Feasibility Assessment of a Biomarker-Guided Kidney-Sparing Sepsis Bundle: The Limiting Acute Kidney Injury Progression In Sepsis Trial.

Objectives: To determine the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a biomarker-guided implementation of a kidney-sparing sepsis bundle (KSSB) of care in comparison with standard of care (SOC) on clinical outcomes in patients with sepsis.

Design: Adaptive, multicenter, randomized clinical trial.

Setting: Five University Hospitals in Europe and North America.

Evaluation of acute kidney injury by urinary tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases-2 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 after pediatric cardiac surgery.

Background: With adult patients, the measurement of [TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7] can predict the risk of moderate to severe AKI within 12 h of testing. In pediatrics, however, the performance of [TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7] as a predictor of AKI was less studied and yet to be widely utilized in clinical practice. This study was conducted to validate the utility of [TIMP-2]*[IGFBP7] as an earlier biomarker for AKI prediction in Chinese infants and small children.

PD-L1 detection on circulating tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (T-EVs) from patients with lung cancer.

Background: Recent breakthroughs in therapies with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of lung cancer. However, only 15-25% of patients respond to the ICIs therapy, and methods to identify those responsive patients are currently a hot research topic. PD-L1 expression measured on tumor tissues using immunohistochemistry (IHC) was approved as one of the companion diagnostic methods, but it is invasive and cannot be used to monitor dynamic changes in PD-L1 expression during treatments.

Limiting Acute Kidney Injury Progression In Sepsis: Study Protocol and Trial Simulation.

Objectives: To describe study design considerations and to simulate a trial of biomarker-guided sepsis management aimed to reduce acute kidney injury (acute kidney injury). Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7, urinary biomarkers of cell-cycle arrest, and indicators of kidney stress can detect acute kidney injury before clinical manifestations. We sought to determine the event rates for acute kidney injury as a function of serial measurements of urinary (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2)•(insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7) in patients at risk of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury, so that an escalating series of kidney-sparing sepsis bundles based on international guidelines could be applied.

Plasma extracellular vesicles detected by Single Molecule array technology as a liquid biopsy for colorectal cancer.

Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) were recognized as a promising source of diagnostic biomarker. However, there are limited studies published in this area, partly due to the limited number of detection platforms capable of detecting extracellular vesicles. In this study, extracellular vesicle immunoassays were developed using the Single Molecule array technology (SiMoa) and their clinical applications to cancer diagnosis were evaluated.

A blood-based 22-gene expression signature for hepatocellular carcinoma identification.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal malignancies. Early detection of HCC could largely reduce mortalities. Ultrasonography (US) and serum Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP) test are the screening methods that are most frequently applied to high-risk populations.

The kinetic profile and clinical implication of SCC-Ag in squamous cervical cancer patients undergoing radical hysterectomy using the Simoa assay: a prospective observational study.

Background: To study the kinetic profile and clinicopathological implications of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) in cervical cancer patients who underwent surgery by a self-developed SCC-Ag single molecule assay (Simoa) prototype immunoassay.

Methods: Participants were prospectively enrolled between 04/2016 and 06/2017. Consecutive serum samples were collected at five points: day 0 (the day before surgery), postoperative day 4, weeks 2-4, months 2-4 and months 5-7.

OPN is a promising serological biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 90% of cases of liver cancer and is one of the most common and lethal malignancies among all cancers. Current screening practices in high-risk populations using ultrasound and serological α-fetoprotein (AFP) have significantly reduced HCC mortality. However, considering the highly operative-dependent nature of ultrasound and dissatisfactory diagnostic performance of AFP, there is an unfulfilled need for a biomarker that can be used in HCC-related at-risk population screening.

Re-evaluation of the VIDAS(®) cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG avidity assay: determination of new cut-off values based on the study of kinetics of CMV-IgG maturation.

Background: In case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, differentiation between primary and non-primary CMV infection can be of major importance for the correct management of pregnant women or immunocompromised patients. Besides CMV-IgM and IgG, CMV-IgG avidity measurement is now commonly used to distinguish primary from non-primary infection.

Objective: To re-evaluate the performance of the VIDAS CMV-IgG avidity assay in comparison with 2 other techniques (Architect Abbott and Liaison DiaSorin) and to study the kinetics of CMV-IgG avidity maturation.

Blocking of striated muscle degeneration by serotonin in C. elegans.

Prevention of muscle fiber degeneration is a key issue in the treatment of muscular dystrophies such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). It is widely postulated that existing pharmaceutical compounds might potentially be beneficial to DMD patients, but tools to identify them are lacking. Here, by using a Caenorhabditis elegans model of dystrophin-dependent muscular dystrophy, we show that the neurohormone serotonin and some of its agonists are potent suppressors of muscle degeneration.