Purpose
The dose and timing of early fluid resuscitation in sepsis remains a debated topic. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of fluid timing in early sepsis management on ...mortality and other clinical outcomes.
Methods
Single-center, retrospective cohort study of emergency-department-treated adults (>18 years, n = 1032) presenting with severe sepsis or septic shock. Logistic regression evaluating the impact of 30 mL/kg crystalloids timing and mortality-versus-time plot controlling for mortality in emergency department sepsis score, lactate, antibiotic timing, obesity, sex, systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria, hypotension, and heart and renal failures. This study is a subanalysis of a previously published investigation.
Results
Mortality was 17.1% (n = 176) overall and 20.4% (n = 133 of 653) among those in septic shock. 30 mL/kg was given to 16.9%, 32.2%, 16.2%, 14.5%, and 20.3% of patients within ≤1, 1 ≤ 3, 3 ≤ 6, 6 ≤ 24, and not reached within 24 h, respectively. A 24-h plot of adjusted mortality versus time did not reach significance, but within the first 12 h, the linear function showed a per-hour mortality increase (odds ratio OR 1.29, 95% confidence interval CI 1.02-1.67) which peaks around 5h, although the quadratic function does not reach significance (P = .09). When compared to patients receiving 30 mL/kg within 1 h, increased mortality was observed when not reached within 24 h (OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.37-5.37) but no difference when receiving this volume between 1 and 3 (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.62-2.01), 3 and 6 (OR 1.83, 95% CI 0.97-3.52), or 6 and 24 h (OR 1.51, 95% CI 0.75-3.06). Receiving 30 mL/kg between 1 and 3 versus <1 h increased the incidence of delayed hypotension (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.23-2.72) but did not impact need for intubation, intensive care unit admission, or vasopressors.
Conclusions
We observed weak evidence that supports that earlier is better for survival when reaching fluid goals of 30 mL/kg, but benefits may wane at later time points. These findings should be viewed as hypothesis generating.
The critical requirements in developing clinical-grade human-induced pluripotent stem cells-derived neural precursors (hiPSCs-NPCs) are defined by expandability, genetic stability, predictable
...post-grafting differentiation, and acceptable safety profile. Here, we report on the use of manual-selection protocol for generating expandable and stable human NPCs from induced pluripotent stem cells. The hiPSCs were generated by the reprogramming of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with Sendai-virus (SeV) vector encoding Yamanaka factors. After induction of neural rosettes, morphologically defined NPC colonies were manually harvested, re-plated, and expanded for up to 20 passages. Established NPCs showed normal karyotype, expression of typical NPCs markers at the proliferative stage, and ability to generate functional, calcium oscillating GABAergic or glutamatergic neurons after
differentiation. Grafted NPCs into the striatum or spinal cord of immunodeficient rats showed progressive maturation and expression of early and late human-specific neuronal and glial markers at 2 or 6 months post-grafting. No tumor formation was seen in NPCs-grafted brain or spinal cord samples. These data demonstrate the effective use of
manual-selection protocol to generate safe and expandable NPCs from hiPSCs cells. This protocol has the potential to be used to generate GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)-grade NPCs from hiPSCs for future clinical use.
Burkholderia pseudomallei causes melioidosis, a common source of pneumonia and sepsis in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia that results in high mortality rates. A caprine melioidosis model of ...aerosol infection that leads to a systemic infection has the potential to characterize the humoral immune response. This could help identify immunogenic proteins for new diagnostics and vaccine candidates. Outbred goats may more accurately mimic human infection, in contrast to the inbred mouse models used to date. B. pseudomallei infection was delivered as an intratracheal aerosol. Antigenic protein profiling was generated from the infecting strain MSHR511. Humoral immune responses were analyzed by ELISA and western blot, and the antigenic proteins were identified by mass spectrometry. Throughout the course of the infection the assay results demonstrated a much greater humoral response with IgG antibodies, in both breadth and quantity, compared to IgM antibodies. Pre-infection sera showed multiple immunogenic proteins already reactive for IgG (7-20) and IgM (0-12) in most of the goats despite no previous exposure to B. pseudomallei. After infection, the number of IgG reactive proteins showed a marked increase as the disease progressed. Early stage infection (day 7) showed immune reaction to chaperone proteins (GroEL, EF-Tu, and DnaK). These three proteins were detected in all serum samples after infection, with GroEL immunogenically dominant. Seven common reactive antigens were selected for further analysis using ELISA. The heat shock protein GroEL1 elicited the strongest goat antibody immune response compared to the other six antigens. Most of the six antigens showed the peak IgM reactivity at day 14, whereas the IgG reactivity increased further as the disease progressed. An overall MSHR511 proteomic comparison between the goat model and human sera showed that many immune reactive proteins are common between humans and goats with melioidosis.
