Comparing return of bowel function after right versus extended right hemicolectomy: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Prolonged postoperative ileus (PPOI) is associated with higher morbidity and extended inpatient stay. Although evidence suggests that PPOI is more common following right-sided resections, it is uncertain if return to bowel function is similar following extended right (ERH) versus right hemicolectomy (RH).

Methods: The recovery of patients undergoing ERH and RH in a regional hospital in New Zealand was retrospectively compared, from 2012 to 2021.

A Simplified Method for Generating Kidney Organoids from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Kidney organoids generated from hPSCs have provided an unlimited source of renal tissue. Human kidney organoids are an invaluable tool for studying kidney disease and injury, developing cell-based therapies, and testing new therapeutics. For such applications, large numbers of uniform organoids and highly reproducible assays are needed.

Protocol for Large-Scale Production of Kidney Organoids from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Kidney organoids represent a physiologically advanced model for studying the mechanisms of kidney development and disease. Here, we describe a simple two-step protocol for the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into kidney organoids. Our approach involves suspension culture that allows for rapid and cost-effective bulk production of organoids, which is well suited for large-scale assays such as drug screening.

Derivation of induced pluripotent stem cell lines from New Zealand donors.

We aimed to generate human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from New Zealand donors. These lines are the first to be generated in New Zealand. Human dermal fibroblasts were collected from two individual donors and reprogrammed with the human OSKM transcription factors using the Sendai virus system.

Use of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Kidney Organoids To Develop a Cysteamine/mTOR Inhibition Combination Therapy for Cystinosis.

Background: Mutations in -a gene encoding the cystine transporter cystinosin-cause the rare, autosomal, recessive, lysosomal-storage disease cystinosis. Research has also implicated cystinosin in modulating the mTORC1 pathway, which serves as a core regulator of cellular metabolism, proliferation, survival, and autophagy. In its severest form, cystinosis is characterized by cystine accumulation, renal proximal tubule dysfunction, and kidney failure.

A Simple Bioreactor-Based Method to Generate Kidney Organoids from Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Kidney organoids made from pluripotent stem cells have the potential to revolutionize how kidney development, disease, and injury are studied. Current protocols are technically complex, suffer from poor reproducibility, and have high reagent costs that restrict scalability. To overcome some of these issues, we have established a simple, inexpensive, and robust method to grow kidney organoids in bulk from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Derivation of Corneal Keratocyte-Like Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Corneal diseases such as keratoconus represent a relatively common disorder in the human population. However, treatment is restricted to corneal transplantation, which only occurs in the most advanced cases. Cell based therapies may offer an alternative approach given that the eye is amenable to such treatments and corneal diseases like keratoconus have been associated specifically with the death of corneal keratocytes.

Interleukin-1 Antagonist Anakinra in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis--A Pilot Study.

Unlabelled: Preclinical studies show that blocking Interleukin-1 (IL-1) retards the progression of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). We assessed the safety of Anakinra (ANA), an IL-1 receptor antagonist, in ALS patients. In a single arm pilot study we treated 17 ALS patients with ANA (100 mg) daily for one year.

De novo partial deletion in GRID2 presenting with complicated spastic paraplegia.

Introduction: Complex forms of spastic paraplegia (SPG) are rare and genetically heterogeneous. In apparently sporadic cases, analysis of known SPG genes often fails to reveal a mutation.

Methods: We report a 24-year-old patient with a syndrome of spastic paraplegia, ataxia, frontotemporal dementia, and lower motor neuron involvement.

Severe loss of appetite in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients: online self-assessment study.

Background: Undesirable loss of weight is a major challenge in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, little is known about loss of appetite in ALS patients.

Objective: We investigated loss of appetite in ALS patients by means of an online self-assessment and whether ALS-related symptoms were associated with it.

Online assessment of ALS functional rating scale compares well to in-clinic evaluation: a prospective trial.

Self-assessment of symptom progression in chronic diseases is of increasing importance in clinical research, patient management and specialized outpatient care. Against this background, we developed a secure internet platform (ALShome.de) that allows online assessment of the revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) and other established self-assessment questionnaires.

Identification of adult nephron progenitors capable of kidney regeneration in zebrafish.

Loss of kidney function underlies many renal diseases. Mammals can partly repair their nephrons (the functional units of the kidney), but cannot form new ones. By contrast, fish add nephrons throughout their lifespan and regenerate nephrons de novo after injury, providing a model for understanding how mammalian renal regeneration may be therapeutically activated.

Global loss of imprinting leads to widespread tumorigenesis in adult mice.

Loss of imprinting (LOI), commonly observed in human tumors, refers to loss of monoallelic gene regulation normally conferred by parent-of-origin-specific DNA methylation. To test the function of LOI in tumorigenesis, we developed a model by using transient demethylation to generate imprint-free mouse embryonic stem cells (IF-ES cells). Embryonic fibroblasts derived from IF-ES cells (IF-MEFs) display TGFbeta resistance and reduced p19 and p53 expression and form tumors in SCID mice.

Complexity of CNC transcription factors as revealed by gene targeting of the Nrf3 locus.

Cap'n'collar (CNC) family basic leucine zipper transcription factors play crucial roles in the regulation of mammalian gene expression and development. To determine the in vivo function of the CNC protein Nrf3 (NF-E2-related factor 3), we generated mice deficient in this transcription factor. We performed targeted disruption of two Nrf3 exons coding for CNC homology, basic DNA-binding, and leucine zipper dimerization domains.

Foamy virus integration.

It had been suggested that during integration of spumaretroviruses (foamy viruses) the right (U5) end of the cDNA is processed, while the left (U3) remains uncleaved. We confirmed this hypothesis by sequencing two-long terminal repeat (LTR) circle junctions of unintegrated DNA. Based on an infectious foamy virus molecular clone, a set of constructs harboring mutations at the 5' end of the U3 region in the 3' LTR was analyzed for particle export, reverse transcription, and replication.

Probucol prevents early coronary heart disease and death in the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI/apolipoprotein E double knockout mouse.

Mice with homozygous null mutations in the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI (scavenger receptor class B, type I) and apolipoprotein E genes fed a low-fat diet exhibit a constellation of pathologies shared with human atherosclerotic coronary heart disease (CHD): hypercholesterolemia, occlusive coronary atherosclerosis, myocardial infarctions, cardiac dysfunction (heart enlargement, reduced systolic function and ejection fraction, and ECG abnormalities), and premature death (mean age 6 weeks). They also exhibit a block in RBC maturation and abnormally high plasma unesterified-to-total cholesterol ratio (0.8) with associated abnormal lipoprotein morphology (lamellar/vesicular and stacked discoidal particles reminiscent of those in lecithin/cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency and cholestasis).

Failure of red blood cell maturation in mice with defects in the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI.

Mammalian erythrocytes undergo a unique maturation process in which they discard their nuclei and organelles and assume a flexible biconcave shape. We found that altered plasma lipoprotein metabolism can profoundly influence these events. Abnormal erythrocyte morphology was observed in hypercholesterolemic mice lacking the high-density lipoprotein receptor SR-BI.