An Overview of the Skin Microbiome, the Potential for Pathogen Shift, and Dysbiosis in Common Skin Pathologies.

Recent interest in the diverse ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses that make up the skin microbiome has led to several studies investigating the microbiome in healthy skin and in a variety of dermatological conditions. An imbalance of the normal skin flora can cause some skin diseases, and current culture techniques are often unable to detect a microorganism to further our understanding of the clinical-microbiological correlates of disease and dysbiosis. Atopic dermatitis and rosacea are presentations that GPs often manage that may have an infective or microbiological component and can be challenging to treat.

Profiling epithelial viral receptor expression in amniotic membrane and nasal epithelial cells at birth.

Introduction: Children with wheeze and asthma present with airway epithelial vulnerabilities, such as impaired responses to viral infection. It is postulated that the in utero environment may contribute to the development of airway epithelial vulnerabilities. The aims of the study were to establish whether the receptors for rhinovirus (RV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are expressed in the amniotic membrane and whether the pattern of expression is similar to newborn nasal epithelium.

Comparing predictive risk to actual presence of coronary atherosclerosis on coronary computed tomography angiography.

Background: There is limited data showing the predictive accuracy of traditional cardiovascular risk scores (CVRS) to predict asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) determined by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA).

Methods: Asymptomatic individuals without known CAD undergoing a screening CCTA and sufficient data to calculate their CVRS, were extracted retrospectively. Atherosclerosis was extracted using natural language processing of the CCTA report, including the coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and the extent and severity of CAD.

Emerging role of immune cells as drivers of pulmonary fibrosis.

The pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other forms of interstitial lung disease, involves a complex interplay of various factors including host genetics, environmental pollutants, infection, aberrant repair and dysregulated immune responses. Highly variable clinical outcomes of some ILDs, in particular IPF, have made it difficult to identify the precise mechanisms involved in disease pathogenesis and thus the development of a specific cure or treatment to halt and reverse the decline in patient health. With the advent of in-depth molecular diagnostics, it is becoming evident that the pathogenesis of IPF is unlikely to be the same for all patients and therefore will likely require different treatment approaches.

Immunological Phenotyping of Mice with a Point Mutation in .

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) play a crucial role in regulation of the mammalian cell cycle. CDK4 and CDK6 control the G1/S restriction checkpoint through their ability to associate with cyclin D proteins in response to growth factor signals. CDK4 deficiency in mice gives rise to a range of endocrine-specific phenotypes including diabetes, infertility, dwarfism, and atrophy of the anterior pituitary.