Reversion of liver cirrhosis after endovascular treatment in Chinese patients with Budd–Chiari syndrome

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Abstract

Aims

To investigate the impact of endovascular (EV) treatment on liver cirrhosis in Chinese patients with Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS).

Methods

From September 2011 to March 2022, 97 patients from four hospitals in China who were diagnosed with primary BCS complicated with liver cirrhosis and received EV treatment were retrospectively enrolled in this study for clinical analysis. In addition, liver tissues for basic research were acquired from 25 patients between June 2022 and March 2023, including six with benign liver tumors, 11 with BCS before EV treatment, and eight with EV-treated BCS. Liver cirrhosis was assessed by clinical outcomes, histological studies, and the expression of related genes at the mRNA and protein levels.

Results

The patients with BCS had better liver function after EV treatment, evidenced by an increased albumin level and reduced total bilirubin, ALT, and AST. The imaging findings suggested an amelioration of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension, including increased portal vein velocity (13.52 ± 8.89 cm/s vs. 17.51 ± 6.67 cm/s, p < 0.001) and decreased liver stiffness (30.37 ± 6.39 kPa vs. 23.70 ± 7.99 kPa, p < 0.001), portal vein diameter (14.97 ± 3.42 mm vs. 13.36 ± 2.89 mm, p < 0.001), and spleen volume (870.00 ± 355.61 cm3 vs. 771.36 ± 277.45 cm3, p < 0.001). Furthermore, histological studies revealed that EV treatment resulted in a restoration of liver architecture with reduced extracellular matrix deposition. Meanwhile, hepatic angiogenesis and inflammation, which have a close relationship with cirrhosis, were also inhibited. In addition, the state of hepatocytes switches from apoptosis to proliferation after EV treatment.

Conclusions

BCS-induced liver cirrhosis could be reversed by EV treatment from macroscopic to microscopic dimensions. Our study may provide further insights into understanding BCS and treating cirrhosis.

Significance of malnutrition defined with Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatic resection

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Significance of malnutrition defined with Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatic resection

Malnutrition defined by the modified Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria using both handgrip strength and skeletal muscle area can more accurately predict short- and long-term outcomes compared to malnutrition defined by the GLIM criteria. Nutritional and exercise therapy could become more important in patients with malnutrition and poor liver function.


Abstract

Aim

A recent study reported the utility of the definition of malnutrition according to the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria in many types of cancers and chronic inflammatory disease. The present retrospective study aimed to investigate the significance of malnutrition defined with GLIM criteria in patients with hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and also to compare malnutrition using handgrip strength.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed data from 174 patients who had undergone curative hepatic resection for HCC including both skeletal muscle area and handgrip strength. Patients were divided according to malnutrition defined by GLIM or modified GLIM and clinicopathologic and short- and long-term outcomes were analyzed. The modified GLIM criteria was defined using both handgrip strength and skeletal muscle area.

Results

Malnutrition defined by GLIM criteria was diagnosed in 47 patients (26.7%) and malnutrition defined by modified GLIM criteria was diagnosed in 21 patients (11.9%). Malnutrition defined by GLIM or modified GLIM criteria was associated with poorer liver function and malignant tumor behavior, but modified GLIM criteria predicted the postoperative complication and recurrence-free survival outcome independently. In patients with poor liver function, malnutrition defined by modified GLIM criteria predicted postoperative complication and overall and recurrence-free survival.

Conclusions

Malnutrition defined by modified GLIM criteria using both handgrip strength and skeletal muscle area can more accurately predict short- and long-term outcomes compared to malnutrition defined by the GLIM criteria. Nutritional and exercise therapy could become more important in patients with malnutrition and poor liver function.

