Fine-Needle Portosystemic Pressure Gradient as a Reference for Portal Hypertension in Patients with Intrahepatic Venovenous Shunt: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the consistency and agreement between portal venous pressure measured by fine-needle (F), portal vein catheterization (D), and hepatic vein balloon-occlusion (W) in decompensated cirrhotic patients with intrahepatic venovenous shunts (IHVS).

Materials And Methods: 156 consecutive patients planning to receive transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in our center were screened for study participation. The F/D/W were assessed for consistency by Pearson coefficient (r), linear regression coefficient (R), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and for disagreement (error exceeding 20% of D) by Bland-Altman method.

Activatable Molecular Probes With Clinical Promise for NIR-II Fluorescent Imaging.

The second near-infrared window (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging has been widely adopted in basic scientific research and preclinical applications due to its exceptional spatiotemporal resolution and deep tissue penetration. Among the various fluorescent agents, organic small-molecule fluorophores are considered the most promising candidates for clinical translation, owing to their well-defined chemical structures, tunable optical properties, and excellent biocompatibility. However, many currently available NIR-II fluorophores exhibit an "always-on" fluorescence signal, which leads to background noise and compromises diagnostic accuracy during disease detection.

Depression Severity Mediates the Relationships Between Parenting Styles, Peer-Victimization and Mobile Phone Dependence in Adolescents.

Purpose: Negative parenting styles, peer victimization, and mobile phone dependence (MPD) are prevalent public health problems among adolescents. Parenting styles and peer victimization were reported to affect MPD, but their interaction and the mechanism underlying this association still need to be explored. This study aimed to examine how these factors affect MPD in adolescents with depression.

HER3: Updates and current biology function, targeted therapy and pathologic detecting methods.

Being a member of the EGFR tyrosine kinase family, HER3 has been shown to be overexpressed in a number of cancers, including breast cancer (BC). The kinase activity of HER3 is extremely low, and it forms heterodimers with partners, HER2 in particular, that promote biological processes like cell migration, survival, and proliferation by activating downstream carcinogenic signaling pathways. The overexpression of HER3 is also directly linked to tumor invasion, metastasis, and a poor prognosis.

Machine learning-based discrimination of unipolar depression and bipolar disorder with streamlined shortlist in adolescents of different ages.

Background: Variations in symptoms and indistinguishable depression episodes of unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar disorder (BD) make the discrimination difficult and time-consuming. For adolescents with high disease prevalence, an efficient diagnostic tool is important for the discrimination and treatment of BU and UD.

Methods: This multi-center cross-sectional study involved 1587 UD and 246 BD adolescents aged 12-18.

3D spheroid culture synchronizes heterogeneous MSCs into an immunomodulatory phenotype with enhanced anti-inflammatory effects.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are heterogeneous in morphology and transcriptome, resulting in varying therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we found that 3D spheroid culture of heterogeneous MSCs, which have undergone conventional 2D monolayer culture for 5-6 passages, synchronized the cells into a uniform cell population with dramatically reduced cell size, and considerably increased levels of immunosuppressive genes and growth factors. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis of the cells revealed that 3D MSCs consisted of 2 major cell subpopulations and both expressed high levels of immunosuppressive factors, compared to 6 subpopulations in 2D MSCs.

Peripheral Injection of hUC-MSCs in the Treatment of Acute Liver Failure: A Pre-Clinical Cohort Study in Rhesus Monkeys.

Background: Using a toxin-induced lethal acute liver failure (ALF) monkey model, we have recently shown that early peripheral infusion of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) can alleviate liver damage and improve animal survival by suppressing the activation of circulating monocytes and the subsequent cytokine storm. Here, we explored whether the administration of hUC-MSCs could still improve ALF when the cytokine storm is fully developed.

Method: We treated ALF monkeys with peripheral delivery of hUC-MSCs at 48 hr after toxin challenge.

Neoadjuvant therapy of sequential TACE, camrelizumab, and apatinib for single huge hepatocellular carcinoma (NEO-START): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The high recurrence rate after liver resection emphasizes the urgent need for neoadjuvant therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to enhance the overall prognosis for patients. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, camrelizumab combined with an anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) apatinib, have emerged as a first-line treatment option for patients with unresectable HCC, yet its neoadjuvant application in combination with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in HCC remains unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of sequential TACE, camrelizumab, and apatinib as a neoadjuvant therapy for single, huge HCC.

Suppression of STK39 weakens the MASLD/MASH process by protecting the intestinal barrier.

STK39 is reportedly a critical negative regulator of intestinal barrier. Pharmacological targeting of STK39 is expected to protect the intestinal barrier and thereby weaken metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH); Proximal colon biopsy tissues from patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and those without MASLD were analyzed for STK39 expression. Wildtype (WT) mice and systemic STK39 gene knockout (STK39) male mice were fed a normal diet or a high-fat methionine-choline deficient diet (HFMCD) for 8 weeks.

Unveiling the impact of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy on portal hemodynamics and survival after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: a prospective study.

Background And Aims: The placement of Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) results in a sudden increase in central circulating blood volume, which requires proper regulation of the cardiovascular system. We aimed to investigate the impact of TIPS on cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM).

Method: A consecutive case series of patients with cirrhosis who underwent TIPS were evaluated by echocardiography and pressure measurements before, immediately after TIPS and 2-4 days later (delayed).