PSMP Is Discriminative for Chronic Active Antibody-Mediated Rejection and Associate With Intimal Arteritis in Kidney Transplantation.

Chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (CAAMR) is an intermediate process that occurs during the development of chronic antibody-mediated rejection (CAMR), which is a key problem associated with the long-term kidney grafts survival. This study investigated the role played by PC3-secreted microprotein (PSMP) in the progression of CAAMR and CAMR. We showed that CAAMR and CAMR patients' allografts dysfunction with declined survival rate, which suggested that earlier diagnosis and treatment of CAAMR might be important to prevent irreversible chronic injury of CAMR progression. We found PSMP was an important factor in the development of chronic antibody-mediated rejection. The PSMP expression increased significantly in CAAMR biopsy samples but not in CAMR and control patients, which distinguished CAAMR patients from CAMR and non-rejection patients. Moreover, our results showed that infiltration of CD68+ macrophages in CAAMR increased, and the correlation between CD68+ macrophages and PSMP expression in CAAMR patients was significant. Additionally, our data also revealed that intimal arteritis (v-lesion) accompanied by increased macrophage infiltration might have contributed to more graft loss in CAAMR, and PSMP expression was significantly associated with the v-lesion score. These results indicated that PSMP played an important role in the recruitment of macrophages and promote intimal arteritis inducing allograft lost in CAAMR progression. In future study PSMP could be a potential histopathological diagnostic biomarker and treatment target for CAAMR in kidney transplantation.

Outcomes in children with biliary atresia following liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Congenital biliary atresia is a rare condition characterized by idiopathic dysgenesis of the bile ducts. If untreated, congenital biliary atresia leads to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and premature death. The present study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of orthotopic liver transplantation in children with biliary atresia. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed 45 patients with biliary atresia who had undergone orthotopic liver transplantation from September 2006 to August 2012. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 11.0 months (5-102). Of the 45 patients, 41 were younger than 3 years old. Their median weight was 9.0 kg (4.5-29.0), 34 of the 45 patients were less than 10 kg. Thirty-one patients had undergone Kasai portoenterostomy prior to orthotopic liver transplantation. We performed 30 living donor liver transplants and 15 split liver transplants. Six patients died during a follow-up. The median follow-up time of surviving patients was 11.4 months (1.4-73.7). The overall 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 88.9%, 84.4% and 84.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: With advances in surgical techniques and management, children with biliary atresia after liver transplantation can achieve satisfactory survival in China, although there remains a high risk of complications in the early postoperative period.

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation in a single center: 10-year retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPKT) is the best treatment option for diabetic patients with advanced chronic renal failure. The current study aimed to analyze the surgical indications, treatments and prognosis of SPKT. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 40 cases of SPKT performed between December 1999 and January 2010 in our center, including the survival rate, complications and the reasons of reoperation. RESULTS: Of all the 40 SPKT cases, the one-year survival rates of the recipients, kidney and pancreas transplant graft were 97.6%, 97.6% and 92.7%, while 97.6%, 91.1%, 92.7% at 3 years and 83.6%, 78.0%, 79.4% at 5 years, respectively. After SPKT, 10 patients need reoperation because of surgical complications (14 operations). The reoperation rate was 25%, including 2 patients (4 operations) with hematuria, 4 patients with abdominal hemorrhage, 2 patients (3 operations) with abdominal infection, 1 patient with pancreatic venous thrombosis, 1 patient with anastomotic leakage, and 1 patient with fistula. CONCLUSION: Although SPKT provides a successful and effective treatment for diabetics with end-stage renal disease, how to reduce the complications of this treatment still need further effort.