Time-Course Changes of Serum Keratin Concentrations after Liver Transplantation: Contrasting Results of Keratin-18 and Keratin-19 Fragments.

Objective: Under normal conditions, adult hepatocytes express only keratin-8 (K8) and keratin-18 (K18), whereas cholangiocytes also express K19. In this study, we delineate the pattern of normal time-course changes in serum K19 and K18 levels after liver transplantation. Serum levels of the K19 fragment CYFRA 21-1 and the K18 fragments tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) and M30 (a neoepitope that is generated after caspase cleavage during apoptosis) were measured at baseline and at regular intervals (up to 6 months) after liver transplantation in 11 adult patients.

Acute focal bacterial nephritis in a cohort of hospitalized adult patients with acute pyelonephritis. Assessment of risk factors and a predictive model.

Background: Acute focal bacterial nephritis (AFBN) is a complicated form of acute pyelonephritis (APN) characterized by single or multiple areas of localised infection in the kidney without liquefaction or abscess. Studies investigating AFBN in adults are scarce.

Aim: The present study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence, associated factors, and presence of atypical clinical and radiological manifestations in adult AFBN patients.