Event-free survival of maralixibat-treated patients with Alagille syndrome compared to a real-world cohort from GALA.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is characterized by chronic cholestasis with associated pruritus and extrahepatic anomalies. Maralixibat, an ileal bile acid transporter inhibitor, is an approved pharmacologic therapy for cholestatic pruritus in ALGS. Since long-term placebo-controlled studies are not feasible or ethical in children with rare diseases, a novel approach was taken comparing 6-year outcomes from maralixibat trials with an aligned and harmonized natural history cohort from the G lobal AL agille A lliance (GALA) study. APPROACH AND RESULTS: Maralixibat trials comprise 84 patients with ALGS with up to 6 years of treatment. GALA contains retrospective data from 1438 participants. GALA was filtered to align with key maralixibat eligibility criteria, yielding 469 participants. Serum bile acids could not be included in the GALA filtering criteria as these are not routinely performed in clinical practice. Index time was determined through maximum likelihood estimation in an effort to align the disease severity between the two cohorts with the initiation of maralixibat. Event-free survival, defined as the time to first event of manifestations of portal hypertension (variceal bleeding, ascites requiring therapy), surgical biliary diversion, liver transplant, or death, was analyzed by Cox proportional hazards methods. Sensitivity analyses and adjustments for covariates were applied. Age, total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and alanine aminotransferase were balanced between groups with no statistical differences. Event-free survival in the maralixibat cohort was significantly better than the GALA cohort (HR, 0.305; 95% CI, 0.189-0.491; p <0.0001). Multiple sensitivity and subgroup analyses (including serum bile acid availability) showed similar findings. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a novel application of a robust statistical method to evaluate outcomes in long-term intervention studies where placebo comparisons are not feasible, providing wide application for rare diseases. This comparison with real-world natural history data suggests that maralixibat improves event-free survival in patients with ALGS.

Natural history of liver disease in a large international cohort of children with Alagille syndrome: Results from the GALA study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is a multisystem disorder, characterized by cholestasis. Existing outcome data are largely derived from tertiary centers, and real-world data are lacking. This study aimed to elucidate the natural history of liver disease in a contemporary, international cohort of children with ALGS. APPROACH AND RESULTS: This was a multicenter retrospective study of children with a clinically and/or genetically confirmed ALGS diagnosis, born between January 1997 and August 2019. Native liver survival (NLS) and event-free survival rates were assessed. Cox models were constructed to identify early biochemical predictors of clinically evident portal hypertension (CEPH) and NLS. In total, 1433 children (57% male) from 67 centers in 29 countries were included. The 10 and 18-year NLS rates were 54.4% and 40.3%. By 10 and 18 years, 51.5% and 66.0% of children with ALGS experienced ≥1 adverse liver-related event (CEPH, transplant, or death). Children (>6 and ≤12 months) with median total bilirubin (TB) levels between ≥5.0 and <10.0 mg/dl had a 4.1-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-10.8), and those ≥10.0 mg/dl had an 8.0-fold (95% CI, 3.4-18.4) increased risk of developing CEPH compared with those <5.0 mg/dl. Median TB levels between ≥5.0 and <10.0 mg/dl and >10.0 mg/dl were associated with a 4.8 (95% CI, 2.4-9.7) and 15.6 (95% CI, 8.7-28.2) increased risk of transplantation relative to <5.0 mg/dl. Median TB <5.0 mg/dl were associated with higher NLS rates relative to ≥5.0 mg/dl, with 79% reaching adulthood with native liver ( p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this large international cohort of ALGS, only 40.3% of children reach adulthood with their native liver. A TB <5.0 mg/dl between 6 and 12 months of age is associated with better hepatic outcomes. These thresholds provide clinicians with an objective tool to assist with clinical decision-making and in the evaluation of therapies.

