Publications by authors named "Matteo Montani"

Alteration in lipid metabolism plays a pivotal role in developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). However, our understanding of alteration in lipid metabolism across liver zonation in MASH remains limited. Within this study, we investigated MASH-associated zone-specific lipid metabolism in a diet and chemical-induced MASH mouse model.

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  • The current standard for preventing rejection in vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) uses systemic immunosuppression, which poses significant side effects, leading to interest in local immunosuppression methods.
  • Researchers investigated a local drug delivery system for tacrolimus (TGMS-TAC) to reduce toxicity and enhance graft survival, showing promising results in a porcine model, although some rejection signs were noted.
  • Results indicated that while systemic immune responses remained stable, local tissue analysis revealed infiltration of immune cells and involvement of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the rejection process, highlighting the need for better understanding of VCA graft rejection mechanisms.
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Tissue-invasive cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease represents a well-recognized complication after kidney transplantation. However, direct involvement of the urogenital tract and CMV-ureteritis occur less frequently. Nephrogenic adenomas are benign lesions of the urinary tract preferentially reported in kidney transplant recipients.

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Background: Extracellular volume (ECV) correlates with the degree of liver fibrosis.

Purpose: To analyze the performance of liver MRI-based ECV evaluations with different blood pool measurements at different time points.

Study Type: Prospective.

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Human anterior gradient-2 (AGR2) has been implicated in carcinogenesis of various solid tumours, but the expression data in prostate cancer are contradictory regarding its prognostic value. The objective of this study is to evaluate the expression of AGR2 in a large prostate cancer cohort and to correlate it with clinicopathological data. AGR2 protein expression was analysed immunohistochemically in 1023 well-characterized prostate cancer samples with a validated antibody.

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Background & Aims: Lipid metabolism plays an important role in liver pathophysiology. The liver lobule asymmetrically distributes oxygen and nutrition, resulting in heterogeneous metabolic functions. Periportal and pericentral hepatocytes have different metabolic functions, which lead to generating liver zonation.

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  • High-dose irradiation is effective for controlling liver tumors, but it can lead to radiation-induced liver disease (RILD), characterized by liver fibrosis and serious complications.
  • A mouse model was developed to study RILD, utilizing a targeted irradiation method, and various analyses were performed over time to assess liver damage and cellular changes.
  • Findings revealed that irradiation caused mitochondrial dysfunction, gene expression changes linked to DNA damage and senescence, and increased reactive oxygen species, contributing to the development of liver fibrosis.
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The use of herbal and dietary supplements is increasing worldwide. Consumers consider it as a natural, and therefore safe and healthy alternative to conventional synthetic drugs and do not expect adverse effects. However, numerous herbal and dietary supplements have been associated with adverse hepatic reactions of variable severity.

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  • The study examined how the severity of fatty liver and inflammation influences liver stiffness measurements (LSM) using two different methods in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
  • Results showed that 2D-SWE provided a stronger correlation with liver fibrosis compared to TE, indicating it may be a more accurate method for assessing liver health.
  • Inflammatory activity impacted LSM measured by TE but not by 2D-SWE, while the severity of liver fat (steatosis) did not significantly alter the relationship between LSM and liver fibrosis in either method.
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The development of autoimmune diseases has been reported after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 could also trigger auto-immunity, as it has been described with other vaccines. An aberrant immune response induced by molecular mimicry and bystander activation, especially in predisposed individuals, is a potential mechanism.

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Introduction: Solitary juvenile polyps (JP) are characterized by a benign disease course with low recurrence rate but present with signs of intestinal inflammation. To better understand the underlying pathogenesis, we performed histological and molecular evaluation targeting distinct immune mechanisms.

Methods: Pediatric patients with JP (n = 12), with treatment-naïve inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; [n = 41]) as inflammatory control, and non-IBD controls (n = 14) were investigated.

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Background And Aim: Acute decompensation and death have been observed in patients with acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection and preexisting liver cirrhosis. However, the clinical, laboratory and histological features need to be fully characterised.

Methods: Some of us recently described the histological presentation of hepatitis E in a large panel of liver tissue specimens.

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Background: Treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are limited, and overall survival is poor. Despite the high frequency of this malignoma, its basic disease mechanisms are poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use different methodological approaches and combine the results to improve our knowledge on the development and progression of HCC.

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Background: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors of the liver (IMTL) are extremely rare neoplasms and very little is known about their clinical presentation, pathogenesis, and biological behavior. Due to their absolute rarity, it is almost impossible to obtain a definite diagnosis without histological examination. Because of their intermediate biological behavior with the risk for local recurrence and metastases, surgical resection is recommend whenever IMTL is suspect.

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Infection with the hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the main causes of acute hepatitis worldwide. Given that, the histopathology of hepatitis E is relatively poorly characterized, and it is unclear what exactly determines its remarkable variability. The aim of our study was a systematic analysis of hepatitis E histology, especially with regard to the clinical setting.

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Background/purpose: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare, life threatening hyperinflammatory syndrome. Sinusoidal hemophagocytosis is occasionally observed on liver biopsy in patients who do not have clinical suspicion of HLH. We aimed at comparing the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with signs of hemophagocytosis on liver biopsy meeting and not meeting the HLH diagnostic criteria.

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  • The study evaluates the effectiveness of the Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) for diagnosing and measuring fatty liver in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD).
  • Out of 461 patients, 111 were diagnosed with cACLD, with 79% showing signs of steatosis, particularly high-grade steatosis in 43 patients, highlighting the condition's prevalence in this demographic.
  • CAP demonstrated strong diagnostic accuracy for identifying any level of steatosis and high-grade steatosis, indicating it can be a reliable non-invasive tool for assessing liver health in patients with cACLD.
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Background & Aims: Patients with hepatic venous pressure gradients (HVPGs) of 10 mm Hg or greater and chronic liver disease often are assumed to have cirrhosis. We investigated the association between HVPGs and cirrhosis, using histologic findings as the reference standard. We also assessed the prevalence and characteristics of patients with HVPGs of 10 mm Hg or greater without cirrhosis.

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Portal hypertension (PH) is a common clinical syndrome leading to severe complications. In the western world, about 90% of cases of PH are due to liver cirrhosis, and thanks to the availability of ultrasound elastography methods, this diagnosis is usually confirmed at bedside. We report a case of a patient presenting with PH and ascites initially suspected of suffering from liver cirrhosis.

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Background/aims: Noninvasive markers of liver fibrosis in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) are crucial to establish early intervention. Previous studies have suggested that plasma levels of cleaved keratin-18 (K18; M30) fragments can predict the severity of liver disease. The aim of this study was to correlate plasma M30 levels with stages of liver fibrosis in ALD.

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Regular physical exercise has many beneficial effects, including antitumor properties, and is associated with a reduced risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Less is known about the impact of exercise on HCC growth and progression. Here, we investigated the effects of exercise on HCC progression and assessed whether any beneficial effects would be evident under sorafenib treatment and could be mimicked by metformin.

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BCL-2-related ovarian killer (BOK) is a conserved and widely expressed BCL-2 family member with sequence homology to pro-apoptotic BAX and BAK, but with poorly understood pathophysiological function. Since several members of the BCL-2 family are critically involved in the regulation of hepatocellular apoptosis and carcinogenesis we aimed to establish whether loss of BOK affects diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in mice. Short-term exposure to DEN lead to upregulation of BOK mRNA and protein in the liver.

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