The Dual Role of Neutrophils in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

peer reviewedInflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are characterised by aberrant immunological responses leading to chronic inflammation without tissue regeneration. These two diseases are considered distinct entities, and there is some evidence that neutrophil behaviour, above all other aspects of immunity, clearly separate them. Neutrophils are the first immune cells recruited to the site of inflammation, and their action is crucial to limit invasion by microorganisms. Furthermore, they play an essential role in proper resolution of inflammation. When these processes are not tightly regulated, they can trigger positive feedback amplification loops that promote neutrophil activation, leading to significant tissue damage and evolution toward chronic disease. Defective chemotaxis, as observed in Crohn's disease, can also contribute to the disease through impaired microbe elimination. In addition, through NET production, neutrophils may be involved in thrombo-embolic events frequently observed in IBD patients. While the role of neutrophils has been studied in different animal models of IBD for many years, their contribution to the pathogenesis of IBD remains poorly understood, and no molecules targeting neutrophils are used and validated for the treatment of these pathologies. Therefore, it is crucial to improve our understanding of their mode of action in these particular conditions in order to provide new therapeutic avenues for IBD

The platelet ATP and ADP receptors.

peer reviewedThis review focuses on recent findings on the physiology of these platelet ADP and ATP receptors, their distinct downstream intracellular signaling pathways as well as on the available agonists, antagonists and inhibitors that allow their pharmacological discrimination

TEL is a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor.

TEL is a gene frequently involved in specific chromosomal translocations in human leukemia and sarcoma that encodes a member of the ETS family of transcriptional regulators. TEL is unusual among other ETS proteins by its ability to self-associate in vivo, a property that is essential to the oncogenic activation of TEL-derived fusion proteins. We show here that TEL is a sequence-specific transcriptional repressor of ETS-binding site-driven transcription of model and natural promoters

Role of Imaging in Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion

Percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion is now a valid alternative to long-term oral anticoagulation in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation at high thrombo-embolism risk, especially for patients who are considered ineligible for anticoagulation. The most frequently used occluders worldwide include the WATCHAMN (Boston Scientific, Natick, MA, USA) and the Amplatzer Cardiac Plug or Amulet (St. Jude Medical/Abbott, St Paul, MN, USA) devices. Multimodality imaging is key in the understanding of 3D aspects of the LAA and surrounding structures anatomy. Imaging is essential for procedural planning, during each step of the procedure and for device surveillance after implantation. Multimodality imaging, including 2D/3D echocardiography, fluoroscopy, and cardiac computed tomography can increase the safety and efficacy of the procedure

ATP Augments von Willebrand Factor-dependent Shear-induced Platelet Aggregation through Ca2+-Calmodulin and Myosin Light Chain Kinase Activation

peer reviewedShear stress triggers von Willebrand factor (VWF) binding to platelet glycoprotein Ibalpha and subsequent integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3)-dependent platelet aggregation. Concomitantly, nucleotides are released from plateletdense granules, and ADP is known to contribute to shear-induced platelet aggregation (SIPA). This study shows that ATP also contributes to SIPA. The ATP-gated P2X(1) ion channel induces MLC-mediated cytoskeletal rearrangements that increases platelet degranulation during VWF-triggered platelet activation

Cancer and cardiovascular mortality risk: is the die cast?

peer reviewe

Functionalization of polyhydroxyurethanes by α-alkylidene cyclic carbonates towards new elastomers for 3D-printed biomedical devices

The abstract is provided as supporting informatio