Myeloid cells from Langerhans cell histiocytosis patients exhibit increased vesicle trafficking and an altered secretome capable of activating NK cells.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a potentially life-threatening inflammatory myeloid neoplasia linked to pediatric neurodegeneration, whereby transformed LCH cells form agglomerated lesions in various organs. Although MAP-kinase pathway mutations have been identified in LCH cells, the functional consequences of these mutations and the mechanisms that cause the pathogenic behavior of LCH cells are not well understood. In our study, we used an in vitro differentiation system and RNA-sequencing to compare monocyte-derived dendritic cells from LCH patients to those derived from healthy controls or patients with Crohn's disease, a non-histiocytic inflammatory disease. We observed that interferon-γ treatment exacerbated intrinsic differences between LCH patient and control cells, including strikingly increased endo- and exocytosis gene activity in LCH patients. We validated these transcriptional patterns in lesions and functionally confirmed that LCH cells exhibited increased endo- and exocytosis. Furthermore, RNA-sequencing of extracellular vesicles revealed the enrichment of pathological transcripts involved in cell adhesion, MAP-kinase pathway, vesicle trafficking and T-cell activation in LCH patients. Thus, we tested the effect of the LCH secretome on lymphocyte activity and found significant activation of NK cells. These findings implicate extracellular vesicles in the pathology of LCH for the first time, in line with their established roles in the formation of various other tumor niches. Thus, we describe novel traits of LCH patient cells and suggest a pathogenic mechanism of potential therapeutic and diagnostic importance.

Intestinal gluconeogenesis is downregulated in pediatric patients with celiac disease.

BACKGROUND: Untreated celiac disease (CD) patients have increased levels of blood glutamine and a lower duodenal expression of glutaminase (GLS). Intestinal gluconeogenesis (IGN) is a process through which glutamine is turned into glucose in the small intestine, for which GLS is crucial. Animal studies suggest impaired IGN may have long-term effects on metabolic control and be associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The aim of this study was to thoroughly investigate IGN at the gene expression level in children with untreated celiac disease. METHODS: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to quantify the expression of 11 target genes related to IGN using the delta-delta Ct method with three reference genes (GUSB, IPO8, and YWHAZ) in duodenal biopsies collected from 84 children with untreated celiac disease and 58 disease controls. RESULTS: Significantly lower expression of nine target genes involved in IGN was seen in duodenal biopsies from CD patients compared with controls: FBP1, G6PC, GLS, GPT1, PCK1, PPARGC1A, SLC2A2, SLC5A1, and SLC6A19. No significant difference in the expression was observed for G6PC3 or GOT1. CONCLUSIONS: Children with untreated celiac disease have lower expression of genes important for IGN. Further studies are warranted to disentangle whether this is a consequence of intestinal inflammation or due to an impaired metabolic pathway shared with other chronic metabolic diseases. Impaired IGN could be a mechanism behind the increased risk of NAFLD seen in CD patients.

