Role of bone marrow-derived stem cells, renal progenitor cells and stem cell factor in chronic renal allograft nephropathy

Introduction: Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is a poorly understood clinico-pathological entity associated with chronic allograft loss due to immunologic and non-immunologic causes. It remains the leading cause of late allograft loss. Bone marrow derived stem cells are undifferentiated cells typically characterized by their capacity for self renewal, ability to give rise to multiple differentiated cellular population, including hematopoietic (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Characterization of HSCs includes their multipotency, expression of typical surface markers such as CD34 and CD45, while characterization of MSC includes their multipotency, expression of typical surface markers such as CD90 and CD105, and the absence of hemopoietic lineage markers.Aim&methods: The aim of the present work was to study the role of bone marrow-derived HSCs and MSCs, renal progenitor cells and SCF in chronic renal allograft nephropathy in relation to renal hemodynamics and histopathological changes. We studied 30 patients with kidney transplantation for more than 6 months, divided into 15 patients with stable serum creatinine and 15 patients who developed CAN. Detection of HSCs and MSCs in the peripheral blood using flow cytometry via detection of CD34, CD45, CD117 and CD106, as well as immunohistochemical detection of CD34, CD133, VEGF and aSMA in transplanted kidney biopsies of patients with CAN were done.Results: There was a significant increase in the levels of SCF, number of peripheral blood HSCs and MSCs in both transplanted patient groups than the controls and they were higher in patients of group Ia than patients of group Ib, (F =39.73, P < 0.001), (F = 13.28, P< 0.001), (F= 11.94, P <0.001), respectively and this was accompanied by evident expression of markers of renal repair.Conclusion: Stem cells might have a role in renal regeneration in CAN and this may pave the way toward the use of stem cells in correction of CAN.KEYWORDS Chronic allograft nephropathy; Hematopoietic stem cells; Mesenchymal stem cells; Stem cell factor; Renal regeneratio

Dialyzer reuse; effect on efficiency and biocompatibility

Fifteen patients on maintenance haemodialysis were studied before and after reuse of cuprophane hollow-fiber dialysers to assess its biocompatibility and efficiency.There was a significant increase in hematocrit value and hemoglobin level by the end of dialysis. Also, there was a significant decrease in total leukocyte (neutrophilic & eosinophilic) and platelet counts with a peak at 15 minutes after the start of dialysis, then there was a gradual increase till the end of dialysis reaching near the predialysis value.These changes occurred both in the first use and the reuse sessions. The decrease in the neutrophilic count with the reused dialyzer was significantly less compaired to first use dialyzer. The terminal complement complex (TCC) significantly increased and reached its maximum after 15 minutes, then it began to decline till the end of the dialysis. Similarly, these changes were significantly less in the reuse dialyzers. No correlation was found between the changes of the TCC and the decrease in different cellular elements.There was an increase in plasma bicarbonate and pH by the end of dialysis. Also,  hypoxia and hypocapnea occured shortly after the start of dialysis session with acetate dialysate, but they returned to their predialysis values at the end of both dialysis sessions. This can be attributed to the loss of carbon dioxide into the dialysate with subsequent hypoventilation.The clearances of urea, creatinine and phosphorus showed insignificant difference between the new and reused dialyzers at zero and 4hr time with significant decrease by the end of dialysis in both dialysis session. This could  be explained by keeping the surface area of the reused dialyzers within the acceptable values (80-100%) of the first use dialyzer.It can be concluded that reused dialyzers were to some extent more hemocompatible than the first use dialyzers. Complement activation is not the sole factor for the biocompatible reactions during dialysis. Reuse of dialyzers can  be a safe procedure by adopting appropriate sterilization, reprocessing and storage techniques and limited number of reuse

Telomere length and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) level in patients with acute myeloid leukemia: Impact on clinical outcome

