Search results for " FIBROSIS"

Gene Therapy in Rare Respiratory Diseases: What Have We Learned So Far?

2020

Gene therapy is an alternative therapy in many respiratory diseases with genetic origin and currently without curative treatment. After five decades of progress, many different vectors and gene editing tools for genetic engineering are now available. However, we are still a long way from achieving a safe and efficient approach to gene therapy application in clinical practice. Here, we review three of the most common rare respiratory conditions—cystic fibrosis (CF), alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD)—alongside attempts to develop genetic treatment for these diseases. Since the 1990s, gene augmentation therapy has been applied in multiple clinical tria…

Spontaneous hepatic fibrosis in transgenic mice overexpressing PDGF-A.

2008

Platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) plays a central role in repair mechanisms after acute and chronic tissue damage. To further evaluate the role of PDGF-A in liver fibrogenesis in vivo, we generated transgenic mice with hepatocyte-specific overexpression of PDGF-A using the CRP-gene promoter. Transgenic but not wildtype mice showed expression of PDGF-A mRNA in the liver. Hepatic PDGF-A overexpression was accompanied by a significant increase in hepatic procollagen III mRNA expression as well as TGF-beta1 expression. Liver histology showed increased deposition of extracellular matrix in transgenic but not in wildtype mice. PDGF-A-transgenic mice showed positive sinusoidal staining for alp…

A novel approach to CFTR mutation testing by pyrosequencing-based assay panels adapted to ethnicities.

2009

Abstract Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common autosomal recessive genetic disorder caused by a variety of sequence alterations in the CFTR gene [cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (ATP-binding cassette sub-family C, member 7)]. Because the relative prevalence of mutations strongly depends on the ethnic background, first-level testing of CF as defined by recent consensus recommendations ought to be adaptable to the ethnicity of patients. Methods: We therefore developed and implemented a diagnostic approach to first-level testing for CF based on published mutation frequencies and Pyrosequencing (PSQ) technology that we complemented with standard procedures of mutation…

Quality management in patients associations. Diagnosis in the Spanish Federation of Cystic Fibrosis

2020

La Federación Española de Fibrosis Quística tiene como misión agrupar a las Asociaciones de Fibrosis Quística para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con Fibrosis Quística y sus familias. El despliegue de este movimiento en los últimos 20 años no ha sido igual en todas las asociaciones que lo componen. Este artículo, expone el diagnóstico de la cuestión. Con una metodología cuantitativa y cualitativa, se ha triangulando la información procedente de: análisis documental, entrevistas semiestructuradas y encuestas. Los resultados obtenidos plantean la gestión con calidad como elemento favorecedor del fortalecimiento asociativo y la figura del profesional de trabajo social como impulsor…

β-arrestin: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in NASH and fibrosis.

2020

Esteatosis hepática en la hepatitis crónica por virus C: estudio de los factores de riesgo y relación con el estadio de fibrosis

2009

Fundamento y objetivo La esteatosis hepatica (EH) es un hallazgo histologico frecuente en la infeccion cronica por el virus de la hepatitis C (VHC) que puede influir en el pronostico de la enfermedad. El objetivo del presente estudio prospectivo es valorar los factores asociados a su presencia y su relacion con el estadio de fibrosis en pacientes con infeccion cronica por VHC. Material y metodo Se incluyo a 84 pacientes consecutivos con ARN-VHC positivo, no tratados previamente y a los que se practico una biopsia hepatica. En todos los pacientes se recogieron en el momento de la biopsia variables demograficas, clinicas, analiticas, virales e histologicas. Se practicaron analisis bivariante …

Studies of malformation syndromes of man XIB: the cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome of zellweger: Comparative pathology

1976

A study of 11 autopsied cases of the cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome of Zellweger (ZS) is reported. All cases had severe, persistent congenital hypotonia, hepatic lobular disarray, renal cortical cysts and pulmonary hypoplasia. Many had cardiovascular malformations, hepatomegaly, cerebral cortical gyral maldevelopment and pancreatic islet hyperplasia. Additional, less frequent findings are delineated. Results of iron content studies of hepatic and renal tissues are related to age of survival and possible development of fibrosis.

2019

Background: Accurate assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic HBeAg-negative Hepatitis B is of crucial importance not only to predict the long-term clinical course, but also to evaluate antiviral therapy indication. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the utility of point shear wave elastography (pSWE) for longitudinal non-invasive fibrosis assessment in a large cohort of untreated patients with chronic HBeAg-negative hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods: 407 consecutive patients with HBeAg-negative HBV infection who underwent pSWE, transient elastography (TE) as well as laboratory fibrosis markers, including fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), a…

Recent Advances in Derivation of Functional Hepatocytes from Placental Stem Cells

2013

Abstract: End-stage liver diseases are one of the leading causes of death in the world. Often orthotopic liver transplantation represents the final therapeutic choice. The limits of this approach are the scarcity of donor livers available, and the many side effects related to the administration of immune suppressants to the patients. Cellular therapy for liver diseases is increasingly being viewed as a promising strategy to provide hepatocytes to replenish the parenchymal cells of the organ. This technique suffers of some important limitations, such as the difficulty in isolating sufficient cell numbers (e.g. when adult or foetal hepatocytes are used for transplantation), the limited viabil…

Macrophage MerTK promotes profibrogenic cross-talk with hepatic stellate cells via soluble mediators

2022

Background & aims: Activation of Kupffer cells and recruitment of monocytes are key events in fibrogenesis. These cells release soluble mediators which induce the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), the main fibrogenic cell type within the liver. Mer tyrosine kinase (MerTK) signaling regulates multiple processes in macrophages and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-related fibrosis. In this study, we explored if MerTK activation in macrophages influences the profibrogenic phenotype of HSCs. Methods: Macrophages were derived from THP-1 cells or differentiated from peripheral blood monocytes towards MerTK+/CD206+/CD163+/CD209- macrophages. Th…