New Insights into the Exosome-Induced Migration of Uveal Melanoma Cells and the Pre-Metastatic Niche Formation in the Liver.

UM is an aggressive intraocular tumor characterized by high plasticity and a propensity to metastasize in the liver. However, the underlying mechanisms governing liver tropism remain poorly understood. Given the emerging significance of exosomes, we sought to investigate the contribution of UM-derived exosomes to specific steps of the metastatic process.

Orthotopic murine xenograft model of uveal melanoma with spontaneous liver metastasis.

Uveal melanoma is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults. Despite the effective primary treatment, up to 50% of patients with uveal melanoma will develop metastatic lesions mainly in the liver, which are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and lead to patient's death. To date, no orthotopic murine models of uveal melanoma which can develop spontaneous metastasis are available for preclinical studies.

Transcriptomic identification of TMIGD1 and its relationship with the ileal epithelial cell differentiation in Crohn's disease.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a complex and multifactorial illness. There are still considerable gaps in our knowledge regarding its pathophysiology. A transcriptomic approach could shed some light on little-known biological alterations of the disease.

Adalimumab or Infliximab for the Prevention of Early Postoperative Recurrence of Crohn Disease: Results From the ENEIDA Registry.

Background: Anti-tumor necrosis factor agents (anti-TNFs) are efficacious at preventing the postoperative recurrence (POR) of Crohn disease, as demonstrated in 2 randomized controlled trials. However, real-life data for infliximab or adalimumab in this setting are scarce. Our aim was to assess both the efficiency of anti-TNFs at preventing early POR of Crohn disease in clinical practice and the associated risk factors for POR.

Nivolumab-induced immune-mediated colitis: an ulcerative colitis look-alike-report of new cases and review of the literature.

Purpose: Nivolumab, a monoclonal antibody-targeting programmed cell death protein-1, is being increasingly used for the treatment of some advanced neoplasms. Several of its adverse effects are a result of the upregulation of T cells, with colitis as one of the most severe, and a challenging differential diagnosis with ulcerative colitis. However, few real-life clinical practice cases have been reported beyond trials.

Characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease in patients of Roma/Gypsy ethnicity. A case-control study.

Background: Peculiarities of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been explored in ethnic groups, such as Asians, Hispanics, and Afro-Americans, but not in other ethnic minorities, such as Roma/Gypsies.

Methods: In a retrospective, hospital-based study, all adult Roma/Gypsy patients included in the IBD databases of seven Spanish centres were identified as cases. For each Roma/Gypsy patient, a Caucasian patient, matched for several demographic features, was searched as a control.

Prognostic Value of the Burden of Cytomegalovirus Colonic Reactivation Evaluated by Immunohistochemical Staining in Patients with Active Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Colonic cytomegalovirus [CMV] reactivation has been involved in steroid refractoriness in patients with active ulcerative colitis [UC]. The benefits of antiviral therapy in this clinical setting are still under debate, but the burden of viral reactivation has been associated with a poorer outcome in some studies. Our aim was to assess whether the burden of CMV reactivation measured by the number of viral inclusions by immunohistochemistry [IHC-CMV] is associated with a risk of colectomy.

ANP32E, a Protein Involved in Steroid-Refractoriness in Ulcerative Colitis, Identified by a Systems Biology Approach.

Background And Aims: Steroid-refractoriness is a common and unpredictable phenomenon in ulcerative colitis [UC], but there are no conclusive studies on the molecular functions involved. We aimed to assess the mechanism of action related to steroid failure by integrating transcriptomic data from UC patients, and updated molecular data on UC and glucocorticoids.

Methods: MicroRNA [miRNA] and mRNA expression were evaluated by sequencing and microarrays, respectively, from rectal biopsies of patients with moderately-to-severe active UC, obtained before and on the third day of steroid treatment.

Review article: the relationship between obesity, bariatric surgery, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: The convoluted relationship between obesity, bariatric surgery and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is of increasing interest.

Aim: To analyse evidence regarding the role of bariatric surgery in the development of de novo IBD and its impact on clinical outcomes and safety in patients with established IBD.

Methods: A PubMed/Medline search was performed to identify studies reporting the development of IBD after bariatric surgery and the outcomes of IBD patients after bariatric surgery.

Homo- and hetero-oligomerization of hydrophobic pulmonary surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C in surfactant phospholipid membranes.

Pulmonary surfactant is a lipid/protein mixture that reduces surface tension at the respiratory air-water interface in lungs. Among its nonlipidic components are pulmonary surfactant-associated proteins B and C (SP-B and SP-C, respectively). These highly hydrophobic proteins are required for normal pulmonary surfactant function, and whereas past literature works have suggested possible SP-B/SP-C interactions and a reciprocal modulation effect, no direct evidence has been yet identified.

Prevalence and risk factors for colorectal adenomas in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Background: Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) have an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Scarce data regarding the development of adenomas in these patients are available both for normal and colitic mucosa.

Objective: The objective of this article is to evaluate the prevalence of adenomatous polyps and associated risk factors in patients with UC.

Phenotype and natural history of elderly onset inflammatory bowel disease: a multicentre, case-control study.

Background: Onset during old age has been reported in upto 10% of total cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Aim: To evaluate phenotypic characteristics and the use of therapeutic resources in patients with elderly onset IBD.

