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.

CALR frameshift mutation detection in myeloproliferative neoplasms by microfluidic chip analysis.

Background: CALR mutation analysis is routinely used to diagnose BCR/ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. The 2 most common CALR mutations are a 52-base pair (bp) deletion and a 5-bp insertion, which account for approximately 85% of cases.

Methods: To evaluate our new microfluidic chip assay, we tested CALR mutant and wild-type specimens that were previously analyzed using conventional methods at a reference laboratory.

Systematic review of exercise for the treatment of pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Background & Aims: Steatotic liver disease affects approximately 1 in 10 children in the U.S. and increases the risk of cirrhosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Autoinhibition of dimeric NINJ1 prevents plasma membrane rupture.

Lytic cell death culminates in plasma membrane rupture, which releases large intracellular molecules to augment the inflammatory response. Plasma membrane rupture is mediated by the effector membrane protein ninjurin-1 (NINJ1), which polymerizes and ruptures the membrane via its hydrophilic face. How NINJ1 is restrained under steady-state conditions to ensure cell survival remains unknown.

Substance Use and Addiction.

Efforts to reveal the molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms of addiction have largely focused on neurons. Yet accumulating data regarding the ability of glial cells to impact synaptic function, circuit activity, and behavior demands that we explore how these nonneuronal cells contribute to substance use disorders and addiction. Important work has shown that glial cells, including microglia, exhibit changes in phenotype following exposure to drugs of abuse and that modification of glial responses can impact behaviors related to drug seeking and drug taking.