In short, 100 ng of total RNA was transcribed into cDNA using T7-(N)6 primers. Anti-sense RNA is generated by in vitro transcription of the cDNA, which is used as a template to generate 2′-deoxyuridine, 5′-triphosphate (dUTP)-containing sense cDNA fragments. Following the removal of RNA fragments, the sense cDNA fragments were terminal-labelled with biotin. The labelled samples were hybridized to the Human Gene 1·0 gene ST array (Affymetrix). The arrays were washed and stained with phycoerythrin-conjugated streptavidin (SAPE) using

the Affymetrix Fluidics Station® 450, and the arrays were scanned in the Affymetrix GeneArray® 3000 scanner to generate fluorescent images, as described in the Affymetrix GeneChip® protocol. Group sensitization rates were compared using a χ2 test and logistic regression analyses. The challenge outcome, PD332991 whether positive or negative, was used as

the dependent variable and skin status, sex and age as the independent variables. Results were expressed as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The strength of reactions in the three groups was analysed with both the visual scores and ultrasound GS-1101 purchase data. The Mann–Whitney two-sample rank sum test was used to compare the sum clinical scores in the groups. Using the ultrasound data, linear regression analyses of the elicitation responses were calculated for each individual and the means of the slopes and the intercepts, used as parameters for strength of the elicitation reaction, were compared

for each group using a Mann–Whitney U-test, as recommended for serial measurements. P-value < 0·05 was considered to be statistically significant. All data analysis was performed using spss version 12 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The degree of infiltration of positively stained cells was scored semi-quantitatively using a five-point scale: 0 = none, 1 = few positive, 2 = some positive, 3 = many positive and 4 = highly positive. To detect significant differences between the group mean values, the Mann–Whitney U-test was applied. Significance was determined with a P-value < 0·05. All data analysis was performed using spss version 12 (SPSS, Inc.). Analysis GBA3 the of microarray data followed the overall strategy described previously [12]. Briefly, a single log2 scale expression measure for each probe set was attained from the low-level data files (CEL files), using the robust multi-array analysis procedure with quantile normalization [13] implemented in the Affymetrix library for the r statistical environment. Principle component analysis (PCA) was carried out with the prcomp r function. The 2·5% of the probe sets with the most extreme positive or negative loading values for the first two principal components were extracted and used for analysis of over-represented GO terms using Fisher’s exact test for proportions with Bonferroni’s correction for multiple testing.

Real time (RT) PCR was performed in triplicate using FAM-labeled Assay-on-Demand reagent sets for IL-10 (Hs00174086_m1) and Foxp3 (Hs00203958_m1). RT-PCR reactions were multiplexed using VIC-labeled 18S primers and probes (Hs99999901_s1) as an endogenous control and analyzed using SDS software version 2.1

(Applied Biosystems), according to the 2-(∆∆Ct) method. Results are presented as mean ± SEM, unless indicated. Data were assessed for normality and equal variation after which the appropriate parametric or nonparametric test was performed (see individual www.selleckchem.com/products/PD-0332991.html figure legends). Differences were considered significant at the 95% confidence level. Correlations were verified with the Pearson’s correlation test or the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, as indicated in the figure legend. Z. U. was initially funded by an MRC CASE PhD studentship, held in association with Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research, Horsham, UK. D. R. and Z. U were also supported through funding

by EURO-Thymaide. E. S. C. is funded through an MRC British Thoracic Society/Morriston Volasertib mw Davies Trust Capacity Building PhD studentship. E. X. by a British Lung Foundation Fellowship. C. H. gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Department of Health via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King’s College London and King’s College Rutecarpine Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. A. G. is the recipient of a BMA James Trust Fellowship. L. G., J. C., and A. O. G. are funded by MRC, UK. At KCL, we thank C Reinholtz and K Jones, our research nurses. At MRC National Institute for Medical Research we thank: A. Rae, G. Preece, and N. Biboum for assistance in flow cytometry cell sorting; Biological Services Unit

and Xumei Wu for animal husbandry and breeding. We thank Bernard Malissen INSERM-CNRS Universite de la Mediterranee, France and Adrien Kissenpfennig, Queen’s University, UK for their generosity in providing the Foxp3GFP C57BL/6 mice. The authors declare no financial or commercial conflict of interest. Disclaimer: Supplementary materials have been peer-reviewed but not copyedited. Table 1: Characteristics of pediatric asthma patients. For more information see Bush & Saglani, 2010 [47]. Figure 1: Blocking TGF-β signaling diminishes the frequency of Foxp3+ T cells in 1α25VitD3 treated cultures. Figure 2: 1α25VitD3 maintains Foxp3 expression of murine regulatory T cells. Figure 3: Blocking IL-10 signaling promotes the proliferation of Foxp3+ T cells in 1α25VitD3 treated cultures. Figure 4: Purity of peripheral blood Treg and effector T cells isolated by cell sorting. Figure 5: Treg gating strategy in bronchoaveolar lavage fluid. “
“Despite the high prevalence of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A viruses in Indonesia, epidemiology information on seasonal human influenza is lacking.

