TGF-β in progression of liver disease

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a central regulator in chronic liver disease contributing to all stages of disease progression from initial liver injury through inflammation and fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver-damage-induced levels of active TGF-β enhance hepatocyte destruction and mediate hepatic stellate cell and fibroblast activation resulting in a wound-healing response, including myofibroblast generation and extracellular matrix deposition. Being recognised as a major profibrogenic cytokine, the targeting of the TGF-β signalling pathway has been explored with respect to the inhibition of liver disease progression. Whereas interference with TGF-β signalling in various short-term animal models has provided promising results, liver disease progression in humans is a process of decades with different phases in which TGF-β or its targeting might have both beneficial and adverse outcomes. Based on recent literature, we summarise the cell-type-directed double-edged role of TGF-β in various liver disease stages. We emphasise that, in order to achieve therapeutic effects, we need to target TGF-β signalling in the right cell type at the right time

Search for gravitational waves associated with gamma-ray bursts detected by Fermi and Swift during the LIGO–Virgo run O3b

We search for gravitational-wave signals associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by the Fermi and Swift satellites during the second half of the third observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (2019 November 1 15:00 UTC–2020 March 27 17:00 UTC). We conduct two independent searches: a generic gravitational-wave transients search to analyze 86 GRBs and an analysis to target binary mergers with at least one neutron star as short GRB progenitors for 17 events. We find no significant evidence for gravitational-wave signals associated with any of these GRBs. A weighted binomial test of the combined results finds no evidence for subthreshold gravitational-wave signals associated with this GRB ensemble either. We use several source types and signal morphologies during the searches, resulting in lower bounds on the estimated distance to each GRB. Finally, we constrain the population of low-luminosity short GRBs using results from the first to the third observing runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. The resulting population is in accordance with the local binary neutron star merger rate