Pathophysiology of ascites: The importance of the intestine. A surgical contribution to the understanding of a medical problem.

The understanding of the mechanisms for the development of ascites has evolved over the years, involving the liver, peritoneum, heart, and kidneys as key responsible for its formation. In this article, we review the pathophysiology of ascites formation, introducing the role of the intestine as a major responsible for ascites production through "a game changer" case.

Intestinal Transplant Immunology and Intestinal Graft Rejection: From Basic Mechanisms to Potential Biomarkers.

Intestinal transplantation (ITx) remains a lifesaving option for patients suffering from irreversible intestinal failure and complications from total parenteral nutrition. Since its inception, it became obvious that intestinal grafts are highly immunogenic, due to their high lymphoid load, the abundance in epithelial cells and constant exposure to external antigens and microbiota. This combination of factors and several redundant effector pathways makes ITx immunobiology unique. To this complex immunologic situation, which leads to the highest rate of rejection among solid organs (>40%), there is added the lack of reliable non-invasive biomarkers, which would allow for frequent, convenient and reliable rejection surveillance. Numerous assays, of which several were previously used in inflammatory bowel disease, have been tested after ITx, but none have shown sufficient sensibility and/or specificity to be used alone for diagnosing acute rejection. Herein, we review and integrate the mechanistic aspects of graft rejection with the current knowledge of ITx immunobiology and summarize the quest for a noninvasive biomarker of rejection.

Meeting Report of the XIV International Small Bowel Transplant Symposium: Summary of Presentations, Workshops, and Debates From a Comprehensive Meeting on Intestinal Failure, Rehabilitation, and Transplantation, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 10-13, 2015.

The 2015 meeting of the Intestinal Transplant Association was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was the 14th International Small Bowel Transplant Symposium, and it was the first meeting organized as a joint venture of the Transplantation Society, the Intestinal Transplant Association, and the Argentinean Transplant Society (Sociedad Argentina de Trasplantes). Innovative aspects of the classic meeting format included workshops sessions, debates, and multicenter studies. This report highlights the most prominent scientific contributions and results of the first such symposium in a Latin American country.