Abrogation of neutrophil inflammatory pathways and potential reduction of neutrophil-related factors in COVID-19 by intravenous immunoglobulin.

Pathogenesis of lung injury in COVID-19 is not completely understood, leaving gaps in understanding how current treatments modulate the course of COVID-19. Neutrophil numbers and activation state in circulation have been found to correlate with COVID-19 severity, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been found in the lung parenchyma of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19. Targeting the pro-inflammatory functions of neutrophils may diminish lung injury in COVID-19 and ARDS.

Acute and Chronic Changes in Gene Expression After CMV DNAemia in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in kidney transplant patients with clinical complications including organ rejection and death. Whole blood gene expression dynamics in CMV viremic patients from onset of DNAemia through convalescence has not been well studied to date in humans. To evaluate how CMV infection impacts whole blood leukocyte gene expression over time, we evaluated a matched cohort of 62 kidney transplant recipients with and without CMV DNAemia using blood samples collected at multiple time points during the 12-month period after transplant.

Disulfide High-Mobility Group Box 1 Drives Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Human Liver Transplantation.

Background And Aims: Sterile inflammation is a major clinical concern during ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) triggered by traumatic events, including stroke, myocardial infarction, and solid organ transplantation. Despite high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) clearly being involved in sterile inflammation, its role is controversial because of a paucity of patient-focused research.

Approach And Results: Here, we examined the role of HMGB1 oxidation states in human IRI following liver transplantation.

Pattern Recognition Receptor-reactivity Screening of Liver Transplant Patients: Potential for Personalized and Precise Organ Matching to Reduce Risks of Ischemia-reperfusion Injury.

Objective And Background: Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on immune and parenchymal cells can detect danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released from cells damaged during ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), in heart attack or stroke settings, but also as an unavoidable consequence of solid organ transplantation. Despite IRI being a significant clinical problem across all solid organ transplants, there are limited therapeutics and patient-specific diagnostics currently available.

Methods: We screened portal blood samples obtained from 67 human liver transplant recipients both pre- [portal vein (PV) sample] and post-(liver flush; LF) reperfusion for their ability to activate a panel of PRRs, and analyzed this reactivity in relation to biopsy-proven IRI.

Association of pro-inflammatory cytokines and monocyte subtypes in older and younger patients on clinical outcomes after mechanical circulatory support device implantation.

Noninvasive immunologic analysis of peripheral blood holds promise for explaining the mechanism of development of adverse clinical outcomes, and may also become a method for patient risk stratification before or after mechanical circulatory support device (MCSD) implantation. Dysregulation of the innate immune system is associated with increased patient age but has yet to be evaluated in the older patient with advanced heart failure undergoing MCSD surgery. Patients pre- and post-MCSD implantation had peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and serum isolated.

Differences in Proinflammatory Cytokines and Monocyte Subtypes in Older as Compared With Younger Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: The number of elderly patients with end-stage kidney disease requiring kidney transplantation continues to grow. Evaluation of healthy older adults has revealed proinflammatory changes in the immune system, which are posited to contribute to age-associated illnesses via "inflamm-aging." Immunologic dysfunction is also associated with impaired control of infections.

T cell dysfunction and patient age are associated with poor outcomes after mechanical circulatory support device implantation.

Immunologic impairment may contribute to poor outcomes after implantation of mechanical circulatory support device (MCSD), with infection often as a terminal event. The study of immune dysfunction is of special relevance given the growing numbers of older patients with heart disease. The aim of the study was to define which immunologic characteristics are associated with development of adverse clinical outcomes after MCSD implantation.

Association between preoperative peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene expression profiles, early postoperative organ function recovery potential and long-term survival in advanced heart failure patients undergoing mechanical circulatory support.

Background: Multiorgan dysfunction syndrome contributes to adverse outcomes in advanced heart failure (AdHF) patients after mechanical circulatory support (MCS) implantation and is associated with aberrant leukocyte activity. We tested the hypothesis that preoperative peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression profiles (GEP) can predict early postoperative improvement or non-improvement in patients undergoing MCS implantation. We believe this information may be useful in developing prognostic biomarkers.