GLP-1R agonists demonstrate potential to treat Wolfram syndrome in human preclinical models.

Aims/hypothesis: Wolfram syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the WFS1 gene. It is characterised by insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic nerve atrophy, diabetes insipidus, hearing loss and neurodegeneration. Considering the unmet treatment need for this orphan disease, this study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists under wolframin (WFS1) deficiency with a particular focus on human beta cells and neurons.

YIPF5 mutations cause neonatal diabetes and microcephaly through endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Neonatal diabetes is caused by single gene mutations reducing pancreatic β cell number or impairing β cell function. Understanding the genetic basis of rare diabetes subtypes highlights fundamental biological processes in β cells. We identified 6 patients from 5 families with homozygous mutations in the YIPF5 gene, which is involved in trafficking between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi.

Exenatide induces frataxin expression and improves mitochondrial function in Friedreich ataxia.

Friedreich ataxia is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease associated with a high diabetes prevalence. No treatment is available to prevent or delay disease progression. Friedreich ataxia is caused by intronic GAA trinucleotide repeat expansions in the frataxin-encoding FXN gene that reduce frataxin expression, impair iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis, cause oxidative stress, and result in mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis.

Overview of diagnostic tools for Capripox virus infections.

Capripox viruses are the causative agents of important animal diseases in cattle (Lumpy Skin Disease), sheep (Sheeppox) and goats (Goatpox) with severe socio-economic impact in case of wide scale outbreaks. Therefore there is a constant need for adequate diagnostic tools. The assays must be fit-for-purpose to identify the virus quickly and correctly and to be useful for surveillance and monitoring at different stages of an epidemic.

MicroRNA-337-3p controls hepatobiliary gene expression and transcriptional dynamics during hepatic cell differentiation.

Unlabelled: Transcriptional networks control the differentiation of the hepatocyte and cholangiocyte lineages from embryonic liver progenitor cells and their subsequent maturation to the adult phenotype. However, how relative levels of hepatocyte and cholangiocyte gene expression are determined during differentiation remains poorly understood. Here, we identify microRNA (miR)-337-3p as a regulator of liver development.

Expression of Molecular Differentiation Markers Does Not Correlate with Histological Differentiation Grade in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

The differentiation status of tumor cells, defined by histomorphological criteria, is a prognostic factor for survival of patients affected with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). To strengthen the value of morphological differentiation criteria, we wished to correlate histopathological differentiation grade with expression of molecular biliary differentiation markers and of microRNAs previously shown to be dysregulated in ICC. We analysed a series of tumors that were histologically classified as well, moderately or poorly differentiated, and investigated the expression of cytokeratin 7, 19 and 903 (CK7, CK19, CK903), SRY-related HMG box transcription factors 4 and 9 (SOX4, SOX9), osteopontin (OPN), Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor-1 beta (HNF1β), Yes-associated protein (YAP), Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM), Mucin 1 (MUC1) and N-cadherin (NCAD) by qRT-PCR and immunostaining, and of miR-31, miR-135b, miR-132, miR-200c, miR-221 and miR-222.

Proliferation-Independent Initiation of Biliary Cysts in Polycystic Liver Diseases.

Biliary cysts in adult patients affected by polycystic liver disease are lined by cholangiocytes that proliferate, suggesting that initiation of cyst formation depends on proliferation. Here, we challenge this view by analyzing cyst-lining cell proliferation and differentiation in Cpk mouse embryos and in livers from human fetuses affected by Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD), at early stages of cyst formation. Proliferation of fetal cholangiocyte precursors, measured by immunostaining in human and mouse livers, was low and did not differ between normal and ARPKD or Cpk livers, excluding excessive proliferation as an initiating cause of liver cysts.

Human but not mouse hepatocytes respond to interferon-lambda in vivo.

The type III interferon (IFN) receptor is preferentially expressed by epithelial cells. It is made of two subunits: IFNLR1, which is specific to IFN-lambda (IFN-λ) and IL10RB, which is shared by other cytokine receptors. Human hepatocytes express IFNLR1 and respond to IFN-λ.