The Role of Sulfatides in Liver Health and Disease.

Sulfatides or 3-O-sulfogalactosylceramide are negatively charged sulfated glycosphingolipids abundant in the brain and kidneys and play crucial roles in nerve impulse conduction and urinary pH regulation. Sulfatides are present in the liver, specifically in the biliary tract. Sulfatides are self-lipid antigens presented by cholangiocytes to activate cluster of differentiation 1d (CD1d)-restricted type II natural killer T (NKT) cells.

Comprehensive in silico CpG methylation analysis in hepatocellular carcinoma identifies tissue- and tumor-type specific marks disconnected from gene expression.

DNA methylation is crucial for chromatin structure, transcription regulation and genome stability, defining cellular identity. Aberrant hypermethylation of CpG-rich regions is common in cancer, influencing gene expression. However, the specific contributions of individual epigenetic modifications to tumorigenesis remain under investigation.

Caspases compromise SLU7 and UPF1 stability and NMD activity during hepatocarcinogenesis.

Background & Aims: The homeostasis of the cellular transcriptome depends on transcription and splicing mechanisms. Moreover, the fidelity of gene expression, essential to preserve cellular identity and function is secured by different quality control mechanisms including nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD). In this context, alternative splicing is coupled to NMD, and several alterations in these mechanisms leading to the accumulation of aberrant gene isoforms are known to be involved in human disease including cancer.

GAL3ST1 Deficiency Reduces Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tumorigenic Capacity in a Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Line.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), or bile duct cancer, is the second most common liver malignancy, with an increasing incidence in Western countries. The lack of effective treatments associated with the absence of early symptoms highlights the need to search for new therapeutic targets for CCA. Sulfatides (STs), a type of sulfoglycosphingolipids, have been found in the biliary tract, with increased levels in CCA and other types of cancer.

Myocarditis and pericarditis risk with mRNA COVID-19 vaccination compared to unvaccinated individuals: A retrospective cohort study in a Spanish Tertiary Hospital.

Objective: This study compared the incidence of pericarditis and myocarditis in patients exposed to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to the incidence in those who were not vaccinated, considering the incidence of these conditions resulting from COVID-19 infection.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of individuals assigned to health area of La Paz University Hospital in Spain. The exposure factor was vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines between December 27th, 2020 and January 9th, 2022 with a minimum follow-up of one month.