Evaluation of transfusion reactions in patients following transfusion of blood components containing antibodies to HLA class I - An attempt to prevent TRALI in patients.

In an attempt to mitigate transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), the Oslo Blood Center screened 1369 thrombapheresis donors for human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-specific antibodies. Anti-HLA antibodies were found in 200 donors who were deferred from donation of plasma-rich products. In a retrospective study, 2562 transfusions of thrombocytes (both apheresis and whole blood-derived) from 150 of these donors were subject to a thorough look back-investigation.

Efforts to recruit and enhance blood donor return probability: A point of view from Oslo, Norway.

Transfusion of human blood remains irreplaceable in human medicine and we need to pave the ground for continued and sustainable action in the decades to come. Blood and transfusion services around the world currently experience challenges and need to increase donor recruitment and retention. This invited commentary focuses on the foundation and maintenance of a functional transfusion service for the coming years as it is imperative to develop and continuously reappraise the blood supply and transfusion service, based on evidence, experience and expertise, to meet expected and unexpected requirements of the future.

Effects of storage on quality and function of acid-treated platelets with reduced HLA Class I surface expression.

Background: Refractory patients need to be provided with HLA-matched platelets (PLTs), which require time-consuming cross-matching. Treatment of PLTs with citric acid leads to denaturation of the HLA Class I complexes without significant damage to the PLTs. HLA Class I depleted PLTs could alternatively be used to HLA-matched PLTs for transfusion.

Safe Blood Donation from Donors Using Antihypertensive Medication. A Multi-Center Retrospective Quality Study from South-East Norway.

Purpose: In Norway, blood donors using antihypertensive medication were deferred until 2015. Following revision of the national directive, these donors could be allowed, providing stable dose for at least 3 months, adequate blood pressure control and no adverse effects caused by the therapy. The new practice was evaluated by a quality study where the major aim was to establish whether donations from blood donors on antihypertensive medication pose a risk to the donor.

Screening for antibodies to HLA class I in apheresis donors following Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Transfusion of HLA-specific antibodies may play a role in induction of TRALI, the transfusion complication responsible for most transfusion-related deaths. In Oslo, we screen our apheresis donors and defer HLA-immunized donors from donation of plasma-rich blood components. During the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic and following the first months of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, both the virus itself and the vaccines were suspected of inducing de novo production of antibodies to HLA class I in patients.

Humoral and cellular immune responses to two and three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in rituximab-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective, cohort study.

Background: In rituximab-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis, humoral and cellular immune responses after two or three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are not well characterised. We aimed to address this knowledge gap.

Methods: This prospective, cohort study (Nor-vaC) was done at two hospitals in Norway.

Proteomic study of apheresis platelets made HLA class I deficient for transfusion of refractory patients.

Purpose: Refractoriness can occur after repeated platelet (PLT) transfusions because of alloimmunization to HLA class I antigens on transfused PLTs and generation of anti-HLA antibodies that bind to the foreign PLTs and initiate their destruction. Such refractoriness can be overcome by provision of HLA-matched PLTs from HLA typed donors. However, since the procedure is both expensive and time-consuming, an alternative approach is to deplete PLTs of HLA class I molecules by a brief treatment with citric acid, on ice.

Sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood donors during the third wave of infection in Norway, winter/spring 2021.

Cross-sectional studies of the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in representative groups are routinely used for surveillance of public health in Norway. The group of blood donors is easily accessible to provide an estimate over the infection prevalence. Repeated testing of returning donors also generates data about the duration of the antibody response following infection and vaccination.

The story of an extraordinary year: Challenges and opportunities in responding to Covid-19.

Little more than a year after the first reports of a new coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the world is in the middle of a pandemic that has brought dramatic changes in societies all over the world. This is our story, as seen from the Department of Immunology and Transfusion at Oslo University Hospital (OUH).

HLA class I depletion by citric acid, and irradiation of apheresis platelets for transfusion of refractory patients.

