Montelukast potentiates the relaxing effect of nifedipine in the porcine myometrium.

This study analysed the influence of montelukast (MON), a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist, and nifedipine, an L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channel blocker, on the contractility of the porcine uterine smooth muscle. Myometrial strips were collected from the sexually immature (n=8), cyclic (12-14 days of the oestrous cycle; n=8) and pregnant (27-28 days of pregnancy; n=8) gilts and stimulated with a) MON or nifedipine at concentrations of 10-8-10-4 M and b) increasing concentrations of nifedipine after previous administration of MON at a concentration of 10-4 M. The changes in the tension, amplitude and frequency of contractions were determined with the Hugo Sachs Elektronik equipment for measuring isometric contractions.

is implicated in central nervous system, orofacial and maxillofacial anomalies.

Background: Previous studies in mouse, and zebrafish embryos show strong expression in progenitor cells of neuronal and neural crest tissues suggesting its involvement in neural crest specification. However, the role of human transcription factor activator protein 2 ( in human embryonic central nervous system (CNS), orofacial and maxillofacial development is unknown.

Methods: Through a collaborative work, exome survey was performed in families with congenital CNS, orofacial and maxillofacial anomalies.

Role of ZFHX4 in orofacial clefting based on human genetic data and zebrafish models.

Orofacial clefting (OFC) is a frequent congenital anomaly and can occur either in the context of underlying syndromes or in isolation (nonsyndromic). The two common OFC phenotypes are cleft lip with/without cleft palate (CL/P) and cleft palate only (CPO). In this study, we searched for penetrant CL/P genes, by evaluating de novo copy number variants (CNV) from an exome sequencing dataset of 50 nonsyndromic patient-parent trios.

Dendritic cell effector mechanisms and tumor immune microenvironment infiltration define TLR8 modulation and PD-1 blockade.

The potent immunostimulatory effects of toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) agonism in combination with PD-1 blockade have resulted in various preclinical investigations, yet the mechanism of action in humans remains unknown. To decipher the combinatory mode of action of TLR8 agonism and PD-1 blockade, we employed a unique, open-label, phase 1b pre-operative window of opportunity clinical trial (NCT03906526) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients. Matched pre- and post-treatment tumor biopsies from the same lesion were obtained.

Outcomes of children with isolated antenatal hydronephrosis.

Background: Antenatal hydronephrosis (ANH) is one of the most common abnormalities detected during prenatal ultrasound. There is significant variability in the postnatal management of ANH. Our objective was to report the outcomes of patients with ANH, spontaneous resolution rates, surgical intervention rates, and factors contributing to these parameters.