Impact of Genotype, Serum Bile Acids, and Surgical Biliary Diversion on Native Liver Survival in FIC1 Deficiency.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mutations in ATPase phospholipid transporting 8B1 (ATP8B1) can lead to familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (FIC1) deficiency, or progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1. The rarity of FIC1 deficiency has largely prevented a detailed analysis of its natural history, effects of predicted protein truncating mutations (PPTMs), and possible associations of serum bile acid (sBA) concentrations and surgical biliary diversion (SBD) with long-term outcome. We aimed to provide insights by using the largest genetically defined cohort of patients with FIC1 deficiency to date. APPROACH AND RESULTS: This multicenter, combined retrospective and prospective study included 130 patients with compound heterozygous or homozygous predicted pathogenic ATP8B1 variants. Patients were categorized according to the number of PPTMs (i.e., splice site, frameshift due to deletion or insertion, nonsense, duplication), FIC1-A (n = 67; no PPTMs), FIC1-B (n = 29; one PPTM), or FIC1-C (n = 34; two PPTMs). Survival analysis showed an overall native liver survival (NLS) of 44% at age 18 years. NLS was comparable among FIC1-A, FIC1-B, and FIC1-C (% NLS at age 10 years: 67%, 41%, and 59%, respectively; P = 0.12), despite FIC1-C undergoing SBD less often (% SBD at age 10 years: 65%, 57%, and 45%, respectively; P = 0.03). sBAs at presentation were negatively associated with NLS (NLS at age 10 years, sBAs < 194 µmol/L: 49% vs. sBAs ≥ 194 µmol/L: 15%; P = 0.03). SBD decreased sBAs (230 [125-282] to 74 [11-177] µmol/L; P = 0.005). SBD (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.28-1.03, P = 0.06) and post-SBD sBA concentrations < 65 µmol/L (P = 0.05) tended to be associated with improved NLS. CONCLUSIONS: Less than half of patients with FIC1 deficiency reach adulthood with native liver. The number of PPTMs did not associate with the natural history or prognosis of FIC1 deficiency. sBA concentrations at initial presentation and after SBD provide limited prognostic information on long-term NLS.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children and young adults is associated with increased long-term mortality.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Longitudinal data are scarce regarding the natural history and long-term risk of mortality in children and young adults with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS: This nationwide, matched cohort study included all Swedish children and young adults (≤25 years) with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD (1966-2017; n = 718). NAFLD was confirmed histologically from all liver biopsies submitted to Sweden's 28 pathology departments, and further categorized as simple steatosis or steatohepatitis (NASH). Patients with NAFLD were matched to ≤5 general population controls by age, sex, calendar year and county (n = 3,457). To account for shared genetic and early-life factors, we also matched patients with NAFLD to full-sibling comparators. Using Cox regression, we estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% CIs. RESULTS: Over a median of 15.8 years, 59 patients with NAFLD died (5.5/1,000 person-years [PY]) compared to 36 population controls (0.7/1,000 PY; difference = 4.8/1,000 PY; multivariable aHR 5.88; 95% CI 3.77-9.17), corresponding to 1 additional death per 15 patients with NAFLD, followed for 20 years. The 20-year absolute risk of overall mortality was 7.7% among patients with NAFLD, and 1.1% among controls (difference = 6.6%; 95% CI 4.0-9.2). Findings persisted after excluding those who died within the first 6 months (aHR 4.65; 95% CI 2.92-7.42), and after using full-sibling comparators (aHR 11.72; 95% CI 3.18-43.23). Simple steatosis was associated with a 5.26-fold higher adjusted rate of mortality compared to controls (95% CI 3.05-9.07), and this was amplified with NASH (aHR 11.51, 95% CI 4.77-27.79). Most of the excess mortality was from cancer (1.67 vs. 0.07/1,000PY; aHR 15.60; 95% CI 4.97-48.93), liver disease (0.93 vs. 0.04/1,000PY; aHR 16.46; 95% CI 2.75-98.43) and cardiometabolic disease (1.12 vs. 0.14/1,000PY; aHR 4.32, 95% CI 1.73-10.79). CONCLUSIONS: Swedish children and young adults with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD have significantly higher rates of overall, cancer-, liver- and cardiometabolic-specific mortality compared to matched general population controls. LAY SUMMARY: Currently, the natural history and long-term risk of mortality in children and young adults with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unknown. This nationwide cohort study compared the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in pediatric and young adult patients in Sweden with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD to matched general population controls. We found that compared to controls, children and young adults with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD and NASH have significantly higher rates of overall, cancer-, liver- and cardiometabolic-specific mortality.

Pattern and Prevalence of Liver Involvement in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic and Myeloid Leukemia at Diagnosis.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence and significance of liver involvement at diagnosis was studied in pediatric acute lymphoblastic (ALL) and myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS: A population based cohort of 122 pre B-ALL, 22 T-ALL and 45 AML patients was formed from the Nordic Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology leukemia registries (years 2005-2017). Hepatomegaly, elevated alanine aminotransferase, high INR, hypoalbuminemia and conjugated hyperbilirubinemia at diagnosis were used as markers for liver involvement. Minimal residual disease (MRD), time to relapse and overall survival (OS) were correlated with liver involvements. RESULTS: The pattern of liver involvement was significantly different between leukemia subtypes (P = 0.025). The proportion of patients without liver abnormalities was 50.0% in AML and 44.8% in pre B-ALL and 23.5% in T-ALL patients. Hepatomegaly characterized lymphatic leukemia being present in 41.8% and 58.8% of pre B- and T-ALL patients. Liver dysfunction was most common in AML (29.5%) and least frequent in pre B-ALL (7.4%,) (P = 0.001). Conjugated hyperbilirubinemia was present in less than 5% of patients. Hepatomegaly correlated positively with age in pre B-ALL (P = 0.036) and white blood cell count (WBC) in AML (P = 0.010). Hepatic dysfunction was related with high WBC in pre B-ALL (P = 0.037) and AML (P = 0.001). Liver involvement in patients with ALL was not associated with toxicity or outcome. Patients with AML without liver involvement demonstrated superior OS. CONCLUSIONS: Liver involvement is frequent at diagnosis in pediatric leukemia and its prevalence is related with leukemia subtype, age and WBC. In AML, but not in ALL, it associates with suboptimal prognosis.

