Donor selection in a pediatric stem cell transplantation cohort using PIRCHE and HLA-DPB1 typing.

Background: New strategies to optimize donor selection for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have mainly been evaluated in adults, but the disease spectrum requiring HSCT differs significantly in children and has consequences for the risk of complications, such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD).

Procedures: Here we evaluated whether HLA-DPB1 and Predicted Indirectly ReCognizable HLA-Epitope (PIRCHE) matching can improve donor selection and minimize risks specific for a pediatric cohort undergoing HSCT in Berlin between 2014 and 2016.

Results: The percentage of HLA-DPB1-mismatched HSCT in the pediatric cohort was in line with the general distribution among matched unrelated donor HSCT.

Architectural B-cell organization in skeletal muscle identifies subtypes of dermatomyositis.

Objective: To study the B-cell content, organization, and existence of distinct B-cell subpopulations in relation to the expression of type 1 interferon signature related genes in dermatomyositis (DM).

Methods: Evaluation of skeletal muscle biopsies from patients with adult DM (aDM) and juvenile DM (jDM) by histology, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and quantitative reverse-transcription PCR.

Results: We defined 3 aDM subgroups-classic (containing occasional B cells without clusters), B-cell-rich, and follicle-like aDM-further elucidating IM B-lymphocyte maturation and immunity.

T-cell repertoires in refractory coeliac disease.

Objective: Refractory coeliac disease (RCD) is a potentially hazardous complication of coeliac disease (CD). In contrast to RCD type I, RCD type II is a precursor entity of enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL), which is associated with clonally expanding T-cells that are also found in the sequentially developing EATL. Using high-throughput sequencing (HTS), we aimed to establish the small-intestinal T-cell repertoire (TCR) in CD and RCD to unravel the role of distinct T-cell clonotypes in RCD pathogenesis.

Luminex(®) and its applications for solid organ transplantation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and transfusion.

The detection of antibodies against the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex has become indispensable in every clinical practice. The development of solid-phase assays like the Luminex allows the standardized measurement of anti-HLA antibodies (HLAab) with high sensitivity, albeit the relevance for some clinical settings remains a matter of debate. In this review we aim to describe the principle of Luminex-based antibody detection, including two modifications that allow identifying solely complement-activating antibodies.

Systematic comparison of four cell- and Luminex-based methods for assessment of complement-activating HLA antibodies.

Background: Efforts to increase the specificity and sensitivity of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibody detection assays recently led to the establishment of two novel Luminex bead-based assays to detect complement-activating antibodies by the assessment of complement products C1q or C4d. Here, we present a systematic comparison of the four methods, complement-dependent lymphocytotoxicity (CDC) and C1q-, C4d-, and IgG-Luminex, to assess or predict the complement-binding capability of HLA IgG antibodies.

Methods: Forty-five sera of highly immunized patients have been assessed by in-house modified C1q- and C4d-Luminex assays and compared with standard CDC and IgG-Luminex.