The impact of soluble HLA-G in IVF/ICSI embryo culture medium on implantation success.

The HLA-G molecule is widely accepted as an important factor for pregnancy success. Its expression has been detected in the extravillous trophoblasts. Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) was found in the genital tract, pre-implanted embryos as well as in seminal fluid.

ERAP/HLA-C and KIR Genetic Profile in Couples with Recurrent Implantation Failure.

Proper embryo implantation depends on the tolerance of the maternal immune system to the fetus and its foreign paternal antigens. During implantation and early pregnancy, the dominant leukocytes in the uterus are uterine NK cells, expressing killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR). KIRs recognize human leukocyte antigens (HLA-C) on the human trophoblast inherited from the father and mother.

The Association of Gene Polymorphism and Its Soluble Form With Male Infertility.

Successful reproduction depends on many factors. Male factors contribute to infertility in approximately 50% of couples who fail to conceive. Seminal plasma consists of secretions from different accessory glands containing a mixture of various cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, which together can induce a local immune response that might impact on a male's as well as a female's fertility.

ERAP, KIR, and HLA-C Profile in Recurrent Implantation Failure.

The mother's uterine immune system is dominated by uterine natural killer (NK) cells during the first trimester of pregnancy. These cells express killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) of inhibitory or activating function. Invading extravillous trophoblast cells express HLA-C molecules, and both maternal and paternal HLA-C allotypes are presented to KIRs.

A randomized comparison of modified subcutaneous "Z"-stitch versus manual compression to achieve hemostasis after large caliber femoral venous sheath removal.

Objectives: To compare subcutaneous "Z"-stitch versus manual compression in attaining hemostasis after large bore femoral venous access, and to assess its impact on venous patency.

Background: Structural interventions increasingly require large caliber venous access, for which convenient, safe, and effective method of postprocedural hemostasis is needed. "Z"-stitch has been introduced for this purpose in some centers but systematic data on its performance is limited.

Titin Truncating Variants in Dilated Cardiomyopathy - Prevalence and Genotype-Phenotype Correlations.

TTN gene truncating variants are common in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), although data on their clinical significance is still limited. We sought to examine the frequency of truncating variants in TTN in patients with DCM, including familial DCM (FDCM), and to look for genotype-phenotype correlations. Clinical cardiovascular data, family histories and blood samples were collected from 72 DCM probands, mean age of 34 years, 45.

Anti-CMV-IgG positivity of donors is beneficial for alloHSCT recipients with respect to the better short-term immunological recovery and high level of CD4+CD25high lymphocytes.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from anti-cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G (anti-CMV-IgG) positive donors facilitated immunological recovery post-transplant, which may indicate that chronic CMV infection has an effect on the immune system. This can be seen in the recipients after reconstitution with donor lymphocytes. We evaluated the composition of lymphocytes at hematologic recovery in 99 patients with hematologic malignancies post hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

LMNA mutations in Polish patients with dilated cardiomyopathy: prevalence, clinical characteristics, and in vitro studies.

Background: LMNA mutations are most frequently involved in the pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy with conduction disease. The goal of this study was to identify LMNA mutations, estimate their frequency among Polish dilated cardiomyopathy patients and characterize their effect both in vivo and in vitro.

Methods: Between January, 2008 and June, 2012 two patient populations were screened for the presence of LMNA mutations by direct sequencing: 66 dilated cardiomyopathy patients including 27 heart transplant recipients and 39 dilated cardiomyopathy patients with heart failure referred for heart transplantation evaluation, and 44 consecutive dilated cardiomyopathy patients, referred for a family evaluation and mutation screening.

CMV Serostatus of Donor-Recipient Pairs Influences the Risk of CMV Infection/Reactivation in HSCT Patients.

CMV donor/recipient serostatus was analyzed in 200 patients allografted in our institution from unrelated (122 patients) donors and 78 sibling donors in the years 2002-2011 in relation to posttransplant complications. On a group basis independently of the CMV serostatus of donor-recipient pairs sibling transplantations and those from unrelated donors that matched 10/10 at allele level had a similar rate of CMV reactivation (17/78 versus 19/71, P = ns). The rate of CMV reactivation/infection was higher in patients grafted from donors accepted at the lower level of matching than 10/10 (18/38 versus 36/149, P = 0.