Indium-labeled presensitized T cells for diagnosis of graft rejection.

The aim of this experiment was to test a safe, noninvasive method for necessary, accurate diagnosis of early allograft rejection. Heart-lung allograft was performed heterotopically using Brown Norway (BN) rats as the donor and Lewis (LEW) rats as the recipient. T cell suspensions were prepared from lymphnodes of specifically sensitized LEW rats that had acutely rejected full-thickness BN skin graft. Cell count was adjusted 50 x 10(6) cells/ml. The suspension was incubated in vitro with 111I oxide (1 m Ci-ml). An aliquot of labeled cell suspension containing 40 x 10(6) cells and a total radioactivity of 200 mCi was administered intravenously to each animal 3 and 6 days after heart-lung transplant. The traffic of T cells was followed in vivo and in isolated organs under large field view gamma camera. The gamma camera revealed radioactivity on the graft starting Postoperative Day 5 when the heart was actively beating; no radioactivity was revealed at the site of the isografted organs. The histology showed mild to moderate cellular infiltration parallel to the grade of radioimaging intensity. The injection of indium-labeled presensitized T cells was able to detect the rejection process in an early phase when there are no clinical symptoms of rejection and/or the rejection cascade can be reversed. These results suggest that a similar method can be used in human organ transplantation for early diagnosis of rejection.     

Postmenopausal HRT is not independent risk factor for dural sinus thrombosis

While a dural sinus thrombosis (DST), is a well-known consequence of the use of oral contraceptives, the role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in DST was not previously evaluated. We report two postmenopausal women, presenting with DST under HRT. Antiphospholipid antibodies in one case and borderline protein S deficiency in another were diagnosed. Only five cases of DST under HRT were previously reported and in two of them additional prothrombotic risk factors were found. According to these and previous cases, HRT is not an independent risk factor for DST.     

Inhibition and superactivation of the calcium-stimulated isoforms of adenylyl cyclase

It was shown previously that chronic exposure to opiate agonists increases adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity, a phenomenon termed AC superactivation (or supersensitization). More recently, we showed that acute G_i/o-coupled receptor activation inhibits the activity of several AC isozymes, including Ca²⁺/calmodulin-stimulated AC-I and -VIII, whereas chronic receptor activation induces their superactivation. Here, we report that both acute μ-opioid receptor-induced inhibition and chronic induced superactivation of AC-I and -VIII are pertussis toxin sensitive. In addition, we show that proteins that interfere with the activity of {ie195-2} subunits ({ie195-3} scavengers) strongly attenuate the acute inhibition of AC-I and -VIII and the superactivation of AC-I, and abolish the superactivation of AC-VIII. Based on these results, we suggest that {ie195-4} is involved in the acute inhibition and chronic agonist-induced superactivation of AC types I and VIII.     

Childhood Cancer and the Risk of ESKD

BackgroundIncreasing cancer incidence among children alongside improved treatments has resulted in a growing number of pediatric cancer survivors. Despite childhood cancer survivors’ exposure to various factors that compromise kidney function, few studies have investigated the association between childhood cancer and future kidney disease.MethodsTo assess the risk of ESKD among childhood cancer survivors, we conducted a nationwide, population-based, retrospective cohort study that encompassed all Israeli adolescents evaluated for mandatory military service from 1967 to 1997. After obtaining detailed histories, we divided the cohort into three groups: participants without a history of tumors, those with a history of a benign tumor (nonmalignant tumor with functional impairment), and those with a history of malignancy (excluding kidney cancer). This database was linked to the Israeli ESKD registry to identify incident ESKD cases. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of ESKD.ResultsOf the 1,468,600 participants in the cohort, 1,444,345 had no history of tumors, 23,282 had a history of a benign tumor, and 973 had a history of malignancy. During a mean follow-up of 30.3 years, 2416 (0.2%) participants without a history of tumors developed ESKD. Although a history of benign tumors was not associated with an increased ESKD risk, participants with a history of malignancy exhibited a substantially elevated risk for ESKD compared with participants lacking a history of tumors, after controlling for age, sex, enrollment period, and paternal origin (adjusted HR, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 7.7).ConclusionsChildhood cancer is associated with an increased risk for ESKD, suggesting the need for tighter and longer nephrological follow-up.     

Toward a comprehensive model of death anxiety

An integrative, comprehensive model of death anxiety is presented. The model postulates three immediate antecedents of death anxiety: past-related regret, future-related regret, and meaningfulness of death. Past-related regret refers to a person's unfulfilled aspirations that should have been achieved but were not. Future-related regret refers to the anticipation that, as a result of premature death, one cannot achieve important goals in the future. Meaningfulness of death refers to one's concept of death and ability to make sense of it. These three antecedents are related to death salience in a complex way, mediated by coping mechanisms and their effects on one's beliefs about self and the world. The coping mechanisms include (but are not necessarily limited to) life review, life planning, identification with culture, and self-transcending processes. The model's developmental and practical applications are explored.     

