Efficacy of steroid therapy for improving native liver survival after pediatric acute liver failure with immune activation.

Aim: Recent evidence suggests that acute liver failure (ALF) in some patients may reflect a dysregulated immune response, and that corticosteroids improve survival of the native liver in ALF patients with high serum alanine aminotransferase levels, which are an indication of liver inflammation. However, it is unclear whether steroids are effective for pediatric acute liver failure (PALF). The aim of this retrospective case-control study is to examine whether steroid therapy for PALF accompanied by immune activation improves the survival of native liver and to identify factors that predict responses to steroid treatment.

Proteinuria frequency and subsequent renal dysfunction in bevacizumab-treated patients: a single center, retrospective, observational study.

Background: Proteinuria is a common adverse event observed during treatment with antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies. Proteinuria is a risk factor for renal dysfunction and cardiovascular complications in patients with chronic kidney disease. However, the association between anti-VEGF antibody-induced proteinuria and renal dysfunction or cardiovascular complications remains unclear.

Exploring the mechanism of BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy through consensus gene network approach.

BK polyomavirus-associated nephropathy occurs in kidney transplant recipients under immunosuppressive treatment. BK polyomavirus is implicated in cancer development and invasion, and case reports of renal cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma possibly associated with BK polyomavirus has been reported. Further, it has been suggested that the immune responses of KT-related diseases could play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of renal cell carcinoma.

Description of two new species of the genus Spinola (Coleoptera, Cleridae, Clerinae), with new synonyms, new distributional records, and an updated key.

Two species, and , are newly described. New distributional records are presented for Gerstmeier & Bernhard, 2010, Spinola, 1844, Gerstmeier & Bernhard, 2010, Schenkling, 1902, and Gerstmeier & Bernhard, 2010. Nakane, 1963 is synonymized with Corporaal, 1949.

Extrapolation of physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for tacrolimus from renal to liver transplant patients.

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling is useful for evaluating differences in drug exposure among special populations, but it has not yet been employed to evaluate the absorption process of tacrolimus. In this study, we developed a minimal PBPK model with a compartmental absorption and transit model for renal transplant patients using available data in the literature and clinical data from our hospital. The effective permeability value of tacrolimus absorption and parameters for the single adjusting compartment were optimized via sensitivity analyses, generating a PBPK model of tacrolimus for renal transplant patients with good predictability.

Phenotypic characterization of cell culture-derived hepatitis E virus subjected to different chemical treatments: Application in virus removal via nanofiltration.

Safety evaluation for the hepatitis E virus (HEV) is required for plasma fractionation products. Plasma-derived HEV (pHEV) is quite unique in that it is associated with a lipid membrane, which, when stripped during manufacturing processes, induces morphological changes in the virus, making it difficult to select proper HEV phenotypes for clearance studies. We developed a convenient system for the preparation of a high titer cell culture-derived HEV (cHEV).

Polyethyleneimine-modified resins effectively remove porcine circovirus and cellular prion protein.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) possesses various molecular weights (MWs), structures, and virus capture capacities. However, whether PEI can capture porcine circovirus (PCV) and animal cell-derived prion protein (PrP) that may contaminate source materials is unclear. Therefore, we conducted a feasibility study to assess the effectiveness of PEI in removing PCV and PrP as a model of pathogenic prions.

Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS)-related AL amyloidosis complicated by amyloid myopathy: a case report.

Background: Lately, monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) has been defined as a group of renal disorders that are strongly associated with monoclonal protein, including amyloid immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Amyloid myopathy is rare (1.5% of all patients with amyloidosis) and the prognosis is poor.

Evaluation of the Quality of Life and Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients With End-Stage Kidney Disease Resulting From Kidney Transplantation Using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-Short Form and EuroQOL-5 Dimension-5 Level Questionnaires.

Background: Renal transplantation improves the quality of life (QOL) of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with renal failure. However, it remains unclear which renal disease-specific QOL aspects determine general health-related QOL of ESRD patients. This study aimed to identify these QOL items by examining the QOL of ESRD patients using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-Short Form (KDQOL-SF), version 1.

Masked acute rejection of the graft kidney under the recovery of native kidneys in a patient who underwent simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation.

Introduction: Simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation is a life-saving procedure for patients with liver failure and irreversible renal dysfunction. However, some studies have reported the recovery of native renal function after simultaneous liver and kidney transplantation.

Case Presentation: A 33-year-old woman initially underwent living-donor liver transplantation for liver failure.

[Kidney Auto-Transplantation for Intraoperative Right Renal Artery Injury in a Single Kidney Patient : A Case Report].

A man in his 70's who had undergone left radical nephrectomy for kidney cancer had the right renal artery ablated unexpectedly during pancreatoduodenectomy for a huge duodenal tumor. For this intraoperative emergency, an autologous kidney transplantation was performed with the right kidney being removed, perfused, and transplanted into the right iliac fossa. Warm ischemic time was over 2 hours.

Quantitative PCR evaluation of parvovirus B19 removal via nanofiltration.

When human parvovirus B19 (B19) is removed from plasma-derived products by nanofiltration, non-infectious fragmented B19 DNA in filtrate prevents quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) from accurately evaluating reduction of the virus particles. To determine optimal target sequence length for detection of full-length B19 genome in the viral particles by qPCR, we analyzed 4 different sequences ranging from 372 to 1,980 bp and found that a 989 bp sequence shows a well-balanced performance for the sensitivity and the run time. Nuclease treatment of filtrates prior to qPCR is also expected to decrease the influence of the residual B19 DNA, but extremely high protein concentration of plasma-derived products in filtrates may result in incomplete digestion of the B19 DNA.

