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  • 3.9
    Impact Factor
  • 7.1
    CiteScore
  • 16 days
    Submission to First Decision
  • 3 days
    Acceptance to Publication

Life

Life is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal related to fundamental themes in life sciences from basic to applied research, published monthly online by MDPI. The Spanish Association for Cancer Research (ASEICA) is affiliated with Life and its members receive a discount on the article processing charges.
  • Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
  • High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, SCIE (Web of Science), PubMed, PMC, CAPlus / SciFinder, and other databases.
  • Journal Rank: JCR - Q1 (Biology) / CiteScore - Q1 (Paleontology)
  • Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 15.3 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 2.9 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the first half of 2026).
  • Recognition of Reviewers: Reviewers whose reports are timely and of high quality receive an APC discount voucher for a future publication in an MDPI journal. Become a reviewer.

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All Articles (12,339)

  • Article
  • Open Access

Background: In experimental models, injured tubular cells with increased pyrimidine metabolism activate fibroblasts through the pyrimidine receptor P2Y6R, promoting fibrosis. We explored whether this axis can be traced in human kidney disease. Methods: We analyzed public bulk, single-cell and single-nucleus human kidney RNA-seq data. Results: A higher pyrimidine metabolism gene score was found in proximal tubules in acute kidney injury (AKI) and, in one of two single-cell datasets, in chronic kidney disease (CKD), and in early diabetic kidney disease (DKD) tissue; within participants, it was higher in altered than in reference-state proximal tubular cells. P2RY6 expression was higher in whole kidney advanced DKD tissue and in fibroblasts in AKI and CKD. The extracellular matrix (ECM) gene score was higher in advanced DKD and in stromal cells and fibroblasts in AKI and CKD; fibroblast PDGFRB expression was also higher. The proximal tubular pyrimidine score correlated with the fibroblast ECM score within the healthy and CKD groups, but not within AKI, and not with fibroblast P2RY6 expression. Conclusions: The current data analysis supports the association of proximal tubular pyrimidine metabolism gene expression with fibroblast ECM gene expression in human CKD; however, there was no significant association between ECM gene expression and fibroblast P2RY6 expression. Functional studies are needed to assess the importance of pyrimidine signaling in fibrosis in human kidney disease.

Life

14 November 2026

Pyrimidine score in human kidney disease. (a) In bulk RNA-seq of the Fan DKD cohort, the proximal tubular (PT) marker score (mean expression of eleven PT marker genes of the KPMP atlas), an estimate of the proximal tubular content of the samples, is lower in advanced DKD than in normal kidney tissue. (b) Bulk RNA-seq of the Fan DKD cohort shows a higher pyrimidine score in early DKD, but not in advanced DKD, compared with normal kidney tissue. (c,d) Pseudobulk analysis of proximal tubules in KPMP scRNA-seq data shows a higher pyrimidine score in AKI and CKD samples, and in the DKD-focused analysis. (e,f) KPMP snRNA-seq analysis confirmed a higher pyrimidine score in patients with AKI compared with healthy controls. Statistical comparisons are against the normal group (two-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test, p-values adjusted by the Benjamini–Hochberg method within each panel; ns = not significant; *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001).
  • Article
  • Open Access

Selective Arterial Embolization for Renal Angiomyolipoma: A Giant Versus Non-Giant Lesion Subgroup Comparison

  • Mehmet Ali Durmus,
  • Omer Faruk Topaloglu and
  • Hüseyin Saygin Tuna
  • + 8 authors

Selective arterial embolization (SAE) is an established nephron-sparing option for renal angiomyolipoma (AML), but it remains unclear whether giant lesions (≥10 cm) respond less well or carry higher procedural risk. We retrospectively reviewed 40 patients treated with SAE between 2020 and 2025. Tris-acryl gelatin microspheres (300–500 µm) were the primary embolic agent; N-butyl cyanoacrylate or microcoils were added in 12 patients with acute bleeding or large aneurysms. Pre- and post-procedural values were compared with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and giant and non-giant lesions with the Mann–Whitney U and Fisher’s exact tests. Thirty-six patients (90%) were women, and 14 (35%) had giant lesions. Technical success reached 100% and clinical success 97.5% (39/40); no major complications occurred. Mean tumor diameter decreased by 13.6% (83.6 ± 47.2 vs. 72.7 ± 41.8 mm; p < 0.001), while estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) did not change significantly (94.6 ± 21.6 vs. 87.7 ± 33.1 mL/min/1.73 m2; p = 0.203). Giant and non-giant lesions did not differ significantly in clinical success (92.9% vs. 100%; p > 0.999), shrinkage, or renal function (all p > 0.05). One patient with a giant, multifocal, tuberous sclerosis complex-associated lesion did not respond and underwent nephrectomy. These data suggest that tumor size alone may not preclude SAE.