Genetic parameters for carcass and meat quality traits in Jinhua, Duroc, and their crossbred pigs

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Abstract

Jinhua pigs have excellent meat quality and intramuscular fat content (IMF). Crossbreeding of Jinhua with Duroc pigs with high productivity was conducted to develop a new composite breed that possesses the beneficial characteristics of both breeds. The objective of this study was to estimate the crossbreeding parameters (additive breed, dominance, and epistatic loss effects) using the Kinghorn model and genetic parameters (heritability and genetic correlation) for carcass and meat quality traits by analysing the phenotypic data of Jinhua, Duroc, and their crossbred pigs. Backfat thickness at the thinnest point above the 9th to 13th thoracic vertebrae (BF), longissimus muscle area between the 4th and 5th thoracic vertebrae (LMA), meat shear force value (SFV), and IMF were measured. The additive breed effects were significant for all traits: 1.59 cm, −8.30 cm2, −6.38 lb/cm2, and 1.76% for BF, LMA, SFV, and IMF, respectively. The dominance effect was significant for LMA (7.41 cm2) and IMF (−2.46%), whereas the epistatic loss effect was significant for only LMA (−15.18 cm2). The estimated heritability values were high, ranging from 0.58 for IMF to 0.76 for LMA. A negative but non-significant genetic correlation of −0.11 was estimated between BF and IMF; however, previous studies have reported that the genetic correlation between these traits is moderately positive in modern western pigs. Our results imply that, with the estimation of crossbreeding and genetic parameters, genetic improvement could be implemented to produce a new composite breed with good meat quality and productivity, to meet Japanese market requirements, by crossbreeding Jinhua and Duroc pigs.

A semiochemical view of the ecology of the seed beetle Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae)

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A semiochemical view of the ecology of the seed beetle Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae)

The dried bean beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus, is an economically important pest of stored legumes worldwide. We review the semiochemistry of the mate- and host-finding behaviour of A. obtectus and provide new information about the effect of seed chemistry on the sensory and behavioural ecology of host acceptance and larval development. Knowledge of the biology and chemistry of both the host plant and its herbivore will underpin the development of chemical ecology-based approaches to form an essential part of the toolkit of integrated bruchid management.


Abstract

The dried bean beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus, is an economically important pest of stored legumes worldwide. Tracking the human-aided dispersion of its primary hosts, the Phaseolus vulgaris beans, it is now widespread in most bean-growing areas of the tropics and subtropics. In temperate regions where it can only occasionally overwinter in the field, A. obtectus proliferates in granaries, having multiple generations a year. Despite its negative impact on food production, no sensitive detection or monitoring tools exist, and the reduction of local populations still relies primarily on inorganic insecticides as fumigating agents. However, in the quest to produce more nutritious food more sustainably and healthily, the development of environmentally benign crop protection methods is vital against A. obtectus. For this, knowledge of the biology and chemistry of both the host plant and its herbivore will underpin the development of, among others, chemical ecology-based approaches to form an essential part of the toolkit of integrated bruchid management. We review the semiochemistry of the mate- and host-finding behaviour of A. obtectus and provide new information about the effect of seed chemistry on the sensory and behavioural ecology of host acceptance and larval development.

Microbial colonization dynamics of the postnatal digestive tract of Bos indicus calves

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Abstract

The rumen and the jejunum of calves have distinct functional roles; the former is in the storage and fermentation of feed, and the latter is in transporting digesta to the ileum. It is unknown how nutrition changes the evolution of the microbiome of these organs after birth. We sequenced and characterized the entire microbiome of the rumen and the jejunum from Bos indicus calves of the Mexican Tropics to study their dynamics at Days 0, 7, 28, and 42 after birth. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 185 and 222 genera from 15 phylum were observed in the organs, respectively. The most abundant OTUs were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. We observed that proteobacterial species were outcompeted after the first week of life by Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in the rumen and the jejunum, respectively. Moreover, Prevotella species were found to predominate in the rumen (36% of total OTUs), while the jejunum microbiome is composed of small proportions of several genera. Presumably, their high relative abundance assists in specialized functions and is more likely in fermentation since they are anaerobes. In summary, the rumen and the jejunum microbiomes were outcompeted by new microbiomes in a dynamic process that begins at birth.

