Pancreatic function tests

This study aimed to elucidate the role of microRNA-503 (miR-503) in pancreatic cancer (PC) progression and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. We acquired miR-503-3p and miR-503-5p expression data along with survival times of PC and normal samples from the UCSC Xena database. Using the t-test, we compared the expression of miR-503-3p and miR-503-5p between PC and normal samples, and evaluated their prognostic significance via Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The expression of miR-503-5p in PC cells was detected by quantitative PCR...

Patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) are at increased risk of acute (AP) and chronic (CP) pancreatitis, and their complications. The extent of remaining healthy pancreatic parenchyma determines the risk of developing future episodes of pancreatitis, as well as pancreatic exocrine or endocrine insufficiency. Pancreatitis may be the presenting symptom of CF, and genetic testing is especially important in pediatrics. AP and recurrent AP are managed with intravenous fluid hydration and pain control, in addition to early refeeding and treatment of complications...

BACKGROUND: Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been reported to combat saturated fatty acid (SFA)-induced cellular damage, however, their clinical effects on patients with metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia are still controversial. Since comparative studies of the effects of these two types of unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) are still limited. In this study, we aimed to compare the protective effects of various UFAs on pancreatic islets under the stress of SFA-induced metabolic disorder and lipotoxicity...

BACKGROUND: Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial metabolic wasting syndrome characterized by anorexia, unintentional loss of weight involving both skeletal muscle and adipose tissues, progressive functional impairment and reduced survival. Therapeutic strategies for this serious condition are very limited. Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a cytokine that is implicated in cancer cachexia and may represent both a biomarker of cancer cachexia and a potential therapeutic target...

BACKGROUND: Ubiquitination is a critical post-translational modification which can be reversed with an enzyme family known as deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). It has been reported that dysregulation of deubiquitination leads to carcinogenesis. As a member of the DUBs family, proteasome 26 S subunit non-ATPase 7 (PSMD7) serves as an underlying tumour-promoting factor in multiple cancers. However, the clinical significance and biological functions of PSMD7 in pancreatic cancer (PC) remain unclear...

BACKGROUND: Many affected by pancreatitis harbor rare variants of the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene, CFTR, which encodes an epithelial chloride/bicarbonate channel. We investigated CFTR function and the effect of CFTR modulator drugs in pancreatitis patients carrying CFTR variants. METHODS: Next-generation sequencing was performed to identify CFTR variants. Sweat tests and nasal potential difference (NPD) assays were performed to assess CFTR function in vivo. Intestinal current measurement (ICM) was performed on rectal biopsies...

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC), representing over 90 % of pancreatic cancer diagnoses, is an aggressive disease with survivability among the worst of all cancers due to its difficulty in detection and its high metastatic properties. Current therapies for PDAC show limited success at extending life expectancies, primarily due to cancer resistance and lack of patient-specific targeted therapies. This work highlights the design and evaluation of estrone-derived analogs with both heterocyclic side-chain functionality and 11-oxygenated functionality for use in pancreatic cancer...

AIMS: Hypertriglyceridaemia (hTG) is associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, pancreatitis, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in large population-based studies. The understanding of the impact of hereditary hTG and cardiometabolic disease status on the development of hTG and its associated cardiometabolic outcomes is more limited. We aimed to establish a multigenerational cohort to enable studies of the relationship between hTG, cardiometabolic disease and hereditary factors...

The CEL gene encodes carboxyl ester lipase, a pancreatic digestive enzyme. CEL is extremely polymorphic due to a variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) located in the last exon. Single-base deletions within this VNTR cause the inherited disorder MODY8, whereas little is known about VNTR single-base insertions in pancreatic disease. We therefore mapped CEL insertion variants (CEL-INS) in 200 Norwegian patients with pancreatic neoplastic disorders. Twenty-eight samples (14.0%) carried CEL-INS alleles. Most common were insertions in repeat 9 (9...

Impaired insulin production and/or secretion by pancreatic beta cells can lead to high blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Therefore, investigating new proteins involved in beta cell response to stress conditions could be useful in finding new targets for therapeutic approaches. KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP) is a protein usually involved in gene expression due to its role in post-transcriptional regulation. Although there are studies describing the important role of KSRP in tissues closely related to glucose homeostasis, its effect on pancreatic beta cells has not been explored so far...

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been identified as risk factor of incident type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the underlying postprandial mechanisms remains unclear. We compared the glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, insulin secretion and insulin clearance post-oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between individuals with and without MAFLD. We included 50 individuals with a BMI between 25-40 kg/m2 and ≥1 metabolic alteration: increased fasting triglycerides or insulin, plasma glucose 5...

