Biliary Tract Diseases ; etiology ; surgery ; therapy ; Blood Loss, Surgical ; prevention & control ; Graft Rejection ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects

Graft Rejection ; Hepacivirus ; isolation & purification ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; etiology ; immunology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; Risk Factors ; Secondary Prevention

OBJECTIVETo identify the risk factors for cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia after renal transplantation and investigate the early precaution measures.

METHODSA retrospective study was conducted in a group of 28 patients undergoing renal transplantation who were readmitted because of CMV pneumonia between Jan, 2005 and Dec, 2007. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used to identity the significant risk factors.

RESULTSSeven factors, namely recipient age, acute graft rejection, pre-transplantation dialysis, delayed graft function recovery, recipient peak PRA level, donor CMV positivity and the use of MMF were found to significantly correlate to post-transplant CMV pneumonia. Multivariate logistic regression further confirmed that donor CMV IgG positivity, acute graft rejection and pre-transplantation dialysis for over 6 months were independent factors to predict the occurrence of CMV pneumonia.

CONCLUSIONSAcute graft rejection control, appropriate donor selection and shortened dialysis before the transplantation can be crucial factors to reduce the incidence of CMV pneumonia after renal transplantation.

Age Factors ; Aged ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Female ; Graft Rejection ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pneumonia, Viral ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Renal Dialysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo analyze the clinical features of mid- and long-term acute cardiac allograft rejection to improve the long-term clinical outcomes of the patients.

METHODSFourteen recipients (11 males and 3 females) underwent orthotopic heart transplantation with standard immunosuppressive therapy protocols (3 cases) or induction therapy protocols (11 cases). Cyclosporine, azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisolone were applied as the maintenance immunosuppressive regimen. Acute graft rejection episodes occurred within 3 to 6 months in 1 case, within 6 months to 1 year in 3 cases, within 1 to 2 years in 3 cases, within 2 to 5 years in 6 cases, and above 5 years in 1 case.

RESULTSNo significant difference was found in the incidence of late heart rejection between the patients receiving the two immunosuppressive therapy protocols. Immunosuppressants were withdrawn or spared in 8 recipients due to different causes. Nine recipients with steroid-sensitive acute cardiac allograft rejection were treated with steroid-pulse therapy, while the other 5 were treated with a short course of polyclonal antithymocyte antibodies because of steroid-resistant acute rejection; in 11 cases, azathioprine was converted to mycophenolate mofetil. Four of the 5 late deaths occurred in the recipients with steroid-resistant rejection. The surviving recipients had a good quality of life, and no recurrent episodes of rejection or infection were observed in the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONSLate acute cardiac allograft rejection is associated mainly with patient compliance but not with early immunosuppressive therapy protocols. The episodes are rather severe and should be timely treated with steroid pulses or polyclonal antithymocyte antibodies.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cyclosporine ; Female ; Graft Rejection ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Heart Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycophenolic Acid ; analogs & derivatives ; Young Adult

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the difference in BMI pattern between patients with persistent new-onset diabetes after transplantation (P-NODAT) and without new-onset diabetes after transplantation (N-NODAT) in a retrospective matched case-control (1:3) analysis. Thirty-six patients who developed P-NODAT were identified among 186 adult renal transplant recipients with no evidence of pretransplant diabetes mellitus who underwent kidney transplantation from September 1997 to March 2008 and were treated with a triple regimen including tacrolimus. The controls were selected to match the patients for pretransplant BMI, age at transplantation (+/- 5 yr), and date of transplantation (+/- 12 months). Finally, 20 P-NODAT patients and 60 N-NODAT patients were selected. The pre- and posttransplant BMI data were collected every 16 weeks for up to 80 weeks. The clinical characteristics did not differ between the P-NODAT group and N-NODAT group. BMI increased faster in the P-NODAT group than in the N-NODAT group. The mixed-model analysis showed that patients with P-NODAT exhibited a faster increase in BMI. P-NODAT is associated with posttransplant weight gain. The risk of P-NODAT should be considered in patients with rapid weight gain after transplantation.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*etiology ; Female ; Graft Rejection/prevention & control ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use ; *Kidney Transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Tacrolimus/therapeutic use ; Time Factors ; *Weight Gain

OBJECTIVETo study the effect and implication of nonmyeloablative donor specific bone marrow (DSBM) infusion on the immunoreaction of liver allotransplantation.

