Translocation of black carbon particles to human intestinal tissue.

Background: Evidence is accumulating that elevated levels of particulate air pollution, including black carbon, have been linked to gastrointestinal disorders and a lower intestinal bacterial richness and diversity. One of the hypothesized underlying mechanisms is the absorption of air pollution-related particles from the gastrointestinal tract.

Methods: We visualized and quantified black carbon particles via white light generation under femtosecond-pulsed laser illumination in ileum and colon biopsies of five human patients.

Artificial Intelligence Models for the Detection of Microsatellite Instability from Whole-Slide Imaging of Colorectal Cancer.

With the advent of whole-slide imaging (WSI), a technology that can digitally scan whole slides in high resolution, pathology is undergoing a digital revolution. Detecting microsatellite instability (MSI) in colorectal cancer is crucial for proper treatment, as it identifies patients responsible for immunotherapy. Even though universal testing for MSI is recommended, particularly in patients affected by colorectal cancer (CRC), many patients remain untested, and they reside mainly in low-income countries.

Lessons from autopsy: Topographical variability of atherosclerosis plaques.

Atherosclerosis is a complex disease characterized by the accumulation of plaques in arterial walls. Understanding its pathogenesis remains incomplete, with factors like inflammation, oxidative stress, and hypertension playing critical roles. The disease exhibits preferential localization of plaques, with variability observed even within the same individual.

The fascinating theory of fetal programming of adult diseases: A review of the fundamentals of the Barker hypothesis.

The theory of fetal programming of adult diseases was first proposed by David J.P. Barker in the eighties of the previous century, to explain the higher susceptibility of some people toward the development of ischemic heart disease.

High-grade HER2-positive mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the breast: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the breast is a rare special type of salivary gland-like tumor of the breast, usually displaying triple-negative phenotype. To date, only 64 cases have been reported in the English literature. Herein, we report the first case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the breast with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 gene amplification.

L1CAM expression in human gastrointestinal tract development: From tongue to colon-rectum.

Background: L1CAM (L1 cell adhesion molecule) is a member of the L1 family of neural adhesion molecules, involved in the development of multiple organs and tissues, including kidneys, the enteric nervous system, and adrenal glands. The aim of this study was to analyze, at the immunohistochemical level, the expression of L1CAM in the human tongue, parotid glands, and the different segments of the gastrointestinal tract during human development.

Design And Method: Immunohistochemical analysis for L1CAM was performed in the human tongue, parotid glands, and in the different segments of the gastrointestinal tract during development, starting from the 8th up to the 32nd week of gestation.

Peri-zygomatic infection associated with zygomatic implants: A retrospective longitudinal cohort study.

Objectives: The main objective of this retrospective, longitudinal, cohort study was to describe the occurrence of peri-zygomatic infection (PZI) as a complication associated with zygomatic implant (ZI) placement in a period of 22 years.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective search was carried out in the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery of Saint John's hospital in Genk, Belgium. Patients that had a severely atrophic fully or partially edentulous maxilla, and at least one ZI placed, were included.

Zinc as a Drug for Wilson's Disease, Non-Alcoholic Liver Disease and COVID-19-Related Liver Injury.

Zinc is the second most abundant trace element in the human body, and it plays a fundamental role in human physiology, being an integral component of hundreds of enzymes and transcription factors. The discovery that zinc atoms may compete with copper for their absorption in the gastrointestinal tract let to introduce zinc in the therapy of Wilson's disease, a congenital disorder of copper metabolism characterized by a systemic copper storage. Nowadays, zinc salts are considered one of the best therapeutic approach in patients affected by Wilson's disease.

Gold Nanoparticles: A New Golden Era in Oncology?

In recent years, the spectrum of possible applications of gold in diagnostics and therapeutic approaches in clinical practice has changed significantly, becoming surprisingly broad. Nowadays, gold-based therapeutic agents are used in the therapy of multiple human diseases, ranging from degenerative to infectious diseases and, in particular, to cancer. At the basis of these performances of gold, there is the development of new gold-based nanoparticles, characterized by a promising risk/benefit ratio that favors their introduction in clinical trials.

