The Influence of Human IgG Subclass and Allotype on Complement Activation.

Complement activation via the classical pathway is initiated when oligomeric Igs on target surfaces are recognized by C1 of the complement cascade. The strength of this interaction and activation of the complement system are influenced by structural variation of the Ab, including Ab isotype, subclass, and glycosylation profile. Polymorphic variants of IgG have also been described to influence Fc-dependent effector functions.

Early Cerebrovascular Autoregulation in Neonates with Congenital Heart Disease.

Neonates with congenital heart disease (CHD) display delayed brain development, predisposing them to impaired cerebrovascular autoregulation (CAR) and ischemic brain injury. For this paper, we analyzed the percentage of time with impaired CAR (%time impaired CAR) during the first 72 h after birth, the relation with clinical factors, and survival in 57 neonates with CHD. The primary outcome was a correlation coefficient of cerebral oxygenation (rSO) and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP, mmHg) for two hours on a daily basis.

Neonatal Hemoglobin Levels in Preterm Infants Are Associated with Early Neurological Functioning.

Background: Neonatal anemia may compromise oxygen transport to the brain. The effects of anemia and cerebral oxygenation on neurological functioning in the early neonatal period are largely unknown.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between initial hemoglobin levels (Hb) and early neurological functioning in preterm infants by assessing their general movements (GMs).

A comparison of the early motor repertoire of very preterm infants and term infants.

Objective: To obtain reference data on the early motor repertoire of very preterm infants compared with healthy term infants at three months' post-term age.

Study Design: In this observational study, using Prechtl's method on the assessment of the early motor repertoire, we compared the quality of fidgety movements and the concurrent motor optimality score - revised of infants with a gestational age <30 weeks and/or a birth weight <1000 g with healthy infants with a gestational age of 37-42 weeks.

Results: One hundred eighty very preterm and 180 healthy term infants participated.

Hypoxic/ischemic hits predispose to necrotizing enterocolitis in (near) term infants with congenital heart disease: a case control study.

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disease that is relatively frequently diagnosed in term infants with congenital heart disease (CHD), compared with term infants without CHD, in whom NEC is rare. The exact pathogenesis of NEC in term infants with CHD is unknown, but it is hypothesized that ischemia of the intestines plays a pivotal role. We aimed to explore whether (near) term CHD infants, who develop NEC, exhibit more clinical signs of hypoxia/ischemia and low body perfusion directly after birth and during the first 48 hours after admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, when compared with (near) term CHD infants who did not develop NEC.

Time to full enteral feeding after necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm-born children is related to neurodevelopment at 2-3 years of age.

Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is associated with poorer neurodevelopment. It is, however, unclear which factors besides surgery affect neurodevelopment in preterm-born children surviving NEC.

Aims: We determined whether time to full enteral feeding (FEFt) and post-NEC complications after NEC were associated with neurodevelopment.

FcγR Binding and ADCC Activity of Human IgG Allotypes.

Antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is an Fc-dependent effector function of IgG important for anti-viral immunity and anti-tumor therapies. NK-cell mediated ADCC is mainly triggered by IgG-subclasses IgG1 and IgG3 through the IgG-Fc-receptor (FcγR) IIIa. Polymorphisms in the immunoglobulin gamma heavy chain gene likely form a layer of variation in the strength of the ADCC-response, but this has never been studied in detail.

Onset of brain injury in infants with prenatally diagnosed congenital heart disease.

Background: The exact onset of brain injury in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) is unknown. Our aim was, therefore, to assess the association between prenatal Doppler flow patterns, postnatal cerebral oxygenation and short-term neurological outcome.

Methods: Prenatally, we measured pulsatility indices of the middle cerebral (MCA-PI) and umbilical artery (UA-PI) and calculated cerebroplacental ratio (CPR).

Predicting intestinal recovery after necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.

Background: Intestinal recovery after NEC is difficult to predict in individuals. We evaluated whether several biomarkers predict intestinal recovery after NEC in preterm infants.

Methods: We measured intestinal tissue oxygen saturation (rSO) and collected urinary intestinal-fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) levels 0-24 h and 24-48 h after NEC onset, and before and after the first re-feed.

Haemostatic changes in urogenital schistosomiasis haematobium: a case-control study in Gabonese schoolchildren.

In many tropical areas schistosomiasis is a major health problem causing hepatosplenic, intestinal or urogenital complaints. Hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni is also characterized by blood coagulation abnormalities. Liver pathology plays a role in the development of haemostatic changes and the parasitic infection may directly affect coagulation.

