Longitudinal response to standard of care in pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Rates of improvement and worsening, and factors associated with outcomes.

Background Aims: Longitudinal outcomes in children with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) remain unclear due to the absence of a standardized monitoring approach. This study aimed to 1) define improvement and worsening in children with MASLD, 2) estimate rates of improvement or deterioration with standard of care (SOC) over one and two years, and 3) identify baseline and longitudinal factors associated with improvement or worsening.

Approach And Results: Using data from two large randomized controlled trials, we derived definitions for composite improvement and worsening of MASLD based on associations between changes in ALT, GGT, and liver histology after one and two years.

Interleukin 8-CXCR2 mediated neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation in biliary atresia associated with NET-Induced stellate cell activation.

Background Aims: Biliary atresia (BA) entails an inflammatory sclerosing lesion of the biliary tree, with prominent fibrosis in infancy. Previous studies revealed neutrophil-activating IL-8 and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) positively correlated with bilirubin and risk of liver transplant. The aims of this study were to determine the mechanism of NET formation (NETosis) in BA and if NETs induce stellate cell activation.

The neonatal Fc receptor is a cellular receptor for human astrovirus.

Human astroviruses (HAstV) are major causes of gastroenteritis, especially in children, and there are no vaccines or antivirals currently available. Little is known about host factors required for their cellular entry. Here we utilized complementary CRISPR-Cas9-based knockout and activation screens to identify neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and dipeptidyl-peptidase IV (DPP4) as entry factors for HAstV infection in vitro.