Ultrastructural analysis of lamellar bodies in type II alveolar epithelial cells in the human lung.

Pulmonary surfactant is produced by type II alveolar epithelial cells (AEC2) and stored in lamellar bodies (LBs) before secretion. Here, we characterize AEC2 and their LBs in the human lung ultrastructurally and quantitatively. Five human lungs were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, serial section electron tomography, and stereology.

Assessment of neuropathy subtypes in type 1 diabetes.

Introduction: Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN), a common complication of diabetes, can manifest as small, large, or mixed fiber neuropathy (SFN, LFN, and MFN, respectively), depending on the type of fibers involved. Despite evidence indicating small fiber involvement prior to large fiber involvement in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM)-associated DPN, no evidence has been produced to determine the more prevalent subtype. We aim to determine the more prevalent type of nerve fiber damage-SFN, LFN, and MFN-in T1DM-associated DPN, both with and without pain.

Bladder dysfunction in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Background: It is increasingly significant that adults with diabetes experience lower urinary tract symptoms, however, there has been limited research in younger individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To investigate bladder function using non-invasive urodynamics as a potential indicator of autonomic neuropathy in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. This involved examining the association between urinary flow disturbances, reported symptoms, and results from other autonomic tests.

Sweat gland nerve fiber density and association with sudomotor function, symptoms, and risk factors in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Purpose: To quantify sweat gland nerve fiber density in adolescents with diabetes. Additionally, to investigate associations between sudomotor innervation, sweat responses, and possible risk factors for sudomotor neuropathy.

Methods: Cross-sectional study where 60 adolescents with type 1 diabetes (duration > 5 years) and 23 control subjects were included.

Biochemical and morphological responses to post-hepatectomy liver failure in rats.

The upper limit for partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats is 90%, which is associated with an increased risk of post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF), correlating with high mortality. Sixty-eight rats were randomized to 90% PH, sham operation, or no surgery. Further block randomization was performed to determine the time of euthanasia, whether 12, 24, or 48 h after surgery.

Changes in hypothalamic mu-opioid receptor expression following acute olanzapine treatment in female rats: Implications for feeding behavior.

Advances have been made in recent years in using opioid receptor antagonists as an adjunct therapy to psychotropic medication to reduce debilitating weight gain and metabolic adverse effects associated with in particular second generation antipsychotics. However, it is unknown whether second generation antipsychotics produce a change in opioid receptor expression in the brain. The present study investigated early changes in opioid receptor expression in the female rat hypothalamus, a master controller of hunger and metabolic regulation, after acute treatment with olanzapine, a commonly used second generation antipsychotic.

Neuropathy in adolescents with type 1 diabetes: Confirmatory diagnostic tests, bedside tests, and risk factors.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of large fiber (LFN), small fiber (SFN), and autonomic neuropathy in adolescents with type 1 diabetes using confirmatory tests known from adults and to identify risk factors and bedside methods for neuropathy.

Methods: Sixty adolescents with type 1 diabetes (diabetes duration > five years) and 23 control subjects underwent neurological examination and confirmatory diagnostic tests for neuropathy, including nerve conduction studies, skin biopsies determining intraepidermal nerve fiber density, quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART), cardiovascular reflex tests (CARTs), and tilt table test. Possible risk factors were analyzed.

Hypercontractile Cardiac Phenotype in Mice with Migraine-Associated Mutation in the Na,K-ATPase α-Isoform.

Two α-isoforms of the Na,K-ATPase (α and α) are expressed in the cardiovascular system, and it is unclear which isoform is the preferential regulator of contractility. Mice heterozygous for the familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 (FHM2) associated mutation in the α-isoform (G301R; α mice) have decreased expression of cardiac α-isoform but elevated expression of the α-isoform. We aimed to investigate the contribution of the α-isoform function to the cardiac phenotype of α hearts.

Locus coeruleus ablation in mice: protocol optimization, stereology and behavioral impact.

The Locus Coeruleus (LC) is in the brainstem and supplies key brain structures with noradrenaline, including the forebrain and hippocampus. The LC impacts specific behaviors such as anxiety, fear, and motivation, as well as physiological phenomena that impact brain functions in general, including sleep, blood flow regulation, and capillary permeability. Nevertheless, the short- and long-term consequences of LC dysfunction remain unclear.

Sex-Dependent Impairment of Endothelium-Dependent Relaxation in Aorta of Mice with Overexpression of Hyaluronan in Tunica Media.

Diabetic macroangiopathy is characterized by increased extracellular matrix deposition, including excessive hyaluronan accumulation, vessel thickening and stiffness, and endothelial dysfunction in large arteries. We hypothesized that the overexpression of hyaluronan in the tunica media also led to endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction. To address this hypothesis, we investigated the following in the aortas of mice with excessive hyaluronan accumulation in the tunica media (HAS-2) and wild-type mice: EC dysfunction via myograph studies, nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability via diaminofluorescence, superoxide formation via dihydroethidium fluorescence, and the distances between ECs via stereological methods.

