Laparoscopic kidney orthotopic transplant: preclinical study in the pig model.

Background: Laparoscopic surgery has rapidly expanded in clinical practice replacing conventional open surgery over the last three decades. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has been favored due to its multiple benefits. The aim of this study was to explore the safety and feasibility of kidney transplantation by a laparoscopic technique in a pig model.

Laparoscopic surgery for kidney orthotopic transplant in the pig model.

Background And Objectives: Laparoscopic surgery has rapidly expanded in surgical practice with well-accepted benefits of minimal incision, less analgesia, better cosmetics, and quick recovery. The surgical technique for kidney transplantation has remained unchanged since the first successful kidney transplant in the 1950s. Over the past decade, there were only a few case reports of kidney transplantation by laparoscopic or robotic surgery.

Pancreatic proteases in serum induce leukocyte-endothelial adhesion and pancreatic microcirculatory failure.

Background: Neutrophil-mediated tissue injury in acute pancreatitis includes a severe reduction of the functional microcirculation via interaction of adhesion molecules on leukocytes (MAC-1) and endothelium (ICAM-1). The hypothesis of the study was that trypsin and elastase in serum alone lead to the expression of these complementary adhesion molecules and result in increased leukocyte-endothelial interaction (LEI). In addition we evaluated the preventative benefit of protease inhibition on these mechanisms.

CD8-interaction mutant HLA-Cw3 molecules protect porcine cells from human natural killer cell-mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity without stimulating cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Background: CD56+ human natural killer (NK) cells are the principal anti-pig cytotoxic effectors in vitro. Expression of certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules in porcine cells can inhibit NK cell-mediated natural cytotoxicity in serum-free medium, but had not been shown to inhibit antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) by CD16+ NK cells in the presence of human xenoreactive immunoglobulin G. Moreover, expression of HLA molecules might amplify the previously weak CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response against porcine cells.

The receptor-bound N-terminal ectodomain of the amyloid precursor protein is associated with membrane rafts.

The soluble N-terminal ectodomain of amyloid precursor protein (sAPP), resulting from alpha-secretase-mediated proteolytic processing, has been shown to function as a growth factor for epithelial cells, including keratinocytes and thyrocytes. Extracellularly applied sAPP binds to a cell surface receptor and exhibits a patchy binding pattern reminiscent of that observed for raft proteins. Here we show that (i) the receptor-bound sAPP resides in a detergent-insoluble membrane microdomain which cofractionates in density gradients with cholesterol-rich membrane rafts and caveolae; (ii) the sAPP-binding microdomains are different from caveolae; and (iii) sAPP is capable of binding to isolated rafts and inducing tyrosine phosphorylation of some raft proteins.