activity remains unclear. In this study, we aimed at characterizing immunologically inactive and active SLE patients undergoing dialysis therapy.

Distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in a retrospective monocentric cohort: neoadjuvant treatment and three-axis embolization of the celiac axis are key factors of success.

Background: Distal pancreatectomy with celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) carries severe morbidity and risk of gastric and liver ischemia. We present the results of three axis embolization of celiac axis (CA) before DP-CAR.

Methods: A prospectively maintained single-institution database was queried for patients operated on for potentially resectable locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) invading the CA.

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis- Expert Panel Narrative Review.

Despite growing clinical use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), inconsistency remains in the modality's role in clinical pathways for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis and management. This AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review provides practical insights on the use of CEUS for the diagnosis of HCC across populations, including individuals at high risk for HCC, individuals with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and remaining individuals not at high risk for HCC. Considerations addressed with respect to high-risk patients include CEUS diagnostic criteria for HCC, use of CEUS for differentiating HCC from non-HCC malignancy, use of CEUS for small (≤2 cm) lesions, use of CEUS for characterizing occult lesions on B-mode ultrasound, and use of CEUS for indeterminate lesions on CT or MRI.

Role of Lymphopenia in Early prediction of Infection Following Orthotopic Liver Transplantation in Cirrhotic Patients.

Infections remain a main cause of morbidity and mortality following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Patients with end-stage liver cirrhosis exhibit a deregulation of their immune response, making them more susceptible to infections. From a prospective database, we retrospectively assessed the ability of preoperative lymphopenia, as a marker of this immune dysregulation, to predict the occurrence of early postoperative bacterial infections during post-OLT ICU hospitalization in patients with cirrhosis.

Identification of Pappalysin-2 (PAPP-A2), a modulator of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 pathway, as a potential marker of teduglutide efficacy in patients with short bowel syndrome.

Background: Teduglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) analog, is indicated to treat short bowel syndrome (SBS) since 2015. It has been shown to reduce parenteral support (PS) in SBS patients, although patients' response is quite heterogeneous. The exact mechanisms of action of GLP-2 on intestinal cells are still poorly understood.

[Psilocybin in the setting of treatment-resistant unipolar depression: A case report].

Background: Current antidepressants have shown certain limitations in the treatment of unipolar depression. Their long onset of action, interactions, and side effects are obstacles to achieving lasting remission of this prevalent, often chronic or recurrent, pathology. Faced with this clinical necessity, research efforts have intensified in recent years around psychedelic drugs, with a particular focus on the mental health benefits of psilocybin.

A GLP1R gene variant and sex influence the response to semaglutide treatment in patients with severe obesity.

Objective: The objective of this study is to identify whether the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) gene variant rs6923761G→A has an influence on semaglutide response in individuals with severe obesity.

Methods: From March 2023 to July 2024, we prospectively genotyped 112 patients treated with semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly.

Subclinical atherosclerosis is associated with future cardiovascular events in lupus patients at apparent low cardiovascular risk.

ObjectivesPrediction models based on traditional risk factors underestimate the risk for cardiovascular events (CVE) in SLE. We aimed to assess the occurrence of CVE in SLE patients according to their baseline subclinical atherosclerosis status.MethodsCarotid intima-media thickness at the carotid bulb level (CIMT) was prospectively assessed in consecutive SLE patients followed in our national reference center for rare diseases by a single evaluator, between February 2012 and February 2013.

An Autocrine Regulator Loop Involving Tumor Necrosis Factor and Chemokine (C-C motif) Ligand-2 Is Activated by Transforming Growth Factor-β in Rat Basophilic Leukemia-2H3 Mast Cells.

TGF-β is a pleiotropic cytokine with both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on immune cells, depending on the microenvironmental context. It targets mast cells (MCs) in different physio-pathological conditions, such as inflammation and cancer. Besides acting as a potent chemoattractant for MCs, TGF-β regulates many other aspects of MCs' physiology, including the secretion of many regulatory molecules.

Comparative analysis of dietary iron deprivation and supplementation in a murine model of colitis.

Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic inflammatory conditions with growing prevalence in western populations. Iron is an essential component of erythrocytes hemoglobin. Under the influence of elevated hepcidin production, iron is sequestered in cells during inflammation which, in turn, leads to iron restriction for red blood cell synthesis.

Pediatric Liver and Kidney Transplant Recipients Demonstrate Greater Serological Response to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Than Adults.

Background: Adult solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) have decreased responsiveness to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination and higher incidence of infection, but there are few data on the serological response in pediatric SOTR. The aim of this study was to determine serological response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pediatric liver (LT) and kidney transplant (KT) recipients and compare it with adult SOTR.

Methods: A European, prospective, multicenter study was performed.

Safety of Anticoagulant Treatment in Patients With Splanchnic Vein Thrombosis and History of Portal Hypertension-Related Bleeding.

Splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) can be associated with liver cirrhosis or prothrombotic conditions, including myeloproliferative disorders, intra-abdominal inflammation, solid cancers or surgery. While anticoagulation therapy improves outcomes in noncirrhotic patients and reduces all-cause mortality in cirrhotic populations, its safety in patients with a history of portal hypertension (PH)-related bleeding is less clear. This systematic review examines the impact of anticoagulant therapy on rebleeding risk in SVT patients with a history of PH-related bleeding.