Chronic aryl hydrocarbon receptor activity impairs muscle mitochondrial function with tobacco smoking.

Background: Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that chronic tobacco smoking directly contributes to skeletal muscle dysfunction independent of its pathological impact to the cardiorespiratory systems. The mechanisms underlying tobacco smoke toxicity in skeletal muscle are not fully resolved. In this study, the role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a transcription factor known to be activated with tobacco smoke, was investigated.

Investigating Local Patterns of Mumps Virus Circulation, Using a Combination of Molecular Tools.

Mumps is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by the mumps virus (MuV). However, MuV has re-emerged in many countries with high vaccine coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends molecular surveillance based on sequencing of the small hydrophobic (SH) gene.

The 2018 Banff Working Group classification of definitive polyomavirus nephropathy: A multicenter validation study in the modern era.

Polyomavirus nephropathy (PVN) remained inadequately classified until 2018 when the Banff Working Group published a new 3-tier morphologic classification scheme derived from in-depth statistical analysis of a large multinational patient cohort. Here we report a multicenter "modern-era" validation study that included 99 patients with definitive PVN transplanted post January 1, 2009 and followed the original 2018 study design. Results validate the PVN classification, that is, the 3 PVN disease classes predicted clinical presentation, allograft function, and outcome independent of therapeutic intervention.

Prevalence, Risk Factors, Treatment, and Overall Impact of BK Viremia on Kidney Transplantation.

BK viremia (BKV) is a recognized and potentially serious problem in renal transplantation. The risk factors and the impact of BKV on renal allograft and patient survival are controversial. This study reports an 8-year, single-center experience on the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of BKV in kidney transplant recipients.

Impact of human leukocyte antigen and calculated panel reactive antibody on BK viremia in kidney transplant recipients: A single-center experience and literature review.

Background: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to investigate the effect of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and calculated panel reactive antibody (cPRA) on BK virus activation as evidenced by BK viremia (BKV).

Patients And Methods: At our institution, 649 kidney transplant patients were screened for BKV from 2009 to 2017. Patients were considered to have BKV if they had >10 000 copies/mL of BK DNA in their blood.

Association Between Sarcopenia and AFP Level in Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Sarcopenia is one of the most common complications of cirrhosis. Liver transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice for patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that are unsuitable for resection.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 163 patients transplanted at our institution with HCC from 1998 to 2016.

Measles virus genotype D4 strains with non-standard length M-F non-coding region circulated during the major outbreaks of 2011-2012 in Spain.

In recent decades, vaccination has substantially reduced the number of measles cases to levels close to the elimination stage. However, major measles outbreaks occurred in Europe during 2010-2012, after the introduction of the D4-Enfield lineage. We have performed a molecular characterization of 75 measles virus genotype D4 strains from patients infected in Spain between 2004 and 2012 by sequencing the N-450 region and the M-F non-coding region (M-F NCR) in order to identify genetic features of these viruses.

Outcome of Patients With Small Vessel Vasculitis After Renal Transplantation: National Database Analysis.

Background: Small vessel vasculitis commonly affects the kidney and can progress to end-stage renal disease. The goal of this study is to compare outcomes of patients who received a renal transplant as a result of small vessel vasculitis (group A) with those who received kidney transplants because of other causes (group B).

Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of United Network for Organ Sharing registry data for adult primary kidney transplants from January 2000 to December 2014.

Kidney Transplant Outcomes in the Super Obese: A National Study From the UNOS Dataset.

Background: We evaluated outcomes of super-obese patients (BMI > 50) undergoing kidney transplantation in the US.

Methods: We performed a review of 190 super-obese patients undergoing kidney transplantation from 1988 through 2013 using the UNOS dataset.

Results: Super-obese patients had a mean age of 45.

Cancer stem cell marker expression alone and in combination with microvascular invasion predicts poor prognosis in patients undergoing transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: The cancer stem cell hypothesis provides an explanation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) heterogeneity. We investigated the expression of CD44 and CD133 alone and in combination with microvascular invasion (MVI) as predictors of prognosis in patients undergoing liver transplantation for HCC.

Methods: Explanted livers from 95 patients transplanted for HCC were analyzed.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is strongly associated with sarcopenic obesity in patients with cirrhosis undergoing liver transplant evaluation.

Background: Sarcopenia is the most common complication of cirrhosis and adversely affects quality of life and outcomes before, during, and after liver transplantation. We studied predictors of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity in patients with cirrhosis undergoing liver transplant (LT) evaluation.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 207 adult cirrhotic patients that underwent LT from January 2008 to December 2013 was performed at our institution.

General features and epidemiology of lymphoma in Colombia. A multicentric study.

The relative frequency of the non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes varies around the world. The objective of this study was to describe the general features of patients with lymphoma in Colombia. A total of 819 patients with a new diagnosis of lymphoma were included.

Mumps-associated meningitis and encephalitis in patients with no suspected mumps infection.

Mumps virus (MuV) was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 6 of 158 patients with meningitis or encephalitis in absence of clinical mumps in the context of mumps epidemics. Our results suggest the need for the study of MuV RNA in the CSF of neurological patients in this context.

Development and validation with clinical samples of internally controlled multiplex real-time PCR for diagnosis of BKV and JCV infection in associated pathologies.

This article describes the development and validation with clinical samples of an internally controlled multiplex quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR) for human polyomaviruses BK (BKV) and JC (JCV). Blood and urine samples from renal transplant recipients with suspected nephropathy, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens from AIDS, natalizumab-treated and HIV-negative patients with suspected progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, previously checked for BKV and JCV by conventional PCR, were tested by QRT-PCR. All samples positive by conventional PCR were confirmed by QRT-PCR.

Mumps virus diagnosis and genotyping using a novel single RT-PCR.

Background: IgM detection is considered as the gold standard for mumps diagnosis. Currently, most cases in developed countries occur in highly vaccinated populations due to secondary vaccine failure. In these patients, pre-existing vaccine-induced antibodies are not able to neutralise the virus, but prevent the typical primary response, so that specific IgM is not always elicited.