The Liver X Receptor Promotes Immune Homeostasis via Controlled Activation of the Innate Immune System in the Liver.

The liver is an indispensable metabolic organ, responsible for accumulating and transporting various nutritional compounds in hepatocytes. However, the transport of these materials from the liver is an energetically intensive task because they contain a considerable number of hydrophobic components, including free cholesterol, and require specialized transfer proteins to shuttle these substances through an aqueous phase. Liver X receptors (LXRs) induce the expression of cholesterol transporters in macrophages to transport free cholesterol derived from apoptotic cells into extracellular space via high-density lipoproteins.

Exploring the impact of biological sex on intrinsic connectivity networks in PTSD: A data-driven approach.

Introduction: Sex as a biological variable (SABV) may help to account for the differential development and expression of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among trauma-exposed males and females. Here, we investigate the impact of SABV on PTSD-related neural alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within three core intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs): the salience network (SN), central executive network (CEN), and default mode network (DMN).

Methods: Using an independent component analysis (ICA), we compared rsFC of the SN, CEN, and DMN between males and females, with and without PTSD (n = 47 females with PTSD, n = 34 males with PTSD, n = 36 healthy control females, n = 20 healthy control males) via full factorial ANCOVAs.

Promoter Deletion Leading to Allele Specific Expression in a Genetically Unsolved Case of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia.

Variation in the non-coding genome represents an understudied mechanism of disease and it remains challenging to predict if single nucleotide variants, small insertions and deletions, or structural variants in non-coding genomic regions will be detrimental. Our approach using complementary RNA-seq and targeted long-read DNA sequencing can prioritize identification of non-coding variants that lead to disease via alteration of gene splicing or expression. We have identified a patient with primary ciliary dyskinesia with a pathogenic coding variant on one allele of the SPAG1 gene, while the second allele appears normal by whole exome sequencing despite an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern.

Baseline Cardiac Parameters as Biomarkers of Radiation Cardiotoxicity in Lung Cancer: An NI-HEART Analysis.

Background: Radiation-induced cardiotoxicity poses a significant challenge in lung cancer management because of the close anatomical proximity of the heart to the lungs, compounded by a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of routinely available clinical and imaging-based cardiac parameters in identifying "high risk" patients for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and mortality following radiation therapy (RT).

Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent definitive RT for non-small cell lung cancer using modern planning techniques at a single center between 2015 and 2020 were retrospectively reviewed.