Frequency distribution of HLA class I and II alleles in Greek population and their significance in orchestrating the National Donor Registry Program.

Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) represent one of the most polymorphic systems in humans, responsible for the identification of foreign antigens and the presentation of immune responses. Therefore, HLA is considered to play a major role in human disorders, donor-recipient matching and transplantation outcomes. This study aimed to determine the HLA class I and II alleles and haplotypes in the Greek population. Moreover, a comparative analysis of HLA alleles and haplotype frequencies found in Greek and pooled European populations was also performed to acquire a better knowledge about the HLA alleles distribution. A total number of 1896 healthy individuals were typed for their HLA alleles in the National Tissue Typing Center of Greece. High-resolution HLA typing for the HLA-A, -B, -C and -DR, -DQ, -DP with the use of the next-generation sequencing analysis was performed, followed by data analysis for establishing the HLA allele and haplotype differences. The results of this study showed that the most frequent alleles for the HLA-A were the A*02:01:01 (27.1%), *24:02:01 (14.4%), *01:01:01 (9.3%), for the HLA-B were the B*51:01:01 (15.3%), *18:01:01 (9.7%), *35:01:01 (6.8%) and for the HLA-C were the C*04:01:01 (15.4%), *07:01:01 (13.1%), *12:03:01 (9.6%). For the HLA class II, the most frequent alleles for the HLA-DRB1 were the DRB1*11:04:01 (16.4%), *16:01:01 (11.3%), *11:01:01 (9.5%), for the HLA-DQB1 were the DQB1*03:01:01 (30.5%), *05:02:01 (15.1%), *05:01:01 (10.6%) and for the HLA-DPB1 were the DPB1*04:01:01 (34.8%), *02:01:01 (11.6%), *04:02:01 (7.3%). Additionally, the most frequent haplotypes were the A*02:01:01∼C*07:01:01-B*18:01:01∼DRB1*11:04:01 (2.3%), followed by the A*01:01:01∼C*07:01:01∼B*08:01:01∼DRB1*03:01:01 (2.2%), A*24:02:01∼C*04:01:01∼B*35:02:01∼DRB1*11:04:01 (1.4%) and A*02:01:01∼C*04:01:01∼B*35:01:01-DRB1*14:01:01 (1.2%). The results herein were comparable to those obtained from the pooled European populations. Moreover, these results can be used for the improvement of the donor-recipient matching procedure and to understand better the disease association in Greece.

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products as Potential Therapeutic Strategy against COVID-19 and Immune-Related Disorders.

Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) comprise a heterogenous class of innovative medicinal products, which further require extensive preclinical and clinical assessments before their broader use in the general population [...].

Treatment with Umbilical Cord Blood Platelet Lysate Gel Improves Healing of Diabetic Foot Ulcer.

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to examine the hypothesis that umbilical cord blood platelet lysate (UCB-PL) gel has a significant impact on the healing rate of DFU. Μethods: In this open-labeled, randomized controlled trial, 110 patients were randomized to treatment with UCB-PL gel (UCB-PL group, n = 52) every three days for one month or dressing with normal saline (control group, n = 58). All participants were followed up for 20 weeks post treatment. Ulcer surface area was assessed with the imitoMeasure application at two, four, and six weeks, and two, four and six months. This study's main outcome was the reduction in ulcer size over the six-month study period. RESULTS: The mean ulcer area at baseline was 4.1 cm2 in the UCB-PL group and 1.7 cm2 in the control group. At six months post treatment, patients on the UCB-PL treatment displayed a significant reduction in ulcer size compared to baseline 0.12 (0-8.16) in contrast to a more modest change in the control group 1.05 (0-24.7). The ulcer area was decreased at the end of the study in 40 patients (97.6%) in the UCB-PL group and 27 (73%) in the control group (Fisher's p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The application of UCB-PL gel in DFU resulted in a significant reduction in ulcer size compared to regular saline dressing.