Transplant immunology最新文献

Aim: Detection of anti-HLA antibodies is crucial for pre-transplant histocompatibility testing, donor selection, and graft survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of anti-HLA antibodies among live related renal transplant recipients from one of the largest transplant centers in north India.

Methods: In this study, retrospective data of transplant workup done in past four years were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 9 Version 9.2.0 (La Jolla, CA, USA). All samples received for pre-transplant work-up if showed positive screening results underwent Luminex single antigen bead (L-SAB) assay. Antibodies identified on L-SAB were evaluated for their specificity and the strength of their mean florescence intensity (MFI).

Results: A total of 1250 renal transplant samples were included for analysis. Out of these, 458 (36.64 %) samples were found positive in screening tests algorithm. All 458 samples were further analyzed for both class I and class II HLA antibodies by Luminex single antigen bead (L-SAB) assay. In this study, we observed that anti-A*24:01, anti-B*15:01 and anti-C*07*01 were the three most prevalent anti-HLA antibodies identified against HLA-class I antigens. However, anti-DRB1*11:01, anti-DQA1*05:01-DQB1*03:01 and anti-DPA1*02:01-DPB1*17:01 were the most common anti-HLA antibodies identified against HLA-class II antigen. Furthermore, our study found a significant association between anti-HLA class I antibody and the history of pregnancy. However, in re-transplant cases, we observed the presence of antibodies both against HLA class I and II antigens.

Conclusion: For a transplant center, it is of utmost importance to have comprehensive knowledge about the prevalence of HLA antibodies, their MFI, and their association with various sensitization events. This study may immensely help transplant communities in selecting appropriate prospective organ donors, planning desensitization regimes, managing recipients' care and predicting transplant outcomes in live related renal transplantation.

Background: The most prevalent neoplasms of the female genital tract are uterine leiomyomas, a uterine fibroid which rarely turn into cancer. We examined the levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in female patients with Leiomyomas.

Methods: The presence of PCNA and IL-8 were measured in 28 females with Leiomyoma and 20 healthy controls. Tissue PCNA levels were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC) method and serum IL-8 levels were measured by an ELISA technique. Age and menopausal stage on Leiomyoma development were also examined.

Results: Forty-eight Iraqi women were divided into 28 uterine Leiomyoma patients of whom leiomyoma tissues, adjacent myometrium and serum samples were collected during hysterectomy. Serum samples were collected from 28 patients and 20 female controls. PCNA was positively expressed in 11 out of 28 (39.2 %) leiomyoma tissues; all 20 normal myometrium were negative. The presence of PCNA was unrelated to age and menopausal stage. The mean level of serum IL-8 was elevated significantly in patients (140 pg/ml) compared to that of control (60 pg/ml; P < 0.05). The IL -8 levels were increased in postmenopausal stage.

Conclusions: Each PCNA; IL-8 showed significantly elevated levels in patients with Leiomyoma.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the expression patterns of galectin-3 (Gal-3) and NLRP3 in heart transplant recipients according to the presence of reactivated Trypanosoma cruzi infection or allograft rejection in Chagas and non-Chagas heart transplant recipients.

Methods: Gal-3 and NLRP3 expression levels were analyzed in endomyocardial biopsies from 31 heart transplant recipients, including 16 patients with chronic Chagas disease (ChD) and 15 without ChD. Samples were evaluated during periods of graft rejection or ChD reactivation, characterized by intense myocardial cellular infiltrate, and after remission of the infiltrate, classified by histopathological severity. The transcriptional levels of genes encoding Gal-3, NLRP3, Asc, caspase-1, and IL-1β were identified using the GEO2T tool across different experimental conditions.

Results: Gal-3 expression was lower in the myocardial infiltrate of ChD patients compared to non-ChD patients (p < 0.0001), whereas NLRP3 positivity was higher in ChD patients (p < 0.05). In a murine model of T. cruzi infection, elevated Gal-3 mRNA and NLRP3 inflammasome levels were observed in myocardial interstitial cells (p < 0.05). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cells from rodent cardiac allografts showed increased Gal-3 mRNA and NLRP3 levels compared to non-transplanted and rodent cardiac isografts (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that Gal-3 and NLRP3 may be important biomarkers for differentiating heart transplant recipients with and without ChD regarding the myocardial immunological processes.

The purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant morbidity and mortality in lung transplant recipients (LTR). Respiratory viral infections may be associated with de-novo HLA donor-specific antibody (DSA) production and impact lung transplant outcomes. Since one of the immunomodulation strategies post-SARS-CoV-2 infection in LTR include decreasing or holding anti-metabolites, concerns have been raised for higher incidence of de-novo DSA production in LTR.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 63 consecutive LTR diagnosed with COVID-19 to investigate this concern. COVID-19 disease severity was divided into 3 groups: mild, moderate, and severe. Mild disease was defined as patients with COVID-19 diagnosis who were stable enough to be treated as out-patients. Moderate disease was defined as patients who required admission to the hospital and were on less than 10 l of oxygen at rest. Severe disease was identified as patients who required hospitalization and were on more than 10 l of oxygen with or without mechanical ventilation or extra corporal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Groups were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test. A total of 11, 43, and 9 LTR were diagnosed with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 respectively.

Results: We observed no significant differences in the CPRA pre-COVID-19 compared to 1 and 6 months post-COVID-19 diagnosis in 6/11 (54.5 %), 18/43 (41.8 %), and 6/9 (66.9 %) LTR with mild (p = 0.66), moderate (p = 0.74), and severe (p = 0.22) COVID-19 respectively. HLA class I and II DSA were detected pre-COVID-19 diagnosis and persisted with no significant differences in the median MFI levels at 1 and 6 months post-COVID-19 diagnosis in 2/11 (p = 0.93), 7/43 (p = 0.71), and 0/9 LTR with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 respectively. De-novo HLA DSA were detected within 6 months post-COVID-19 diagnosis in 0/11 (0 %), 1/43 (2.3 %), and 3/9 (33.3 %%) LTR with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 respectively (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: Severe COVID-19 may be associated with increased risk of de novo HLA DSA production resulting in allograft dysfunction.