Control of cell death is critical in eukaryotic development, immune system homeostasis, and control of tumorigenesis. The galectin family of lectins is implicated in all of these processes. Other ...families of molecules function as death receptors or death effectors, but galectins are uniquely capable of acting both extracellularly and intracellularly to control cell death. Extracellularly, galectins cross-link glycan ligands to transduce signals that lead directly to death or that influence other signals regulating cell fate. Intracellular expression of galectins can modulate other signals controlling cell viability. Individual galectins can act on multiple cell types, and multiple galectins can act on the same cell. Understanding how galectins regulate cell viability and function will broaden our knowledge of the roles of galectins in basic biological processes and facilitate development of therapeutic applications for galectins in autoimmunity, transplant-related disease, and cancer.
Trastuzumab-dkst is a biosimilar of trastuzumab. The phase 3 HERITAGE trial demonstrated equivalent overall response rate (ORR) with trastuzumab-dkst or originator trastuzumab at 24 weeks in patients ...with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. We now present the correlation of ORR with progression-free survival (PFS) for maintenance monotherapy with trastuzumab-dkst vs trastuzumab at 48 weeks of treatment, and the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity.
HERITAGE is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, phase 3 study. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive trastuzumab-dkst or trastuzumab in combination with taxane followed by continued monotherapy until disease progression. The analysis included PFS at 48 weeks to support the primary efficacy endpoint of ORR and safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of trastuzumab-dkst vs trastuzumab as maintenance monotherapy.
Of 500 randomized patients, 342 entered the monotherapy phase; 214 patients received ≥48 weeks of treatment. There were no statistically significant differences between PFS, ORR, or interim overall survival at week 48 between trastuzumab-dkst and trastuzumab. Week 24 ORR was highly correlated with week 48 PFS (rb = 0.75). Cumulative treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and serious AEs were similar in both groups, with few grade ≥3 TEAEs. Immunogenicity was low and similar in both groups at 48 weeks.
The correlation between ORR and PFS supports the design of first-line metastatic trials assessing biosimilar trastuzumab. Overall, trastuzumab-dkst and trastuzumab were well tolerated with similar efficacy, including ORR and PFS, in combination with a taxane followed by monotherapy.
•Trastuzumab-dkst is a biosimilar of trastuzumab.•Trastuzumab-dkst and trastuzumab had similar PFS, ORR, and OS at week 48.•Results support therapeutic equivalence between trastuzumab-dkst and trastuzumab.•Week 24 ORR was highly correlated with week 48 PFS.•ORR and PFS correlation supports ORR as a valid endpoint in clinical trials for MBC.
One of the challenges in clinical translation of cell-replacement therapies is the definition of optimal cell generation and storage/recovery protocols which would permit a rapid preparation of ...cell-treatment products for patient administration. Besides, the availability of injection devices that are simple to use is critical for potential future dissemination of any spinally targeted cell-replacement therapy into general medical practice. Here, we compared the engraftment properties of established human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)-derived neural precursor cell (NPCs) line once cells were harvested fresh from the cell culture or previously frozen and then grafted into striata or spinal cord of the immunodeficient rat. A newly developed human spinal injection device equipped with a spinal cord pulsation-cancelation magnetic needle was also tested for its safety in an adult immunosuppressed pig. Previously frozen NPCs showed similar post-grafting survival and differentiation profile as was seen for freshly harvested cells. Testing of human injection device showed acceptable safety with no detectable surgical procedure or spinal NPCs injection-related side effects.
A series of pleuromutilins modified by introduction of a boron-containing heterocycle on C(14) of the polycyclic core are described. These analogs were found to be potent anti- Wolbachia antibiotics ...and, as such, may be useful in the treatment of filarial infections caused by Onchocerca volvulus, resulting in Onchocerciasis or river blindness, or Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi and related parasitic nematodes resulting in lymphatic filariasis. These two important neglected tropical diseases disproportionately impact patients in the developing world. The lead preclinical candidate compound containing 7-fluoro-6-oxybenzoxaborole (15, AN11251) was shown to have good in vitro anti- Wolbachia activity and physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties providing high exposure in plasma. The lead was effective in reducing the Wolbachia load in filarial worms following oral administration to mice.
Key points
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Defective mitochondrial function has been shown to cause muscle weakness and exercise intolerance.
