Combining human liver ECM with topographically featured electrospun scaffolds for engineering hepatic microenvironment.

Liver disease cases are rapidly expanding worldwide, and transplantation remains the only effective cure for end-stage disease. There is an increasing demand for developing potential drug treatments, and regenerative therapies using in-vitro culture platforms. Human decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) is an appealing alternative to conventional animal tissues as it contains human-specific proteins and can serve as scaffolding materials.

Primary cilia as a targetable node between biliary injury, senescence and regeneration in liver transplantation.

Background & Aims: Biliary complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in liver transplantation. Up to 25% of patients that develop biliary complications require additional surgical procedures, re-transplantation or die in the absence of a suitable regraft. Here, we investigate the role of the primary cilium, a highly specialised sensory organelle, in biliary injury leading to post-transplant biliary complications.

The BAR Score Predicts and Stratifies Outcomes Following Liver Retransplantation: Insights From a Retrospective Cohort Study.

Liver retransplantation (reLT) yields poorer outcomes than primary liver transplantation, necessitating careful patient selection to avoid futile reLT. We conducted a retrospective analysis to assess reLT outcomes and identify associated risk factors. All adult patients who underwent a first reLT at the Medical University of Innsbruck from 2000 to 2021 (N = 111) were included.

Small bowel neuroendocrine tumors: An analysis of clinical presentation, diagnostic workup and surgical approach-A single center retrospective study.

Background: Neurocrine neoplasms (NEN) of the small bowel (SBNEN) are a rare entity and mostly asymptomatic. The aim of this study was to explore trends in the clinical presentation, diagnostic workup, surgical approach and oncological outcome in patients with SBNEN at our surgical department.

Materials And Methods: All patients who underwent surgical resection for SBNEN from 2004 to 2020 at our department were enrolled in this single center retrospective study.

Reassessment of Relevance and Predictive Value of Parameters Indicating Early Graft Dysfunction in Liver Transplantation: AST Is a Weak, but Bilirubin and INR Strong Predictors of Mortality.

Early graft dysfunction (EAD) complicates liver transplantation (LT). The aim of this analysis was to discriminate between the weight of each variable as for its predictive value toward patient and graft survival. We reviewed all LT performed at the Medical University of Innsbruck between 2007 and 2018.

Cell-Based Regeneration and Treatment of Liver Diseases.

The liver, in combination with a functional biliary system, is responsible for maintaining a great number of vital body functions. However, acute and chronic liver diseases may lead to irreversible liver damage and, ultimately, liver failure. At the moment, the best curative option for patients suffering from end-stage liver disease is liver transplantation.

Expression of MICA in Zero Hour Biopsies Predicts Graft Survival After Liver Transplantation.

In search for novel biomarkers to assess graft quality, we investigated whether defined candidate genes are predictive for outcome after liver transplantation (LT). Zero-hour liver biopsies were obtained from 88 livers. Gene expression of selected candidate markers was analyzed and correlated with clinical parameters as well as short and long-term outcomes post LT.

Liver regeneration and inflammation: from fundamental science to clinical applications.

Liver regeneration is a complex process involving the crosstalk of multiple cell types, including hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells, endothelial cells and inflammatory cells. The healthy liver is mitotically quiescent, but following toxic damage or resection the cells can rapidly enter the cell cycle to restore liver mass and function. During this process of regeneration, epithelial and non-parenchymal cells respond in a tightly coordinated fashion.

Noninvasive Detection of Ischemic Vascular Damage in a Pig Model of Liver Donation After Circulatory Death.

Background And Aims: Liver graft quality is evaluated by visual inspection prior to transplantation, a process highly dependent on the surgeon's experience. We present an objective, noninvasive, quantitative way of assessing liver quality in real time using Raman spectroscopy, a laser-based tool for analyzing biomolecular composition.

Approach And Results: A porcine model of donation after circulatory death (DCD) with normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) allowed assessment of liver quality premortem, during warm ischemia (WI) and post-NRP.

Toll-like receptor 3 mediates ischaemia/reperfusion injury after cardiac transplantation.

Objectives: Ischaemia and subsequent reperfusion during heart transplantation inevitably result in donor organ injury. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 is a pattern recognition receptor activated by viral and endogenous RNA released by injured cells. We hypothesized that ischaemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) leads to RNA release with subsequent TLR3 activation in transplanted hearts.

How to Handle Arterial Conduits in Liver Transplantation? Evidence From the First Multicenter Risk Analysis.

Objective: The aims of the present study were to identify independent risk factors for conduit occlusion, compare outcomes of different AC placement sites, and investigate whether postoperative platelet antiaggregation is protective.

Background: Arterial conduits (AC) in liver transplantation (LT) offer an effective rescue option when regular arterial graft revascularization is not feasible. However, the role of the conduit placement site and postoperative antiaggregation is insufficiently answered in the literature.

Preoperative Assessment of Muscle Mass Using Computerized Tomography Scans to Predict Outcomes Following Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.

Background: Sarcopenia is an established risk factor predicting survival in chronically ill and trauma patients. We herein examine the assessment and clinical implication of sarcopenia in liver transplantation (LT).

Methods: Computerized tomography scans from 172 patients waitlisted for LT were analyzed by applying 6 morphometric muscle scores, including 2 density indices (psoas density [PD] and skeletal muscle density [SMD]) and 4 scores based on muscle area (total psoas area, psoas muscle index, skeletal muscle area, and skeletal muscle index).