Publications by authors named "F Wrba"
Investigations about suspected tissue alterations and the role of gallbladder in Wilson's disease (WD)-an inherited genetic disease with impaired copper metabolism-are rare. Therefore, tissue from patients with genetically characterised WD was investigated by microscopic synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (µSRXRF). For two-dimensional imaging and quantification of elements, X-ray spectra were peak-fitted, and the net peak intensities were normalised to the intensity of the incoming monochromatic beam intensity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The clinical value of immune checkpoint expression as prognostic biomarker in bevacizumab-pretreated patients with resected microsatellite-stable (MMS) colorectal liver metastases is unclear and was retrospectively investigated in this study.
Methods: Expression analyses of IDO-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 were performed by immunohistochemistry in resected bevacizumab-pretreated colorectal liver metastases. Association of immune checkpoint expression in tumor cells and immune cells with response and clinical outcome was investigated.
Article Synopsis
- Identified several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) linked to disease severity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but their added value in risk assessment remains uncertain.
- In a study involving 703 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD across Central Europe, specific genetic variants (PNPLA3, TM6SF2, and HSD17B13) showed associations with higher NAFLD activity scores and advanced fibrosis.
- The research found that incorporating genetic markers improved risk prediction models for NAFLD severity, particularly with the addition of PNPLA3 and TM6SF2, suggesting that genetic factors can enhance clinical assessments of the disease.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to determine if past hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections impact the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patients, given that HEV infections are often silent.
- A total of 167 NAFLD patients were examined for HEV antibodies and their liver conditions assessed using the NAFLD activity score, revealing a small number of acute HEV cases but a significant rate of past HEV infections among older male patients.
- Results indicated that while HEV-IgG positivity correlated with cirrhosis and other health factors, it was not independently linked to increased severity of NAFLD compared to a healthy control group.
The ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 4 (ABCB4) gene on chromosome 7 encodes the ABCB4 protein (alias multidrug resistance protein 3 [MDR3]), a P-glycoprotein in the canalicular membrane of the hepatocytes that acts as a translocator of phospholipids into bile. Several variants in ABCB4 have been shown to cause ABCB4 deficiency, accounting for a disease spectrum ranging from progressive familial cholestasis type 3 to less severe conditions like low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy or drug-induced liver injury. Furthermore, whole genome sequencing has shown that ABCB4 variants are associated with an increased incidence of gallstone disease, gallbladder and bile duct carcinoma, liver cirrhosis or elevated liver function tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF