Bacteria Engineered to Produce Serotonin Modulate Host Intestinal Physiology.

Bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract play a crucial role in intestinal motility, homeostasis, and dysfunction. Unraveling the mechanisms by which microbes impact the host poses many challenges due to the extensive array of metabolites produced or metabolized by bacteria in the gut. Here, we describe the engineering of a gut commensal bacterium, Nissle 1917, to biosynthesize the human metabolite serotonin for examining the effects of microbially produced biogenic amines on host physiology.

Shoulder Pain Associated With Multiple Arteriovenous Malformations Successfully Treated With Embolization.

A 44-year-old male presented with left upper extremity and shoulder pain with worsening functional impairment after years of repetitive use, overtraining, and multiple injuries from weightlifting and mixed martial arts. Imaging showed no obvious injury or ligamentous deformity other than mild osteoarthritis (OA) of the left glenohumeral joint. Duplex ultrasonography (US) revealed four arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) surrounding the shoulder joint and left upper extremity.

Embolization for the treatment of large, complex fibroids in an outpatient setting: A report of 2 cases.

Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign pelvic tumors in premenopausal women, causing significant morbidity. Uterine fibroid embolization is a minimally invasive alternative to traditional open or laparoscopic surgeries for the management of symptomatic uterine leiomyoma. For large fibroids, hospitalization after treatment is often required.

Undiagnosed scrotal swelling in a 36-year-old man: A congenital arteriovenous malformation.

We have reported the case of a 36-year-old man with severe scrotal swelling that had remained undiagnosed after multiple diagnostic tests. The patient had presented with scrotal swelling, multiple weeping ulcers on the dorsal aspect of the scrotum, and worsening pain affecting his day-to-day functioning. Duplex ultrasound showed low- to no-flow hypervascularity and dependent edema suspicious for a vascular malformation.

Diet as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: is it ready for prime time?

Purpose Of Review: Diet remains an important topic for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), yet few guidelines for dietary recommendations exist. There is a growing interest in the use of diet as treatment or adjuvant therapy for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Here, we highlight the latest evidence on the use of diet for treatment of symptoms, active disease and maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Utilizing Deep Learning to Analyze Whole Slide Images of Colonic Biopsies for Associations Between Eosinophil Density and Clinicopathologic Features in Active Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Eosinophils have been implicated in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis and have been associated with disease course and therapeutic response. However, associations between eosinophil density, histologic activity, and clinical features have not been rigorously studied.

Methods: A deep learning algorithm was trained to identify eosinophils in colonic biopsies and validated against pathologists' interpretations.

Biosynthesis of the Essential Fatty Acid Oxidation Cofactor Carnitine Is Stimulated in Heart and Liver after a Single Bout of Exercise in Mice.

We determined whether one single bout of exercise stimulates carnitine biosynthesis and carnitine uptake in liver and heart. Free carnitine (FC) in plasma was assayed using acetyltransferase and [C]acetyl-CoA in Swiss Webster mice after 1 hour of moderate-intensity treadmill running or 4 hours and 8 hours into recovery. Liver and heart were removed under the same conditions for measurement of carnitine biosynthesis enzymes (liver butyrobetaine hydroxylase, γ-BBH; heart trimethyllysine dioxygenase, TMLD), organic cation transporter-2 (OCTN2, carnitine transporter), and liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR, transcription factor for -BBH and OCTN2 synthesis).

Acute Exercise Stimulates Carnitine Biosynthesis and OCTN2 Expression in Mouse Kidney.

Background/aims: Carnitine is essential for the transport of long-chain FAs (FA) into the mitochondria for energy production. During acute exercise, the increased demand for FAs results in a state of free carnitine deficiency in plasma. The role of kidney in carnitine homeostasis after exercise is not known.

The Synthetic Triterpenoid RTA 405 (CDDO-EA) Halts Progression of Liver Fibrosis and Reduces Hepatocellular Carcinoma Size Resulting in Increased Survival in an Experimental Model of Chronic Liver Injury.

Unlabelled: Patients with cirrhosis have an increased risk of developing liver cancer and a higher rate of mortality. Cirrhosis currently has no known cure, and patients may benefit from new agents aimed at alleviating their complications and slowing down the rate of disease progression. Therefore, the effects of the orally bioavailable synthetic triterpenoid 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana- 1,9(11)-dien-28-oate-ethyl amide (CDDO-EA, RTA 405), which has potent antioxidative and antiinflammatory properties, was evaluated in a chronic carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced model of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The role of intrahepatic CD3+/CD4-/CD8- double negative T (DN T) cells in enhanced acetaminophen toxicity.

Unlabelled: The role of the immune system, specifically NK, NKT and CD3 cells, in acetaminophen (APAP) induced liver injury remains inconsistently defined. In the present study, wild type (C57BL/6J) mice and granzyme B deficient (GrB -/-) mice were treated with acetaminophen to assess the role of the immune system in acute liver injury. Doses of acetaminophen that induced sub lethal liver injury in wild type mice unexpectedly produced fatal hepatotoxicity in granzyme B deficient (GrB -/-) mice.