Ultrasound-diagnosed puerperal osteopenia in young primiparas

OBJECTIVE: To study whether osteopenia occurs following pregnancy and to evaluate its severity in young primiparas. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective case control study. Sixty-one young primigravidae early after birth and 59 nulligravidae matched for age and BMI participated in the study. Bone status was examined using ultrasonic bone transmission velocity over the tibia; Z-score and T-score for bone density were calculated. Serum bone alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin and urinary N-telopeptide crosslinks were evaluated as bone remodeling biochemical markers. RESULTS: Ultrasonic parameters of bone status following delivery were significantly lower in the puerperal group as compared to the nulligravida group. Serum mean bone alkaline phosphatase levels and urinary N-telopeptide crosslinks secretion were higher by 50% in the puerperal group, while serum osteocalcin levels were significantly lower (by 25%) than in the nulligravida controls. A positive correlation between ultrasonic measurements and biochemical markers was demonstrated in the postpartum group, whereas the control group showed a negative correlation. CONCLUSION: Women at their early puerperium demonstrate a significant cortical bone mass reduction as measured by ultrasonograph and markers of bone turnover. It appears that pregnancy is a state of unbalanced accelerated bone turnover that may be associated with reduced osteoblastic activity.     

Sindbis Viral Vectors Transiently Deliver Tumor-associated Antigens to Lymph Nodes and Elicit Diversified Antitumor CD8+ T-cell Immunity

Tumors are theoretically capable of eliciting an antitumor immune response, but are often poorly immunogenic. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) have recently emerged as a promising strategy for the immunogenic delivery of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) to cancer patients. However, safe and effective OV/TAA therapies have not yet been established. We have previously demonstrated that vectors based on Sindbis virus (SV) can inhibit tumor growth and activate the innate immune system in mice. Here, we demonstrate that SV vectors carrying a TAA generate a dramatically enhanced therapeutic effect in mice bearing subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, and lung cancers. Notably, SV/TAA efficacy was not dependent on tumor cell targeting, but was characterized by the transient expression of TAAs in lymph nodes draining the injection site. Early T-cell activation at this site was followed by a robust influx of NKG2D expressing antigen-specific cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells into the tumor site, subsequently leading to the generation of long-lasting memory T cells which conferred protection against rechallenge with TAA-positive as well as TAA-negative tumor cells. By combining in vivo imaging, flow cytometry, cytotoxicity/cytokine assays, and tetramer analysis, we investigated the relationship between these events and propose a model for CD8⁺ T-cell activation during SV/TAA therapy.     

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance enterography for prediction of response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in stricturing Crohn’s disease

Background and aims

Distinguishing between fibrotic and inflammatory strictures in Crohn’s disease (CD) is still challenging. The capacity of diffusion-weighted (DWI) magnetic resonance (MRE) to identify intestinal fibrosis was recently demonstrated; however, the therapeutic implications of this association have never been evaluated. The aim of the current study was to identify imaging features, including DWI, which can predict response to anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with stricturing CD.

Methods

Consecutive CD patients with intestinal strictures that initiated treatment with anti-tumor necrosis alpha (anti-TNF) between June 2012 and April 2017 with MRE adjacent to treatment onset were retrospectively collected. The primary outcome was treatment failure, defined as drug discontinuation, CD-related surgery, or endoscopic dilatation of the stricture. Clinical, demographic, and imaging data were compared between patients who did and did not develop treatment failure within 12 months of anti-TNF treatment initiation.

Results

A total of 21 patients were included in the study; 9/21 (42.8%) developed treatment failure. None of the clinical/demographic parameters were associated with the risk of treatment failure. Among imaging parameters, only ADC value (< 1 × 10⁻³ mm²/s) was significantly associated with the risk of treatment failure (AUC = 0.81, 66% vs. 0%, p = 0.015).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that ADC value on DWI MRE may predict the risk of treatment failure in stricturing CD. If replicated in larger studies, these results may guide therapeutic decisions and suggest avoiding anti-TNF treatment.

     

The neural correlates of emotion-based cognitive control in adults with early childhood behavioral inhibition

The present study is the first to assess whether the neural correlates of cognitive control processes differ in adults with and without a behaviorally inhibited temperament during early childhood. Adults with and without childhood behavioral inhibition completed an emotional conflict task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. While no group differences in behavior were observed, adults with childhood behavioral inhibition, relative to adults without childhood behavioral inhibition, exhibited greater dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity during conflict detection and greater putamen activity during conflict adaptation. Lifetime psychopathology predicted behavioral, but not brain-related, differences in conflict adaptation. These data suggest that the brain regions underlying cognitive control processes are differentially influenced by childhood behavioral inhibition, and may be differently related to psychopathology.     

Detection of severe pulmonary hypertension based on computed tomography pulmonary angiography

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging - Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is often diagnosed late in the disease course. As many patients may undergo computed tomography pulmonary...