Genotype correlates with the natural history of severe bile salt export pump deficiency.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Mutations in ABCB11 can cause deficiency of the bile salt export pump (BSEP), leading to cholestasis and end-stage liver disease. Owing to the rarity of the disease, the associations between genotype and natural history, or outcomes following surgical biliary diversion (SBD), remain elusive. We aimed to determine these associations by assembling the largest genetically defined cohort of patients with severe BSEP deficiency to date. METHODS: This multicentre, retrospective cohort study included 264 patients with homozygous or compound heterozygous pathological ABCB11 mutations. Patients were categorized according to genotypic severity (BSEP1, BSEP2, BSEP3). The predicted residual BSEP transport function decreased with each category. RESULTS: Genotype severity was strongly associated with native liver survival (NLS, BSEP1 median 20.4 years; BSEP2, 7.0 years; BSEP3, 3.5 years; p <0.001). At 15 years of age, the proportion of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was 4% in BSEP1, 7% in BSEP2 and 34% in BSEP3 (p = 0.001). SBD was associated with significantly increased NLS (hazard ratio 0.50; 95% CI 0.27-0.94: p = 0.03) in BSEP1 and BSEP2. A serum bile acid concentration below 102 µmol/L or a decrease of at least 75%, each shortly after SBD, reliably predicted NLS of ≥15 years following SBD (each p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The genotype of severe BSEP deficiency strongly predicts long-term NLS, the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, and the chance that SBD will increase NLS. Serum bile acid parameters shortly after SBD can predict long-term NLS. LAY SUMMARY: This study presents data from the largest genetically defined cohort of patients with severe bile salt export pump deficiency to date. The genotype of patients with severe bile salt export pump deficiency is associated with clinical outcomes and the success of therapeutic interventions. Therefore, genotypic data should be used to guide personalized clinical care throughout childhood and adulthood in patients with this disease.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: Partial External Biliary Diversion in Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed available data on impact of partial external biliary diversion (PEBD) surgery on clinical outcomes in patients with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC). METHODS: We performed a systematic literature review (PubMed) and meta-analysis to evaluate relationships between liver biochemistry parameters (serum bile acids, bilirubin, and alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) and early response (pruritus improvement) or long-term outcomes (need for liver transplant) in patients with PFIC who underwent PEBD. RESULTS: Searches identified 175 publications before September 2018; 16 met inclusion criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis examined ability of liver biochemistry parameters to discriminate patients who demonstrated early and long-term response to PEBD from those who did not. Regarding pruritus improvement in 155 included patients in aggregate, 104 (67%) were responders, 14 (9%) had partial response, and 37 (24%) were nonresponders. In ROC analyses of individual patient data, post-PEBD serum concentration of bile acids, in particular, could discriminate responders from nonresponders for pruritus improvement (area under the curve, 0.99; P < 0.0001; n = 42); to a lesser extent, this was also true for bilirubin (0.87; P = 0.003; n = 31), whereas ALT could not discriminate responders from nonresponders for pruritus improvement (0.74; P = 0.06; n = 28). Reductions from pre-PEBD values in serum bile acid concentration (0.89; P = 0.0003; n = 32) and bilirubin (0.98; P = 0.002; n = 18) but not ALT (0.62; P = 0.46; n = 18) significantly discriminated decreased aggregate need for liver transplant. CONCLUSION: Changes in bile acids seem particularly useful in discriminating early and long-term post-PEBD outcomes and may be potential biomarkers of response to interruption of enterohepatic circulation in patients with PFIC.

Safety of a Triple-chamber Bag Parenteral Nutrition in Children Ages up to 24 Months: An Observational Study.