Copper-Induced Epigenetic Changes Shape the Clinical Phenotype in Wilson's Disease.

Wilson's disease is a congenital disorder of copper metabolism whose pathogenesis remains, at least in part, unknown. Subjects carrying the same genotype may show completely different phenotypes, differing for the age at illness onset or for the hepatic, neurologic or psychiatric clinical presentation. The inability to find a unequivocal correlation between the type of mutation in the ATPase copper transporting beta (ATP7B) gene and the phenotypic manifestation, has encouraged many authors to look for epigenetic factors interacting with the genetic changes.

Ambient black carbon particles reach the fetal side of human placenta.

Particle transfer across the placenta has been suggested but to date, no direct evidence in real-life, human context exists. Here we report the presence of black carbon (BC) particles as part of combustion-derived particulate matter in human placentae using white-light generation under femtosecond pulsed illumination. BC is identified in all screened placentae, with an average (SD) particle count of 0.

Body surface area-based versus concentration-based intraperitoneal perioperative chemotherapy in a rat model of colorectal peritoneal surface malignancy: pharmacologic guidance towards standardization.

Worldwide, cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal perioperative chemotherapy (HIPEC) are used in current clinical practice for colorectal peritoneal surface malignancy (PSM) treatment. Although, there is an acknowledged standardization regarding the CRS, we are still lacking a much-needed standardization amongst the various intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy protocols, including the HIPEC dosing regimen. We should rely on pharmacologic evidence building towards such a standardization.

The role of neuropathological markers in the interpretation of neuropsychiatric disorders: Focus on fetal and perinatal programming.

The study of neuropathological markers in patients affected by mental/psychiatric disorders is relevant for the comprehension of the pathogenesis and the correlation with the clinical symptomatology. The neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) recognizes intraneuronal and extracellular neurofibrillary formation responsible for neuronal degeneration. Immunohistochemical studies discovered many interesting results for a better interpretation of the AD pathogenesis, while the "metal hypothesis" supports that metal ions might differentially influence the formation of amyloid aggregates.

Interstitial stromal progenitors during kidney development: here, there and everywhere.

In recent years, the renal interstitium has been identified as the site of multiple cell types, giving rise to multiple contiguous cellular networks with multiple fundamental structural and functional roles. Few studies have been carried out on the morphological and functional properties of the stromal/interstitial renal cells during the intrauterine life. This work was aimed at reviewing the peculiar features of renal interstitial stem/progenitor cells involved in kidney development.

Overlapping between CYP3A4 and CYP3A7 expression in the fetal human liver during development.

Objective: The cytochrome P450 (CYP450) superfamily is implicated in important life processes, including metabolism of many molecules. CYP3A account for the largest portion of CYP450 proteins in human, including CYP3A4, CYP3A5 and CYP3A7. The purpose of this study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of CYP3A4 and CYP3A7 in human liver at different post-conceptional (PC) ages.

Roux-en-y gastric bypass attenuates hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in mice with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Objective: No therapy for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has been approved so far. Roux-en-y gastric bypass (RYGB) is emerging as a therapeutic option, although its effect on NASH and related hepatic molecular pathways is unclear from human studies. We studied the effect of RYGB on pre-existent NASH and hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction-a key player in NASH pathogenesis-in a novel diet-induced mouse model nicely mimicking human disease.

Aluminum exposure and toxicity in neonates: a practical guide to halt aluminum overload in the prenatal and perinatal periods.

Background: During the last years, human newborns have been overexposed to biologically reactive aluminum, with possible relevant consequences on their future health and on their susceptibility to a variety of diseases. Children, newborns and particularly preterm neonates are at an increased risk of aluminum toxicity because of their relative immaturity.

Data Sources: Based on recent original publications and classical data of the literatures, we reviewed the aluminum content in mother's food during the intrauterine life as well as in breast milk and infant formula during lactation.

