Publications by authors named "Fady Kaldas"

Background: Despite efforts to ensure equitable access to liver transplantation (LT), significant disparities remain. Although prior literature has considered the effects of patient sex, race, and income, the contemporary impact of community socioeconomic disadvantage on outcomes after waitlisting for LT remains to be elucidated. We sought to evaluate the association of community-level socioeconomic deprivation with survival after waitlisting for LT.

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As important immune regulatory cells, whether innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are involved in liver transplantation (LT) remains unclear. In a murine orthotopic LT model, we dissected roles of ILCs in liver ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Wild type (WT) grafts suffered significantly higher IRI in Rag2-γc double knockout (DKO) than Rag2 KO recipients, in association with downregulation of group 1 ILCs genes, including IFN-γ.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cardiac allotransplantation is crucial for treating end-stage heart failure, but the shortage of organs, especially for pediatric patients, complicates access and increases wait times.
  • The text discusses how donation after circulatory death combined with normothermic regional perfusion can enhance organ availability for children, while addressing the technical, ethical, and logistical factors involved.
  • Despite the growing use of this method in the U.S., ethical concerns about cerebral blood flow remain, highlighting the need for standardized protocols and training to improve the success of these organ procurement techniques and ultimately reduce pediatric mortality rates.
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  • This study explored the molecular mechanisms of Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) by examining gene expression differences in liver fibrosis among patients.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 106 adults with the Fontan circulation, identifying upregulated genes in those with advanced fibrosis and assessing clinical outcomes.
  • Findings revealed that patients with advanced fibrosis had increased inflammation and vascular development gene activity, but these did not predict clinical outcomes like serious complications.
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Although cold preservation remains the gold standard in organ transplantation, cold stress-induced cellular injury is a significant problem in clinical orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Because a recent study showed that cold stress activates ferroptosis, a form of regulated cell death, we investigated whether and how ferroptosis determines OLT outcomes in mice and humans. Treatment with ferroptosis inhibitor (ferrostatin-1) during cold preservation reduced lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde; MDA), primarily in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), and alleviated ischemia/reperfusion injury in mouse OLT.

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Background: Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a significant clinical concern in liver transplantation, with a key influence on short-term and long-term allograft and patient survival. Myeloid cells trigger and sustain tissue inflammation and damage associated with IRI, but the mechanisms regulating these activities are unknown. To address this, we investigated the molecular characteristics of intragraft myeloid cells present in biopsy-proven IRI- and IRI+ liver transplants.

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Patients with severe heart disease may have coexisting liver disease from various causes. The incidence of combined heart-liver transplant (CHLT) is increasing as more patients with congenital heart disease survive to adulthood and develop advanced heart failure with associated liver disease from chronic right-sided heart or Fontan failure. However, the criteria for CHLT have not been established.

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Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a histone/protein deacetylase in the cellular response to inflammatory, metabolic, and oxidative stressors. We previously reported that myeloid SIRT1 regulates the inflamed liver's canonical pyroptosis cell death pathway. However, whether/how hepatocyte SIRT1 is engaged in programmed cell death in the cold-stressed liver remains uncertain.

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Background: Preoperative risk assessment in liver transplant (LT) candidates, particularly related to cardiac risk, is an area of intense interest for transplant clinicians. Various cardiac testing methods are employed by transplant centers to characterize cardiac risk. Serum troponin is an established method for the detection of myocardial injury in a wide variety of clinical settings.

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Background: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe immune-mediated stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease that is rapidly becoming the most common etiology requiring liver transplantation (LT), with Hispanics bearing a disproportionate burden. This study aimed to uncover the underlying immune mechanisms of the disparities experienced by Hispanic patients undergoing LT for NASH.

Methods: We enrolled 164 LT recipients in our institutional review board-approved study, 33 of whom presented with NASH as the primary etiology of LT (20%), with 16 self-reported as Hispanic (48%).