Methods: Case-control study including all those patients diagnosed with IBD over the age of 60 years since 2000 who were followed-up for >12 months, identified from the IBD databases.

Serial semi-quantitative measurement of fecal calprotectin in patients with ulcerative colitis in remission.

Background: Fecal calprotectin (FC) correlates with clinical and endoscopic activity in ulcerative colitis (UC), and it is a good predictor of relapse. However, its use in clinical practice is constrained by the need for the patient to deliver stool samples, and for their handling and processing in the laboratory. The availability of hand held devices might spread the use of FC in clinical practice.

Acute histological inflammatory activity is associated with clinical relapse in patients with ulcerative colitis in clinical and endoscopic remission.

Background: It has been suggested that acute histological activity has a prognostic value in the outcome of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in clinical and endoscopic remission. Our aim was to assess the role of histology as a risk factor for clinical relapse (CR) in patients in both clinical and endoscopic remission.

Methods: Patients with left-sided or extensive UC in clinical and endoscopic remission (Mayo endoscopic subscore ≤1) undergoing colonoscopy for dysplasia surveillance with random colonic biopsies between 2005-2015 were included.

Therapeutic requirements in active ulcerative proctitis: A single-centre study.

Background: Ulcerative proctitis (UP) presents distinctive clinical characteristics, outcomes and therapeutic approaches as compared to left-sided and extensive ulcerative colitis (UC).

Aim: To describe the current therapeutic requirements and clinical outcomes in patients with active UP.

Methods: Retrospective observational study conducted in a referral IBD centre.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive mucocutaneous ulcer in Crohn's disease. A condition to consider in immunosuppressed IBD patients.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive mucocutaneous ulcer (EBVMCU) is a little known entity that can affect the oropharyngeal mucosa, the gastrointestinal tract and the skin. The main risk factor for the development of this lesion is immunosuppression. Because its features are similar to other Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disorders, a differential diagnosis can sometimes prove challenging.

Early hospital readmission in decompensated cirrhosis: Incidence, impact on mortality, and predictive factors.

Background & Aims: The early hospital readmission of patients with decompensated cirrhosis is a current problem. A study is presented on the incidence, the impact on mortality, and the predictive factors of early hospital readmission.

Patients And Methods: On the study included 112 cirrhotic patients, discharged after some decompensation between January 2013 and May 2014.

AURKA Overexpression Is Driven by FOXM1 and MAPK/ERK Activation in Melanoma Cells Harboring BRAF or NRAS Mutations: Impact on Melanoma Prognosis and Therapy.

The cell cycle-related genes AURKA and FOXM1 are overexpressed in melanoma. We show here that AURKA overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in three independent cohorts of melanoma patients and correlates with the presence of genomic amplification of AURKA locus and BRAF mutation. AURKA overexpression may also be driven by increased promoter activation through elements such as ETS and FOXM1 found within the 5' proximal promoter region.

Comparative Effect of the I3.1 Probiotic Formula in Two Animal Models of Colitis.

Use of probiotic therapy is an active area of investigation to treat intestinal disorders. The clinical benefits of the I3.1 probiotic formula (Lactobacillus plantarum (CECT7484, CECT7485) and P.

Fecal Calprotectin Levels Are Closely Correlated with the Absence of Relevant Mucosal Lesions in Postoperative Crohn's Disease.

Background: Fecal calprotectin (FC) is the best noninvasive biomarker of disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease. Its correlation with endoscopic mucosal lesions could save inconvenient, expensive, and repeated endoscopic examinations in particular clinical settings.

Patients And Methods: To assess the correlation between FC and the existence and severity of endoscopic postoperative recurrence (POR), a group of clinically stable outpatients with Crohn's disease for whom an ileocolonoscopy was routinely planned to assess POR were invited to collect a stool sample before starting bowel cleansing to measure FC.

Adhesion Molecules Associated with Female Genital Tract Infection.

Efforts to develop vaccines that can elicit mucosal immune responses in the female genital tract against sexually transmitted infections have been hampered by an inability to measure immune responses in these tissues. The differential expression of adhesion molecules is known to confer site-dependent homing of circulating effector T cells to mucosal tissues. Specific homing molecules have been defined that can be measured in blood as surrogate markers of local immunity (e.

Improved outcome of acute severe ulcerative colitis while using early predictors of corticosteroid failure and rescue therapies.

Background And Aim: Intravenous corticosteroids remain the first line therapy for severe attacks of ulcerative colitis although up to 30-40% of patients do not respond to treatment. The availability of alternative therapies to colectomy and the knowledge of early predictors of response to corticosteroids should have improved the clinical outcomes of patients with severe refractory ulcerative colitis. The aim of the study is to describe the current need, way of use, and efficacy of rescue therapies, as well as colectomy rates in patients with severe ulcerative colitis flares.

Thiopurine Therapy Reduces the Incidence of Colorectal Neoplasia in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis. Data from the ENEIDA Registry.

Background And Aims: Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are at increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), but recent studies suggest a lower risk than previously reported. The aim was to evaluate the incidence of dysplasia, CRC and related risk factors in UC patients from a Spanish nationwide database.

Methods: All UC patients were identified and retrospectively reviewed.