Changes in AZGP1 Serum Levels and Correlation With Pulse Wave Velocity After Kidney Transplantation.

Zinc-alpha 2-glycoprotein (AZGP1), a secreted protein with ubiquitous tissue expression, has been controversially linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease. In a cohort of kidney transplant recipients, we measured serum AZGP1 levels after transplantation over a 2 year period and tested for an association with pulse wave velocity as an important parameter indicating future cardiovascular events. Annual blood sampling and pulse wave velocity measurements were longitudinally performed in 113 kidney transplant recipients.

Efficacy of a remote web-based lung ultrasound training for nephrologists and cardiologists: a LUST trial sub-project.

Within the framework of the LUST trial (LUng water by Ultra-Sound guided Treatment to prevent death and cardiovascular events in high-risk end-stage renal disease patients), the European Renal and Cardiovascular Medicine (EURECA-m) working group of the European Renal Association-European Dialysis Transplant Association established a central core lab aimed at training and certifying nephrologists and cardiologists participating in this trial. All participants were trained by an expert trainer with an entirely web-based programme. Thirty nephrologists and 14 cardiologists successfully completed the training.

The TIR Domain Containing Locus of Enterococcus faecalis Is Predominant among Urinary Tract Infection Isolates and Downregulates Host Inflammatory Response.

Based on Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain structure homology, we detected a previously uncharacterized gene encoding for a TIR domain containing protein (Tcp) in the genome of Enterococcus faecalis. We assigned this gene the name tcpF (as in Tcp of E. faecalis).