IF/TA-related metabolic changes--proteome analysis of rat renal allografts.

Background: Chronic allograft nephropathy, now more specifically termed interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy without evidence of any specific aetiology (IF/TA), is still an important cause of late graft loss. There is no effective therapy for IF/TA, in part due to the disease's multifactorial nature and its incompletely understood pathogenesis.

Methods: We used a differential in-gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry technique to study IF/TA in a renal transplantation model.

Hyponatremia and seizures caused by triamcinolone-induced adrenal insufficiency.

Background: A 49-year-old woman presented to hospital with an 18-month history of hyponatremic episodes, nausea, vomiting, anorexia and fatigue.

Investigations: Physical examination, laboratory tests including full blood count, measurement of electrolytes, hormones, autoantibodies, thyroid and renal function, corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation test, 24 h urinalysis and abdominal ultrasonography.

Diagnosis: Severe symptomatic hyponatremia in a patient with secondary adrenal insufficiency caused by treatment of lumbago with triamcinolone injections.

Early clinical experiences with the new influenza A (H1N1/09).

Background: Because of ongoing person-to-person transmission of the disease, the World Health Organization has declared a phase 6 pandemic alert for the new type of influenza A (H1N1/09). This means that the spread of the disease must be closely monitored.

Methods: At the Düsseldorf University Hospital, patients with flu-like symptoms and their contacts have been tested for the new type of influenza A since April 2009.

[Pre-exposure prophylaxis in HIV--a vision or soon a reality?].

Condom use is propagated as the most efficient measure to prevent HIV-transmission. For several reasons, condoms are NOT ALWAYS used or misapplied during sexual intercourse. Therefore, alternative preventive measures through intake of antiretroviral drugs before sexual intercourse with a (presumably) HIV-positive person are being considered, so called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

[Application of HIV drug resistance testing according to guidelines].

Guidelines for application of HIV drug resistance testing have recently been develeped in Europe and the USA. This article discusses these recommendations. Since the widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), quality of life has been improved for the majority of HIV-infected patients and the mortality rate has declined significantly.

Acute renal failure due to primary bilateral renal large B-cell lymphoma: diagnostics and follow-up by FDG-PET/CT.

Acute renal failure (ARF) due to bilateral parenchymal infiltration of a high grade malignant non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma is exceptional. Early identification of this pathology causing ARF is critical as early induction therapy with cyclophosphamide and prednisone often leads to a substantial recovery of kidney function. This striking case illustrates the usefulness of noninvasive fluoro-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography as a functional imaging modality demonstrating not only the cause of unexplained ARF but also its convenience for the restaging management of non-Hodgkin lymphomas during complete remission.

Association of immunoglobulin-like transcript 6 deficiency with Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: The immunoglobulin-like transcript (ILT) family is located in chromosomal region 19q13 and consists of a group of activating and inhibitory receptors. The ILT receptors are expressed on antigen-presenting cells (macrophages, dendritic cells, B lymphocytes), as well as on T cells and natural killer cells. ILT2 and ILT4 play a role in tolerance induction, and ILT3 has been shown to induce Treg cells.

Mast cells induce migration of dendritic cells in a murine model of acute allergic airway disease.

Background: The migration of dendritic cells (DCs) from the lungs to the regional lymph nodes is necessary for the development of allergic airway disease. Following activation, mast cells release a variety of stored or de novo-produced inflammatory mediators, several of them being capable of activating DCs. In this study, the role of mast cells on DC migration from the lungs to the thoracic lymph nodes was investigated in sensitized mice.

Absence of additional improvement in outcome of patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy paced at the most delayed left ventricular region.

Background: The choice of the optimal left ventricular (LV) pacing site remains an issue in patients requiring cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Aim: This prospective study compared the outcome of patients paced at the most delayed LV region with that of patients paced at any other LV site.

Methods: Forty-four patients with severe heart failure underwent three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography before implantation and 3 days after implantation of a CRT device, to determine the most delayed LV region during spontaneous rhythm and during right ventricular pacing.

Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett films of 1-acyl-1,2,4-triazoles.

New 1-acyl-1,2,4-triazoles (ATs) with different n-alkyl chain lengths from C2 to C18 were synthesized. ATs with long n-alkyl chains (C12 and larger) are non-charged amphiphilic molecules with a polar triazole head group. The Langmuir isotherms of ATs at the air-water interface with 12 (DoT-C12), 14 (MyT-C14), 16 (PaT-C16) and 18 (StT-C18) carbon atoms in their n-alkyl chains were studied using surface pressure-mean molecular area (pi-mmA) measurements.

Retinoic acid can enhance conversion of naive into regulatory T cells independently of secreted cytokines.

It has been reported that retinoic acid (RA) enhances regulatory T (T reg) cell conversion by inhibiting the secretion of cytokines that interfere with conversion. This report shows that these conclusions provide a partial explanation at best. First, RA not only interfered with cytokine secretion but also with the ability of these cytokines to inhibit T reg cell conversion of naive T cells.

Effect of curcumin on nuclear factor kappaB signaling pathways in human chronic myelogenous K562 leukemia cells.

Curcumin, a natural product isolated from the plant Curcuma longa, has a diverse range of molecular targets that influence numerous biochemical and molecular cascades. Curcumin has been shown to inhibit nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation at several steps in the NF-kappaB signaling pathways and thereby controls numerous NF-kappaB-regulated genes involved in various diseases. In the present study, we investigated the effect of curcumin pretreatment on 84 tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-activated genes of NF-kappaB pathways in K562 cells, using a real-time PCR array.

Gene expression profiling related to anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin in K562 leukemia cells.

