Bortezomib-containing regimen for primary treatment of early antibody-mediated cardiac allograft rejection: a case report.

Evidence regarding the use of bortezomib-containing schemes in primary treatment of antibody-mediated rejection in heart transplant recipients is scarce. This case report presents the clinical experience with upstream use of bortezomib in primary treatment of early antibody-mediated rejection in an adult heart transplant recipient. Two cycles of bortezomib together with methylprednisolone, immunoadsorption, rituximab, and supplementary doses of intravenous immunoglobulin G reversed signs of heart failure, production of donor-specific antibodies, and findings of antibody-mediated rejection in biopsy. This treatment regimen was tolerated with only mild hematologic toxicity and proved to be successful during a 12-month follow-up. Primary treatment with a bortezomib-containing regimen appears to be a new therapeutic option for severe antibody-mediated rejection in heart transplant recipients. However, the efficacy and safety of this treatment need to be tested in prospective trials.

[AB0 incompatible kidney transplantation - first experiences]. / Transplantace ledviny pri inkompatibilite krevní skupiny - úvodní zkusenosti programu.

Living donor AB0 incompatible kidney transplantation represents a new tool how to improve the access to transplantation. Majority of European protocols are based on desensitization with rituximab, triple drug immunosuppression, intravenous immunoglobulins and specific immunoads option (IA) which eliminates isohaemaglutinins. AB0i kidney transplant program was initiated in our centre in 2011 and 21 patients have received grafts from incompatible donors until recently. Highest accepted isohaemaglutinins titers before rituximab were 1 : 64 and corresponding pretransplant immunoadsorption procedures varied from 2 to 9. In 5 patients 1-2 IA procedures were performed also after transplantation. With the advent of paired exchange program the AB0i transplantation is offered to patients with unsuccessful matching run or with aim to improve HLA match between donor and recipient. The main complications were postoperative bleeding and urinary tract infections in patients at risk. Majority of protocol biopsies exhibited positivity of C4d staining. Neither graft loss nor patient death were noticed.

Comparison of the effect of stem cell therapy and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty on diabetic foot disease in patients with critical limb ischemia.

BACKGROUND AIMS: The aim of our study was to compare the effect of autologous stem cell therapy (SCT) and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) on diabetic foot disease (DFD) in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). METHODS: Thirty-one patients with DFD and CLI treated by autologous stem cells and 30 patients treated by PTA were included in the study; 23 patients with the same inclusion criteria who could not undergo PTA or SCT formed the control group. Amputation-free survival, transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) and wound healing were assessed over 12 months. RESULTS: Amputation-free survival after 6 and 12 months was significantly greater in the SCT and PTA groups compared with controls (P = 0.001 and P = 0.0029, respectively) without significant differences between the active treatment groups. Increase in TcPO2 did not differ between SCT and PTA groups until 12 months (both Ps < 0.05 compared with baseline), whereas TcPO2 in the control group did not change over the follow-up period. More healed ulcers were observed up to 12 months in the SCT group compared with the PTA and control groups (84 versus 57.7 versus 44.4 %; P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed comparable effects of SCT and PTA on CLI, a major amputation rate that was superior to conservative therapy in patients with diabetic foot and an observable effect of SCT on wound healing. Our results support SCT as a potential promising treatment in patients with CLI and diabetic foot.

HDL and apolipoprotein A1 concentrations as markers of cholesterol efflux in middle-aged women: interaction with smoking.

OBJECTIVES: It has been demonstrated that the deleterious effect of smoking on the cardiovascular system is mediated through a decrease in protective HDL cholesterol. In addition, women are more sensitive to the negative effects of smoking, although the exact mechanism underlying this phenomenon is currently unknown. In this study, we evaluated whether smoking habits could modify the association of HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) with reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), as measured by cholesterol efflux (CHE), in middle-aged women. DESIGN: The study group consisted of 39 healthy middle-aged women, 21 non-smokers (age 51.8±2.5 years, BMI 25.1±2.8 kg/m2) and 18 smokers (age 50.5±3.2 years, BMI 24.8±3.5 kg/m2). In addition to all traditional cardiovascular risk factors, CHE from macrophages, labelled during a 48-hour incubation in a medium containing [14C] cholesterol, to plasma acceptors in study subjects was established as a marker of reverse cholesterol transport. RESULTS: CHE was significantly higher in non-smokers than in smokers (14.22±1.75% vs. 13.17±1.33%; p<0.05). Smoking habit had no effect on the association of HDL with ApoA1 or HDL with CHE. However, in contrast to the strong association of ApoA1 with CHE in non-smokers (r=0.62; p<0.01), no such strong association was found in smokers (r=0.38; n.s.). Main findings and conclusion: Based on our results, smoking can alter ApoA1-mediated reverse cholesterol transport in women.

Effect of rosuvastatin treatment on cholesterol efflux from human macrophages.

