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Pancreatic cancer (PC) is an aggressive disease that is challenging to treat and is associated with a high mortality rate. The most common type of PC is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and the existing treatment options are insufficient for PDAC patients. Due to the complexity and heterogeneity of PDAC, personalized medicine is necessary for effectively treating this illness. To achieve this, it is essential to understand the mechanism of PDAC carcinogenesis. Targeted therapies are a promising strategy to improve patient outcomes. Aberrant activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in PC pathogenesis, from initiation to progression. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the PI3K pathway in PDAC, summarizes clinical data on PI3K pathway inhibition in PDAC, and explores potential effective combinations that are a promising direction requiring further investigation in PDAC., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), 2024.)

In recent years, increasing numbers of small proteins have moved into the focus of science. Small proteins have been identified and characterized in all three domains of life, but the majority remains functionally uncharacterized, lack secondary structure, and exhibit limited evolutionary conservation. While quite a few have already been described for bacteria and eukaryotic organisms, the amount of known and functionally analyzed archaeal small proteins is still very limited. In this review, we compile the current state of research, show strategies for systematic approaches for global identification of small archaeal proteins, and address selected functionally characterized examples. Besides, we document exemplarily for one archaeon the tool development and optimization to identify small proteins using genome-wide approaches.

Background: Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) have emerged over the past decade causing symptoms that range from mild, antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) to life-threatening toxic megacolon. In this study, we describe a multiple and isochronal (mixed) CDI caused by the isolates DSM 27638, DSM 27639 and DSM 27640 that already initially showed different morphotypes on solid media., Results: The three isolates belonging to the ribotypes (RT) 012 (DSM 27639) and 027 (DSM 27638 and DSM 27640) were phenotypically characterized and high quality closed genome sequences were generated. The genomes were compared with seven reference strains including three strains of the RT 027, two of the RT 017, and one of the RT 078 as well as a multi-resistant RT 012 strain. The analysis of horizontal gene transfer events revealed gene acquisition incidents that sort the strains within the time line of the spread of their RTs within Germany. We could show as well that horizontal gene transfer between the members of different RTs occurred within this multiple infection. In addition, acquisition and exchange of virulence-related features including antibiotic resistance genes were observed. Analysis of the two genomes assigned to RT 027 revealed three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and apparently a regional genome modification within the flagellar switch that regulates the fli operon., Conclusion: Our findings show that (i) evolutionary events based on horizontal gene transfer occur within an ongoing CDI and contribute to the adaptation of the species by the introduction of new genes into the genomes, (ii) within a multiple infection of a single patient the exchange of genetic material was responsible for a much higher genome variation than the observed SNPs.

Background: Evolutionary shifts in bacterial virulence are often associated with a third biological player, for instance temperate phages, that can act as hyperparasites. By integrating as prophages into the bacterial genome they can contribute accessory genes, which can enhance the fitness of their prokaryotic carrier (lysogenic conversion). Hyperparasitic influence in tripartite biotic interactions has so far been largely neglected in empirical host-parasite studies due to their inherent complexity. Here we experimentally address whether bacterial resistance to phages and bacterial harm to eukaryotic hosts is linked using a natural tri-partite system with bacteria of the genus Vibrio, temperate vibriophages and the pipefish Syngnathus typhle. We induced prophages from all bacterial isolates and constructed a three-fold replicated, fully reciprocal 75 × 75 phage-bacteria infection matrix., Results: According to their resistance to phages, bacteria could be grouped into three distinct categories: highly susceptible (HS-bacteria), intermediate susceptible (IS-bacteria), and resistant (R-bacteria). We experimentally challenged pipefish with three selected bacterial isolates from each of the three categories and determined the amount of viable Vibrio counts from infected pipefish and the expression of pipefish immune genes. While the amount of viable Vibrio counts did not differ between bacterial groups, we observed a significant difference in relative gene expression between pipefish infected with phage susceptible and phage resistant bacteria., Conclusion: These findings suggest that bacteria with a phage-susceptible phenotype are more harmful against a eukaryotic host, and support the importance of hyperparasitism and the need for an integrative view across more than two levels when studying host-parasite evolution.

Pancreatic endocrine tumors (PETs) or islet cell tumors are rare lesions, the incidence of which is estimated to be less than 1 per 100,000 person-years in the general population. PETs can be divided into functional (exhibit a distinct clinical syndrome due to hormone hypersecretion) and non-functional tumors. The majority of PETs are non-functional. In spite of their rarity, cystic neoplasms of the pancreas are characterized by existing or potential malignancy that cannot be ignored during decisive process with regard to the choice of treatment. The purpose of this workis to find an association with Crohn's disease and cystic degeneration of a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas. Crohn's disease may affect extraintestinal organs, including the pancreas. In such cases, It seems certain that many patients diagnosed with Crohn disease (CD) are predisposed to a wider spectrum of cancers. We present a case of pancreatic cyst with no typical features of pseudocyst in the medical interview, with history of Crohn's disease, treated by caudal pancreatectomy. We tried to evaluate the clinical and morphological features of so-called cystic neoplasms associated with inflammatory bowel disease and to define their pathological characteristics., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Mitochondria play an essential role in producing the energy required for seedling growth following imbibition. Heavy metals, such as cadmium impair mitochondrial functioning in part by altering redox regulation. The activities of two protein redox systems present in mitochondria, thioredoxin (Trx) and glutaredoxin (Grx), were analysed in the cotyledons and embryo of pea (Pisum sativum L.) germinating seeds exposed to toxic Cd concentration. Compared to controls, Cd-treated germinating seeds showed a decrease in total soluble protein content, but an increase in -SH content. Under Cd stress conditions, Grx and glutathione reductase (GR) activities as well as glutathione (GSH) concentrations decreased both in cotyledons and the embryo. Similar results were obtained with the Trx system: Trx and NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase (NTR) activities were not stimulated, whereas total NAD(P) contents diminished in the embryo. However, Cd enhanced the levels of all components of the Trx system in the cotyledons. On the other hand, Cd caused a significant increase in oxidative stress parameters such as the redox ratio of coenzymes (oxidized to reduced forms) and NAD(P)H oxidase activities. These results indicate that Cd induces differential redox responses on different seed tissues. We suggest that neither Grx system nor Trx one may improve the redox status of mitochondrial thiols in the embryo of germinating pea seeds exposed to Cd toxicity, but in the cotyledons the contribution of Trx/NTR/NADPH can be established in despite the vulnerability of the coenzyme pools due to enzymatic oxidation.