A strong relationship exists between inflammation and carcinogenesis. To bring insights into the anti-inflammatory mechanisms by which chemopreventive agents, such as curcumin, are able to counteract the action of inflammation mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), we compared gene expression profiles in K562 cells treated with curcumin-TNF-alpha versus TNF-alpha alone. Microarray data analysis revealed that, among the 376 differentially expressed genes by curcumin treatment, genes belonging to the cell cycle and the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathways were downregulated.

Efficacy of caspofungin and itraconazole as secondary antifungal prophylaxis: analysis of data from a multinational case registry.

Patients surviving invasive fungal disease (IFD) and needing further antineoplastic chemotherapy are at high risk of recurrent fungal infection. In the absence of randomised controlled trials in this area, secondary prophylactic regimens are diverse. From 448 patients registered with the Multinational Case Registry of Secondary Antifungal Prophylaxis, we performed an analysis of patients receiving caspofungin (CAS) or itraconazole (ITC).

Additional value of three-dimensional echocardiography in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Background: There is no gold standard technique for quantification of ventricular dyssynchrony.

Aim: To investigate whether additional real-time three-dimensional morphologic assessment of ventricular dyssynchrony affects response after biventricular pacing.

Methods: Forty-one patients with severe heart failure were implanted with a biventricular pacing device and underwent two-dimensional (time dispersion of 12 left ventricular electromechanical delays) and three-dimensional echocardiographic assessment of ventricular dyssynchrony (dispersion of time to minimum regional volume for 16 left ventricular segments), before implantation, 2 days postimplantation with optimization of the pacing interventricular delay and 6 months postimplantation.

Blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment, and graft survival in kidney transplant patients.

Whether the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker inhibitor (ACEI/ARB) is beneficial in renal transplant recipients remains controversial. In this retrospective study on 505 renal transplant recipients, we analyzed blood pressure and graft survival according to antihypertensive treatment with ACE-I/ARB and/or calcium channel blockers (CCB) over a period of 10 years. Patients were stratified according to their blood pressure 1 year after transplantation [controlled (130/80 mmHg; non-CTR, 324 patients)] and according to antihypertensive treatment (ACE-I/ARB and/or CCB taken for at least 2 years).

The soluble VEGF receptor sFlt1 contributes to endothelial dysfunction in CKD.

Endothelial dysfunction contributes to the increased cardiovascular risk that accompanies CKD. We hypothesized that the soluble VEGF receptor 1 (sFlt-1), a VEGF antagonist, plays a role in endothelial dysfunction and decreased angiogenesis in CKD. We enrolled 130 patients with CKD stages 3 to 5 and 56 age- and gender-matched control patients.

Autochthonous cystic echinococcosis in patients who grew up in Germany.

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a widespread zoonosis. Cases occurring in Germany are considered to result from imported infection and it is unclear if Echinococcus granulosus (sensu lato) is still transmitted in Germany. Therefore, exposure was investigated in 15 patients with cystic echinococcosis (7 female, 8 male; age-range 16-68, with a median of 48 years) who grew up in Germany.

Evolution of raltegravir resistance during therapy.

Objectives: We investigated the prevalence of raltegravir resistance-associated mutations at baseline and their evolution during raltegravir therapy in patients infected with different HIV-1 subtypes.

Methods: At pre-treatment screening, the integrase gene from plasma samples from patients infected with subtype B and non-B viruses was analysed. Raltegravir resistance evolution was further evaluated in 10 heavily pre-treated patients.

Protection from graft-versus-host disease by HIV-1 envelope protein gp120-mediated activation of human CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells.

Naturally occurring CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) represent a unique T-cell lineage that is endowed with the ability to actively suppress immune responses. Therefore, approaches to modulate Treg function in vivo could provide ways to enhance or reduce immune responses and lead to novel therapies. Here we show that the CD4 binding human immunodeficiency virus-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 is a useful and potent tool for functional activation of human Tregs in vitro and in vivo.

Close relationship between clinical regression and specific serology in the follow-up of patients with alveolar echinococcosis in different clinical stages.

We compared four enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with 172 serum samples from 28 patients with alveolar echinococcosis in different clinical stages according to the World Health Organization-PNM (P = parasitic mass in the liver, N = involvement of neighboring organs, M = metastasis) staging system. The sequential antibody responses against Em (2plus), Em10, and Em18 antigens, and a crude antigen extract were measured in cohorts with resected and unresected lesions. Antibody levels in all assays correlated with the PNM stage before treatment, and the highest correlation was shown for the Em18 assay.

Non-invasive imaging of acute renal allograft rejection in rats using small animal F-FDG-PET.

Background: At present, renal grafts are the most common solid organ transplants world-wide. Given the importance of renal transplantation and the limitation of available donor kidneys, detailed analysis of factors that affect transplant survival are important. Despite the introduction of new and effective immunosuppressive drugs, acute cellular graft rejection (AR) is still a major risk for graft survival.

Hepatic infestation of Echinococcus multilocularis with extension to regional lymph nodes.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to prove lymph node infestation by Echinococcus multilocularis and provide evidence for systematic lymph node dissection in curative resections for alveolar echinococcosis (AE).

Background: Human AE is a life threatening parasitic condition, usually caused by an intrahepatic infiltrative and destructive growth of the larvae E. multilocularis.

Prognostic factors for invasive aspergillosis in patients with haematological malignancies.

Reliable data defining risk factors for invasive aspergillosis (IA) in haematological patients are limited. Analysis of factors influencing IA-associated death is especially valuable in the light of recent progress in managing IA. Between 1997 and 2005 we evaluated factors influencing IA-attributable mortality.