Early Gastrointestinal Neuropathy Assessed by Wireless Motility Capsules in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes.

Background: To assess the prevalence of objective signs of gastrointestinal (GI) autonomic neuropathy (AN) in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In addition, to investigate associations between objective GI findings and self-reported symptoms or other findings of AN.

Methods: Fifty adolescents with T1D and 20 healthy adolescents were examined with a wireless motility capsule to assess the total and regional GI transit times and motility index.

Spatial quantification of single cell mRNA and ligand binding of the kappa opioid receptor in the rat hypothalamus.

Detailed quantification of brain tissue provides a deeper understanding of changes in expression and function. We have created a pipeline to study the detailed expression patterns of the kappa opioid receptor in the rat hypothalamus using high resolution fluorescence microscopy and receptor autoradiography. The workflow involved structured serial sampling of rat hypothalamic nuclei, in situ detection of mRNA and receptor expression, and advanced image analysis.

Impact of new molecular criteria on diagnosis and survival of adult glioma patients.

The fifth edition WHO classification of Tumors of the Central nervous system (WHO-CNS5) integrated new molecular parameters to refine CNS tumor classification. This study aimed to reclassify a retrospective cohort of adult glioma patients according to WHO-CNS5, and assess if overall survival (OS) correlated with the revised diagnosis. Further, the diagnostic impact of methylation profiling (MP) was evaluated.

The psychiatric risk gene BRD1 modulates mitochondrial bioenergetics by transcriptional regulation.

Bromodomain containing 1 (BRD1) encodes an epigenetic regulator that controls the expression of genetic networks linked to mental illness. BRD1 is essential for normal brain development and its role in psychopathology has been demonstrated in genetic and preclinical studies. However, the neurobiology that bridges its molecular and neuropathological effects remains poorly explored.

Prediction of Renal Function in Living Kidney Donors and Recipients of Living Donor Kidneys Using Quantitative Histology.

Background: Living kidney donors (LKDs) are at increased risk of chronic kidney disease, whereas transplant recipients experience progressive reduction of graft function. We examined the predictive value of quantitative stereology on renal function in LKDs and recipients of living donor kidneys, based on perioperative biopsies from the donated kidney.

Methods: Cortex volume of both donor kidneys was determined by contrast-enhanced computed tomography and single-kidney glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by 51 chrome-EDTA clearance together with renography.

Identification and quantification of nociceptive Schwann cells in mice with and without Streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

Specialized cutaneous Schwann cells (SCs), termed nociceptive SCs, were recently discovered. Their function is not fully understood, but they are believed not only to support peripheral axons in mouse skin by forming a mesh-like neural-glio networking structure in subepidermal area, but also contributing to transduction of mechanical sensation and neuropathic pain. Diabetic neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common complication of diabetes, however, the mechanisms behind painful and painless DPN remain unclear.

In silico design and analyses of a multi-epitope vaccine against Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus through reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics approaches.

Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV) is a deadly human pathogen that causes an emerging zoonotic disease with a broad geographic spread, especially in Africa, Asia, and Europe, and the second most common viral hemorrhagic fever and widely transmitted tick-borne viral disease. Following infection, the patients are presented with a variety of clinical manifestations and a fatality rate of 40%. Despite the high fatality rate, there are unmet clinical interventions, as no antiviral drugs or vaccines for CCHF have been approved.

The Role of Plasma Extracellular Vesicles in Remote Ischemic Conditioning and Exercise-Induced Ischemic Tolerance.

Ischemic conditioning and exercise have been suggested for protecting against brain ischemia-reperfusion injury. However, the endogenous protective mechanisms stimulated by these interventions remain unclear. Here, in a comprehensive translational study, we investigated the protective role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) released after remote ischemic conditioning (RIC), blood flow restricted resistance exercise (BFRRE), or high-load resistance exercise (HLRE).

Uncovering the genetic profiles underlying the intrinsic organization of the human cerebellum.

The functional diversity of the human cerebellum is largely believed to be derived more from its extensive connections rather than being limited to its mostly invariant architecture. However, whether and how the determination of cerebellar connections in its intrinsic organization interact with microscale gene expression is still unknown. Here we decode the genetic profiles of the cerebellar functional organization by investigating the genetic substrates simultaneously linking cerebellar functional heterogeneity and its drivers, i.

Abnormal mitochondrial function and morphology in heart transplanted patients with cardiac allograft vasculopathy.

Background: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains the Achilles' heel of long-term survival of HTx patients. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been reported in both arteriosclerotic coronary disease and heart failure. However, myocardial mitochondrial function has not been examined in HTx patients with CAV.