ABCA4 Deep Intronic Variants Contributed to Nearly Half of Unsolved Stargardt Cases With a Milder Phenotype.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution and natural progression of ABCA4 deep intronic variants (DIVs) among a Chinese Stargardt disease (STGD) cohort.

Methods: For unsolved STGD probands, DIVs in ABCA4 were detected by next-generation sequencing, and splicing effects were evaluated by in silico tools and validated through minigene experiments. Comprehensive ocular examinations, especially fundus changes, were carried out and analyzed.

Partially hydrolyzed guar gum alleviates neurological deficits and gastrointestinal dysfunction in mice with traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)-associated neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity can induce gastrointestinal dysfunction through the brain-gut axis. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) was demonstrated to exert beneficial health effects by altering gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production. Our study aimed to explore the effects of PHGG on gastrointestinal dysfunction in TBI mouse models.

Cathepsin B Activatable Fluorescent Probe for Antitumor Efficiency Feedback: Attempt To Detect Certain Apoptotic Cells.

As many treatments kill tumor cells by inducing apoptosis, fluorescent probes that can detect apoptosis are crucial for effective feedback regarding tumor therapy outcomes (in particular, activatable probes for better imaging). Cathepsins are enzymes that are released from lysosomes into the cytoplasm during lysosomal membrane permeabilization-induced apoptosis of many tumor cells, making them potential biomarkers of apoptotic cells. Despite their potential, to the best of our knowledge, no cathepsin-activatable fluorescent probes have been reported for this purpose.

Enhancing furcation involvement classification on panoramic radiographs with vision transformers.

Background: The severity of furcation involvement (FI) directly affected tooth prognosis and influenced treatment approaches. However, assessing, diagnosing, and treating molars with FI was complicated by anatomical and morphological variations. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) enhanced diagnostic accuracy for detecting FI and measuring furcation defects.

Altered mitochondrial unfolded protein response and FGF21 secretion in MASLD progression and the effect of exercise intervention.

A high-calorie diet and lack of exercise are the most important risk factors contributing to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) initiation and progression. The precise molecular mechanisms of mitochondrial function alteration during MASLD development remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, a total of 60 male C57BL/6J mice were maintained on a normal or amylin liver NASH (AMLN) diet for 6 or 10 weeks.