in body composition that might be overlooked by relying solely on BMI. Physical activity is an independent predictor of body composition and reliable long-term marker of symptom control.
  Autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome (HIES) is a rare primary immune deficiency syndrome caused mainly by mutations in the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene. More information on STAT3 mutations is still needed, and further investigation is warranted. A girl with HIES carrying a novel STAT3 mutation who had no obvious apparent symptoms but presented with a severe necrotizing pulmonary infection is described here. We analysed dynamic changes in blood cells and a series of inflammatory factors in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) before and after each bronchoscopic lavage to relieve her severe pulmonary abscess.
 
  Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were used to identify novel STAT3 mutations. Flow cytometry was used for immune analysis of Th17 cells and inflammatory cytokines.
 
  A novel de novo mutation in STAT3 (c.1552C>T, p.Arg518*) was identified in this patient. The number of eosinophils decreased after each bronchoscopy procedure. Elevated interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-1β levels were detected in her right lung BALF in the acute phase, but they were reduced after four bronchoscopic lavage procedures and the administration of antimicrobial medicine.
 
  More information on STAT3 mutations is needed to investigate the relationship between the genotype and HIES phenotype. Bronchoscopic lavages are recommended instead of surgery to relieve acute severe pulmonary abscesses and necrotizing pulmonary infections in paediatric patients with HIES.
 More information on STAT3 mutations is needed to investigate the relationship between the genotype and HIES phenotype. Bronchoscopic lavages are recommended instead of surgery to relieve acute severe pulmonary abscesses and necrotizing pulmonary infections in paediatric patients with HIES.Despite recent advances in therapy, a substantial proportion of asthmatics remain not well controlled.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ad-5584.html  The classical stepwise approach to pharmacological therapy in adult asthma recommends that treatment is progressively stepped up by increasing the inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose or by adding another controller medication- to achieve symptom control and reduce the risk of exacerbations, and stepped down after a period of control. In general, asthma guideline recommendations do not reflect that there are significant differences between ICS in terms of potency. Moreover, they do not consider efficacy and safety separately, incorrectly assuming that "low" and "high" dose categories inevitably correspond with low and high risk of systemic effects. Another point of criticism is the fact that guidelines do not take into account the inflammatory profile of the patient, although substantial groups of patients with mild and moderate asthma have little evidence of "T2-high" inflammation, and by extension are likely to show a poor response to ICS treatment. On the other hand, the latest version of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) equally recommends regular ICS and ICS/formoterol as needed to prevent exacerbations in step 2 patients, without taking into consideration that the therapeutic objectives (exacerbations, symptoms) may differ between individual patients and that different goals may warrant distinct treatment strategies. In this review, we bring to the table several controversial issues concerning asthma treatment and suggest an alternative proposal that takes into consideration the potential side effects of high ICS doses, the patient's inflammatory profile and the therapeutic goals to be achieved.
  Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) stem cells (CSCs) play a vital role in the occurrence, development and recurrence of PDAC. Previous studies have shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are closely associated with occurrence and development of malignant tumors. Among them, a LncRNA called homeobox transcription antisense RNA (HOTAIR) plays a key role in cancer progression in a variety of malignant tumors, including PDAC. Numerous studies have associated HOTAIR with poor prognosis of malignant tumor treatment, owing to its role in regulating downstream microRNAs (miRNAs). However, its underlying mechanism of action on CSCs-like properties of PDAC remain unclear.
 
  We enriched CSCs of PDAC with a serum-free medium (SFM), and analyzed the expression levels of HOTAIR and miR-34a after enrichment. In addition, we evaluated the regulatory effects of HOTAIR and miR-34a on CSCs-like properties, invasion and migration of PDAC. Finally, we elucidated the role of HOTAIR in pancreatic tumor xenotransplantation.
 
  HOTAIR was upregulated in CSCs following PDAC enrichment of PDAC. Conversely, miR-34a was downregulated and appeared to be a direct target of HOTAIR. Moreover, knocking down HOTAIR or overexpressing miR-34a significantly inhibited CSCs-like properties, invasion and migration of PDAC cells. Furthermore, HOTAIR activated the JAK2/STAT3 pathway through miR-34a, thereby promoting CSCs-like properties, invasion and migration of PDAC cells. In vivo experiments indicated that knocking down HOTAIR could inhibit the tumorigenicity of CFPAC-1 cells.
 
  This is the first report of HOTAIR-mediated activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway via miR-34a inhibition. This activation promotes CSCs-like properties, invasion and migration of PDAC.
 This is the first report of HOTAIR-mediated activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway via miR-34a inhibition. This activation promotes CSCs-like properties, invasion and migration of PDAC.Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is an uncommon and aggressive neoplasm, with most patients presenting in an advanced stage. Systemic chemotherapy is the limited treatment available but is unsatisfactory, while targeted therapy is still awaiting validation from clinical trials. Given the potential effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the treatment of BTC, this review aims to summarize the evidence-based benefits and predictive biomarkers for using inhibitors of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 (CTLA-4) ligand, or programmed cell death protein-1 and its ligand (PD-1 and PD-L1) as monotherapy or combined with other anti-tumor therapies, while also pointing out certain pitfalls with the use of ICIs which need to be addressed.