Celiac disease (CeD) is a chronic immune-mediated condition triggered by gluten consumption in genetically predisposed individuals. Approximately 1% of the general population is affected by the disorder. Disease presentation is heterogeneous, and despite growing awareness among physicians and the public, it continues to be underestimated. The most effective strategy for identifying undiagnosed CeD is proactive case-finding through serologic testing in high-risk groups. We reviewed the most recent evidence on the association between CeD and over 20 conditions...

In the current study, two series of novel thiazolidin-4-one benzenesulfonamide arylidene hybrids 9a-l and 10a-f were designed, synthesized and tested in vitro for their PPARɣ agonistic activity. The phenethyl thiazolidin-4-one sulphonamide 9l showed the highest PPARɣ activation % by 41.7%. Whereas, the 3-methoxy- and 4-methyl-4-benzyloxy thiazolidin-4-one sulphonamides 9i, and 9k revealed moderate PPARɣ activation % of 31.7, and 32.8%, respectively, in addition, the 3-methoxy-3-benzyloxy thiazolidin-4-one sulphonamide 10d showed PPARɣ activation % of 33...

PURPOSE: Circulating carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) levels reflect FUT3 and FUT2 fucosyltransferase activity. Measuring the related glycan, DUPAN-2, can be useful in individuals unable to synthesize CA19-9. We hypothesized that similar to CA19-9, FUT functional groups determined by variants in FUT3 and FUT2 influence DUPAN-2 levels, and having tumor marker reference ranges for each functional group would improve diagnostic performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a training/validation study design, FUT2 / FUT3 genotypes were determined in 938 individuals from Johns Hopkins Hospital: 607 Cancer of the Pancreas Screening (CAPS) study subjects with unremarkable pancreata and 331 with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)...

Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant and metastatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can lead to liver metastases, gallbladder metastases, and duodenum metastases. The identification of pancreatic cancer cells is essential for the diagnosis of metastatic cancer and exploration of carcinoma in situ. Organelles play an important role in maintaining the function of cells, the various cells show significant difference in organelle microenvironment. Herein, six probes were synthesized for targeting mitochondria, lysosomes, cell membranes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and lipid droplets...

UNLABELLED: Insulin secretion within 30 minutes of nutrient ingestion is reduced in people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF) and pancreatic insufficiency and declines with worsening glucose tolerance. The glucose potentiated arginine (GPA) test is validated for quantifying β-cell secretory capacity as an estimate of functional β-cell mass but requires technical expertise and is burdensome. This study sought to compare insulin secretion during mixed-meal tolerance testing (MMTT) to GPA-derived parameters in PwCF...

Pancreatic in vitro research is of major importance to advance mechanistic understanding and development of treatment options for diseases such as diabetes mellitus. We present a thermoplastic-based microphysiological system aiming to model the complex microphysiological structure and function of the endocrine pancreas with concurrent real-time read-out capabilities. The specifically tailored platform enables self-guided trapping of single islets at defined locations: β-cells are assembled to pseudo-islets and injected into the tissue chamber using hydrostatic pressure-driven flow...

BACKGROUNDS: Ampullary adenocarcinoma (AMPAC) is a rare malignancy, treated as pancreatic or intestinal cancer based on its histologic subtype. Little is known about the genomic features of Chinese patients with AMPAC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 145 Chinese AMPAC patients in our local cohort and performed a compressive somatic and germline genetic testing using a 156 gene panel. Expression of PD-L1 (clone 28 - 8) was also assessed in tumor specimens from 64 patients...

BACKGROUND: The 1-min sit-to-stand test (1STST) is a practical tool to evaluate physical capacity. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of tezacaftor and ivacaftor on functional exercise capacity, muscle strength and symptoms in people with cystic fibrosis (PwCF). METHODS: The assessments were performed during the first year of tezacaftor and ivacaftor using the 1STST, 6-min walk test (6MWT), MicroFET2 dynamometer®, CF Questionnaire-Revised (CFQ-R), Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ)...

A woman in her 60s presented with a small pancreatic head tumor. Imaging studies revealed a 13-mm well-defined pancreatic head tumor. A neuroendocrine neoplasm was suspected, and the patient opted for observation at that time. After 8 months, the patient began experiencing sweating while fasting, and blood tests during regular follow-up visits showed hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia was induced during fasting test. The tumor exhibited clear features of an insulinoma during follow-up observation. While small neuroendocrine neoplasms are often managed through observation, caution should be exercised regarding their transformation into functional neuroendocrine tumors...