Microscopic visualization of virus removal by dedicated filters used in biopharmaceutical processing: Impact of membrane structure and localization of captured virus particles.

Virus filtration with nanometer size exclusion membranes ("nanofiltration") is effective for removing infectious agents from biopharmaceuticals. While the virus removal capability of virus removal filters is typically evaluated based on calculation of logarithmic reduction value (LRV) of virus infectivity, knowledge of the exact mechanism(s) of virus retention remains limited. Here, human parvovirus B19 (B19V), a small virus (18-26 nm), was spiked into therapeutic plasma protein solutions and filtered through Planova™ 15N and 20N filters in scaled-down manufacturing processes.

Strain-Specific Manifestation of Lupus-like Systemic Autoimmunity Caused by Mutation.

A defect in TCR-proximal signaling is a major characteristic of CD4 T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus; however, it is not fully known how defects in TCR signaling lead to lupus-like systemic autoimmunity characterized by germinal center development and autoantibody production against nuclear Ags. In this study, we show that SKG mice, which develop autoimmune arthritis in a BALB/c background due to defective TCR signaling by a mutation, develop lupus-like systemic autoimmune disease in the C57BL/6 (B6) background (B6SKG mice). B6SKG mice showed multiorgan inflammation with immune complex deposition and anti-dsDNA Ab production.

Successful removal of porcine circovirus-1 from immunoglobulin G formulated in glycine solution using nanofiltration.

Porcine circovirus (PCV) is a potentially harmful virus that has been shown to contaminate biological products. The virus is resistant to many inactivation and/or removal procedures performed during manufacturing. Anion exchange chromatography has been shown to be useful for PCV type 1 (PCV1) removal; however, reduction of PCV1 using methods such as heat inactivation, low pH, nanofiltration, UV-C, and gamma irradiation has not been successful.

Renal-limited vasculitis with elevated levels of multiple antibodies.

Renal-limited vasculitis (RLV) is a type of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis that presents with crescentic glomerulonephritis with no other organ involvement. Although several studies reported patients with crescentic glomerulonephritis who were dual positive for proteinase 3 (PR3)-ANCA and myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA or ANCA and anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody, patients positive for all three antibodies, i.e.

Dietary Sodium Restriction Reduces Nocturnal Urine Volume and Nocturnal Polyuria Index in Renal Allograft Recipients With Nocturnal Polyuria.

Objective: To investigate whether sodium restriction alters the nocturnal urine volume (NUV) and the ratio of NUV to 24-hour urine of renal allograft recipients (RARs).

Materials And Methods: This prospective, single-center study analyzed 38 of the 59 RARs who were followed up for more than 6 months in our hospital. All patients underwent 3 sessions of dietary counseling performed by a board-certified dietitian.

Cleaved Form of Osteopontin in Urine as a Clinical Marker of Lupus Nephritis.

We assessed the utility of two forms of osteopontin (OPN), OPN full and its cleaved form (OPN N-half), in plasma and urine as markers of disease activity in lupus nephritis (LN). Samples were collected from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (LN: N = 29, non-LN: N = 27), IgA nephropathy (IgAN) (N = 14), minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) (N = 5), diabetic nephropathy (DN) (N = 14) and healthy volunteers (HC) (N = 17). While there was no significant difference in urine OPN full concentration between groups, urine OPN N-half concentration was significantly higher in patients with LN than HC (p < 0.

[Deceased Donor Kidney Transplantation from a Liver Transplantation Recipient].

We report a 40-year-old man with end-stage renal disease due to IgA nephropathy who underwent deceased donor kidney transplantation. The donor was diagnosed to be brain-dead due to cerebral hemorrhage after her second liver transplantation for non-viral liver cirrhosis. Intraoperative 1-hour biopsy of the graft kidney revealed moderate global glomerular sclerosis (22%) and interstitial fibrosis (40%) consistent with underlying nephrosclerosis or calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity.

The Short-Term Impact of Dietary Counseling on Sodium Intake and Blood Pressure in Renal Allograft Recipients.

Background: Sodium retention causes posttransplant hypertension, and sodium restriction is recommended in kidney allograft recipients. However, there have been few studies on the impact of dietary counseling on sodium intake and blood pressure (BP) in this population.

Objective: To determine the effect of dietary counseling on sodium intake and consequent BP control in kidney allograft recipients.

Hepatitis E virus derived from different sources exhibits different behaviour in virus inactivation and/or removal studies with plasma derivatives.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes viral hepatitis, and is considered a risk factor for blood products. Although some HEV inactivation/removal studies have been reported, detailed investigations of different manufacturing steps as heat treatment, partitioning during cold ethanol fractionation, low pH treatment, and virus filtration have yet to be reported for plasma-derived medicinal products. In this study, human serum- and swine faeces-derived HEVs, with and without detergent treatment, were used.

Immunization of rabbits with synthetic peptides derived from a highly conserved β-sheet epitope region underneath the receptor binding site of influenza A virus.

Background: There is increasing concern about the speed with which health care providers can administer prophylaxis and treatment in an influenza pandemic. Generally, it takes several months to manufacture an influenza vaccine by propagation of the virus in chicken eggs or cultured cells. Newer, faster protocols for the production of vaccines that induce broad-spectrum immunity are therefore highly desirable.