Early Immunosuppressive Exposure of Enteric-Coated-Mycophenolate Sodium Plus Tacrolimus Associated with Acute Rejection in Expanded Criteria Donor Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Immunosuppressive agents are still inefficient in preventing biopsy-proven acute rejection (BPAR) after expanded criteria donor (ECD) kidney transplantation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between early immunosuppressive exposure and the development of BPAR. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 58 recipients of ECD kidney transplantation treated with enteric-coated-mycophenolate sodium, tacrolimus (Tac), and prednisone. The levels of mycophenolic acid-area under the curve (MPA-AUC)0-12h and Tac C0were measured at the 1st week and the 1st month posttransplant, respectively. The correlation was assessed by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The occurrence rates of BPAR and antibody-mediated rejection were 24.1% and 10.3%, respectively. A low level of MPA-AUC0-12h at the 1st week posttransplant was found in BPAR recipients (38.42 ± 8.37 vs. 50.64 ± 13.22, P < 0.01). In addition, the incidence of BPAR was significantly high (P < 0.05) when the MPA-AUC0-12hlevel was <30 mg·h-1·L-1 at the 1st week (15.0% vs. 44.4%) or the Tac C0was <4 ng/ml at the 1st month posttransplant (33.3% vs. 21.6%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the MPA-AUC0-12h at the 1st week (OR: 0.842, 95% CI: 0.784-0.903) and the Tac C0at the 1st month (OR: 0.904, 95% CI: 0.822-0.986) had significant inverse correlation with BPAR (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Low-level exposure of MPA and Tac C0in the early weeks posttransplant reflects an increased acute rejection risk, which suggested that MPA-AUC0-12h <30 mg·h-1·L-1 and Tac C0 <4 ng/ml should be avoided in the first few weeks after transplantation.

[A family-based association study of the EGR3 gene polymorphisms and schizophrenia].

Previous studies showed that EGR3 gene located in chromosome 8p21.3 was involved in the etiology of schizophrenia. However, the finding failed to be replicated in several case-control studies. To investigate the genetic role of the EGR3 gene in Chinese psychiatric patients, we genotyped five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in EGR3 gene locus using 93 nuclear families in Han Chinese, and performed transmission disequilibrium test (TDT). In this study, two SNPs (rs1996147 and rs3750192) showed significant association with schizophrenia (c2>4.40, P<0.05). In the linkage disequilibrium analysis, the significant association was also found in two- (rs3750192-rs35201266), three- (rs1877670- rs3750192-rs7009708) and four-SNP (rs1996147-rs1877670-rs3750192-rs7009708) tests of haplotype analyses (c2>7.10, global P<0.05). Overall, the results suggested that EGR3 gene may play an important role in schizophrenia susceptibility in the Han Chinese population, and further functional exploration of the EGR3 gene will contribute to the underlying molecular mechanism for schizophrenia pathogenesis.

[A family-based association study of FXYD6 gene polymorphisms and schizophrenia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in FXYD6 gene and schizophrenia in a family-trios population. METHODS: Six SNPs (rs10790212, rs11544201, rs555577, rs1815774, rs4938446 and rs497768) in the FXYD6 gene were genotyped by allele-specific PCR method in 101 nuclear families, and transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) was performed. RESULTS: SNPs rs10790212 and rs11544201 showed significant association with schizophrenia (P<0.05). Furthermore, significant association of schizophrenia with the haplotype rs10790212-rs11544201 was found (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: FXYD6 gene might play an important role in schizophrenia susceptibility and functional analysis of FXYD6 are needed.