Background: Patients can form antibodies to foreign human leukocyte antigen (HLA) Class I antigens after exposure to allogeneic cells. These anti-HLA class I antibodies can bind transfused platelets (PLTs) and mediate their destruction, thus leading to PLT refractoriness. Patients with PLT refractoriness need HLA-matched PLTs, which require expensive HLA typing of donors, antibody analyses of patient sera and/or crossmatching.

Differential Levels and Phosphorylation of Type 1 Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor in Four Different Murine Models of Huntington Disease.

Background: The intracellular ion channel type 1 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R1) releases Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum upon stimulation with IP3. Perturbation of IP3R1 has been implicated in the development of several neurodegenerative disorders, including Huntington disease (HD).

Objective: To elucidate the putative role of IP3R1 phosphorylation in HD, we investigated IP3R1 levels and protein phosphorylation state in the striatum, hippocampus and cerebellum of four murine HD models.

Donor health assessment - When is blood donation safe?

Blood donation is a highly regulated practice in the world, ensuring the safety and efficacy of collected blood and its components whether used as irreplaceable parts of modern transfusion medicine, as a therapeutic modality or additional support to other clinical therapies. In Norway blood donation is regulated by governmental regulations ("Blodforskriften") and further instructed by national guidelines, "Veileder for transfusjonstjenesten" [1], providing an aid for assessment of donor health. This concise review touches upon: definitions of donor health and disease; some important pitfalls; and the handling of some common and less common pathophysiological conditions; with an example from the Blood center of Oslo University Hospital, Norway's largest blood center.

Corrigendum: Protein Kinase C Phosphorylates the System N Glutamine Transporter SN1 (Slc38a3) and Regulates Its Membrane Trafficking and Degradation.

[This corrects the article on p. 138 in vol. 4, PMID: 24106489.

Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria at Oslo University Hospital 2000-2010.

Background: Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare haematological disease characterised by chronic haemolysis, pancytopenia and venous thrombosis. The condition is attributable to a lack of control of complement attack on erythrocytes, thrombocytes and leukocytes, and can be diagnosed by means of flow cytometry. In this quality assurance study, we have reviewed information from the medical records of all patients tested for PNH using flow cytometry at our laboratory over a ten-year period.

Protein Kinase C Phosphorylates the System N Glutamine Transporter SN1 (Slc38a3) and Regulates Its Membrane Trafficking and Degradation.

The system N transporter SN1 (also known as SNAT3) is enriched on perisynaptic astroglial cell membranes. SN1 mediates electroneutral and bidirectional glutamine transport, and regulates the intracellular as well as the extracellular concentrations of glutamine. We hypothesize that SN1 participates in the glutamate/γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-glutamine cycle and regulates the amount of glutamine supplied to the neurons for replenishment of the neurotransmitter pools of glutamate and GABA.

Protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of a single serine residue on the rat glial glutamine transporter SN1 governs its membrane trafficking.

Molecular mechanisms involved in the replenishment of the fast neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA are poorly understood. Glutamine sustains their generation. However, glutamine formation from the recycled transmitters is confined to glial processes and requires facilitators for its translocation across the glial and neuronal membranes.

Calmodulin-dependent kinase 1beta is expressed in the epiphyseal growth plate and regulates proliferation of mouse calvarial osteoblasts in vitro.

The Ca(2+)/Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMK) family is activated in response to elevation of intracellular Ca(2+), and includes CaMK1 (as well as CaMK2 and CaMK4), which exists as different isoforms (alpha, beta, gamma and delta). CaMK1 is present in several cell types and may be involved in various cellular processes, but its role in bone is unknown. In situ hybridization was used to determine the spatial and temporal expression of CaMK1beta during endochondral bone development in mouse embryos and newborn pups.

How can antiepileptic drugs affect bone mass, structure and metabolism? Lessons from animal studies.

Patients with epilepsy, treated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are at increased risk of fractures. Although several commonly used AEDs reduce bone mass in patients, the mechanisms are only scarcely known. In this review, we focus on the usefulness of animal models to explore the skeletal effects of AEDs.