Life

14 November 2026

CT measurement of a giant renal angiomyolipoma. (a) Axial unenhanced CT image showing the anteroposterior (107.3 mm) and transverse (192.5 mm) diameters. (b) Coronal reformatted image showing the craniocaudal diameter (228.6 mm), which, as the largest of the three dimensions, was taken as the index diameter. The lesion is a large, heterogeneous mass arising from the right kidney, with extensive areas of macroscopic fat attenuation interspersed with soft-tissue components, the hallmark CT appearance of angiomyolipoma; adjacent bowel loops are displaced but not invaded.
  • Article
  • Open Access

Adequate debridement and assessment of disease extent are essential in Fournier’s gangrene (FG). This retrospective study evaluated the contribution of computed tomography (CT) for assessing disease extent and risk stratification in FG. Thirty-seven patients who underwent surgical debridement and preoperative CT between January 2010 and January 2021 were included and compared with the remaining 187 patients in the institutional FG database. CT images were retrospectively reassessed by an experienced radiologist blinded to clinical data. Clinical Uludağ Fournier’s Gangrene Severity Index (UFGSI) scores were recalculated by replacing the clinical disease extent (assessed intraoperatively) with the radiological disease extent (assessed on CT) to obtain the radiological UFGSI. Patients with unchanged scores (group A) were compared with those whose scores increased after radiological assessment (group B) regarding clinical characteristics, the need to extend debridement margins at subsequent debridements, and outcomes. The radiological UFGSI was higher than the clinical UFGSI in 10 patients (27.0%), including two who were reclassified into the high-risk category. Extension of debridement margins at subsequent debridements was required more often in group B (80.0% vs. 37.0%, p = 0.029). Mortality was higher in group B (60.0% vs. 18.5%, p = 0.038); however, the radiological UFGSI did not discriminate in-hospital mortality significantly better than the clinical UFGSI (area under the curve 0.911 vs. 0.864; DeLong’s test, p = 0.233). No patient had less extensive involvement on CT than on clinical assessment. CT also identified abdominal extension in one patient. These findings suggest that clinical assessment may underestimate disease extent in FG. Preoperative CT may provide additional anatomical information and influence UFGSI-based risk classification; however, further studies are needed to establish whether these findings translate into improved surgical management or clinical outcomes.

Life

14 November 2026

Receiver operating characteristic curves of the clinical and radiological UFGSI for in-hospital mortality in patients who underwent preoperative CT (n = 37; 11 deaths). AUC: area under the curve; UFGSI: Uludağ Fournier’s Gangrene Severity Index.
  • Article
  • Open Access

Acute exercise can influence cognitive control, but whether different exercise protocols produce distinct effects on food-related cognitive processing remains unclear. This study compared high-intensity interval training (HIIT), moderate-to-vigorous continuous aerobic exercise (MV-CAE), and seated rest in adults with overweight or obesity. Seventeen participants completed all three conditions, contributing 51 experimental sessions in a randomized within-subject crossover design. Participants performed a food-related Flanker task involving food and furniture targets under congruent and incongruent conditions. Behavioral performance and event-related potential (ERP) amplitudes were analyzed using mixed-effects models, with ERP analyses focused on the N2 (180–230 ms), P3 (400–600 ms), and late positive potential (LPP; 700–1100 ms) time windows at Fz. The primary analyses did not identify significant intervention × target category × congruency interactions after Holm correction in the N2 (adjusted p = 0.1635), P3 (adjusted p = 0.5248), or LPP (adjusted p = 0.5248) windows. The HIIT-versus-MV-CAE planned contrast in the N2 window was 1.859 µV (95% CI [0.337, 3.381]; Holm-adjusted p = 0.1532). Behavioral accuracy remained high, with no significant overall intervention effect (χ2(2) = 0.452, p = 0.7978). RT likewise showed no significant intervention effect (p = 0.7221). Sensitivity analyses identified an LPP-related difference after excluding three prespecified high-risk sessions, suggesting that later electrophysiological responses warrant further investigation. These findings suggest potentially task-dependent electrophysiological responses to different acute exercise protocols, although the observed patterns require confirmation in larger studies with more comprehensive EEG quality control.

