Circulating Omentin-1 levels and altered iron balance in chronic haemodialysis patients.

Background: Iron deficiency is highly prevalent among patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis (HD) but its correct identification is often problematic as common biomarkers of iron status, such as transferrin saturation (TSAT) and ferritin, can be altered by inflammation or malnutrition.

Methods: In this pilot multicentre study, we aimed at evaluating circulating levels of Omentin-1, a novel fat depot-specific adipokine that is also involved in iron regulation, in a cohort of 85 chronic HD patients with relation to their iron status.

Results: Omentin-1 levels in HD were statistically higher than in healthy controls (P = 0.

Immunocryosurgery is a safe and feasible treatment for basal cell carcinoma and Bowen disease in renal transplant recipients.

Keratinocyte skin carcinomas (squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma [BCC], Bowen disease [BD]) inflict significant morbidity and constitute a treatment challenge in renal transplant recipients (RTR). Immunocryosurgery has shown efficacy >95% in the treatment of BCC and BD in immunocompetent patients. The present study evaluated the safety, feasibility and efficacy, of immunocryosurgery in the treatment of BCC and BD in a series of RTR.

The Association of Circulating CD14++CD16+ Monocytes, Natural Killer Cells and Regulatory T Cells Subpopulations With Phenotypes of Cardiovascular Disease in a Cohort of Peritoneal Dialysis Patients.

The altered expression of immune cells including monocyte subsets, natural killer (NK) cells and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in end-stage kidney disease, affect the modulation of inflammation and immunity with significant clinical implications. The aim of this study was to investigate the profile of specific immune cells subpopulations and their correlations with phenotypes of established cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF) in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. 29 stable PD patients and 13 healthy volunteers were enrolled.

Acute bacterial sternoclavicular osteomyelitis in a long-term renal transplant recipient.

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for a significant number of patients with end-stage renal disease. Although immunosuppression therapy improves graft and patient's survival, it is a major risk factor for infection following kidney transplantation altering clinical manifestations of the infectious diseases and complicating both the diagnosis and management of renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Existing literature is very limited regarding osteomyelitis in RTRs.

Side reactions in the SPPS of Cys-containing peptides.

Alkylation of sensitive amino acids during synthesis of biologically important peptides is a common and well-documented problem in Fmoc-based strategy. Herein, we probed for the first time an unexpected S-alkylation of Cys-containing peptides that occur during the final TFA cleavage of peptides from the Wang solid support. Through a battery of approaches (NMR, UV and LC-MS) the formed by-product was assigned as the alkylation of the cysteine sulfydryl group by the p-hydroxyl benzyl group derived from the acidic Wang linker decomposition.

Hydrogen bonding probes of phenol -OH groups.

Correlations between hydrogen bonds and solvent effects on phenol -OH proton shieldings, temperature coefficients (Δδ/ΔT) and effects on OH diffusion coefficients for numerous phenolic acids, flavonols, flavones, and oleuropein derivatives of biological interest were investigated in several organic solvents and were shown to serve as reliable indicators of hydrogen bonding and solvation state of -OH groups. The temperature coefficients span a range of -0.5 to -12.

Urine of patients with nephrotic syndrome contains the plasma type of PAF-acetylhydrolase associated with lipoproteins.

Background: Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a proinflammatory phospholipid mediator involved in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis (GN). In plasma, PAF is hydrolyzed and inactivated by PAF-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH), an enzyme associated with lipoproteins, mainly with the low-density lipoprotein. PAF-AH activity has been found in urine of patients with primary GN, however the source and type of urinary PAF-AH remain unknown.