OBJECTIVES: One of the positive effects of rosuvastatin is an increase in HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). An increase in HDL-C is considered as one of the positive effects of this type of statin, although it does not necessarily correspond to the actual reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) rate. We analyzed the influence of statin induced changes in HDL-C on cholesterol efflux (CHE), the key step affecting the RCT. DESIGN: Fourteen subjects (7 men, age: 50.9 ± 8.4 years and 7 women, age: 59.7 ± 10.6 years) with mixed dyslipidemia received 20 mg of rosuvastatin daily for 3 months. Before the initiation of statin therapy and at the end of the study period, the CHE from 14C cholesterol-labeled macrophages was determined in addition to parameters related to lipid metabolism. CHE was calculated as the percentage of radioactivity released from the macrophages into the media containing 5% of the examined plasma. RESULTS: The rosuvastatin administration resulted in significant reductions of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B and a significant increase in HDL-C (from 1.43 mmol/l to 1.52 mmol/l, p=0.05), while the levels of apolipoprotein A1 remained unchanged. There was no significant increase in CHE (from 16.1% to 17.6%, p for trend = 0.053). Individual changes in HDL-C correlated significantly (p<0.05) with individual changes of CHE (r=0.76). CONCLUSION: Administration of rosuvastatin increases HDL-C, and individual changes correlate with the individual increases of CHE from macrophages.

Impact of Inherited Prothrombotic Disorders on the Long-Term Clinical Outcome of Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty in Patients with Diabetes.

The aim of our study was to analyse inherited thrombotic disorders that influence the long-term outcome of PTA. Methods. Diabetic patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) treated by PTA in our centre between 2008 and 2011 were included in the study. Patients were divided into unsuccessful PTA group (75 patients), successful PTA group (58 patients), and control group (65 patients, with diabetes but no PAD). Diagnosis of inherited thrombotic disorders included mutation in factor V (Leiden), factor II (prothrombin), and mutation in genes for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase-MTHFR (C677T and A1298C). Results. The genotypic frequency of Leiden allele G1691A was significantly associated with a risk of unsuccessful PTA in comparison with successful PTA group and control group (OR 8.8 (1.1-70.6), p = 0.041, and OR 9.8 (1.2-79.2), p = 0.032, resp.). However, we only observed a trend for the association of the prothrombin allele G20210A and risk of PTA failure. The frequencies of alleles of MTHFR 677 or 1298 did not differ significantly among the groups. Conclusion. Our study showed higher frequency of heterozygous form of Leiden mutation in diabetic patients with unsuccessful outcome of PTA in comparison with patients with successful PTA and diabetic patients without PAD.

Role of serum levels of angiogenic cytokines in assessment of angiogenesis after stem cell therapy of diabetic patients with critical limb ischemia.

The release of proangiogenic cytokines into the circulation after stem cell (SC) therapy and compensatory increase of angiogenesis inhibitors may reflect local vasculogenesis but also can increase the risk of side effects. The aim of our study was to evaluate serum levels of angiogenic cytokines with regard to the assessment of local and systemic vasculogenesis in diabetic patients with no-option critical limb ischemia (NO-CLI). Twenty-five diabetic patients with NO-CLI treated with SCs isolated from bone marrow or stimulated peripheral blood were included in the study. Serum levels of proangiogenic cytokines (VEGF, bFGF, Ang-1, PDGF-AA, and PDGF-BB) and an antiangiogenic cytokine (endostatin) were assessed 6 months after cell treatment, compared to baseline values, and correlated with the number of injected CD34(+) cells. The clinical effect of SC therapy (assessed by changes in TcPO2) and potential systemic vasculogenesis (assessed by eye fundus examination) were evaluated after 6 months. Serum levels of angiogenic inhibitor endostatin increased significantly after 1 and 3 months (p = 0.0003), but no significant increase in serum levels of proangiogenic cytokines was observed. A significant correlation between number of injected CD34(+) cells and serum levels of endostatin was observed (r = 0.41, p < 0.05); however, proangiogenic cytokines did not correlate with CD34(+) cells. No correlation between increase in TcPO2 after treatment and serum levels of any of the angiogenic cytokines were seen, and no signs of systemic vasculogenesis in the retina were observed after 6 months. Despite the significant increase in the levels of the angiogenic inhibitor endostatin following SC treatment, there was no risk of systemic vasculogenesis after SC therapy as documented by serum levels of proangiogenic cytokines or changes in the retina.

FTO first intron rs1558902 variant and platelets count in white middle-aged women: prague pre- and post-menopausal females (3PMFs) study.

The polymorphisms within the FTO gene play an important role in the genetic determination of body weight and body mass index and have been associated with cardiovascular disease, but the causal mechanism is still a matter of debate. The possible effect on the platelet count as a marker of hemocoagulation status as a possible cardiovascular risk factor was suggested in Japanese population. We have analyzed both rs1558902 FTO polymorphism (T > A) and platelet counts in the Prague Pre and Post Menopausal Females (3PMFs) study, including those of 669 women (mean age, 55.7 ± 2.7 years). The frequencies of the FTO genotypes were similar to other populations (TT, 30.4%; TA, 48.1%; and AA, 21.5%). We have not detected a significant association between the FTO rs1558902 variant and platelet counts in white women (TT, 242 ± 55 × 10; TA, 246 ± 67 × 10; and AA, 247 ± 55 × 10; F[2.642] = 0.30, P = 0.75). At least in white persons, platelet count seems not to be a link between the FTO variation and risk of cardiovascular disease.