Life

14 November 2026

Experimental design. (A) High-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocol; (B) moderate-to-vigorous continuous aerobic exercise (MV-CAE) protocol; (C) seated control condition; (D) food-related Flanker task conditions categorized by central target type and stimulus congruency; (E) schematic sequence of the Flanker task. The unified timeline at the bottom represents the maximum timeline across conditions. The actual intervention durations were 30 min for HIIT, 40 min for MV-CAE, and 30 min for the seated control. Arrows indicate the sequence of experimental procedures and task events.

Featured Articles of Last Quarter

Personalized risk assessment and lipid management in the 2026 ACC/AHA guideline. The 2026 ACC/AHA framework for dyslipidemia management moves from a single-score approach to a layered strategy integrating initial clinical evaluation, PREVENT-ASCVD risk estimation, risk-enhancing factors, selective use of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and apolipoprotein B (ApoB), and coronary artery calcium (CAC) for risk reclassification. The resulting risk profile informs the definition of LDL-C and non-HDL-C treatment goals and the selection of lipid-lowering therapy, from statins to combination treatment and specialist therapies in selected phenotypes. Overall, this model supports earlier, more precise, and sustained reduction in atherogenic lipoprotein burden. Abbreviations: ACC, American College of Cardiology; AHA, American Heart Association; ApoB, apolipoprotein B; ASCVD, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; CAC, coronary artery calcium; CKD, chronic kidney disease; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; Lp(a), lipoprotein(a); PREVENT-ASCVD, Predicting Risk of cardiovascular disease EVENTs–Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.
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Structural organization of a resting platelet and its granule contents. At rest, platelets adopt a discoid morphology maintained by a marginal band of microtubules. Despite being anucleated, platelets contain a full complement of cellular organelles within a densely packed cytoplasm, including mitochondria, glycogen stores, peroxisomes, and an open canalicular system (OCS) that serves as a conduit for rapid granule content release upon activation. Three distinct granule subtypes are present: α-granules, the most abundant, storing adhesion proteins (fibrinogen, vWF, thrombospondin/TSP, GPIIb/IIIa), chemokines (PF4/CXCL-4, β-thromboglobulin/β-TG, SDF-1α), growth factors (VEGF, IGF, PDGF), and cytokines (TGF-β, CD40L); dense (δ-) granules, storing small bioactive molecules including serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine/5-HT), ADP, ATP, Ca2+, polyphosphate, and histamine; and lysosomes (λ-granules), containing acid hydrolases (cathepsins, β-glucuronidase, hexosaminidase) and other proteases involved in receptor cleavage, matrix remodeling, and innate immune signaling. Together, these granule compartments constitute the primary secretory arsenal through which platelets exert hemostatic and immunomodulatory functions.
A comparison of important time points of the development of the cranial arteries during embryogenesis between our findings (A) compared to the analyzed literature (B). Colors are corresponding to arteries within Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6. AA—aortic arches 1–6, VPA—ventral pharyngeal artery, ECA—external carotid artery, CCA—common carotid artery, ICA—internal carotid artery, CVA—carotid–vertebral anastomoses, Pcom—posterior communicating artery, LNAs—longitudinal neural arteries, BA—basilar artery, VA—vertebral artery, ACA—anterior cerebral artery, Acom—anterior communicating artery, MCA—middle cerebral artery, AChA—anterior choroidal artery, DiA/MeA—diencephalic/mesencephalic artery, PChA—posterior choroidal artery, MxA—maxillary artery, PDOA—primitive dorsal ophthalmic artery, PVOA—primitive ventral ophthalmic artery, OA—ophthalmic artery.

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Life - ISSN 2075-1729