Long-term outcomes of en-bloc renal transplantation from paediatric donors into adult recipients

Introduction

Transplant units are exploring strategies to increase the availability of donor kidneys. The use of en-bloc kidney transplantation (EBKT) from paediatric donors represents one potential solution. We present our long-term experience with paediatric EBKT among adult recipients.

Three-dimensional soft tissue prediction in orthognathic surgery: a clinical comparison of Dolphin,ProPlan CMF,and probabilistic finite element modelling

Three-dimensional surgical planning is used widely in orthognathic surgery. Although numerous computer programs exist, the accuracy of soft tissue prediction remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to compare the prediction accuracy of Dolphin, ProPlan CMF, and a probabilistic finite element method (PFEM). Seven patients (mean age 18 years; five female) who had undergone Le Fort I osteotomy with preoperative and 1-year postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) were included. The three programs were used for soft tissue prediction using planned and postoperative maxillary position, and these were compared to postoperative CBCT. Accurate predictions were obtained with each program, indicated by root mean square distances: RMS_Dolphin = 1.8 ± 0.8 mm, RMS_ProPlan = 1.2 ± 0.4 mm, and RMS_PFEM = 1.3 ± 0.4 mm. Dolphin utilizes a landmark-based algorithm allowing for patient-specific bone-to-soft tissue ratios, which works well for cephalometric radiographs but has limited three-dimensional accuracy, whilst ProPlan and PFEM provide better three-dimensional predictions with continuous displacements. Patient or population-specific material properties can be defined in PFEM, while no soft tissue parameters are adjustable in ProPlan. Important clinical considerations are the topological differences between predictions due to the three algorithms, the non-negligible influence of the mismatch between planned and postoperative maxillary position, and the learning curve associated with sophisticated programs like PFEM.     

A minimally invasive tool to study immune response and skin barrier in children with atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD, atopic eczema) is a very common skin condition affecting 10-20% of children. It affects children of all skin colours and seems to occur more often in Asian children and children with dark skin types. However, most research is performed on children with light skin types. This study, performed in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, aimed to investigate differences between AD in children with dark and light skin types. To study this, the investigators took tape strips from 53 AD children aged 0-12 years and 50 healthy children as control (comparison). Tape stripping is a painless procedure which is ideal to perform in children, in which a small round sticker is attached to the skin. When removing this special sticker, a thin layer of skin cells remains attached to the sticker, allowing the investigators to study several aspects of skin inflammation and skin barrier. The authors found that AD skin from children with light and dark skin have similar levels and types of skin inflammation. However, they found differences in skin barrier markers between these two groups. In light skinned children, markers of good skin barrier were lower in AD skin when compared to healthy children's skin, while in dark AD skin these skin barrier markers were not significantly different from healthy dark skin. This study showed that dark-skinned and light-skinned AD children are similar when it concerns skin inflammation, but in light skinned AD children the skin barrier dysfunction may play an additional role in the development of AD. This suggests that AD in light and dark skin has different mechanisms of development.     

Multiple functions of miR‐8‐3p in the development and metamorphosis of the red flour beetle,Tribolium castaneum

The microRNA miR‐8‐3p is conserved among insects and closely involved in development and immunity, but its functions in vivo are unexplored in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Here, we show that miR‐8‐3p was highly expressed in late larva and early adult stages, as determined by quantitative real‐time PCR. It was enriched in the fat body and cuticle in late larval tissues and abundant in the head and cuticle in early adult tissues, indicating this microRNA plays important roles during T. castaneum development. Specific inhibition of miR‐8‐3p in late larvae led to metamorphosis defects in the development of wings, eyes, legs and embryo. Moreover, a series of genes related to organism development were identified as miR‐8‐3p targets by computational prediction and microRNA–messenger RNA interaction validation, including Wingless, Eyg, Fpps and Sema‐1a. These genes were critical for the regulation of the larva‐to‐adult transition. Eyg, as a functional target of miR‐8‐3p, participates in eye development, which was further confirmed by luciferase assay and loss‐of‐function analyses. In brief, miR‐8‐3p is broadly involved in the development of wings, eyes and legs through its target genes and has extensive regulatory roles during T. castaneum development.     

In Utero Exposure to Benzo[a]pyrene Induces Ovarian Mutations at Doses That Deplete Ovarian Follicles in Mice

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons like benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants formed during incomplete combustion of organic materials. Our prior work showed that transplacental exposure to BaP depletes ovarian follicles and increases prevalence of epithelial ovarian tumors later in life. We used the MutaMouse transgenic rodent model to address the hypothesis that ovarian mutations play a role in tumorigenesis caused by prenatal exposure to BaP. Pregnant MutaMouse females were treated with 0, 10, 20, or 40 mg/(kg day) BaP orally on gestational days 7–16, covering critical windows of ovarian development. Female offspring were euthanized at 10 weeks of age; some ovaries with oviducts were processed for follicle counting; other ovaries/oviducts and bone marrow were processed for determination of lacZ mutant frequency (MF). Mutant plaques were pooled within dose groups and sequenced to determine the mutation spectrum. BaP exposure caused highly significant dose-related decreases in ovarian follicles and increases in ovarian/oviductal and bone marrow mutant frequencies at all doses. Absence of follicles, cell packets, and epithelial tubular structures were observed with 20 and 40 mg/(kg day) BaP. Depletion of ovarian germ cells was inversely associated with ovarian MF. BaP induced primarily G > T and G > C transversions and deletions in ovaries/oviducts and bone marrow cells and produced a mutation signature highly consistent with that of tobacco smoking in human cancers. Overall, our results show that prenatal BaP exposure significantly depletes ovarian germ cells, causes histopathological abnormalities, and increases the burden of ovarian/oviductal mutations, which may be involved in pathogenesis of epithelial ovarian tumors. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 60:410–420, 2019. © 2018 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada     

Intervention for arch obstruction after the Norwood procedure: Prevalence,associated factors,and practice variability

Objective

Arch obstruction after the Norwood procedure is common and contributes to mortality. We determined the prevalence, associated factors, and practice variability of arch reintervention and assessed whether arch reintervention is associated with mortality.

The Chinese National Twin Registry: a ‘gold mine’ for scientific research

The Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR) currently includes data from 61 566 twin pair from 11 provinces or cities in China. Of these, 31 705, 15 060 and 13 531 pairs are monozygotic, same‐sex dizygotic and opposite‐sex dizygotic pairs, respectively, determined by opposite sex or intrapair similarity. Since its establishment in 2001, the CNTR has provided an important resource for analysing genetic and environmental influences on chronic diseases especially cardiovascular diseases. Recently, the CNTR has focused on collecting biologic specimens from disease‐concordant or disease‐discordant twin pairs or from twin pairs reared apart. More than 8000 pairs of these twins have been registered, and blood samples have been collected from more than 1500 pairs. In this review, we summarize the main findings from univariate and multivariate genetic effects analyses, gene–environment interaction studies, omics studies exploring DNA methylation and metabolomic markers associated with phenotypes. There remains further scope for CNTR research and data mining. The plan for future development of the CNTR is described. The CNTR welcomes worldwide collaboration.