Transfusion-related acute lung injury/transfusion-associated circulatory overload in a child with non-transfusion dependent thalassemia and aplastic crisis due to acute parvovirus B19 infection.

We present a never-transfused girl with thalassemia intermedia who was admitted for febrile aplastic crisis due to human parvovirus B19. After a first transfusion of packed red blood cells, she developed pulmonary oedema. She improved with supportive care including the use of intravenous diuretics.

Assessment of Donor Derived Cell Free DNA (dd-cfDNA) at Surveillance and at Clinical Suspicion of Acute Rejection in Renal Transplantation.

In our prospective, unicenter cohort study, we collected blood samples from 30 newly kidney transplanted patients, at month 1, 2, 3, and 5 for dd-cfDNA analysis, along with creatinine/eGFR and DSA monitoring, and from 32 patients who underwent an indication biopsy and whose dd-cfDNA levels were measured at the time of biopsy and 1 month afterwards. Fourteen of 32 (43.8%) patients in the biopsy group were diagnosed with TCMR and 5 of 32 (15.

Clinical Outcome of Kidney Transplant Recipients with C1q-Binding De Novo Donor Specific Antibodies: A Single-Center Experience.

Complement activation by HLA antibodies is a key component of immune-mediated graft injury. We examined the clinical outcomes of kidney transplant recipients with complement-fixing de novo donor-specific antibodies (dnDSA) who were followed in our center. The C1q-binding ability was retrospectively assessed in 69 patients with dnDSA and mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) values > 2000 out of the 1325 kidney transplant recipients who were screened for DSA between 2015 and 2019.

The Influence of Antibodies against Angiotensin II Type-1 Receptor on the Outcome of Kidney Transplantation: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Allo- and autoimmune mechanisms are involved in kidney allograft rejection and loss. This study investigates the impact of anti-angiotensin II type-1 receptor antibodies (anti-AT1RAbs) detected alone or in association with HLA donor-specific antibodies (HLA-DSAs) on the outcome of kidney transplantation (KTx). Anti-AT1RAbs and HLA-DSAs were detected in 71 kidney transplant (KT) recipients who developed biopsy-proven acute or chronic active T-cell rejection (TCMR) ( = 51) or antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) ( = 20), forming the rejection group (RG).

Evaluation of Kidney Donor Risk Index/Kidney Donor Profile Index as Predictor Tools of Deceased-Donor Kidney Transplant Outcomes in a Greek Cohort.

The Kidney Donor Risk Index (KDRI) and Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) have been developed to assess deceased-donor graft quality, although validation of their utility outside the USA remains limited. This single-center retrospective cohort study evaluated the ability of KDRI and KDPI to predict transplant outcomes in a Greek cohort. The efficacy of KDRI, KDPI, and donor's age in predicting death-censored graft failure was primarily assessed.

An Approach to Identify HLA Class II Immunogenic Epitopes in the Greek Population through Machine Learning Algorithms.

Current pre-transplantation routine matching involves serum anti-HLA antibodies quantification but cannot always preclude unfavorable graft outcomes. Epitope-based matching is proposed as a more precise approach, but to date no epitope-matching algorithm provides a satisfactory predictive tool for transplantation outcomes. In this study, anti-HLA-II loci responses from 1748 patients were analyzed with unsupervised machine learning algorithms, namely principal component analysis (PCA) and antigenic distances, projected as dendrograms.

Impact of de novo donor-specific HLA antibodies on pediatric kidney transplant prognosis in patients with acute declined or stable allograft function.

Background: This retrospective multicenter long-term cohort study investigates de novo donor-specific HLA antibodies (dnDSA) impact on allograft survival in pediatric kidney transplantation (KTx), depending on allograft function at dnDSA detection.

Methods: Seventy patients with dnDSA screening in the context of acute allograft dysfunction (AAD) (>50% serum creatinine increase) or routine follow-up were included during a 20-year period. Number of dnDSA specificities and HLA total mean fluorescence intensity (MFI-sum) were collected.

Hidden Patterns of Anti-HLA Class I Alloreactivity Revealed Through Machine Learning.

Detection of alloreactive anti-HLA antibodies is a frequent and mandatory test before and after organ transplantation to determine the antigenic targets of the antibodies. Nowadays, this test involves the measurement of fluorescent signals generated through antibody-antigen reactions on multi-beads flow cytometers. In this study, in a cohort of 1,066 patients from one country, anti-HLA class I responses were analyzed on a panel of 98 different antigens.

Patterns of 1,748 Unique Human Alloimmune Responses Seen by Simple Machine Learning Algorithms.

Allele specific antibody response against the polymorphic system of HLA is the allogeneic response marker determining the immunological risk for graft acceptance before and after organ transplantation and therefore routinely studied during the patient's workup. Experimentally, bead bound antigen- antibody reactions are detected using a special multicolor flow cytometer (Luminex). Routinely for each sample, antibody responses against 96 different HLA antigen groups are measured simultaneously and a 96-dimensional immune response vector is created.

Impact of Primary Disease Nature in the Development of De Novo Donor-Specific Antibodies After Kidney Transplant and the Risk of Acute Rejection.

Objectives: In this study, we explored the effect of the primary disease nature on development of de novo donor-specific antibodies after kidney transplant.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively studied kidney transplant recipients based on their primary disease. Patients were divided according to autoimmune and nonautoimmune diseases.

Simple in vitro generation of human leukocyte antigen-G-expressing T-regulatory cells through pharmacological hypomethylation for adoptive cellular immunotherapy against graft-versus-host disease.

Background: Major barriers in using classical FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in clinical practice are their low numbers in the circulation, the lack of specific cell surface markers for efficient purification and the loss of expression of Treg signature molecules and suppressive function after in vitro expansion or in a pro-inflammatory microenviroment. A surface molecule with potent immunosuppressive function is the human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G), which is normally expressed in placenta protecting the "semi-allogeneic" fetus from maternal immune attack. Because HLA-G expression is strongly regulated by methylation, we asked whether hypomethylating agents (HA) may be used in vitro to induce HLA-G expression on conventional T cells and convert them to Tregs.

Food for thought in women's health. The gynecologist: the new European gatekeeper in Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

Genital Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the principal cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease in industrialized countries. A wide spectrum of pathologic conditions has been associated with the disease ranging from urethritis, cervicitis, to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, tubal infertility and cervical neoplasia. Screening for genital Chlamydia infection may prevent its serious complications.

Colorectal cancer screening coverage in Greece. PACMeR 02.01 study collaboration.

Background And Aims: Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer death in European countries and differences in screening implementation may in part explain USA vs European survival differences. Despite the evidence, no study has evaluated the population colorectal cancer screening (CCS) coverage in any European country. We aimed to index the current CCS practices among a large sample of Greek healthy adults.