Exploring the innate immune response in polycystic liver disease.

Rationale: The role of the innate immune system in polycystic liver disease (PLD) has been underexplored despite its potential importance in disease progression. This study explores the innate immune response in PLD patients by analyzing cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in response to various pathogens compared to healthy controls.

Methods: Samples were collected from patients with ADPLD or ADPKD and PLD.

Ethical considerations for the age of non-governmental space exploration.

Mounting ambitions and capabilities for public and private, non-government sector crewed space exploration bring with them an increasingly diverse set of space travelers, raising new and nontrivial ethical, legal, and medical policy and practice concerns which are still relatively underexplored. In this piece, we lay out several pressing issues related to ethical considerations for selecting space travelers and conducting human subject research on them, especially in the context of non-governmental and commercial/private space operations.

Lung fibroblast-derived extracellular vesicles and soluble factors alleviate elastase-induced lung injury.

One of the main pathological features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the loss of functional alveolar tissue as a consequence of impaired regenerative capacities (emphysema). Recent research suggests that the secretome from mesenchymal cells, particularly extracellular vesicles (EVs), may possess regenerative properties beneficial for lung repair. However, the regenerative potential of the soluble factors (SFs) within the secretome remains largely unexplored in COPD.

Sex, Genotype, and Liver Volume Progression as Risk of Hospitalization Determinants in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Liver Disease.

Background & Aims: Autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease is a rare condition with a female preponderance, based mainly on pathogenic variants in 2 genes, PRKCSH and SEC63. Clinically, autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease is characterized by vast heterogeneity, ranging from asymptomatic to highly symptomatic hepatomegaly. To date, little is known about the prediction of disease progression at early stages, hindering clinical management, genetic counseling, and the design of randomized controlled trials.