OBJECTIVES: Hypermagnesemia has been reported in preterm neonates treated with commercial pediatric triple-chamber bag (3CB) parenteral nutrition (PN). This postmarketing study was requested by the European Medicines Agency to assess the safety of a 3CB PN product in full-term neonates and children up to 24 months of age. METHODS: This prospective, multicenter, observational study enrolled hospitalized, full-term, newborn infants and children up to 24 months of age receiving >70% of nutrition as PN and requiring ≥50% of nutrition as PN for ≥5 days. All patients received 3CB PN during the study for ≤15 days. The primary outcome was serum magnesium, summarized by age group (0-1, >1-12, and >12-24 months). Secondary outcomes were nutritional intake and adverse events (AEs), including clinically significant abnormal laboratory results and vital signs. RESULTS: A total of 102 eligible patients were included. Median (interquartile range) parenteral magnesium intake was 0.23 (0.18-0.30) mmol ·â€Škg ·â€Šday. Mean serum magnesium showed no consistent changes during treatment in any age group. One moderate and 3 mild AEs of hypermagnesemia were reported in 4 patients (3.9%), all ages 0 to 1 month. Other AEs in >2 patients were hypertriglyceridemia (6.9%), laryngitis (3.9%), hyperkalemia, hypokalemia, hyponatremia, hypophosphatemia, and neonatal hypotension (each 2.9%). Other serum electrolytes were stable, and revealed no safety concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Mean serum magnesium levels were not affected by 3CB PN in full-term neonates and children up to 24 months of age. The risk of hypermagnesemia AEs was low when providing median parenteral magnesium of 0.2 to 0.3 mmol ·â€Škg ·â€Šday in this population.

Increased Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in a Population-based Cohort Study of Patients With Hirschsprung Disease.

OBJECTIVES: Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) has previously been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There are no data to show how common this association is. The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of IBD in individuals with HSCR in a population-based cohort. METHODS: This was a nationwide, population-based cohort study. The study exposure was HSCR and the study outcome was IBD. The cohort included all individuals with HSCR registered in the Swedish National Patient Register between 1964 and 2013 and 10 age- and sex-matched controls per patient, randomly selected from the Swedish Population Register. Individuals with IBD were identified in the Swedish National Patient Register. Data were validated by checking for relevant surgical procedures, and, or prescription of drugs for IBD registered in the Swedish Drug Registry. RESULTS: The cohort comprised 739 individuals with HSCR (565 boys) and 7390 controls (5650 boys). The median age at diagnosis of IBD was not different between the groups; 19 years (5-34) versus 21 years (7-37), P = 0.21. Twenty of the 739 individuals with HSCR and 41 of the 7390 controls had IBD, odds ratio 4.99, and 95% confidence interval 2.85 to 8.45. In the exposed group, 15 individuals had Crohn disease and 5 ulcerative colitis at their latest admission compared to 18 individuals with Crohn disease and 23 with ulcerative colitis in the unexposed group, P = 0.030. CONCLUSION: There is an increased risk of IBD in patients with HSCR, which should be considered in clinical practice.

Combining Rome III criteria with alarm symptoms provides high specificity but low sensitivity for functional gastrointestinal disorders in children.

AIM: This study aimed to validate the Rome III criteria and alarm symptoms with regard to their ability to discriminate between organic and functional diagnoses in children with gastrointestinal complaints. METHODS: We recruited 258 children aged four years to 17 years who consulted a paediatrician in secondary or tertiary care in Stockholm from January 2013 to May 2014 due to gastrointestinal complaints. A symptom questionnaire based on the official Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rome III, including questions on alarm symptoms, was used. A diagnostic review of their medical records was also carried out. RESULTS: The reference diagnoses were organic (16%), pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders (54%) and other functional diseases (30%). When the reported symptoms that fulfilled the Rome III criteria for pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders were combined with an absence of alarm symptoms, they had a high specificity (0.90) for a functional diagnosis, but a low sensitivity (0.15). Alarm symptoms were equally common in patients with organic (83%) and functional diseases (80%, p = 0.66). CONCLUSIONS: Combining the Rome III criteria and an absence of alarm symptoms from patient questionnaires had high specificity but low sensitivity when diagnosing pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders in children seeking medical care for gastrointestinal complaints.

