Publications by authors named "N Alachkar"

Background: The outcome of kidney transplant recipients with a history of complement-mediated thrombotic microangiopathy (cTMA) and those who develop post-transplant de novo TMA (dnTMA) is largely unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively studied all kidney transplant recipients with end-stage kidney disease secondary to cTMA and those who developed dnTMA, between Jan 2000 and Dec 2020 in our center.

Results: We identified 134 patients, 22 with cTMA and 112 had dnTMA.

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Background: Minimal change disease and primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in adults, along with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome in children, are immune-mediated podocytopathies that lead to nephrotic syndrome. Autoantibodies targeting nephrin have been found in patients with minimal change disease, but their clinical and pathophysiological roles are unclear.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter study to analyze antinephrin autoantibodies in adults with glomerular diseases, including minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy, IgA nephropathy, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated glomerulonephritis, and lupus nephritis, as well as in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome and in controls.

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The XVIth Banff Meeting for Allograft Pathology was held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from September 19 to 23, 2022, as a joint meeting with the Canadian Society of Transplantation. In addition to a key focus on the impact of microvascular inflammation and biopsy-based transcript analysis on the Banff Classification, further sessions were devoted to other aspects of kidney transplant pathology, in particular T cell-mediated rejection, activity and chronicity indices, digital pathology, xenotransplantation, clinical trials, and surrogate endpoints. Although the output of these sessions has not led to any changes in the classification, the key role of Banff Working Groups in phrasing unanswered questions, and coordinating and disseminating results of investigations addressing these unanswered questions was emphasized.

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Transcription of almost all mammalian genes occurs in stochastic bursts, however the fundamental control mechanisms that allow appropriate single-cell responses remain unresolved. Here we utilise single cell genomics data and stochastic models of transcription to perform global analysis of the toll-like receptor (TLR)-induced gene expression variability. Based on analysis of more than 2000 TLR-response genes across multiple experimental conditions we demonstrate that the single-cell, gene-by-gene expression variability can be empirically described by a linear function of the population mean.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigated the impact of the modified Oxford classification of MEST-C components on graft failure in kidney transplant recipients with IgAN, focusing on a North American cohort to validate previous findings from an Asian population.
  • - It analyzed 171 transplant recipients, discovering that recurrent IgAN significantly heightened the risk of graft failure, especially in younger patients, and that a higher MEST-C score was associated with increased failure risk.
  • - The results showed consistency with the Asian cohort's findings, suggesting that the MEST-C score could serve as a valuable tool in diagnosing and managing recurrent IgAN in kidney transplant patients.
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