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This article discusses the role of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) in infectious pancreatic necrosis, a complication of acute pancreatitis. The study found that Treg activation disrupts the barrier function of the duodenum, allowing bacteria to enter the pancreatic necrosis. The researchers focused on the expression of the co-inhibitory molecule Programmed-death 1 (PD-1) on Tregs and found that PD-1 expression correlated with the level of Tregs. They also conducted experiments on mouse models and found that blocking PD-1 reduced the translocation of bacteria into the pancreas. The study suggests that PD-1 blockage could be a potential therapeutic strategy for infectious pancreatic necrosis, but further research is needed. [Extracted from the article]

Background: A cluster of eleven patients, including eight family members and three healthcare workers with fever and thrombocytopenia occurred in Yixing County, Jiangsu Province, China, from October to November 1996. However, the initial investigation failed to identify its etiology. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by SFTS bunyavirus (SFTSV), which was first discovered in 2009. The discovery of novel SFTSV resulted in our consideration to test SFTSV on the remaining samples of this cluster in September 2010. Methodology/Principal findings: We retrospectively analyzed the epidemiological and clinical data of this cluster. The first case, one 55-year-old man with fulminant hemorrhagic diseases, died on October 14, 1996. His younger brother (the second case) developed similar hemorrhagic diseases after nursing him and then died on November 3. From November 4 to November 15, nine other patients, including six family members and three medical staffs, developed fever and thrombocytopenia after exposure to the second case. The sera of six patients were collected on November 24, 1996. IgM antibodies against SFTSV were detected in all of the six patients’ sera using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while IgG antibodies were detected in one patient’s serum using an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). We also found that IgG antibodies against SFTSV were still detected in four surviving patients’ sera 14 years after illness onset. Conclusions and significance: The mysterious pathogen of the cluster in 1996 was proved to be SFTSV on the basis of its epidemiological data, clinical data and serological results. It suggests that SFTSV has been circulating in China for more than 10 years before being identified in 2009, and SFTSV IgG antibodies can persist for up to 14 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The positive energy balance between caloric intake and caloric output increasing storage of triglycerides (TG) in adipocytes has made nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) one of the major public health problems in China. Excessive lipid deposition in the pancreas is referred to as nonalcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD). Early assessment of pancreatic fat infiltration will have an increasing role in the clinical management of the metabolic dysregulation and prevention pancreatic complications., Subjects and Methods: We retrospectively collected data of inpatients with NAFPD from EUS database between September 2012 and August 2020 at our endoscopic center. The prevalence of NAFPD and factors associated with its development were statistically analyzed. The echogenicity of the pancreas was compared to that of the left renal cortex during the EUS examination by using an existing criterion., Results: Four thousand, seven hundred and four consecutive individuals underwent EUS were enrolled. The prevalence of NAFPD was 1.2% (57/4704) . Factors independently associated with NAFPD on multivariate analysis were increasing TG (odds ratios [OR] 4.65, P = 0.014), NAFLD (OR 16.76, P = 0.005) and decreasing apolipoprotein A-1 (OR 0.002, P = 0.0127). We found no association between NAFPD and age, sex, total cholesterol or hypertension., Conclusions: We found a meaningful relationship between NAFLD, dyslipidemia, and NAFPD in Chinese. We hypothesized that NAFPD was strongly correlated with ectopic fat deposition and its related abnormalities of lipid metabolism. Early diagnosis of NAFLD provides opportunities to control the progression of NAFPD., Competing Interests: None

Acute pancreatitis is a common critical and acute gastrointestinal disease worldwide, with an increasing percentage of morbidity. However, the gene expression pattern in peripheral blood has not been fully analyzed. In addition, the mechanism of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-induced acute pancreatitis has not been investigated. Here, after bioinformatic analysis with machine-learning methods of the expression data of peripheral blood cells and validation in local patients, two functional gene modules in peripheral blood cells of acute pancreatitis were identified, and S100A6, S100A9, and S100A12 were validated as predictors of severe pancreatitis. Additionally, through a combination analysis of bulk sequencing and single-cell sequencing data of COVID-19 patients, a pivotal subtype of neutrophils with strong activation of the interferon-related pathway was identified as a pivotal peripheral blood cell subtype for COVID-19-induced acute pancreatitis. These results could facilitate the prognostic prediction of acute pancreatitis and research on COVID-19-induced acute pancreatitis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhang, Wang, Zhang, Xia, Peng, Li, Yin, Li, Yang, Su and Huang.)

Gastric foreign bodies are frequently seen in children and the elderly. In adults, most foreign bodies are caused by accidental ingestion and 80 % or more of them are likely to pass spontaneously. Herein, we report an interesting case of a gastric foreign body in a healthy adult with no apparent risk factors, such as psychiatric disorders, mental retardation and alcohol consumption, nor a history of accidental ingestion.