Bovine placental extracellular vesicles carry the fusogenic syncytin BERV-K1.

Syncytins are endogenous retroviral envelope proteins which induce the fusion of membranes. A human representative of this group, endogenous retrovirus group W member 1 envelope (ERVW-1) or syncytin-1 is present in trophoblast-derived extracellular vesicles and supports the incorporation of these extracellular vesicles into recipient cells. During pregnancy, placenta-derived extracellular vesicles participate in feto-maternal communication.

Evaluation of leukocyte depletion of packed red blood cell units and impact on clinically observed transfusion reactions.

Introduction: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine whether there is an association between leukoreduction of packed red blood cell (pRBC) units and reduction of clinically observed transfusion reactions (TR), particularly febrile non-haemolytic transfusion reactions (FNHTR), and better outcomes in dogs. Secondary aims were to evaluate the effects of other factors suspected to influence transfusion reaction frequency or survival, including crossmatching, use of immunosuppressive drugs, and age and number of the blood products being administered.

Materials And Methods: Medical data on dogs transfused with leukocyte-reduced (LR) and non-leukocyte-reduced (N-LR) pRBC units at the Animal Hospital Zürich, University of Zürich, Switzerland between January 1, 2007, and December 17, 2018 were searched.