Early cerebral and intestinal oxygenation in the risk assessment of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.

Background And Aim: Predicting necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) might help in preventing its devastating consequences. We aimed to investigate whether early cerebral and intestinal tissue oxygen saturation (rSO) and fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) predict the onset of NEC.

Study Design: Prospective observational case-control study.

Growth patterns and cerebroplacental hemodynamics in fetuses with congenital heart disease.

Objectives: Congenital heart disease (CHD) has been associated with reduced fetal head circumference (HC), although the underlying pathophysiology remains undetermined. We aimed to define trends in fetal growth and cerebroplacental Doppler flow, and to investigate their relationship, in fetuses with CHD.

Methods: This was a retrospective study in two fetal medicine units in The Netherlands.

Truncation of ADAMTS13 by Plasmin Enhances Its Activity in Plasma.

ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13) cleaves von Willebrand Factor (VWF) multimers to control their thrombogenicity. The fibrinolytic enzyme plasmin can cleave VWF in a similar manner. However, plasmin can also cleave ADAMTS13, which ultimately inactivates it.

Fibrinogen and fibrin are novel substrates for Fasciola hepatica cathepsin L peptidases.

Cathepsin peptidases form a major component of the secreted proteins of the blood-feeding trematodes Fasciola hepatica and Schistosoma mansoni. These peptidases fulfill many functions, from facilitating infection to feeding and immune evasion. In this study, we examined the Fasciola cathepsin L peptidases FhCL1, FhCL2, and FhCL3 and the schistosomal cathepsin peptidases SmCB1 and SmCL3 for their anticoagulant properties.

Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography during the first 72 h after birth in neonates diagnosed prenatally with congenital heart disease.

BackgroundLittle is known on amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) during the first few days after birth in neonates with congenital heart disease (CHD). Our aim was, therefore, to assess electrocortical activity using aEEG within the first 72 h after birth in neonates diagnosed prenatally with CHD, and to define independent prenatal and postnatal predictors for abnormal aEEG.MethodsNeonates with CHD who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between 2010 and 2017 were retrospectively included.

Cerebral and Renal Oxygen Saturation Are Not Compromised in the Presence of Retrograde Blood Flow in either the Ascending or Descending Aorta in Term or Near-Term Infants with Left-Sided Obstructive Lesions.

Background: In infants with left-sided obstructive lesions (LSOL), the presence of retrograde blood flow in either the ascending or descending aorta may lead to diminished cerebral and renal blood flow, respectively.

Objectives: Our aim was to compare cerebral and renal tissue oxygen saturation (rSO2) between infants with LSOL with antegrade and retrograde blood flow in the ascending aorta and with and without diastolic backflow in the descending aorta.

Methods: Based on 2 echocardiograms, the study group was categorized according to the direction of blood flow in the ascending and descending aorta.

Brain Injury and Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review.

Context: Brain injury during prenatal and preoperative postnatal life might play a major role in neurodevelopmental impairment in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) who require corrective or palliative surgery during infancy. A systematic review of cerebral findings during this period in relation to neurodevelopmental outcome (NDO), however, is lacking.

Objective: To assess the association between prenatal and postnatal preoperative cerebral findings and NDO in infants with CHD who require corrective or palliative surgery during infancy.

Near-infrared spectroscopy as a predictor of clinical deterioration: a case report of two infants with duct-dependent congenital heart disease.

Background: Some infants with congenital heart disease are at risk of in-hospital cardiac arrest. To better foresee cardiac arrest in infants with congenital heart disease, it might be useful to continuously assess end-organ perfusion. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a non-invasive method to continuously assess multisite regional tissue oxygen saturation.

Cerebral oxygen saturation during the first 72h after birth in infants diagnosed prenatally with congenital heart disease.

Background: Evidence suggests that hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in infants with congenital heart disease already occurs during early life. The aim of our study was, therefore, to assess the course of regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO) and fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) during the first 72h after birth in infants with prenatally diagnosed duct-dependent congenital heart disease. In addition, we identified clinical parameters that were associated with rSO.

Staphylococcus aureus proteins SSL6 and SElX interact with neutrophil receptors as identified using secretome phage display.

In order to cause colonization and invasive disease, pathogenic bacteria secrete proteins that modulate host immune defences. Identification and characterization of these proteins leads to a better understanding of the pathological processes underlying infectious and inflammatory diseases and is essential in the development of new strategies for their prevention and treatment. Current techniques to functionally characterize these proteins are laborious and inefficient.