Erythrocyte glutathione transferase in kidney transplantation: a probe for kidney detoxification efficiency.

Erythrocyte glutathione transferase (e-GST) is overexpressed in case of increased blood toxicity and its level correlates with the kidney disease progression. Thus, it represents a probe of kidney efficiency against circulating toxins. We measured the activity of e-GST in patients with transplant kidney from living and cadaver donors, correlated its level to biochemical parameters of kidney function, and measured the level of oxidized albumin as a probe of oxidative stress using a new simple procedure.

Expanded Criteria Donor Kidney Transplantation: Comparative Outcome Evaluation Between Single Versus Double Kidney Transplantation at 8 Years: A Single Center Experience.

Transplantation of kidneys retrieved from expanded criteria donors is one of the options to expand the pool of available grafts, shorten the waiting time and increase the number of kidney transplant recipients. This study was a retrospective assessment of 99 patients who underwent renal transplantation during the period 2007-2015 with kidneys harvested from expanded criteria donors (ECD) as defined by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) following routine biopsy of all kidneys obtained by Karpinsky Score. They formed two groups: SKT (67 recipients that received a single kidney) and DKT (32 patients that received dual kidney transplant).

Low plasma concentrations of albumin influence the affinity column-mediated immunoassay method for the measurement of tacrolimus in blood during the early period after liver transplantation.

Background: Monitoring of tacrolimus (TAC) concentrations in transplanted patients is necessary to ensure effective immunosuppression and to avoid adverse side effects. The fully automated analysis of TAC by the affinity column-mediated immunoassay (ACMIA), which does not require a precipitation step, may represent an efficient alternative to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), including in the clinically urgent situation. The aim of this work was to compare the analytical performances of ACMIA with those of LC-MS/MS and to evaluate the influence of hematological parameters, time posttransplant, and type of transplant on the results obtained from routine blood samples.

Non-THC cannabinoids inhibit prostate carcinoma growth in vitro and in vivo: pro-apoptotic effects and underlying mechanisms.

Background And Purpose: Cannabinoid receptor activation induces prostate carcinoma cell (PCC) apoptosis, but cannabinoids other than Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which lack potency at cannabinoid receptors, have not been investigated. Some of these compounds antagonize transient receptor potential melastatin type-8 (TRPM8) channels, the expression of which is necessary for androgen receptor (AR)-dependent PCC survival.

Experimental Approach: We tested pure cannabinoids and extracts from Cannabis strains enriched in particular cannabinoids (BDS), on AR-positive (LNCaP and 22RV1) and -negative (DU-145 and PC-3) cells, by evaluating cell viability (MTT test), cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction, by FACS scans, caspase 3/7 assays, DNA fragmentation and TUNEL, and size of xenograft tumours induced by LNCaP and DU-145 cells.