PURPOSE: Acute renal graft rejection can only be definitively diagnosed by renal biopsy. However, biopsies carry a risk of renal transplant injury and loss. Micro-CT is widely used in preclinical studies of small animals. Here, we propose micro-CT could noninvasively monitor and evaluate renal location and function in a mouse kidney transplant model. METHODS: Orthotopic kidney transplantation was performed in a BALB/c -to- C57BL/6j or C57BL/6j-to- C57BL/6j mouse model. After optimizing imaging techniques, five mice were imaged with micro-CT and the findings were verified histologically. RESULTS: Micro-CT can monitor and evaluate renal location and function after orthotopic kidney transplantation. There were no mice deaths while renal transplants were failure. CONCLUSION: We propose that graft micro-CT imaging is a new option that is noninvasive and specific, and can aid in early detection and follow-up of acute renal rejection. This method is potentially useful to improve posttransplant rejection monitoring.
Allografts* ; Animals ; Biopsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Rejection ; Kidney ; Kidney Transplantation ; Mice* ; Transplants

Objective To explore a method to generate regulatory dendritic cells (DCregs) from murine bone marrow induced by 5-Aminolevulinic acid combined with ferrous iron (ALA/SFC).Methods Bone marrow cells were obtained from male C57BL/6 mice.To generate conventional DCs (BM-DCcons),the ceils were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10％ FCS,10 ng/mL GM-CSF,10 ng/mL IL-4 for 7 days.The cells were collected for the analysis.To generate DCregs by ALA/SFC,the cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10％ FCS,20 ng/mL GM-CSF,5-ALA 1 mmol/L + SFC 0.5 mmol/L for 7 days.The morphology of ALA-DCregs was observed by microscope and eytospin with May-Grunwal&Giemsa stain.The surface markers of ALA-DCregs were observed by FACS.The function of ALA-DCregs was detected by in vitro mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and in vivo lymphocyte proliferation assay.Results The generated ALA-DCregs displayed an irregular shape with areas of protrusion and demonstrated higher CD11b/CD11c and higher MHC-II but lower CD40,CD80,CD86 expression levels than DCcons.They also had immune regulation effects in both in vitro and in vivo lymphocyte proliferation assay.Conclusion This study illustrated a feasible approach for generating functional DCregs from murine bone marrow induced by ALA/SFC.These cells can be useful for research and application of DC immunotherapy in the future.

Objective:To establish the reference values of stimulation single fiber electromyography (SFEMG) in orbicularis oculi, and to explore its sensitivity in repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) negative ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) patients, and the relationship between jitter and various clinical parameters.Methods:Thirty-two healthy volunteers were included to establish the reference value of normal controls from January 2019 to December 2019. From December 2019 to January 2023, 36 OMG patients with negative RNS were collected. Quantitative MG score (QMGS) was performed, neostigmine test and antibody titers as well as thymus CT results were recorded. One side of the orbicularis oculi muscle was tested with a disposable concentric needle electrode in stimulation SFEMG, and the mean consecutive difference (MCD) value was calculated, which was compared with the average MCD value and upper limit of individual values in normal controls to evaluate whether the jitter was abnormal. Spearman correlation analysis of abnormal mean MCD values with QMGS and antibody titer was conducted.Results:Among the 32 healthy volunteers, there were 13 males and 19 females, the age was (46.8 ±18.7) years, and the MCD was (19.0 ±4.4) μs. The upper limit of the reference value was 27.7 μs for average MCD, and 37.4 μs for 10% individual values. Among 36 OMG patients negative at RNS tests, 20 were male and 16 were female, with a age of (37.2 ±17.0) years. The MCD was (29.9 ±14.7) μs, and Jitter was abnormal in 29 patients (81%). Among them, 20 (20/25) patients were antibody positive, 6 (6/26) patients had thymic hyperplasia, and 7 (7/26) patients had thymoma. The QMGS was 3(2, 4). There were 7 patients (19%) with normal jitter, whose QMGS was 3(2, 4). Among the patients with normal Jitter, 5 (5/5) patients were antibody positive, 2 (2/6) patients had thymic hyperplasia. There was no statistically significant difference in clinical indicators between the two groups of patients with abnormal or normal jitter. There was no significant correlation in antibody titer or QMGS with abnormal mean MCD value. Conclusions:The upper limit of the mean MCD value in the normal controls is 27.7 μs. The upper limit of a single value is 37.4 μs. Its sensitivity for OMG patients with RNS negative is 81%, and the abnormal mean MCD value does not show a significant correlation with various clinical indicators. Abnormal jitter indicates dysfunction of neuromuscular junction transmission, which is an important neuroelectrophysiological indicator for MG patients and is suitable for RNS negative patients. Orbicularis oculi muscle stimulation SFEMG provides a reliable and sensitive electrophysiological means for functional evaluation of neuromuscular junction.