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We used a mouse model of premature ageing with defective proofreading of ...mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): the mtDNA mutator mouse.
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Muscles of young (3–5 months) mtDNA mutator mice showed reduced endurance, which was caused by decreased mitochondrial ATP production accompanied by decreased levels of factors stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis.
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The dominant defect in muscles of old (11 months) mtDNA mutator mice was severe weakness, which was caused by decreased intracellular Ca2+ stores.
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These results underline two important aspects of mitochondria‐to‐nucleus signalling in skeletal muscle: (1) it fails to respond adequately to decreased mitochondrial ATP production in sedentary animals; and (2) it can induce decreased intracellular Ca2+ stores and hence muscle weakness.
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These results have implication for normal ageing and suggest that the decreased mitochondrial function induced by a sedentary lifestyle may predispose to muscle weakness later in life.
Mitochondrial dysfunction can drastically impair muscle function, with weakness and exercise intolerance as key symptoms. Here we examine the time course of development of muscle dysfunction in a mouse model of premature ageing induced by defective proofreading function of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymerase (mtDNA mutator mouse). Isolated fast‐twitch muscles and single muscle fibres from young (3–5 months) and end‐stage (11 months) mtDNA mutator mice were compared to age‐matched control mice. Force and free myoplasmic Ca2+ (Ca2+i) were measured under resting conditions and during fatigue induced by repeated tetani. Muscles of young mtDNA mutator mice displayed no weakness in the rested state, but had lower force and Ca2+i than control mice during induction of fatigue. Muscles of young mtDNA mutator mice showed decreased activities of citrate synthase and β‐hydroxyacyl‐coenzyme A dehydrogenase, reduced expression of cytochrome c oxidase, and decreased expression of triggers of mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC‐1α, PPARα, AMPK). Muscles from end‐stage mtDNA mutator mice showed weakness under resting conditions with markedly decreased tetanic Ca2+i, force per cross‐sectional area and protein expression of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ pump (SERCA1). In conclusion, fast‐twitch muscles of prematurely ageing mtDNA mutator mice display a sequence of deleterious mitochondrial‐to‐nucleus signalling with an initial decrease in oxidative capacity, which was not counteracted by activation of signalling to increase mitochondrial biogenesis. This was followed by severe muscle weakness in the end stage. These results have implication for normal ageing and suggest that decreased mitochondrial oxidative capacity due to a sedentary lifestyle may predispose towards muscle weakness developing later in life.
Chlorine demand as a disinfectant for water utility impacts on unintended energy consumption from electrolysis manufacture; thus, diminishing the chlorine consumption also reduces the environmental ...impact and energy consumption. Problems of disinfectant distribution and uniformity in Water Distribution Networks (WDN) are associated with the exponential urban growth and the physical and biochemical difficulties within the network. This study optimizes Chlorine Booster Stations (CBS) location on a network with two main objectives; (1) to deliver minimal Free Residual Chlorine (FRC) throughout all demand nodes according to country regulations, and (2) to reduce day chlorine mass concentration supplied in the system by applying an hour time pattern in CBS, consequently associated economic, energy and environmental impacts complying with regulatory standards. The application is demonstrated on a real-world WDN modeled from Guanajuato, Mexico. The resulting optimal location and disinfectant dosage schedule in CBS provided insights on maintaining disinfectant residuals throughout all the WDN to prevent health issues and diminishing chlorine consumption.
This review gives an overview of the systems-immunology single-cell proteomic and transcriptomic approaches that can be applied to study primary immunodeficiency. It also introduces recent advances ...in multiparameter tissue imaging, which allows extensive immune phenotyping in disease-affected tissue.
Mass cytometry is a variation of flow cytometry that uses rare earth metal isotopes instead of fluorophores as tags bound to antibodies, allowing simultaneous measurement of over 40 parameters per single-cell. Mass cytomety enables comprehensive single-cell immunophenotyping and functional assessments, capturing the complexity of the immune system, and the molecularly heterogeneous consequences of primary immunodeficiency defects. Protein epitopes and transcripts can be simultaneously detected allowing immunophenotype and gene expression evaluation in mixed cell populations. Multiplexed epitope imaging has the potential to provide extensive phenotypic characterization at the subcellular level, in the context of 3D tissue microenvironment.
Mass cytometry and multiplexed epitope imaging can complement genetic methods in diagnosis and study of the pathogenesis of primary immunodeficiencies. The ability to understand the effect of a specific defect across multiple immune cell types and pathways, and in affected tissues, may provide new insight into tissue-specific disease pathogenesis and evaluate effects of therapeutic interventions.