Current approach to diagnosis and management of low-phospholipid associated cholelithiasis syndrome.

Purpose Of Review: Low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is a rare genetic form of intrahepatic cholesterol lithiasis, affecting mainly young adults. This review describes the recent advances in genetic and clinical characterization, diagnosis and management of LPAC syndrome.

Recent Findings: Recent publications report data from several retrospective cohorts.

Cerebral vein thrombosis: management tactics with a focus on pregnancy, the use of hormone therapy and assisted reproductive technologies.

Cerebral vein thrombosis is a rare, life-threatening condition that has now become more commonly diagnosed due to advancements in imaging techniques. Our purpose is to improve understanding of pathogenesis, diagnosis and pregnancy and IVF management in patients with a history of cerebral thrombosis. We present an overview of the modern tactics of anticoagulant therapy for cerebral thrombosis with a focus on pregnancy, the use of hormone therapy, and assisted reproductive technologies.

Robot-assisted myomectomy versus open surgery: Cost-effectiveness analysis.

Introduction: Fibroids are the most common benign uterine tumors. There are different possibilities for surgical approaches, and evaluating the cost of these operations is fundamental in modern surgery. The aim of our study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of robotic-assisted myomectomy (RAM) compared to open myomectomy (OM) in France.

Percutaneous cryoablation of abdominal wall endometriosis: a systematic literature review of safety and efficacy.

Purpose: To investigate over 10 years the safety and efficacy of percutaneous cryoablation for the treatment of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE).

Methods: A systematic review was conducted of literature published between March 2014 and March 2024. Inclusion criteria focused on treatment efficacy studies, while exclusion criteria targeted case reports and studies lacking pertinent outcome data.

The procoagulant signature of cancer cells drives fibrin network formation in tumor microenvironment and impacts its quality. Implications in cancer cell migration and the resistance to anticancer agents.

Introduction: Cancer cells induce hypercoagulability in the tumoral microenvironment by expressing Tissue Factor (TF). We aimed to study the impact of the procoagulant signature of cancer cells on the quality and structure of fibrin network. We also studied the impact of fibrin clot shield (FCS) on the efficiency of anticancer agents and the migration of cancer cells.

A Model for Membrane Degradation Using a Gelatin Invadopodia Assay.

One of the most crucial and lethal characteristics of solid tumors is represented by the increased ability of cancer cells to migrate and invade other organs during the so-called metastatic spread. This is allowed thanks to the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), enzymes capable of degrading a type of collagen abundant in the basal membrane separating the epithelial tissue from the connective one. In this work, we employ a synergistic experimental and mathematical modelling approach to explore the invasion process of tumor cells.

Evolutionary dynamics of glucose-deprived cancer cells: insights from experimentally informed mathematical modelling.

Glucose is a primary energy source for cancer cells. Several lines of evidence support the idea that monocarboxylate transporters, such as MCT1, elicit metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells in glucose-poor environments, allowing them to re-use lactate, a by-product of glucose metabolism, as an alternative energy source with serious consequences for disease progression. We employ a synergistic experimental and mathematical modelling approach to explore the evolutionary processes at the root of cancer cell adaptation to glucose deprivation, with particular focus on the mechanisms underlying the increase in MCT1 expression observed in glucose-deprived aggressive cancer cells.

A20 Haploinsufficiency: A Systematic Review of 177 Cases.

A20 haploinsufficiency is an autoinflammatory disease caused by defective inactivation of the NF-κB pathway. We conducted a systematic literature review of articles reporting patients with TNFAIP3 sequence variants from 2016 to August 2023 following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Data from 177 patients from 65 articles were retrieved (108 women).

Impact of radiological response and pattern of progression in patients with HCC treated by atezolizumab-bevacizumab.

Background And Aims: We aim to assess the role of radiological response to atezolizumab-bevacizumab in patients with HCC to predict overall survival.

Approach And Results: We retrospectively included patients with HCC treated by atezolizumab-bevacizumab in 2 tertiary centers. A retrospective blinded analysis was performed by 2 radiologists to assess Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor (RECIST 1.

Obeticholic acid as a second-line treatment for low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis syndrome.

Background: Low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is a rare genetic cause of hepatolithiasis. A pathogenic variant of the ABCB4 gene is reported in half of all patients. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is the only drug approved.

The extracellular matrix - immune microenvironment crosstalk in cancer therapy: Challenges and opportunities.

Targeting the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) by cancer immunotherapy has led to improved patient outcomes. However, response to these treatments is heterogeneous and cancer-type dependant. The therapeutic activity of classical cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical oncology is modulated by alterations of the TIME.

One-Step Synthesis of Fluorescent Poly(divinylbenzene) Particles without Fluorescent Monomers.

