Publications by authors named "Novakovic B"

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is challenging to classify and effectively monitor due to the lack of disease- and subtype-specific biomarkers. A robust molecular signature that tracks with specific JIA features over time is urgently required, and targeted plasma metabolomics may reveal such a signature. The primary aim of this study was to characterise the differences in the plasma metabolome between JIA patients and non-JIA controls and identify specific markers of JIA subtype.

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Healthy nutrition is necessary for a good quality of life and reduction in the risk of developing diseases. Research indicates that students do not usually have healthy eating habits. Knowledge about nutrition, dietary guidelines, food groups and the nutrients they contain, the selection and adequate preparation of food, and the health consequences of unhealthy nutrition can influence the eating habits of students.

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Innate immune cells can develop a long-lasting hyperresponsive phenotype, termed trained immunity, mediated by epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming. In mice, exposure to Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), β-glucan, or Western diet induces trained immunity by reprogramming hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs), through interleukin-1β (IL-1β) signaling in the bone marrow (BM). We investigated whether IL-1β induces trained immunity in primary human BM-derived HPCs in vitro.

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Malaria remains a global health challenge, affecting millions annually. Hemozoin (Hz) deposition in the bone marrow disrupts hematopoiesis and modulates immune responses, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we show that persistent hemozoin deposition induces a sustained bias toward myelopoiesis, increasing peripheral myeloid cell numbers.

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Type I interferons (IFN1s) mediate innate responses to microbial stimuli and regulate interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (Ra) production in human cells. This study explores interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) alterations in the transcriptome of patients with gout and stimulated human primary cells in vitro in relation to serum urate concentrations. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monocytes of patients with gout were primed in vitro with soluble urate, followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation.

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Article Synopsis
  • Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) is linked to increased autism symptoms and diagnosis in young boys with low aromatase gene activity.
  • Research indicates that high BPA levels impact brain methylation patterns related to aromatase, which may mediate the risk of autism.
  • Male mice studies suggest that mid-gestation BPA exposure causes ASD-like behaviors, but these can be improved with the intervention of 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10HDA).
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Gut flora is considered to modulate lipid transport from the intestine into the bloodstream, and thus may potentially participate in the development of GDM. Although previous studies have shown that the intestinal microbiota influences lipid transport and metabolism in GDM, the precise mechanisms remain elusive. To address this, we used a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced GDM mouse model and conducted 16s rRNA sequencing and fecal metabolomics to assess gut microbial community shifts and associated metabolite changes.

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In utero exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) programs the fetus, increasing offspring risk for endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease later in life. Hyperglycaemia is widely recognized as the driving force of diabetes-induced programming. We have previously shown that GDM exposure alters DNA methylation and gene expression associated with actin remodelling in primary feto-placental arterial endothelial cells (fpEC).

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Cardiometabolic risk accrues across the life course and childhood and adolescence are key periods for effective prevention. Obesity is associated with inflammation in adults, but pediatric data are scarce. In a cross-sectional and longitudinal study, we investigated immune cell composition and activation in 31 adolescents with obesity (41.

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Context: The plasma metabolome is a functional readout of metabolic activity and is associated with phenotypes exhibiting sexual dimorphism, such as cardiovascular disease. Sex hormones are thought to play a key role in driving sexual dimorphism.

Objective: Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is a cornerstone of transgender care, but longitudinal changes in the plasma metabolome with feminizing GAHT have not been described.

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Innate immune cells can undergo long-term functional reprogramming after certain infections, a process called trained immunity (TI). Here, we focus on antigens of Leishmania braziliensis, which induced anti-tumor effects via trained immunity in human monocytes. We reveal that monocytes exposed to promastigote antigens of L.

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Background: Preterm infants are more likely to experience severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease compared to term infants. The reasons for this are multi-factorial, however their immature immune system is believed to be a major contributing factor.

Methods: We collected cord blood from 25 preterm (gestational age 30.

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Background: Detection of bone marrow involvement (BMI) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) typically relies on invasive bone marrow biopsy (BMB) that faces procedure limitations, while F-FDG PET/CT imaging offers a noninvasive alternative. The present study assesses the performance of F-FDG PET/CT in DLBCL BMI detection, its agreement with BMB, and the impact of BMI on survival outcomes.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study analyzes baseline F-FDG PET/CT and BMB findings in145 stage II-IV DLBCL patients, evaluating both performance of the two diagnostic procedures and the impact of BMI on survival.

