March 1 - Recent Transplant News
Friday, March 1, 2013
Kidney transplants with progressing chronic diseases express high levels of acute kidney injury tanscripts
Source: American Journal of Transplantation (subscription required)
It has been previously reported that kidney transplants with early acute injury express transcripts indicating injury repair — the acute kidney injury signal. This study investigated the significance of this signal in transplants with other conditions, including rejection and recurrent disease. The injury signal was elevated in biopsies in many different conditions, including T cell-mediated rejection and potentially progressive diseases such as antibody-mediated rejection and glomerulonephritis. A high injury signal correlated with poor function and with inflammation in areas of fibrosis, but not with fibrosis without inflammation. Read more.
Mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing c-x-c chemokine receptor type 4 improve early liver regeneration of small-for-size liver grafts
Source: Liver Transplantation (subscription required)
Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy can prevent hepatic parenchymal cell loss and promote tissue repair. However, poor MSC engraftment is one of the primary barriers to the effectiveness of cell therapy because culture-expanded MSCs progressively down-regulate C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) expression and lose their ability to migrate toward a concentration gradient of stromal cell–derived factor 1a (SDF1a). In a recent study, researchers investigated whether a CXCR4-MSC infusion could protect hepatocytes and stimulate regeneration in 50 percent reduced size liver transplantation. Read more.
Kidney transplant chains boost benefit of nondirected donors
Source: Renal & Urology News
Kidney transplant chains augment the benefit of nondirected donors, according to investigators. In a study, researchers found that altruistic nondirected donors (NDDs) triggered almost five transplants on average, and more if the NDD was blood type O. Dr. Marc L. Melcher, Ph.D., of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and colleagues reviewed a large multicenter living donor-recipient database that contained information about donor-recipient pairs from 57 U.S. transplant centers. Read more.
Unrecognized intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Analysis of 993 adult cirrhotic liver explants
Source: Clinical Transplantation (subscription required)
Liver cirrhosis is a recognized risk factor for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (I-CCa). Small I-CCa nodules might be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the context of liver cirrhosis. The aim of a recent study was to determine the prevalence and clinical impact of undetected I-CCa in liver explants of adult cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT). From December 1985 to November 2008, a first LT was performed in 993 adult cirrhotic patients in three French academic Hospitals. All liver explants were analyzed for the presence of nodules. Read more.
Molecular analysis of renal allograft biopsies — more than a nice toy for researchers?
Source: American Journal of Transplantation (subscription required)
This editorial discuss two papers on molecular diagnosis of kidney transplant injury as an alternative to standard histopathological analysis, highlighting the broad range of opportunities as well as remaining needs influencing the adoption of these techniques into routine clinical practice. Read more.
New perspectives in transplantation through intravital microscopy imaging
Source: Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation (subscription required)
Rejection of transplanted organs is a complex and highly dynamic immune process. Two-photon laser-scanning intravital microscopy (LSIM) allows for real-time, deep tissue, high-resolution imaging in physiological conditions. The recent application of this technology to study organ rejection started to provide a clearer picture of the spatiotemporal immunological dynamics of organ rejection. Read more.
Study: Individualization of tacrolimus dosage basing on cytochrome P450 3A5 polymorphism
Source: Clinical Transplantation (subscription required)
Researchers investigated how cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A5 polymorphism affects pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus and its interaction with diltiazem in Chinese kidney transplant recipients. Sixty-two CYP3A5 expressers and 58 non-expressers were, respectively, randomized to receive diltiazem supplement or not. Their pharmacokinetic profiles were acquired on 14th day, sixth month and 18th month posttransplant and compared among groups. Read more.
The usefulness and limitations of the diabetic macaque model in evaluating long-term porcine islet xenograft survival
Source: Xenotransplantation (subscription required)
Various groups have reported prolonged diabetes reversal and graft function after porcine islet transplantation into diabetic macaques using different experimental designs (macaque source, islet source, type of immunosuppression). Subsequently, the International Xenotransplantation Association has published recommendations for entering a clinical trial. Experiments showed limitations that affected consistent achievement of long-term survival. Researchers aimed to identify these limitations and underlying causes to emphasize the translational value of this highly relevant type 1 diabetic macaque model. Read more.
First interspecies neuron transplant means longer brain life
Source: Examiner.com
Italian neuroscientists are the first to discover that the maximum life span of some mammalian neurons may not be limited by the maximum life span of the organism in which they originated as reported in the Feb. 25, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The scientists transplanted neuronal precursors from the developing mousecerebellum into the cerebellum of rat embryos, using a strain of rat that can live on average nearly twice as long as the donor mouse strain. Read more.
Outcomes and predictive factors of pediatric kidney transplants: An analysis of the Thai transplant registry
Source: Pediatric Transplantation (subscription required)
As universal coverage for pediatric kidney transplantation (KT) was introduced in Thailand in 2008, the number of recipients has been increasing. We evaluated predictive factors for graft failure to understand how to improve clinical outcomes in these children. Read more.