The aim of our study was to correlate intragraft mRNA expression of cytokines and growth factors with histopathologic features in renal allograft biopsies. Fifty-six core biopsies performed in 51 ...kidney transplant recipients were assessed by the Banff '97 classification. Tubular and glomerular expressions of IFN-γ, TGF-β1, and PDGF-B as well as IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 mRNA were assessed using semiquantitative RT-PCR in situ. No significant differences were noted between acute cellular and vascular rejection with regard to the glomerular and tubular mRNA expression of cytokines examined. We observed a positive correlation between tubular and glomerular IL-10 and IFN-γ mRNAs during acute rejection. In chronic rejection the mRNA expression levels of IFN-γ and IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10 did not differ from those of acute rejection; moreover, the glomerular expression of mRNA for TGF-β1 (
P < .05) and PDGF-B (
P < .1) was even lower than during acute rejection episodes. Both tubular and glomerular IL-2, TGF-β1, and PDGF-B mRNA expression levels in biopsies with acute rejection were significantly higher than in acute tubular necrosis (ATN). Biopsy samples with borderline changes exhibited the lowest levels of cytokine gene expression and were close to the intensity of control specimens obtained from living donor kidney biopsies taken during organ harvest. Our data failed to show a dichotomy between Th1 and Th2 cytokine activation in biopsy specimens from kidney allograft recipients; both Th1- and Th2-derived cytokines were involved to similar extents in rejection processes.
The paper describes cross-section measurements consisting of neutron activation using a
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Li(p,n) quasi mono-energetic neutron source and gamma-ray spectrometry performed at the Nuclear Physics ...Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Řež, Czech Republic. The analysis of the excitation functions of neutron-induced threshold reactions for the energy range from 17 up to 34 MeV is presented. The cross sections for the population of both ground and isomeric states were measured in yttrium and gold. A comprehensive comparison of the measured cross sections with earlier experimental data from the EXFOR database, TALYS calculations, and evaluated nuclear data libraries is presented.
It was previously reported that ischemia-reperfusion injury initiates an inflammatory response and may significantly affect the transplanted organ function. The aim of this study was to assess ...changes of intragraft cytokine mRNA expression in kidneys after cold ischemia (CI) and following reperfusion. We examined mRNA of a product of activated T lymphocytes (IFN-γ) and a monocyte product (IL-6). Eleven kidneys were transplanted after CI time ranging from 16 to 39 hours. Renal needle core biopsies were obtained from donors after cold ischemia and approximately after 20 minutes of reperfusion. Tubular and glomerular expression of IFN-γ and IL-6 mRNA were assessed using semiquantitative evaluation of the RT-PCR in situ. After reperfusion an intense increase of IL-6 mRNA expression was observed in four specimens, a slight increase was noticed in five specimens, and a very slight decrease in two specimens. Changes in IL-6 mRNA expression were limited only to tubules. In contrast, the glomerular and tubular mRNA expression of IFN-γ and glomerular of IL-6 remained stable. Mean CI time for patients with an intense increase was higher than for patients with a slight increase and with the decrease of IL-6 mRNA expression (32.0 ± 6.8 vs 25.2 ± 7.3 and 26.0 ± 5.7 hours). Our results suggest that early inflammatory changes at the time of implantation of renal allografts depends mainly on monocyte/macrophage-associated products. The observed intensity of their expression in tubules was connected to longer CI time.
At energies below sNN≈2.55GeV, strange quarks cannot be produced in binary nucleon-nucleon collisions because of the higher production threshold of the lightest hadrons carrying strangeness. Hence, ...the investigation of sub-threshold strangeness production in heavy-ion collisions is one of the most promising probes, to access the properties of the created system, as the missing energy must be provided by the latter one. For the first time, a nearly complete set of strange particles has been reconstructed in the 40% most central Au+Au collisions at sNN=2.42GeV. The data sample includes multi-differential representations of charged and neutral particles containing strangeness (K±, Ks0, ϕ, Λ). To achieve a better understanding of strangeness production the properties of the short-lived resonances have to be investigated. The first steps in this direction are presented here, including the reconstruction of baryon resonances using a new iterative technique, comparison to microscopic transport model calculations and interpretation of the pion transverse momentum distribution.
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