Impact of the adenosine receptor A2BR expressed on myeloid cells on immune regulation during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the maternal immune system must carefully balance protection against pathogens with tolerance toward the semiallogeneic fetus. Dysfunctions of the immune system can lead to severe complications such as preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, or pregnancy loss. Adenosine plays a role in physiological processes and plasma-level increase during pregnancy.

Impact of perinatal administration of probiotics on immune cell composition in neonatal mice.

Background: Newborns and especially preterm infants are much more susceptible to infections than adults. The pathogens causing infections in newborns are often detectable in the intestinal flora of affected children even before disease onset. Therefore, it seems reasonable to prevent dysbiosis in newborns and preterm infants.

HIF-1α targeted deletion in myeloid cells decreases MDSC accumulation and alters microbiome in neonatal mice.

The newborn's immune system is faced with the challenge of having to learn quickly to fight off infectious agents, but tolerating the colonization of the body surfaces with commensals without reacting with an excessive inflammatory response. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are innate immune cells with suppressive activity on other immune cells that regulate fetal-maternal tolerance during pregnancy and control intestinal inflammation in neonates. Until now, nothing is known about the role of MDSC in microbiome establishment.

Off-pump direct hepatic veins-to-hemiazygos vein anastomosis after primary Kawashima operation: long-term result.

Direct hepatic veins-to-hemiazygos connection offers the balanced distribution of hepatic venous blood to both lungs, not requiring anticoagulation. We report a 13-year follow-up after this type of off-pump Fontan completion. Patient's hepatic veins-to-hemiazygos confluence increased with growth to allow for unobstructed flow.

Epidemiology of Early and Late Onset Neonatal Sepsis in Very Low Birthweight Infants: Data From the German Neonatal Network.

Background: Sepsis is a major cause of death in neonates. Knowledge about epidemiology, risk factors, causative pathogens and outcome of neonatal sepsis is important to improve neonatal care. For Germany, only few data on neonatal sepsis in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants exist.

Extracellular vesicles released by myeloid-derived suppressor cells from pregnant women modulate adaptive immune responses.

Immunological pregnancy complications are a main challenge in reproductive medicine. Mechanisms regulating the adaptation of the maternal immune system to pregnancy are incompletely understood and therapeutic options limited. Myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are immune-modulatory cells expanding during healthy pregnancy and seem to play a crucial role for maternal-fetal tolerance.

Granulocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in Breast Milk (BM-MDSC) Correlate with Gestational Age and Postnatal Age and Are Influenced by Infant's Sex.

Background: Infections are the main cause of death in preterm infants. Causative agents often descend from the intestinal flora of the infected neonate, indicating insufficient protection by the mucosal barrier. Breast milk (BM) contains different subsets of immune cells.

Sepsis related mortality of extremely low gestational age newborns after the introduction of colonization screening for multi-drug resistant organisms.

Background: In 2013 German infection surveillance guidelines recommended weekly colonization screening for multidrug-resistant (MDRO) or highly epidemic organisms for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and extended hygiene measures based on screening results. It remains a matter of debate whether screening is worth the effort. We therefore aimed to evaluate sepsis related outcomes before and after the guideline update.

Portal vein thrombosis in Fontan-associated liver disease.

A 25-year-old patient with signs of cirrhosis on ultrasound and CT presented with portal vein thrombosis on routine follow-up examinations; retrograde hepatic wedge angiography demonstrated only the right-sided portal vein branch. Development of a portosystemic collateral vessel to the left-sided renal vein prevented signs of hypersplenism. This unique complication of portal vein thrombosis should be considered during long-term surveillance.

HIF-1α-Deficiency in Myeloid Cells Leads to a Disturbed Accumulation of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC) During Pregnancy and to an Increased Abortion Rate in Mice.

Abortions are the most important reason for unintentional childlessness. During pregnancy, maternal immune cells are in close contact to cells of the semi-allogeneic fetus. Dysregulation of the maternal immune system leading to defective adaptation to pregnancy often plays a role in pathogenesis of abortions.

Monocytes show immunoregulatory capacity on CD4 T cells in a human in-vitro model of extracorporeal photopheresis.

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a widely used immunomodulatory therapy for the treatment of various T cell-mediated disorders such as cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL), graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) or systemic sclerosis. Although clinical benefits of ECP are already well described, the underlying mechanism of action of ECP is not yet fully understood. Knowledge on the fate of CD14 monocytes in the context of ECP is particularly limited and controversial.

Granulocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (GR-MDSC) in Breast Milk (BM); GR-MDSC Accumulate in Human BM and Modulate T-Cell and Monocyte Function.

Nosocomial bacterial infections (NBI) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) are among the main reasons for death in preterm infants. Both are often caused by bacteria coming from the infected infant's gut and feeding with breast milk (BM) seems beneficial in their pathogenesis. However, mechanisms causing the protective effect of BM are only incompletely understood.

Granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (GR-MDSC) accumulate in cord blood of preterm infants and remain elevated during the neonatal period.

Preterm delivery is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Among the most important complications in preterm infants are peri- or postnatal infections. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are myeloid cells with suppressive activity on other immune cells.

HLA-G promotes myeloid-derived suppressor cell accumulation and suppressive activity during human pregnancy through engagement of the receptor ILT4.

Establishing and maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance is essential for a successful pregnancy; failure of immunological adaptation to pregnancy leads to severe complications such as abortion or preterm delivery. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are innate immune cells that suppress T-cell responses, expand during pregnancy and thus may play a role in tolerance induction. Human leucocyte antigen G (HLA-G) is a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I molecule with immune-modulatory properties, which is expressed during pregnancy.

Neonatal aortic arch obstruction due to pedunculated left ventricular foetal myxoma.

Myxoma in neonatal life are extremely rare. We report a case of a neonate with a pedunculated cardiac tumour arising from the anterolateral left ventricular wall protruding across the left ventricular outflow tract and continuously extending into the distal aortic arch. Surgical removal at 14 days of age via combined transaortic approach and apical ventriculotomy was indicated because of the risk of further compromise of aortic valve function and aortic arch obstruction.

Granulocytic myeloid derived suppressor cells expand in human pregnancy and modulate T-cell responses.

Immune tolerance toward the semiallogeneic fetus plays a crucial role in the maintenance of pregnancy. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are innate immune cells characterized by their ability to modulate T-cell responses. Recently, we showed that MDSCs accumulate in cord blood of healthy newborns, yet their role in materno-fetal tolerance remained elusive.

Serial evaluation of hepatic function profile after Fontan operation.

Moderate persistent elevation of the γ-glutamyltransferase (γGT) level is a frequent finding during long-term follow-up of patients with total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) for palliation of functionally univentricular hearts. Serial intraindividual data revealed a significant increase in the γGT level within a minimum 4-year interval in more than 80 % of cases. The level of γGT elevation showed a significant correlation to hemodynamic parameters such as systemic ventricular end diastolic pressure and mean pulmonary artery pressure, but did not strongly correlate with duration of follow-up or other liver function parameters, which were less frequent and less impressively deranged.