Factors influencing the development of a personal tailored microbiota in the neonate, with particular emphasis on antibiotic therapy.

In recent years, it has been clearly evidenced that most cells in a human being are not human: they are microbial, represented by more than 1000 microbial species. The vast majority of microbial species give rise to symbiotic host-bacterial interactions that are fundamental for human health. The complex of these microbial communities has been defined as microbiota or microbiome.

CD44 immunoreactivity in the developing human kidney: a marker of renal progenitor stem cells?

CD44 is a transmembrane adhesion glycoprotein, functioning as a hyaluronan receptor and participating in the uptake and degradation of hyaluronan. Recently, CD44 has been proposed in the adult kidney as a marker of activated glomerular parietal epithelial cells, the putative niche stem cells that, in case of damage to podocytes, might migrate inside the glomerular tuft and undergo transition to podocytes. Here, immunoreactivity for CD44 was tested in 18 human fetuses and newborns with a gestational age ranging from 11 to 39 weeks.

"Physiological" renal regenerating medicine in VLBW preterm infants: could a dream come true?

An emerging hypothesis from the recent literature explain how specific adverse factors related with growth retardation as well as of low birth weight (LBW) might influence renal development during fetal life and then the insurgence of hypertension and renal disease in adulthood. In this article, after introducing a brief overview of human nephrogenesis, the most important factors influencing nephron number at birth will be reviewed, focusing on the "in utero" experiences that lead to an increased risk of developing hypertension and/or kidney disease in adult. Since nephrogenesis in preterm human newborns does not stop at birth, but it continues for 4-6 weeks postnatally, a better knowledge of the mechanisms able to accelerate nephrogenesis in the perinatal period, could represent a powerful tool in the hands of neonatologists.

Hepatic injury to the newborn liver due to drugs.

The result of the use of drugs in the newborn may be strongly influenced by the peculiar state of the neonate, characterized by the immaturity, at birth, of the processes controlling the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs. Additional important factors that may affect drugs' bioavailability and toxicity are gestational age, birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, gender and, especially, liver function immaturity. Because of the high susceptibility to infections, antibiotics, in particular ampicillin and gentamicin, are the most widely used drugs in newborns.

A bronchogenic cyst, presenting as a retroperitoneal cystic mass.

Bronchogenic cysts are mostly benign, congenital abnormalities originating from the remnants of the primitive foregut. A retroperitoneal location is rare. Due to the mostly asymptomatic behavior and the historical confusion regarding histology, an exact prevalence is not known.

MUC1 in mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition during human nephrogenesis: changing the fate of renal progenitor/stem cells?

Background: The development of the human kidney is a complex process requiring interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells. The condensed cap mesenchyme is hypothesized to generate a population of stem/progenitor cells that undergo mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) originating nephrons. Few immunohistochemical markers are available for detecting cap mesenchymal cells in the early phases of MET.

Expression of WT1 during normal human kidney development.

Wilms Tumor 1 (WT1) is a zinc finger protein, expressed by human podocytes in the adult kidney, which plays a relevant role in different phases of nephrogenesis in experimental animals. Since no data are available for specific role in the human fetal kidney, this study aimed at investigating the expression of WT1 during the different phases of nephrogenesis. To this end, the expression of WT1 was evaluated in the kidneys, from four human fetuses and two newborns.

Morphogenesis and molecular mechanisms involved in human kidney development.

The development of the human kidney is a complex process that requires interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells, eventually leading to the coordinated growth and differentiation of multiple highly specialized stromal, vascular, and epithelial cell types. The application of molecular biology and immunocytochemistry to the study of cell types involved in renal morphogenesis is leading to a better understanding of nephrogenesis, which requires a fine balance of many factors that can be disturbed by various prenatal events in humans. The aim of this paper is to review human kidney organogenesis, with particular emphasis on the sequence of morphological events, on the immunohistochemical peculiarities of nephron progenitor populations and on the molecular pathways regulating the process of mesenchymal to epithelial transition.