Exploring the role of growth factors as potential regulators in psoriatic plaque formation

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Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in which growth activity is more prominent than inflammatory activity at the centre of lesional skin (CE skin). This growth activity is partly influenced by growth factors (GFs) that play an important role in cell growth and inflammation during the plaque development. In this study, we identified potential GFs in CE skin and predicted their regulatory functions and biological activity in mediating transcripts in the plaques. Samples of uninvolved skin (UN skin) and CE skin were biopsied from patients with psoriasis vulgaris for RNA-sequencing analysis in order to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Our finding revealed that epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signalling were enriched by CE/UN skin-derived DEGs. Additionally, several EGFR ligands, namely EGF, heparin-binding EGF like growth factor (HB-EGF), amphiregulin (AREG) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-α, as well as TGF-β1, TGF-β2, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, FGFs, PDGF-B and HGF, were predicted to be GF regulators. The regulatory pattern and biological activity of these GF regulators on mediating the CE/UN skin-derived DEGs was demonstrated. This study provides a novel hypothesis regarding the overall regulatory function of GFs, which appear to modulate the expression of the transcripts involved in inflammation and growth in the CE skin. In addition, some GFs may exert anti-inflammatory effects. Further investigations on the mechanisms underlying this regulation may contribute to a deeper understanding of psoriasis and the identification of potential therapeutic targets for patients with psoriasis.

A loss‐of‐function NCSTN mutation associated with familial Dowling Degos disease and hidradenitis suppurativa

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Abstract

Dowling Degos disease (DDD) is a rare autosomal dominant genodermatosis characterized by acquired, slowly progressive reticulated pigmented lesions primarily involving flexural skin areas. Mutations in KRT5, POGLUT-1 and POFUT-1 genes have been associated with DDD, and loss-of-function mutations in PSENEN, a subunit of the gamma-secretase complex, were found in patients presenting with DDD or DDD comorbid with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). A nonsense mutation in NCSTN, another subunit of the gamma-secretase, was already described in a patient suffering from HS and DDD but whether NCSTN could be considered a novel gene for DDD is still debated. Here, we enrolled a four-generation family with HS and DDD. Through Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) we identified a novel nonsense mutation in the NCSTN gene in all the affected family members. To study the impact of this variant, we isolated outer root sheath cells from patients' hair follicles. We showed that this variant leads to a premature stop codon, activates a nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, and causes NCSTN haploinsufficiency in affected individuals. In fact, cells treated with gentamicin, a readthrough agent, had the NCSTN levels corrected. Moreover, we observed that this haploinsufficiency also affects other subunits of the gamma-secretase complex, possibly causing DDD. Our findings clearly support NCSTN as a novel DDD gene and suggest carefully investigating this co-occurrence in HS patients carrying a mutation in the NCSTN gene.

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) increase caecal calcium absorption at increasing dietary calcium levels

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Abstract

Hindgut fermenting herbivores from different vertebrate taxa, including tortoises, and among mammals some afrotheria, perissodactyla incl. equids, several rodents as well as lagomorphs absorb more calcium (Ca) from the digesta than they require, and excrete the surplus via urine. Both proximate and ultimate causes are elusive. It was suggested that this mechanism might ensure phosphorus availability for the hindgut microbiome by removing potentially complex-building Ca from the digesta. Here we use Ussing chamber experiments to show that rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) maintained on four different diets (six animals/diet) increase active Ca absorption at increasing Ca levels. This contradicts the common assumption that at higher dietary levels, where passive uptake should be more prevalent, active transport can relax and hence supports the deliberate removal hypothesis. In the rabbits, this absorption was distinctively higher in the caecum than in the duodenum, which is unexpected in mammals. Additional quantification of the presence of two proteins involved in active Ca absorption (calbindin-D9K CB; vitamin D receptor, VDR) showed higher presence with higher dietary Ca. However, their detailed distribution across the intestinal tract and the diet groups suggests that other factors not investigated in this study must play major roles in Ca absorption in rabbits. Investigating strategies of herbivores to mitigate potential negative effects of Ca in the digesta on microbial activity and growth might represent a promising area of future research.