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Article Synopsis
  • * Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) during liver transplantation can lead to graft rejection and poor outcomes, with the protein diS-HMGB1 playing a key role in promoting inflammation and immune activation.
  • * Researchers found that elevated levels of diS-HMGB1 in liver transplant patients were linked to increased IRI, graft dysfunction, and the activation of pro-inflammatory macrophages that worsen transplant outcomes.
  • * The study suggests targeting the diS-HMGB1 interaction with receptors TLR4 and TLR9 as a potential therapeutic strategy to improve the outcomes for liver transplant recipients suffering from IRI.
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Although alternative splicing (AS) drives transcriptional responses and cellular adaptation to environmental stresses, its contributions in organ transplantation have not been appreciated. We have shown that carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (Ceacam1; ), a transmembrane biliary glycoprotein expressed in epithelial, endothelial, and immune cells, determines donor liver transplant quality. Here, we studied how AS of affects ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in mouse and human livers.

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Background & Aims: Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CC1) acts through homophilic and heterophilic interactions with T cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-containing protein 3 (TIM-3), which regulates innate immune activation in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). We investigated whether cluster of differentiation (CD) 4 T cell-dependent CC1-TIM-3 crosstalk may affect OLT outcomes in mice and humans.

Methods: Wild-type (WT) and CC1-deficient (CC1 knock-out [KO]) mouse livers were transplanted into WT, CC1KO, or T-cell TIM-3 transgenic (TIM-3Tg)/CC1KO double-mutant recipients.

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Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is a histone/protein deacetylase involved in cellular senescence, inflammation, and stress resistance. We previously reported that myeloid SIRT1 signaling regulates the inflamed liver's canonical pyroptosis cell death pathway. However, whether/how hepatocyte SIRT1 is engaged in programmed cell death in the cold-stressed liver remains uncertain.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study analyzed liver retransplantation (ReLT) data over a 35-year period at a single center, revealing that up to 40% of liver transplant recipients experience graft failure.
  • A total of 654 ReLT procedures were performed, with significant differences noted between pre- and post-model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) eras in terms of patient age, comorbidities, and causes for retransplantation.
  • Findings indicate that despite the challenges faced by post-MELD ReLT patients, survival rates have improved compared to pre-MELD patients, highlighting the effectiveness of careful patient selection in liver retransplantation.
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Background: Although non-target puncture (NPT)-related complications are well known to clinicians performing TIPS, there is no NTP-focused study to assess the true clinical sequalae of NTP-related complications. In this study, the aim was to evaluate the incidence, safety, clinical outcomes and complications related to NTPs during the portal access of TIPS procedures.

Methods: A retrospective review of 369 TIPS procedures from October 2007 to September 2019 was performed.

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Background: The molecular mechanisms underlying Fontan associated liver disease (FALD) remain largely unknown. We aimed to assess intrahepatic transcriptomic differences among patients with FALD according to the degree of liver fibrosis and clinical outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adults with the Fontan circulation at the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center.

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T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin ()4 is expressed on APCs, including macrophages, as one of the main amplifiers in the mechanism of liver ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Though donor selectively expressed on Kupffer cells serves as a checkpoint regulator of innate immune-driven IRI cascades, its role on cells outside the OLT remains unclear. To dissect the role of donor vs.

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Persistent pleural effusions (PPEf) represent a known complication of orthotopic liver transplant (OLT). However, their clinical relevance is not well described. We evaluated the clinical, biochemical, and cellular characteristics of post-OLT PPEf and assessed their relationship with longitudinal outcomes.

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Neutrophils, the largest innate immune cell population in humans, are the primary proinflammatory sentinel in the ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) mechanism in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1, CC1, or CD66a) is essential in neutrophil activation and serves as a checkpoint regulator of innate immune-driven IRI cascade in OLT. Although CC1 alternative splicing generates two functionally distinct short and long cytoplasmic isoforms, their role in neutrophil activation remains unknown.

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We present a rare case of combined hepatocellular carcinoma-cholangiocarcinoma in a woman with a history of univentricular congenital heart disease requiring multiple corrective operations including Fontan procedure. During workup for elevated alpha fetal protein, a right hepatic lobe lesion was identified with biopsy showing poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. She underwent successful segment 5 liver resection.

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Background & Aims: The stimulator of interferon genes (STING)/TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) pathway is vital in mediating innate immune and inflammatory responses during oxidative/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, it remains unknown whether macrophage thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) may regulate TBK1 function and cell death pathways during oxidative/ER stress.

Methods: A mouse model of hepatic ischaemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), the primary hepatocytes, and bone marrow-derived macrophages were used in the myeloid-specific TXNIP knockout (TXNIP) and TXNIP-proficient (TXNIP) mice.

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