Successful Use of Kidneys from a Deceased Donor with Active Herpes Zoster Infection.

Background: The limited donor pool and increasing recipient wait list require a reevaluation of kidney organ suitability for transplantation. Use of higher infectious risk organs that were previously discarded may help improve access to transplantation and reduce patient mortality without placing patients at a higher risk of poor posttransplant outcomes. There is very little data available regarding the safe use of kidney organs from deceased donors with varicella zoster virus infection at the time of organ retrieval.

COVID-19 Status, Symptom Burden, and Characteristics of Dialysis Patients Residing in Areas of Community Transmission: Research Letter.

Background: Routine testing of hemodialysis patients for COVID-19 (outside of those identified as "at risk" based on regional practice) is not universally recommended. However, there is variability in the clinical presentation of COVID-19; patients may experience symptoms that do not meet regional criteria for testing and some patients with active infection may be asymptomatic. To avoid missing individuals who are infected, consideration could be made for regular screening, particularly among those residing in areas with evidence of community spread.

Effectiveness of a Web-Based eHealth Portal for Delivery of Care to Home Dialysis Patients: A Single-Arm Pilot Study.

Background: Improving a patient's experience with their care through an online interface for communication (an eHealth patient portal) has been shown to be beneficial in some studies of chronic disease populations. However, little is known about the effectiveness of an eHealth portal for delivery of care to home dialysis patients.

Objectives: To determine whether an eHealth portal is effective at improving a patient's experience with their home dialysis care.

Macrocytosis may be associated with mortality in chronic hemodialysis patients: a prospective study.

Background: Macrocytosis occurs in chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients; however, its significance is unknown. The purpose of this study was to establish the prevalence and distribution of macrocytosis, to identify its clinical associations and to determine if macrocytosis is associated with mortality in stable, chronic hemodialysis patients.

Methods: We conducted a single-centre prospective cohort study of 150 stable, adult CHD patients followed for nine months.

The Ca(2+) channel blocker flunarizine induces caspase-10-dependent apoptosis in Jurkat T-leukemia cells.

Flunarizine is a Ca(2+) channel blocker that can be either cytoprotective or cytotoxic, depending on the cell type that is being examined. We show here that flunarizine was cytotoxic for Jurkat T-leukemia cells, as well as for other hematological maligancies, but not for breast or colon carcinoma cells. Treatment of Jurkat cells with flunarizine resulted in caspase-3 activation, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, and laddering of DNA fragments, all of which are hallmarks of apoptosis.

Vav1 regulates the migration and adhesion of dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent APCs for activating naive T cells, a process facilitated by the ability of immature DCs to mature and home to lymph nodes after encountering an inflammatory stimulus. Proteins involved in cytoskeletal rearrangement play an important role in regulating the adherence and motility of DCs. Vav1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rho family GTPases, mediates cytoskeletal rearrangement in hematopoietic cells following integrin ligation.

Role of activated protein C and its receptor in inhibition of tumor metastasis.

Engagement of endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) by activated protein C (aPC) decreases expression of endothelial adhesion molecules implicated in tumor-endothelium interactions. We examined the role of the aPC/EPCR pathway on tumor migration and metastasis. In vitro, B16-F10 melanoma cells showed decreased adhesion to and transmigration through endothelium treated with recombinant human aPC (rhaPC).

Activated protein C improves ischemic flap survival and modulates proangiogenic and antiinflammatory gene expression.

Background: Flap necrosis remains a major complication in reconstructive surgery. The authors evaluated whether systemic activated protein C, a natural serum anticoagulant with anti-inflammatory, proangiogenic, and cytoprotective properties, can improve ischemic skin flap survival.

Methods: Cranially based dorsal cutaneous flaps were elevated on 44 rats.

Activated protein C: an emerging therapeutic agent in the prevention of ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Free flap necrosis continues to be a significant problem in microvascular surgery. Despite improved microsurgical techniques and equipment, flap loss remains the major operative complication. Although ischemia-induced reperfusion injury remains a significant etiologic factor in flap loss, there is continued interest in endothelial mechanisms that regulate microvascular injury and thrombosis.

Expression of a functional single-chain variable-fragment antibody against complement receptor 1 in Streptococcus gordonii.

Streptococcus gordonii, an oral commensal organism, is a candidate vector for oral-vaccine development. Previous studies have shown that recombinant S. gordonii expressing heterologous antigens was weakly immunogenic when delivered intranasally.

Prolonged costimulation is required for naive T cell activation.

Costimulation by members of the B7 family of molecules is critical for the activation of naive CD4+ T cells. While prolonged TCR signaling is necessary for T cell activation, the duration of costimulatory signals required has not been established. In this study, murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) and naïve CD4+ T cells were used to determine the temporal costimulatory requirements for naive T cell activation.

Cutting edge: dendritic cell actin cytoskeletal polarization during immunological synapse formation is highly antigen-dependent.

Dendritic cells (DC) actively rearrange their actin cytoskeleton to participate in formation of the immunological synapse (IS). In this study, we evaluated the requirements for DC participation in the IS. DC rearrange their actin cytoskeleton toward naive CD4(+) T cells only in the presence of specific MHC-peptide complexes.

Thy-1 signaling in the context of costimulation provided by dendritic cells provides signal 1 for T cell proliferation and cytotoxic effector molecule expression, but fails to trigger delivery of the lethal hit.

Cross-linking of the GPI-anchored protein Thy-1 results in T cell proliferation and IL-2 synthesis. However, the exact function of Thy-1 in the process of T cell activation remains unknown, as does the effect of costimulation on Thy-1-driven T cell responses. In this study, we have investigated the ability of Thy-1 to substitute for traditional signal 1 in the context of costimulation provided by dendritic cells.

Experimental model for ophthalmopathy in BALB/c and outbred (CD-1) mice genetically immunized with G2s and the thyrotropin receptor.

In an attempt to develop an animal model for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) we have genetically immunized BALB/c and outbred (CD-1) mice with cDNAs encoding the thyroid and eye muscle shared protein G2s and full length human thyrotropin receptor (TSHr). Firstly, BALB/c mice were immunized with cDNAs for G2s and the TSHr, alone or in tandem with cDNAs for interleukin (IL)4 or IL12. Control mice were immunized with empty vehicle only.