Validity of histology for the diagnosis of paediatric coeliac disease: a Swedish multicentre study.

OBJECTIVE Histological evaluation of intestinal biopsies for the diagnosis of coeliac disease can be challenging and compatible with risk of misdiagnosis. The aim was to evaluate the agreement of pathological diagnosis for coeliac disease in children investigated at four major paediatric university hospitals in Sweden. MATERIALS AND METHODS Intestinal duodenal biopsies were collected from 402 children at median 9.7 years (1.4-18.3 years). A pathologist at each hospital performed the primary evaluation. A designated pathologist, blinded to the primary evaluation, performed a second Marsh classification of biopsies (M0 to M3c) taken from the bulb and duodenum separately. Kappa (κ) scores between first and second evaluation determined the agreement. Plasma samples were collected at the day of intestinal biopsy and analysed for tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies (tTGA) using radioligand-binding assays. RESULTS Marsh scores were concordant in 229/356 biopsies (64%, κ = 0.52, p < 0.0001). Among discordant results, 15/127 (12%) showed M0 in distal duodenum but ≥ M2 in the bulb, whereas the opposite was true for 8/127 (6%) of the biopsies. There were fewer collected duodenal biopsies, more missing bulb biopsies and missing CD3 staining among discordant evaluations. The second evaluation revealed a Marsh score compliant with coeliac disease in 22 children of whom seven children were tTGA positive. CONCLUSIONS The variation between university hospitals on the pathological evaluation of biopsies may lead to misdiagnosis of coeliac disease in paediatric patients. Access to clinical and endoscopic information as well as tTGA levels may be useful for the pathologist to complement the evaluation in dubious cases.

Genes involved in muscle contractility and nutrient signaling pathways within celiac disease risk loci show differential mRNA expression.

BACKGROUND: Risk gene variants for celiac disease, identified in genome-wide linkage and association studies, might influence molecular pathways important for disease development. The aim was to examine expression levels of potential risk genes close to these variants in the small intestine and peripheral blood and also to test if the non-coding variants affect nearby gene expression levels in children with celiac disease. METHODS: Intestinal biopsy and peripheral blood RNA was isolated from 167 children with celiac disease, 61 with potential celiac disease and 174 disease controls. Transcript levels for 88 target genes, selected from celiac disease risk loci, were analyzed in biopsies of a smaller sample subset by qPCR. Differentially expressed genes (3 from the pilot and 8 previously identified) were further validated in the larger sample collection (n = 402) of both tissues and correlated to nearby celiac disease risk variants. RESULTS: All genes were significantly down- or up-regulated in the intestinal mucosa of celiac disease children, NTS being most down-regulated (Fold change 3.6, p < 0.001). In contrast, PPP1R12B isoform C was up-regulated in the celiac disease mucosa (Fold change 1.9, p < 0.001). Allele specific expression of GLS (rs6741418, p = 0.009), INSR (rs7254060, p = 0.003) and NCALD (rs652008, p = 0.005) was also detected in the biopsies. Two genes (APPL2 and NCALD) were differentially expressed in peripheral blood but no allele specific expression was observed in this tissue. CONCLUSION: The differential expression of NTS and PPP1R12B indicate a potential role for smooth muscle contractility and cell proliferation in celiac disease, whereas other genes like GLS, NCALD and INSR suggests involvement of nutrient signaling and energy homeostasis in celiac disease pathogenesis. A disturbance in any of these pathways might contribute to development of childhood celiac disease.

Impact of parenteral fat composition on cholestasis in preterm infants.

