In cystic fibrosis patients, inflammation is often considered to be secondary to chronic infections. In the present study, we show increased levels of pro-inflammatory proteins in the lungs of a cystic fibrosis foetus compared to the lungs of two normal foetuses. Our findings suggest therefore the existence of an early intrinsic pro-inflammatory state in cystic fibrosis airways.

Ductal plate malformations (DPM) are developmental anomalies considered to result from lack of ductal plate remodeling during bile duct morphogenesis. In mice, bile duct development is initiated by the formation of primitive ductal structures lined by two cell types, namely ductal plate cells and hepatoblasts. During ductal plate remodeling the primitive ductal structures mature to ducts as a result from differentiation of the ductal plate cells and hepatoblasts to cholangiocytes. We here report that this process is conserved in human fetal liver. These findings prompted us to evaluate how DPM develop in three mouse models, namely mice with livers deficient in Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor (HNF)6, HNF1β or cystin-1 (cpk mice). Human liver from a patient with a HNF1B/TCF2 mutation, and from fetuses affected with Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD) were also analysed. Despite the epistatic relationship between HNF6, HNF1β and cystin-1, the three mouse models displayed distinct morphogenic mechanisms of DPM. They all developed biliary cysts lined by cells with abnormal apico-basal polarity. However, the absence of HNF6 led to an early defect in ductal plate cell differentiation. In HNF1β-deficient liver, maturation of the primitive ductal structures was impaired. Cpk mouse livers and human fetal ARPKD showed normal differentiation and maturation but abnormal duct expansion. Conclusion DPM is the common end-point of distinct defects initiated at distinct stages of bile duct morphogenesis. Our observations provide a new pathogenic classification of DPM.

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Condyloma acuminatum, intraepithelial neoplasia, and squamous cell carcinoma are three relatively frequent vulvar lesions. Condyloma acuminatum is induced by low risk genotypes of human papillomavirus (HPV). Vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) and squamous cell carcinoma have different etiopathogenic pathways and are related or not with high risk HPV types. The goal of this paper is to review the main pathological and clinical features of these lesions. A special attention has been paid also to epidemiological data, pathological classification, and clinical implications of these diseases.