Publication

Introduction In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic broke out. The virus rapidly spread globally, resulting in a major world public-health crisis. The major disease manifestation occurs in the respiratory tract. However further studies documented other systemic involvement. This study investigate histopathologic eye changes in post-mortem material of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

Maintenance of glucose homeostasis requires the precise regulation of hormone secretion from the endocrine pancreas. Free fatty-acid receptor 4 (FFAR4/GPR120) is a G protein-coupled receptor whose activation in islets of Langerhans promotes insulin and glucagon secretion and inhibits somatostatin secretion. However, the contribution of individual islet cell types (α, β, and δ cells) to the insulinotropic and glucagonotropic effects of GPR120 remains unclear.

ObjectiveDetermine the presence and prognostic value of human papillomavirus (HPV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), and cell cycle proteins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) of non-smokers and non-drinkers (NSND).MethodsClinical characteristics and tumors of 119 NSND with HNSCC were retrospectively collected and analyzed on tissue microarrays. RNAscope in situ hybridization (ISH) was used to screen for the presence of HPV and MCPyV mRNA.

Cellular senescence is characterized by an irreversible cell cycle arrest and a pro-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which is a major contributor to aging and age-related diseases. Clearance of senescent cells has been shown to improve brain function in mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases. However, it is still unknown whether senescent cell clearance alleviates cognitive dysfunction during the aging process. To investigate this, we first conducted single-nuclei and single-cell RNA-seq in the hippocampus from young and aged mice.

Indian Hedgehog (Ihh) is a morphogen expressed by epithelial cells in the small intestine and colon that signals in a paracrine manner to gp38+ stromal cells. The loss of Ihh signaling results in increased epithelial proliferation, lengthening and multiplication of intestinal crypts and the activation of a stromal cell immune response. How Ihh controls epithelial proliferation through the stroma and how it affects colorectal cancer development remains poorly defined.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), a key element of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), has recently been identified as a new marker of both adult and embryonic human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, whether a full renin-angiotensin pathway is locally present during the hematopoietic emergence is still an open question. In the present study, we show that this enzyme is expressed by hematopoietic progenitors in the developing mouse embryo.

Background: Cardiac injury is common in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and portends poorer prognosis. However, the mechanism and the type of myocardial damage associated with SARS-CoV-2 remain uncertain. Methods: We conducted a systematic pathologic analysis of 40 hearts from hospitalized patients dying of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Bergamo, Italy to determine the pathologic mechanisms of cardiac injury. We divided the hearts according to presence or absence of acute myocyte necrosis and then determined the underlying mechanisms of cardiac injury.

Hair follicles (HFs) are immersed within dermal white adipose tissue (dWAT), yet human adipocyte-HF communication remains unexplored. Therefore, we investigated how perifollicular adipocytes affect the physiology of organ-cultured human anagen scalp HFs. Quantitative (immuno-)histomorphometry, microCT and transmission electron microscopy showed that the number and size of perifollicular adipocytes declined during anagen-catagen transition, whilst fluorescence lifetime imaging revealed increased lipid oxidation in adipocytes surrounding the bulge/sub-bulge region.

Intracellular pathogens have evolved to utilize normal cellular processes to complete their replicative cycles. Pathogens that interface with proliferative cell signaling pathways risk infections that can lead to cancers, but the factors that influence malignant outcomes are incompletely understood. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) predominantly cause benign hyperplasia in stratifying epithelial tissues. However, a subset of carcinogenic or "high-risk" HPV (hr-HPV) genotypes are etiologically linked to nearly 5% of all human cancers.

Chronic immobilization stress (CIS) results in sex-dependent changes in opioid peptide levels and receptor subcellular distributions within the rat dorsal hippocampus which are paralleled with an inability for males to acquire conditioned place preference (CPP) to oxycodone. Here, RNAScope in situ hybridization was used to determine the expression of hippocampal opioid peptides and receptors in unstressed (US) and CIS estrus female and male adult (~ 14 wk) Sprague Dawley rats. In all groups, dentate granule cells expressed PENK and PDYN; additionally, numerous interneurons expressed PENK.