A simple and cost-efficient method for fluorescent microsphere synthesis, which does not require any fluorescent monomers or modification steps to incorporate fluorescent moieties into the polymer particles, is reported. Using rhodamine B and benzophenone as bimolecular initiation system in type II photoinitiated precipitation polymerization, the method enables the preparation of fluorescent microspheres in one step, at room temperature and without the need for a stabilizer or surfactant of any type.

Synthesis of Fluorescent, Small, Stable and Non-Toxic Epitope-Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles in Water.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are really interesting for nanomedicine. To be suitable for such application, they need to be small, stable in aqueous media and sometimes fluorescent for bioimaging. We report herein, the facile synthesis of fluorescent, small (below 200 nm), water-soluble and water-stable MIP capable of specific and selective recognition of their target epitope (small part of a protein).

Acute ATP loss during irreversible electroporation mediates caspase independent cell death.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) has been reported to variably cause apoptosis, necrosis, oncosis or pyroptosis. Intracellular ATP is a key substrate for apoptosis which is rapidly depleted during IRE, we sought to understand whether intracellular ATP levels is a determinant of the mode of cell death following IRE. A mouse bladder cancer cell line (MB49) was treated with electric fields while increasing the number of pulses at a fixed electric field strength, and pulse width.

Noninvasive Evaluation of Fibrosis and Portal Hypertension in Primary Biliary Cholangitis.

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease that, if left untreated or insufficiently treated, inexorably progresses toward cirrhosis and its potentially fatal complications. Alongside with the biochemical response to ursodeoxycholic acid therapy, advanced liver fibrosis and portal hypertension (PH) were shown to be major prognostic determinants in PBC. Therefore, one of the goals of noninvasive PBC evaluation should be to early diagnose compensated advanced disease and/or clinically significant PH.

Photoinduced synthesis of fluorescent hydrogels without fluorescent monomers.

A fluorescent monomer-free one-step strategy is developed for the synthesis of fluorescent acrylamide gels, using inexpensive and commercially available rhodamine B as the hydrogen donor in a type II photoinitiation system. The obtained hydrogels are fluorescent and have limited fluorophore leaching over time, due to the covalent bond formed between the polymer network and rhodamine dye.

Hybrid Molecularly Imprinted Polymers: The Future of Nanomedicine?

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been widely used in nanomedicine in the last few years. However, their potential is limited by their intrinsic properties resulting, for instance, in lack of control in drug release processes or complex detection for in vivo imaging. Recent attempts in creating hybrid nanomaterials combining MIPs with inorganic nanomaterials succeeded in providing a wide range of new interesting properties suitable for nanomedicine.

MISpheroID: a knowledgebase and transparency tool for minimum information in spheroid identity.

Spheroids are three-dimensional cellular models with widespread basic and translational application across academia and industry. However, methodological transparency and guidelines for spheroid research have not yet been established. The MISpheroID Consortium developed a crowdsourcing knowledgebase that assembles the experimental parameters of 3,058 published spheroid-related experiments.

Non-invasive diagnosis and follow-up of primary biliary cholangitis.

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intra-hepatic bile ducts [1]. It is characterised biologically by chronic cholestasis associated with the presence of specific autoantibodies, and histologically by lesions of nonsuppurative destructive cholangitis. If left untreated it can progress to cirrhosis, portal hypertension and liver failure.

Association of bezafibrate with transplant-free survival in patients with primary biliary cholangitis.

Background & Aims: A beneficial effect of bezafibrate (BZF) on symptoms and biochemical features of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) has been reported in patients with an incomplete response to ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), but long-term effects on survival remain unknown. In Japan, BZF has been used as a de facto second-line therapy for PBC since 2000. Herein, we compared the survival rates between patients treated with and those without BZF in a large nationwide Japanese PBC cohort.

Respiratory virus-associated infections in HIV-infected adults admitted to the intensive care unit for acute respiratory failure: a 6-year bicenter retrospective study (-).

Introduction: Acute respiratory failure is the main reason for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) in HIV-infected adults. There is little data about the epidemiology of respiratory viruses in this population.

Methods: HIV-infected adults admitted to two intensive care units over a 6-year period for an acute respiratory failure and explored for respiratory viruses with multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) were retrospectively selected.

Glycans as Immune Checkpoints: Removal of Branched N-glycans Enhances Immune Recognition Preventing Cancer Progression.

Tumor growth is accompanied with dramatic changes in the cellular glycome, such as the aberrant expression of complex branched N-glycans. However, the role of this protumoral N-glycan in immune evasion and whether its removal contributes to enhancement of immune recognition and to unleashing an antitumor immune response remain elusive. We demonstrated that branched N-glycans are used by colorectal cancer cells to escape immune recognition, instructing the creation of immunosuppressive networks through inhibition of IFNγ.