miR-210 overexpression increases pressure overload-induced cardiac fibrosis.

Aortic stenosis, a common valvular heart disease, can lead to left ventricular pressure overload, triggering pro-fibrotic responses in the heart. miR-210 is a microRNA that responds to hypoxia and ischemia and plays a role in immune regulation and in cardiac remodeling upon myocardial infarction. This study investigated the effects of miR-210 on cardiac fibrosis caused by pressure overload.

Muscle-specific gene editing improves molecular and phenotypic defects in a mouse model of myotonic dystrophy type 1.

Background: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic multisystemic disease, characterised by pleiotropic symptoms that exhibit notable variability in severity, nature and age of onset. The genetic cause of DM1 is the expansion of unstable CTG-repeats in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the DMPK gene, resulting in the accumulation of toxic CUG-transcripts that sequester RNA-binding proteins and form nuclear foci in DM1 affected tissues and, consequently, alter various cellular processes. Therapeutic gene editing for treatment of monogenic diseases is a powerful technology that could in principle remove definitively the disease-causing genetic defect.

Natural Killer Cells in Graves' Disease: Increased Frequency but Impaired Degranulation Ability Compared to Healthy Controls.

Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune disorder, driven by the appearance of circulating autoantibodies (Ab) against the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor, thus causing hyperthyroidism. While antithyroid drugs, the only available treatment for GD, carry a significant risk of relapse, advances in immunology could pave the way for more effective therapies. Natural killer (NK) cells, divided into cytotoxic CD56 and cytokine-secreting CD56 subsets, regulate immune responses through cytokine production and cell lysis and may play a role in the pathogenesis of GD.

The Urinary Microbiome in Health and Disease: Relevance for Bladder Cancer.

Bladder cancer (BC) constitutes one of the most diagnosed types of cancer worldwide. Advancements in and new methodologies for DNA sequencing, leading to high-throughput microbiota testing, have pinpointed discrepancies in urinary microbial fingerprints between healthy individuals and patients with BC. Although several studies suggest an involvement of microbiota dysbiosis in the pathogenesis, progression, and therapeutic response to bladder cancer, an established direct causal relationship remains to be elucidated due to the lack of standardized methodologies associated with such studies.

How Does Vitamin D Affect Immune Cells Crosstalk in Autoimmune Diseases?

Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone that is highly involved in bone health. Mounting evidence revealed that, in addition to the regulation of mineral metabolism, vitamin D is implicated in cell proliferation and differentiation, vascular and muscular functions, and metabolic health. Since the discovery of vitamin D receptors in T cells, local production of active vitamin D was demonstrated in most immune cells, addressing the interest in the clinical implications of vitamin D status in immune surveillance against infections and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.