Normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion in brain dead donors reduces inflammatory cytokines and toll-like receptor expression

Inflammatory responses and innate immunologic reactions play an important role in the respiratory system. Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is considered a novel method in the evaluation and reconditioning of donor lungs prior to transplantation. However, EVLP's effect on inflammatory and metabolic markers of human lung tissue is unknown. This study investigated how the performance of EVLP on brain-dead (BD) donor lungs affects the production and release of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α), inflammatory cells and toll-like receptors (TLR) -2, 4. This study was conducted with an animal subject for qualification of EVLP team and then EVLP was performed on 4 human cases referred to Masih Daneshvari Hospital (Tehran,Iran), from May 2013 to July 2015. Two of these cases, who had acceptable lung function parameters, were enrolled in this study for immunologic investigations. Bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) were taken before and after EVLP. Cytokines were quantitatively measured before lung retrieval, at the end of the lung removal, at the start of EVLP, and at the end of the each hour of EVLP. TLR expression was measured on the cells obtained by flow cytometry. TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 decreased in each stage of washing perfusate in both cases, and the level of cytokines in serum was in the normal range. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a decreasing expression of CD3, CD4/8, CD19, and CD16+56, as well as TLR-2 and TLR-4 in both cases. Intra-capillary pools of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α) were determined to contribute to the lung injury during prolonged lung perfusion. This raises the possibility that EVLP donor lungs could be less immunogenic than standard lungs. However, to assess EVLP's effects on lung grafts and optimize recipient outcomes, further studies with a sufficient number of lungs are required. © Copyright Autumn 2016, Iran J Allergy Asthma Immunol. All rights reserved

Poly(methyl methacrylate)/graphene oxide nanocomposites by a precipitation polymerization process and their dielectric and rheological characterization

We report a method for achieving controlled dispersion of graphene oxide (GO) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) via the precipitation polymerization process in a water/ methanol mixture. GO acts as a surfactant and adsorbs on the interface between polymerized PMMA particles and solvent mixture. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the precipitate consists of polymer particles (<1 μm) surrounded by the GO sheets. Compression molding of the precipitate yields a polymer nanocomposite with the GO organized into a regularly spaced 3D network which percolates at 0.2 wt % GO. Simple thermal reduction of the GO sheets dispersed in PMMA at relatively low temperature (210 °C) achieved electrical conductivity higher than 10−2 S/m at 0.4 wt % of GO. Parallel dielectric and rheological characterization demonstrated that the thermal reduction is a quite fast process without significant degradation of the polymer. The study should open up new opportunities in the design of GO-based polymer nanocomposites

Liquid Crystallinity and Dimensions of Surfactant-Stabilized Sheets of Reduced Graphene Oxide

Graphene oxide (GO) flakes dissolved in water can spontaneously form liquid crystals. Liquid crystallinity presents an opportunity to process graphene materials into macroscopic assemblies with long-range ordering, but most graphene electronic functionalities are lost in oxidation treatments. Reduction of GO allows recovering functionalities and makes reduced graphene oxide (RGO) of greater interest. Unfortunately, chemical reduction of GO generally results in the aggregation of the flakes, with no liquid crystallinity observed. We report in the present work liquid crystals made of RGO. The addition of surfactants in appropriate conditions is used to stabilize the RGO flakes against aggregation maintaining their ability to form water-based liquid crystals. Structural and thermodynamical studies allow the dimensions of the flakes to be deduced. It is found that the thickness and diameter of RGO flakes are close to that of neat GO flakes