Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is the most frequent pulmonary complication in preterm infants. RDS incidence differs between genders, which has been called the male disadvantage. Besides maturation of the surfactant system, Na+ transport driven alveolar fluid clearance is crucial for the prevention of RDS. Na+ transport is mediated by the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) and the Na,K-ATPase, therefore potential differences in their expression or activity possibly contribute to the gender imbalance observed in RDS. Fetal distal lung epithelial (FDLE) cells of rat fetuses were separated by sex and analyzed regarding expression and activity of the Na+ transporters. Ussing chamber experiments showed a higher baseline short-circuit current (ISC) and amiloride-sensitive ΔISC in FDLE cells of female origin. In addition, maximal amiloride-sensitive ΔISC and maximal ouabain-sensitive ΔISC of female cells were higher when measured in the presence of a permeabilized basolateral or apical membrane, respectively. The number of FDLE cells per fetus recoverable during cell isolation was also significantly higher in females. In addition, lung wet-to-dry weight ratio was lower in fetal and newborn female pups. Female derived FDLE cells had higher mRNA levels of the ENaC- and Na,K-ATPase subunits. Furthermore, estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) mRNA levels were higher in female cells, which might render female cells more responsive, while concentrations of placenta-derived sex steroids do not differ between both genders during fetal life. Inhibition of ER-β abolished the sex differences in Na+ transport and female cells were more responsive to estradiol stimulation. In conclusion, a higher alveolar Na+ transport, possibly attributable to a higher expression of hormone receptors in female FDLE cells, provides an explanation for the well known sex-related difference in RDS occurrence and outcome.

(1) Background: Biomarkers might play a significant role in predicting the clinical outcomes of patients with ovarian cancer. By analyzing lipid metabolism genes, future perspectives may be uncovered; (2) Methods: RNA-seq data for serous ovarian cancer were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. The non-negative matrix factorization package in programming language R was used to classify molecular subtypes of lipid metabolism genes and the limma package in R was performed for functional enrichment analysis. Through lasso regression, we constructed a multi-gene prognosis model; (3) Results: Two molecular subtypes were obtained and an 11-gene signature was constructed (PI3, RGS, ADORA3, CH25H, CCDC80, PTGER3, MATK, KLRB1, CCL19, CXCL9 and CXCL10). Our prognostic model shows a good independent prognostic ability in ovarian cancer. In a nomogram, the predictive efficiency was notably superior to that of traditional clinical features. Related to known models in ovarian cancer with a comparable amount of genes, ours has the highest concordance index; (4) Conclusions: We propose an 11-gene signature prognosis prediction model based on lipid metabolism genes in serous ovarian cancer.

Background Preliminary empirical data indicates a substantial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being and mental health. Individuals with minoritized sexual and gender identities are at a higher risk of experiencing such negative changes in their well-being. The objective of this study was to compare levels of well-being among cis-heterosexual individuals and individuals with minoritized sexual and gender identities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Using data obtained in a cross-sectional online survey between April 20 to July 20, 2020 (N = 2332), we compared levels of well-being (WHO-5) across subgroups (cis-individuals with minoritized sexual identities, individuals with minoritized gender identities and cis-heterosexual individuals) applying univariate (two-sample t-test) and multivariate analysis (multivariate linear regression). Results Results indicate overall lower levels of well-being as well as lower levels of well-being in minoritized sexual or gender identities compared to cis-heterosexual individuals. Further, multivariate analyses revealed that living in urban communities as well as being in a relationship were positively associated with higher levels of well-being. Furthermore, a moderation analysis showed that being in a relationship reduces the difference between groups in terms of well-being. Conclusion Access to mental healthcare for individuals with minoritized sexual and gender identities as well as access to gender-affirming resources should be strengthened during COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare services with low barriers of access such as telehealth and online peer support groups should be made available, especially for vulnerable groups.

The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic value of the steroid hormone receptor expression, counting the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and thyroid hormone receptors (THRs), on the two different breast cancer (BC) entities: multifocal/multicentric versus unifocal. The overall and disease-free survival were considered as the prognosis determining aspects and analyzed by uni- and multi-variate analysis. Furthermore, histopathological grading and TNM staging (T = tumor size, N = lymph node involvement, M = distant metastasis) were examined in relation to RXR and THRs expression. A retrospective statistical analysis was carried out on survival-related events in a series of 319 sporadic BC patients treated at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Ludwig-Maximillian’s University in Munich between 2000 and 2002. The expression of RXR and THRs, including its two major isoforms THRα1 and THRα2, was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and showed to have a significant correlation for both BC entities in regard to survival analysis. Patients with multifocal/multicentric BC were exposed to a significantly worse disease-free survival (DFS) when expressing RXR. Patients with unifocal BC showed a significantly worse DFS when expressing THRα1. In contrast, a statistically significant positive association between THRα2 expression and enhanced DFS in multifocal/multicentric BC was shown. Especially the RXR expression in multifocal/multicentric BC was found to play a remarkably contradictory role for BC prognosis. The findings imply the need for a critical review of possible molecular therapies targeting steroid hormone receptors in BC treatment. Our results strengthen the need to further investigate the behavior of the nuclear receptor family, especially in relation to BC focality.

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