OBJECTIVES: Parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease (PNALD) is frequently detected in neonatal intensive care units. Parenteral lipid emulsion (PLE) content has been implicated in its pathogenesis. We aimed to study the effect on incidence and outcome of PNALD by replacing soy-based PLE with olive oil-based PLE in a population-based group of preterm infants. METHODS: All infants in Stockholm County with gestational age (GA) <30 weeks were included (n = 615). Infants who died before 28 days of age or were referred to or from other regions were excluded (n = 97). PNALD was defined as conjugated serum bilirubin ≥ 30 µmol/L and exceeding 20% of the total fraction on at least 2 occasions. Two different 2-year time periods were compared: before (SOY period) and after (OLIVE period) switching PLE. For each PNALD case, 2 GA-matched controls were randomly identified. RESULTS: PNALD incidence was 14.8% (37/250) in the SOY period and 12.7% (34/268) in the OLIVE period (P = 0.52). The OLIVE infants with PNALD had more risk factors, such as lower GA and longer periods of parenteral nutrition, for developing PNALD than the SOY infants. Nevertheless, treatment during the SOY period was an independent risk factor for PNALD in logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Population-based incidence of PNALD is 1 of 7 in preterm infants with GA < 30 weeks. Changing from soy oil to olive oil-based PLE did not decrease the incidence of PNALD significantly. Olive oil-based PLE carries an equal or slightly decreased risk to develop PNALD compared with soy oil-based PLE.

Playing sport as a central-line carrier: a survey to collect the European pediatric intestinal failure centers' view.

BACKGROUND: The administration of home parenteral nutrition improves quality of life for patients with intestinal failure, thus fostering their will to actively participate to social activities. Nevertheless, sports participation can be risky for patients with a central venous catheter (CVC). Despite literature thoroughly proving the positive impact of sports on motor-psychosocial development, no consistent evidence assessing its role on central-line complications is available. This study aimed to report the European centers' approach to children with intestinal failure on home parenteral nutrition and interested in playing sports, further assessing complications and how to prevent them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire focusing on children with intestinal failure regarding physical activity was circulated to 20 centers. Questions assessed the centers' policy for CVC management, the sports-related recommendations for patients on home parenteral nutrition and complication rates. RESULTS: Sixteen (80%) centers filled in the questionnaire. Twelve centers reported not to have a standardized formal protocol for catheter care during sports. All centers encouraged patients to perform mild/moderate exercise, whereas high-contact sports were allowed by one center only. Specific dressings were suggested to protect the vascular access device, especially for water sports. Only one sports-related complication (rupture) was reported. CONCLUSION: This survey emphasizes that sports should not be restricted in patients with intestinal failure and represents a blueprint for sports-related recommendations for these patients. Prospective studies assessing complication rates are advisable to ensure an improved access to sports for these patients.

Safe and efficient practice of parenteral nutrition in neonates and children aged 0-18 years - The role of licensed multi-chamber bags.

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is recognized as a complex high-risk therapy. Its practice is highly variable and frequently suboptimal in pediatric patients. Optimizing care requires evidence, consensus-based guidelines, audits of practice, and standardized strategies. Several pediatric scientific organizations, expert panels, and authorities have recently recommended that standardized PN should generally be used over individualized PN in the majority of pediatric patients including very low birth weight premature infants. In addition, PN admixtures produced and validated by a suitably qualified institution are recommended over locally produced PN. Licensed multi chamber bags are standardized PN bags that comply with Good Manufacturing Practice and high-quality standards for the finished product in the frame of their full manufacturing license. The purpose of this article is to review the practical aspects of PN and the evidence for using such multi-chamber bags in pediatric patients. It highlights the safety characteristics and the limitations of the different PN practices and provides some guidance for ensuring safe and efficient therapy in pediatric patients.

Intestinal stroma guides monocyte differentiation to macrophages through GM-CSF.

Stromal cells support epithelial cell and immune cell homeostasis and play an important role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. Here, we quantify the stromal response to inflammation in pediatric IBD and reveal subset-specific inflammatory responses across colon segments and intestinal layers. Using data from a murine dynamic gut injury model and human ex vivo transcriptomic, protein and spatial analyses, we report that PDGFRA+CD142-/low fibroblasts and monocytes/macrophages co-localize in the intestine. In primary human fibroblast-monocyte co-cultures, intestinal PDGFRA+CD142-/low fibroblasts foster monocyte transition to CCR2+CD206+ macrophages through granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Monocyte-derived CCR2+CD206+ cells from co-cultures have a phenotype similar to intestinal CCR2+CD206+ macrophages from newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients, with high levels of PD-L1 and low levels of GM-CSF receptor. The study describes subset-specific changes in stromal responses to inflammation and suggests that the intestinal stroma guides intestinal macrophage differentiation.