METHODSOrthotopic liver transplantation model was used in this study. Groups were set as follows: Group I, syngeneic control (Wistar-to-Wistar); Group II, acute rejection (SD-to-Wistar); Group III, acute rejection treated with cyclosporine A (CsA) by intramuscular injection (SD-to-Wistar+CsA); Group IV, bone marrow infusion at 7 d pretransplantation followed by short-term CsA treatment (SD-to-Wistar+DSBM); Another group of short-term CsA treatment preoperatively without bone marrow infusion was also set as control. General characteristics and survival time were observed. Histological grades of rejection were determined by pathological examination. IL-2 and IFN-gamma level in peripheral blood and donor liver were detected respectively by Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) and Western blot. Chimerism of donor cells was measured by PCR for a male-specific marker (Y-chromosome-specific sequence, Sry).

RESULTSNo signs of rejection were found in Group I. Acute rejection occurred in both Group II and the short-term CsA treated group. All the recipients died at (9-15) d posttransplantation with a median survival time of (10.7+/-0.5) d and (11.2+/-2.4) d, respectively. Only mild rejection could be seen in Group III. In Group IV, 4 out of 6 recipients had long-term survival (>100 d), the histological grade of rejection was significantly lower than that of Group II, so did the expression level of IL-2 and IFN-gamma in both peripheral blood and grafted liver. Y-chromosome-specific sequence (Sry) of male SD rats could be detected in the bone marrow, spleen and thymus of female recipients at 15 d after bone marrow infusion.

CONCLUSIONMild preconditioning nonmyeloablative donor specific bone marrow infusion can enhance chimerism formation in recipients, alleviate the rejection of liver allotransplantation and prolong survival of liver allotransplantation.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; immunology ; methods ; Graft Rejection ; etiology ; immunology ; prevention & control ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; immunology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred Strains ; Rats, Wistar ; Transplantation, Homologous ; adverse effects ; immunology ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of HSGJ on chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) using standard rat model of CAN.

METHODRenal transplantation was performed with Fisher rats as donors and Lewis rats as recipients. All the recipients were randomly divided into control group and medication groups (high and low dosage of HSGJ, fed every other day). After 16 weeks of treatment, renal function and the histological alteration of CAN were measured. The expression of the TGFbeta1 mRNA in the allograft was evaluated by real-time PCR.

RESULTThe content of 24 h urine protein and the level of serum creatinine in the medication groups were significantly decreased (P < 0.01) as compared with control group, whereas the creatinine clearance was increased (P < 0.01). The degree of glomerular sclerosis and the Banff score of medication groups were lower than the control group respectively (P < 0.01), in consistent with decreased expression of the TGF 1mRNA.

CONCLUSIONHSGJ can prevent the chronic allograft nephropathy and the mechanism may be related with its influence on the expression of the TGFbeta1.

Animals ; Chronic Disease ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Glomerulonephritis ; etiology ; immunology ; prevention & control ; Graft Rejection ; drug therapy ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred F344 ; Rats, Inbred Lew ; Transplantation, Homologous

Transplantation of islet cells into diabetic patients is a promising therapy, provided that the islet cells are able to evade host immune rejection. With improved islet viability, this strategy may effectively reverse diabetes. We applied 2% calcium alginate to generate small and large capsules to encapsulate porcine neonatal pancreatic cell clusters (NPCCs) using an air-driven encapsulator. After encapsulation, the viability was assessed at 1, 4, 7, 14 and 28 days and secretion of functional insulin in response to glucose stimulation were tested at days 14 and 28. Selective permeability of the small alginate capsules was confirmed using various sizes of isothiocyanate-labeled dextran (FITC-dextran). Encapsulation of NPCCs was performed without islet protrusion in the small and large capsules. The viability of NPCCs in all experimental groups was greater than 90% at day 1 and then gradually decreased after day 7. The NPCCs encapsulated in large capsules showed significantly lower viability (79.50 +/- 2.88%) than that of naive NPCCs and NPCCs in small capsule (86.83 +/- 2.32%, 87.67 +/- 2.07%, respectively) at day 7. The viability of naive NPCCs decreased rapidly at day 14 (75.67 +/- 1.75%), whereas the NPCCs encapsulated in small capsules maintained (82.0 +/- 2.19%). After 14 and 28 days NPCCs' function in small capsules (2.67 +/- 0.09 and 2.13 +/- 0.09) was conserved better compared to that of naive NPCCs (2.04 +/- 0.25 and 1.53 +/- 0.32, respectively) and NPCCs in large capsules (2.04 +/- 0.34 and 1.13 +/- 0.10, respectively), as assessed by a stimulation index. The small capsules also demonstrated selective permeability. With this encapsulation technique, small capsules improved the viability and insulin secretion of NPCCs without islet protrusion.
Alginates/chemistry/metabolism ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Capsules/chemistry ; Cell Survival ; Diabetes Mellitus/pathology/*therapy ; Disease Models, Animal ; Glucuronic Acid/chemistry/metabolism ; Graft Rejection/etiology/*prevention & control ; Hexuronic Acids/chemistry/metabolism ; Humans ; Insulin/secretion ; Islets of Langerhans/*metabolism/pathology ; Islets of Langerhans Transplantation/*methods ; Postoperative Complications/etiology/*prevention & control ; *Swine

OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy and safety of half-dose Zenapax for prevention of acute rejection after renal transplantation.

METHODSAccording to the immunosuppressive regimen and renal function after transplantation, patients were divided into 4 groups, namely groups A, B, C, and D of 90, 73, 11 and 13 patients, respectively. Blood creatinine measured 1 week after operation was <176.6 micromol/L in groups A and B, and was >353 micromol/L in groups C and D. Patients in groups A and C were given 25 mg Zenapax (0.5 mg/kg) and MMF 0.75 g before operation, and those in groups B and D had only MMF of 0.75 g. All patients were given Pred, CsA and MMF after operation, and the rejection episodes, the time of acute rejection onset, the rate of rejection reversal and complications were analyzed in the time period of 6 months after operation.

RESULTSAfter the operation, 13 patients (14.4%) developed acute rejection in group A, 18 (24.6%) in group B, 6 (54.5%) in group C and 7 (53.8%) in group D (P<0.01). The incidence of acute rejection in group B was significantly lower than that in groups C and D groups (P<0.01), and the latter two groups had similar incidence. The time of acute rejection onset ranged from 3 to 9 days postoperatively (mean 6.2-/+3.2 days) in group A, significantly delayed as compared with that in group B (range 2-8 days, mean 4.7-/+3.1 days), group C (range 2-7 days, mean 4.3-/+4.2 days) and group D group (range 2-9 days, mean 3.9-/+3.5 days), but the time was similar between groups B, C, and D (P>0.05). All acute rejection cases in group A was reversed, and the rate of reversal was 88.9% (16/18) in group B, 83.3% in group C, and 71.4% in group D. No significant differences were noted in such complications as infection, vascular injuries or gastrointestinal reactions between the 4 groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONZenapax at the dose of 25 mg can safely decrease the risk of acute rejection in patients with good postoperative renal function recovery, but dose not seem effective in patients with delayed graft function recovery.

Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; administration & dosage ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Creatinine ; blood ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Rejection ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; administration & dosage ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; administration & dosage ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome

This study was designed to evaluate whether sirolimus (SRL) conversion effectively improves renal function and histopathology in calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-treated renal recipients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency. SRL conversion from CNI was performed in patients who underwent kidney transplantation from 6 months to 5 yr prior to screening. Forty-five patients were enrolled. The effect of SRL conversion on graft function was evaluated, and protocol biopsies were performed preconversion and 1 yr after conversion. Overall graft function after SRL conversion gradually improved, and the improvement in renal function was closely associated with the shorter duration of CNI exposure. When we divided the patients by the duration of CNI exposure, the patients with less than 1 yr of CNI exposure demonstrated significant improvement, but patients with a greater than 1 yr CNI exposure did not exhibit significant improvement. In contrast, protocol biopsies demonstrated no significant improvements in the modified "ah" score or other Banff scores after SRL conversion. Furthermore, the duration of CNI treatment prior to SRL conversion was not associated with histological findings 1 yr after SRL conversion. SRL conversion improved graft function in renal recipients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency, but this effect is not accompanied by histological improvement.
Adult ; Calcineurin Inhibitors/*administration & dosage ; Drug Synergism ; Female ; Graft Rejection/*etiology/*prevention & control ; Graft Survival/drug effects ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Kidney Transplantation/adverse effects/*methods ; Male ; Renal Insufficiency/diagnosis/*therapy ; Republic of Korea ; Severity of Illness Index ; Sirolimus/*administration & dosage ; Transplantation Tolerance/drug effects ; Treatment Outcome