The response to treatment and overall survival of patients with AML is heterogeneous. Prognostic factors are urgently needed in order to be able to better predict treatment outcomes. The aim of the present work was to study telomere length and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) level in acute myeloid leukemia and to detect if these parameters might be useful in providing insight into the clinical outcome of AML patients. ELISA technique was used to measure hTERT level quantitative PCR for measuring telomere length. The study included 70 individuals, 50 patients with acute myeloid leukemia and twenty healthy individuals with comparable age and sex. There was statistically significant higher level of hTERT and lower RTL in patients than controls. The patients were treated according to the standard chemotherapy protocol for induction and they were followed up by bone marrow examination. Mean hTERT level in patients who did not achieve complete hematological remission was statistically significant higher than that in patients who achieved complete hematological remission (48.87 and 34.32 respectively) (z=−1.98, p=0.048). Mean RTL in patients who achieved remission was higher than that in patients who did not achieve remission (0.56 and 0.37 respectively). However, it did not reach statistical significance. Median survival time in patients who achieved remission was statistically significant longer than that in those who did not achieve remission (26ms and 4ms respectively).It was found that both relative telomere length and hTERT could be used for assessing clinical behavior and predicting treatment outcome in AML patients

Positive Salt Tolerance Modulation via Vermicompost Regulation of SOS1 Gene Expression and Antioxidant Homeostasis in <i>Vicia</i><i>faba</i> Plant

Strategic implementation of vermicompost as safe biofertilizer besides defensing saline soils offer dual function solving problems in developing countries. The current study aims to utilize vermicompost (VC) for amelioration of 200mM NaCl in Vicia faba Aspani cultivar and investigate the molecular role of salt overly sensitive pathway (SOS1). The experiment was conducted following a completely randomized design with three replicates. Treatments include 0; 2.5; 5; 10; 15% dried VC intermingled with soil mixture (clay: sand; 1:2) and/or 200 mM NaCl. The results show that salinity stress decreased broad bean fresh and dry weight; and K+/Na+. However, malonedialdehyde and H2O2 contents; increased. Application of 10% VC and salinity stress increases Ca2+ (41% and 50%), K+/Na+ (125% and 89%), Mg2+ (25% and 36%), N (8% and 11%), indole acetic acid (70% and 152%) and proteins (9% and 13%) for root and shoot, respectively, in comparison to salt treated pots. Moreover, all examined enzymatic antioxidants and their substrates increased, except glutathione reductase. A parallel decrease in abscisic acid (75% and 29%) and proline (59% and 58%) was also recorded for roots and leaves, respectively. Interestingly, the highly significant increase in gene expression of SOS1 (45-fold) could drive defense machinery of broad bean to counteract 200 mM NaCl

Positive Salt Tolerance Modulation via Vermicompost Regulation of SOS1 Gene Expression and Antioxidant Homeostasis in Viciafaba Plant

Strategic implementation of vermicompost as safe biofertilizer besides defensing saline soils offer dual function solving problems in developing countries. The current study aims to utilize vermicompost (VC) for amelioration of 200mM NaCl in Vicia faba Aspani cultivar and investigate the molecular role of salt overly sensitive pathway (SOS1). The experiment was conducted following a completely randomized design with three replicates. Treatments include 0; 2.5; 5; 10; 15% dried VC intermingled with soil mixture (clay: sand; 1:2) and/or 200 mM NaCl. The results show that salinity stress decreased broad bean fresh and dry weight; and K+/Na+. However, malonedialdehyde and H2O2 contents; increased. Application of 10% VC and salinity stress increases Ca2+ (41% and 50%), K+/Na+ (125% and 89%), Mg2+ (25% and 36%), N (8% and 11%), indole acetic acid (70% and 152%) and proteins (9% and 13%) for root and shoot, respectively, in comparison to salt treated pots. Moreover, all examined enzymatic antioxidants and their substrates increased, except glutathione reductase. A parallel decrease in abscisic acid (75% and 29%) and proline (59% and 58%) was also recorded for roots and leaves, respectively. Interestingly, the highly significant increase in gene expression of SOS1 (45-fold) could drive defense machinery of broad bean to counteract 200 mM NaCl

A comparative study of the growth and nitrogenase activity offive azolla species as affected by various environmental factors

SIGLEBSE B223721M / UCL - Université Catholique de LouvainBEBelgiu