Purpose: Biliary atresia (BA) is a disease that manifests as jaundice after birth and leads to progressive destruction of the ductal system in the liver. The aim of this study was to investigate histopathological changes and immunohistochemically examine the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), synaptophysin, and S-100 protein in the gallbladder of BA patients. Methods: The study included a BA group of 29 patients and a control group of 41 children with cholecystectomy. Gallbladder tissue removed during surgery was obtained and examined immunohistochemically and histopathologically. Tissue samples of both groups were immunohistochemically assessed in terms of GDNF, S-100 protein, and synaptophysin expression. Expression was classified as present or absent. Inflammatory activity assessment with hematoxylin and eosin staining and fibrosis assessment with Masson's trichrome staining were performed for tissue sample sections of both groups. Results: Ganglion cells were not present in gallbladder tissue samples of the BA group.Immunohistochemically, GDNF, synaptophysin, and S-100 expression was not detected in the BA group. Histopathological examination revealed more frequent fibrosis and slightly higher inflammatory activity in the BA than in the control group. Conclusion We speculate that GDNF expression will no longer continue in this region, when the damage caused by inflammation of the extrahepatic bile ducts reaches a critical threshold. The study's findings may represent a missing link in the chain of events forming the etiology of BA and may be helpful in its diagnosis.

Purpose: Biliary atresia (BA) is a disease that manifests as jaundice after birth and leads to progressive destruction of the ductal system in the liver. The aim of this study was to investigate histopathological changes and immunohistochemically examine the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), synaptophysin, and S-100 protein in the gallbladder of BA patients. Methods: The study included a BA group of 29 patients and a control group of 41 children with cholecystectomy. Gallbladder tissue removed during surgery was obtained and examined immunohistochemically and histopathologically. Tissue samples of both groups were immunohistochemically assessed in terms of GDNF, S-100 protein, and synaptophysin expression. Expression was classified as present or absent. Inflammatory activity assessment with hematoxylin and eosin staining and fibrosis assessment with Masson's trichrome staining were performed for tissue sample sections of both groups. Results: Ganglion cells were not present in gallbladder tissue samples of the BA group.Immunohistochemically, GDNF, synaptophysin, and S-100 expression was not detected in the BA group. Histopathological examination revealed more frequent fibrosis and slightly higher inflammatory activity in the BA than in the control group. Conclusion We speculate that GDNF expression will no longer continue in this region, when the damage caused by inflammation of the extrahepatic bile ducts reaches a critical threshold. The study's findings may represent a missing link in the chain of events forming the etiology of BA and may be helpful in its diagnosis.

Objective: The present study aims to compare the levels of 7 microRNAs (mi-RNAs) (mi-RNA-125b, mi-RNA-23a-3p, mi-RNA-146a-5p, mi-RNA-106a, mi-RNA-151a-3p, mi-RNA-28, mi-RNA-125a) in the blood of the preschool children with autism and those of their siblings with healthy controls, and to investigate the association between these mi-RNAs and the severity of autism, behavioral problems, and siblings’ autistic traits. Methods: A total of 35 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at the ages of 18−60 months (patient group), 35 non-affected siblings of the ASD group (sibling group), and 30 control subjects (control group) were involved in the study. The severity of ASD was measured using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale and the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). The behavioral problems of the children with ASD were assessed with the Aberrant Behavior Checklist, and the autistic traits of the siblings were assessed using the Autism spectrum screening scale for children. Results: mi-RNA-106a-5p, mi-RNA-151a-3p, and mi-RNA-28-3p were found to be expressed significantly lower in the patient group compared to the control group. There was a significant positive correlation between mi-RNA-23a and the sensory subscale of the ABC. mi-RNA-151a was significantly associated with sound sensitivity and mi-RNA-28 with echolalia. After controlling for age and sex, the differences between groups were disappeared. Conclusion The present study examined mi-RNAs that have been reported as biomarkers in the literature. Although several symptom clusters are found to be related to certain mi-RNA expression levels, they were not found to be significant in discriminating the patient and healthy groups.