MRI-Derived Sarcopenia Associated with Increased Mortality Following Yttrium-90 Radioembolization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of sarcopenia on survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with Y radioembolization.

Materials And Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study analyzed 82 consecutive patients (65 men and 17 women, mean age 65 years, range 31-83 years) with HCC treated with Y radioembolization between December 2013 and December 2017. Sarcopenia was assessed on pre-procedure MRI performed within 100 days prior to Y radioembolization by segmenting the paraspinal musculature at the level of the superior mesenteric artery origin and subtracting fat-intensity pixels to yield fat-free muscle area (FFMA).

Inhibitory effects of progesterone differ in dendritic cells from female and male rodents.

Background: Steroid hormones, such as progesterone, are known to have immunomodulatory effects. Our research group previously reported direct effects of progesterone on dendritic cells (DCs) from female rodents. Primarily affecting mature DC function, progesterone effects included inhibition of proinflammatory cytokine secretion, downregulation of cell surface marker (major histocompatibility complex class II, CD80) expression, and decreased T-cell proliferative capacity, and were likely mediated through progesterone receptor (PR) because the PR antagonist RU486 reversed these effects.

Progesterone inhibits mature rat dendritic cells in a receptor-mediated fashion.

A variety of extraimmune system factors, including hormones, play a critical role in regulating immunity. Progesterone has been shown to affect immunity in rodents and humans, mainly at concentrations commensurate with pregnancy. These effects are primarily mediated via the progesterone receptor (PR), which acts as a transcription factor, although non-genomic effects of PR activation have been reported.