Multimodal single-cell analyses reveal mechanisms of perianal fistula in diverse patients with Crohn's disease.

Background: Crohn's disease complicated by perianal fistulae is more prevalent and severe in patients of African ancestry.

Methods: We profiled single cells from diverse patients with Crohn's disease with perianal fistula from colorectal mucosa and fistulous tracts. Immunofluorescence was performed to validate predicted cell-cell interactions.

Cytomegalovirus Colitis in a Patient with Severe Treatment Refractory Ulcerative Colitis.

Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) can be reactivated in ulcerative colitis (UC), but its role in progression of inflammation is unclear. Risk factors include severe colitis and treatment with immunosuppressive medications, particularly corticosteroids and immunomodulators.

Methods: We report a case of cytomegalovirus colitis in a pediatric patient with pancolitis who had been refractory to aminosalicylate, infliximab, and ustekinumab and was in clinical remission and with transmural response on upadacitinib.

Nano-delivery of Gemcitabine Derivative as a Therapeutic Strategy in a Desmoplastic KRAS Mutant Pancreatic Cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains one of the challenging malignancies to treat, and chemotherapy is the primary treatment strategy available to most patients. Gemcitabine, one of the oldest chemotherapeutic drugs approved for pancreatic cancer, has limited efficacy, due to low drug distribution to the tumor and chemoresistance following therapy. In this study, we delivered gemcitabine monophosphate using lipid calcium phosphate nanoparticles, to desmoplastic pancreatic tumors.

Cocaine Exposure Increases Blood Pressure and Aortic Stiffness via the miR-30c-5p-Malic Enzyme 1-Reactive Oxygen Species Pathway.

Cocaine abuse increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. By using a mouse model for cocaine abuse/use, we found that repeated cocaine injection led to increased blood pressure and aortic stiffness in mice associated with elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the aortas, a phenomenon similar to that observed in hypertensive humans. This ROS elevation was correlated with downregulation of Me1 (malic enzyme 1), an important redox molecule that counteracts ROS generation, and upregulation of microRNA (miR)-30c-5p that targets Me1 expression by directly binding to its 3'UTR (untranslated region).

Calcium signaling regulates ventricular hypertrophy during development independent of contraction or blood flow.

In utero interventions aimed at restoring left ventricular hemodynamic forces in fetuses with prenatally diagnosed hypoplastic left heart syndrome failed to stimulate ventricular myocardial growth during gestation, suggesting chamber growth during development may not rely upon fluid forces. We therefore hypothesized that ventricular hypertrophy during development may depend upon fundamental Ca(2+)-dependent growth pathways that function independent of hemodynamic forces. To test this hypothesis, zebrafish embryos were treated with inhibitors or activators of Ca(2+) signaling in the presence or absence of contraction during the period of chamber development.