Background: Heart failure (HF) represents a global health burden with distinct phenotypes characterized by varying left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Despite shared endothelial dysfunction, heart failure with reduced (HFrEF) and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) exhibit fundamentally different pathophysiological mechanisms, comorbidity profiles, and treatment responses.Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis examine inflammatory, cardiac remodelling and congestion, and myocardial injury biomarkers across HF phenotypes, integrating data from 78 studies encompassing 58,076 subjects.Results: Our analysis reveals a significant elevation of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and hs-CRP in HF compared to controls, with distinct biomarker profiles emerging between phenotypes. While inflammatory markers universally increase with disease severity, their utility in phenotypic differentiation remains limited due to substantial overlap. Comorbidity burden significantly influences inflammatory profiles, creating diagnostic challenges that multi-biomarker approaches may address. NT-proBNP, sST2, GDF-15, and cardiac troponins demonstrate complementary value when combined with inflammatory markers, potentially enabling more precise phenotypic classification.Conclusion: Our findings highlight the central role of inflammation in HF pathophysiology while identifying critical knowledge gaps, particularly regarding HFpEF-specific inflammatory signatures. This comprehensive analysis provides a foundation for developing targeted immunomodulatory therapies and personalized diagnostic approaches in heart failure management.Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025639405, PROSPERO CRD42025639405.

Growing evidence supports a bidirectional relationship between the gut microbiome and mental health. This study investigated the association between gut microbiota, depression, and suicidal behavior by analyzing fecal samples from 35 individuals with varying depression levels and 36 completed suicide cases. Standardized psychometric assessments were used for depression evaluation. Analysis revealed significant taxonomic differences between groups, with increased abundance of Firmicutes, Clostridia, Lachnospiraceae, Blautia, and Dorea in suicide cases, which also positively correlated with depression severity. Metabolic pathway analysis demonstrated a notable dichotomy: suicide cases showed elevated pathways related to infection processes, inflammation, and antibiotic resistance, while the control group exhibited higher energy metabolism and vitamin synthesis pathways. The findings establish specific microbiome profiles associated with both depression symptoms and suicidal behavior, suggesting that gut dysbiosis may influence mental health through altered energy metabolism and inflammatory processes, potentially offering new perspectives for diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and alopecia areata (AA) are organ-specific autoimmune diseases that frequently co-occur, suggesting shared immunological and microbial pathways. The gut microbiome has emerged as a key modulator of immune function, yet disease-specific microbial signatures remain poorly defined. Fecal samples from 51 participants (HT: n = 16, AA: n = 17, healthy controls: n = 18) aged 18–65 years were analyzed using shotgun metagenomic sequencing followed by multivariate statistical analyses. While alpha and beta diversity did not differ significantly across groups, taxonomic profiling revealed disease-specific microbial patterns. Bacteroides fragilis was significantly enriched in HT, suggesting a potential role in immune modulation; although mechanisms such as polysaccharide A production and molecular mimicry have been proposed in previous studies, their involvement in HT remains to be confirmed. Microbacterium sp. T32 was elevated in both HT and AA, indicating its potential as a shared autoimmune marker. Functional analysis showed increased fermentation and amino acid biosynthesis in AA, contrasting with reduced metabolic activity and elevated carbohydrate biosynthesis in HT. HT and AA exhibit distinct gut microbial and metabolic signatures. Bacteroides fragilis and Microbacterium sp. T32 may serve as potential microbial correlates for autoimmune activity, offering new insights into disease pathogenesis and targets for microbiome-based interventions.