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Objective: Hyperuricaemia is necessary for gout. High urate concentrations have been linked to inflammation in mononuclear cells. Here, we explore the role of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) in urate-induced inflammation.

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Introduction: Monochorionic, diamniotic (MCDA) monozygotic twins share nearly all genetic variation and a common placenta . Despite this, MCDA twins are often discordant for a range of common phenotypes, including early growth and birth weight. As such, MCDA twins represent a unique model to explore variation in early growth attributable primarily to environmental factors.

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Being overweight and obese is associated with an elevated risk of developing noncommunicable diseases, which are the leading causes of mortality worldwide. It is a warning that global prevalence of overweight among university students ranges from 20 to 40%, which presents a significant public health problem. To date, there was no research conducted on medical students regarding the prevalence and associated factors of overweight and obesity in the countries of the Western Balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Serbia).

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Traditional vaccines are difficult to deploy against the diverse antimicrobial-resistant, nosocomial pathogens that cause health care-associated infections. We developed a protein-free vaccine composed of aluminum hydroxide, monophosphoryl lipid A, and fungal mannan that improved survival and reduced bacterial burden of mice with invasive blood or lung infections caused by methicillin-resistant , vancomycin-resistant , extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-expressing , and carbapenem-resistant strains of , , and The vaccine also conferred protection against the fungi and . Efficacy was apparent by 24 hours and lasted for up to 28 days after a single vaccine dose, with a second dose restoring efficacy.

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Background & Aims: Exposure to a range of elements, air pollution, and specific dietary components in pregnancy has variously been associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk or infant neurodevelopmental problems. We measured a range of pregnancy exposures in maternal hair and/or infant cord serum and tested their relationship to GDM and infant neurodevelopment.

Methods: A total of 843 pregnant women (GDM = 224, Non-GDM = 619) were selected from the Complex Lipids in Mothers and Babies cohort study.

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High gestational weight gain (GWG) is a cardiovascular risk factor and may disturb neonatal endothelial function. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression epigenetically and can modulate endothelial function. Endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs), circulating endothelial precursors, are a recruitable source of endothelial cells and sustain endothelial function, vascular growth and repair.

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Background: Monochorionic (MC) twins present a higher incidence of unfavorable clinical perinatal outcomes than dichorionic (DC) twins, often in association with placental vascular anastomosis. In this study, we profiled the umbilical cord plasma metabolomes of uncomplicated MC and DC twin pregnancies and related these to several offspring outcomes, previously associated with birthweight.

Methods: Umbilical vein blood samples were collected at birth from 25 pairs of uncomplicated MC twins and 24 pairs of uncomplicated DC twins.

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Background: Maternal dietary choline has a central role in foetal brain development and may be associated with later cognitive function. However, many countries are reporting lower than recommended intake of choline during pregnancy.

Methods: Dietary choline was estimated using food frequency questionnaires in pregnant women participating in population-derived birth cohort, the Barwon Infant Study (BIS).

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Itaconate is an immunomodulatory metabolite produced by immune cells under microbial stimulation and certain pro-inflammatory conditions and triggers antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. We show that dimethyl itaconate, a derivative of itaconate previously linked to suppression of inflammation and widely employed as an alternative to the endogenous metabolite, can induce long-term transcriptional, epigenomic, and metabolic changes, characteristic of trained immunity. Dimethyl itaconate alters glycolytic and mitochondrial energetic metabolism, ultimately leading to increased responsiveness to microbial ligand stimulation.

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Immunoparalysis is a compensatory and persistent anti-inflammatory response to trauma, sepsis or another serious insult, which increases the risk of opportunistic infections, morbidity and mortality. Here, we show that in cultured primary human monocytes, interleukin-4 (IL4) inhibits acute inflammation, while simultaneously inducing a long-lasting innate immune memory named trained immunity. To take advantage of this paradoxical IL4 feature in vivo, we developed a fusion protein of apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) and IL4, which integrates into a lipid nanoparticle.

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Background: Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) may perturb DNA methylation (DNAm) in early embryonic development. Although a handful of epigenome-wide association studies of ART have been published, none have investigated CpGs on the X chromosome. To bridge this knowledge gap, we leveraged one of the largest collections of mother-father-newborn trios of ART and non-ART (natural) conceptions to date to investigate sex-specific DNAm differences on the X chromosome.

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