Adenium (Adenium obesum) and avocado (Persea americana) are commonly grown as exotic houseplants in city apartments of Kazakhstan. In April-May 2020, the wilting symptom was observed on the young stems of five 2-year-old A. obesum plants in a city apartment in Saryarqa District, Astana, Kazakhstan (71°25′E, 51°11′N). Leaves turned yellow and then dried up. Plants were completely wilted within 10 days (Fig. 1A). Similar symptoms were observed in newly grown A. obesum plants in November, 2021. At the same time, lesions were found on the leaves of three 3-month-old P. americana plants. Infected leaves displayed dry, dark-brown lesions and fell off easily (Fig. 2A). Both plants were cultivated side by side. The incidence of affected A. obesum was 80% out of 5 plants and P. americana was 100% out of 3 plants. To isolate the causal agent, the infected tissues from different leaves and stems of A. obesum and P. americana plants were cut into small pieces (5 × 5 mm), washed in 70% ethanol for 5 min, and then rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. Cut pieces were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) (Laboratorios Conda S.A., Spain) and incubated at 28°C for 7 days. Ten isolates were obtained from leaves and stems of the A. obesum and P. americana symptomatic samples. All fungal colonies were white initially, turned black gradually, reverse side light yellow (Fig. 1B and Fig. 2B), conidiophores biseriate with globose vesicles, conidia were spherical vesicles, light tan to black color, smooth-walled to roughened, and sizes ranged from 3.0 to 3.5 μm (n = 15) (Fig. 1C and Fig. 2C). These observations indicated that all the isolates resembled Aspergillus spp. (Bryan and Fennell 1965). DNA was extracted using the liquid nitrogen and phenol-chloroform extraction method (Butler 2012). A 526 bp product of the ITS region on rDNA and 568 bp product of the calmodulin protein-coding gene was amplified using following primer pairs ITS4/ITS5 (Abliz et al. 2003) and cmd5/cmd6, respectively (Hong et al. 2005). The PCR reaction was done under the following conditions: initial denaturation at 94°C for 5 min, 35 cycles at 95°C for 30 s to denature, 52°C for 40 s for annealing, and 72°C for 50 s for extension. A final extension step at 72°C for 7 min was also included. The sequencing was done using BigDye® Terminator v3.1 Cycle Sequencing Kit (Applied Biosystems) and the sequence was deposited in GenBank with accession nos. ON519078 (A. obesum ITS), ON519079 (P. americana ITS), OQ358173 (A. obesum calmodulin) and OQ358174 (P. americana calmodulin). These sequences were compared with other sequences of A. niger in GenBank using BLAST analysis (MG569619.1, MT588793.1, MH478660.1, MZ787576.1 and MW086485.1). The results showed that the sequences of ten isolates were identical and had 98-100% identity with those of Aspergillus niger (Fig. 3). The phylogenetic analysis was carried out with MEGA 11 (Tamura et al. 2021). To confirm the pathogenicity, three asymptomatic plants of each were inoculated with a suspension of conidia via pin-prick inoculation (1.0×106 conidia/ml; obtained from 2-week-old cultures). Control plants were inoculated with sterile distilled water. The inoculated plants were placed in climate chamber (BINDER, Germany) and incubated for 10 days at 28°C. Symptoms were developed in leaves of inoculated plants after 2 days in P. americana and after 5 days in A. obesum. Affected leaves turned yellow and their stems started drying. Symptoms of leaves were similar to those observed on naturally infected plants, while control plants remained asymptomatic. Re-isolation of the pathogen confirmed the presence of the A. niger pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. niger causing stem rot of A. obesum and leaf spot of P. americana in Kazakhstan. Since different ornamentals are often planted together in gardens and nurseries, growers should be aware of potential transmission of A. niger among them. This finding provides a foundation to further investigate the biology and epidemiology of this disease so the developmentf diagnostic tools and management measures against it.

Maternal obesity has been increasingly recognized as a factor influencing early-life microbiome development. However, its impact on the infant gut resistome and virulome remains insufficiently characterized. In this prospective longitudinal study, we investigated gut microbiome composition, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and virulence factor profiles in infants born to mothers with obesity and normal weight during the first year of life. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed on maternal and infant fecal samples collected at birth and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Infants born to obese mothers exhibited delayed microbiome maturation characterized by early enrichment of Pseudomonadota, particularly Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae , and reduced abundance of Bifidobacterium species. This compositional pattern was accompanied by a significantly higher ARG burden in early life, including enrichment of genes associated with antibiotic inactivation, efflux mechanisms, and β-lactam resistance. Although taxonomic differences between groups were no longer statistically detectable at the 12-month time point, where the sample size was smallest, functional disparities in the resistome persisted. Additionally, infants born to obese mothers demonstrated increased relative abundance of secretory virulence-associated genes and E. coli -derived enterobactin, suggesting enhanced iron-scavenging capacity and competitive potential of Enterobacteriaceae. Together, these findings suggest that maternal obesity is associated with altered early microbial ecological dynamics, promotes resistome expansion, and may delay transition toward a stable Bacteroidota- and Bacillota-dominated microbiome. IMPORTANCE: The first year of life is a critical window for gut microbiome development, during which early microbial disturbances may influence later health. This study shows that maternal obesity is associated not only with altered infant microbial succession but also with functional changes in the infant gut microbiome, including greater antibiotic resistance gene burden and enrichment of virulence-associated traits. The finding of increased Escherichia coli -derived enterobactin suggests that iron-scavenging mechanisms may help Enterobacteriaceae persist during early infancy and may contribute to delayed microbial maturation. By linking maternal obesity with infant microbiome development, resistome expansion, and virulence-related functions, this work provides new insight into how maternal metabolic status may shape early microbial ecology and potential microbiome-associated risks.

Vitiligo is a dermatological condition affecting 1% of the global population, characterized by the loss of skin pigmentation. It appears in two main forms: nonsegmental (symmetrical depigmentation) and segmental (localized depigmentation). Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in melanocytes cause vitiligo, while immune privilege protects hair follicle melanocytes, allowing for possible repigmentation. Genetic factors and associations with other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and thyroiditis, suggest a heritable autoimmune component. CD8+ T cells play a crucial role in vitiligo, targeting melanocytes and promoting apoptosis. These cells, along with IFN-γ signaling, contribute to disease progression. Therapies targeting these pathways, such as JAK inhibitors, have shown promise in repigmentation, particularly when combined with narrowband UVB phototherapy, a gold standard treatment. Surgical interventions, including punch grafting and suction blister grafting, show high efficiency but bring high risks of skin damage and hyperpigmentation. Vitiligo patients experience significant emotional suffering, requiring both a psychological and medical treatment approach. Dietary interventions, specifically those rich in antioxidants, may support disease treatment. Vitamin D, in particular, is a promising therapeutic agent by protecting melanocytes from oxidative stress via the WNT/β-catenin pathway. This review points out the need for more research on targeted therapies that combine immune regulation, phototherapy, and dietary strategies for effective vitiligo treatment.