The influence of the skin site, recording conditions, and the way of expressing data are also reviewed. Finally, we focus on promising tools such as laser speckle contrast imaging. Since the development of methods allowing the study of microcirculation, microvascular dysfunction has been associated with several vascular diseases as well as in aging [100]. The role of generalized microvascular dysfunction in the pathophysiology or as a consequence

of these diseases has also been questioned. Indeed, patients with impaired coronary microvascular function also have evidence of impaired peripheral microvascular function, suggesting a generalized disorder Raf inhibitor in the regulation of the microvasculature [120]. Similar findings have been reported of correlated abnormalities between cutaneous and retinal microvasculature in diabetic patients

[20]. As the skin is readily accessible, it provides an appropriate site to assess peripheral microvascular reactivity. Moreover, recent technological advances have provided simple and non-invasive methods to assess skin microvascular function. Therefore, human cutaneous circulation could be used as a surrogate marker of systemic microvascular function in various diseases. However, this raises the issue of how representative the microcirculation in the skin is to the microcirculation in other organs. To date, the skin has BIBW2992 concentration been used as a model of microcirculation to investigate vascular mechanisms in a variety of diseases, including hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors [5,45,86], diabetes [20,146], or end-stage kidney disease [82]. Skin microcirculation has also been used as a model of microvascular function in experimental shock

[42]. The issue of human cutaneous circulation as a model of generalized microvascular function has been discussed in a recent viewpoint by Holowatz et al. [65]. In other cases, skin microvasculature is specifically affected, e.g., systemic sclerosis [59,143], burns, flaps, or wounds. Altered skin microvascular function could therefore be a surrogate marker in these pathologies. Finally, non-invasive and reliable tests would be useful to evaluate the effect of drugs on the peripheral microvascular system. Reverse Transcriptase inhibitor For more than two decades, methods for the non-invasive exploration of cutaneous microcirculation have been mainly based on optical microscopy and laser Doppler techniques [19], as well as the evaluation of tissue oxygenation. Capillaroscopy is an optical in vivo microscopy technique allowing direct visualization of superficial skin microvessels, which has been mostly used in the study of rheumatic diseases, especially systemic sclerosis [27]. More sophisticated techniques have recently been developed, including OPS imaging [56] and, most recently, SDF imaging [54]. Besides microscopy techniques, laser Doppler provides an index of skin perfusion by measuring the Doppler shift induced by coherent light scattering by moving red blood cells [126].

The protection efficiency of the TgCyP DNA vaccine combined with an adjuvant was determined after intraperitoneal challenges with T. gondii RH strain tachyzoites in BALB/c mice. Six- to eight-week-old female BALB/c mice were used for the immunization experiment. Tachyzoites of T. gondii (RH strain) were propagated by serial intra peritoneal passages through 8- to 12-week-old Kunming male mice every 2 months (1 × 103 tachyzoites/mice). The peritoneal fluid from Kunming mice

was separated by centrifugation at 4°C to remove the cellular debris. The tachyzoites were harvested by centrifugation (600× g for 10 min) from the supernatant of the peritoneal AZD1152 HQPA fluid and washed with 0·01 m PBS (pH 7·2). All of the experimental procedures

were conducted according to the guidelines of the Jilin University Experimental Animal Center. Harvested T. gondii tachyzoites were used for preparing toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) for immunization according to previously reported methods [20]. Each BALB/c mouse was injected with 100 μg of TLA emulsified with an equal volume of Freund’s complete adjuvant for first and second injection (duration: 2 weeks). Two weeks after the second injection, a booster injection with antigen alone was applied. One week later, the anti-T. gondii tachyzoite polyclonal antibody was collected according to previously described standard procedures and used for indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) [12, check details 21]. T. gondii tachyzoite cDNA was synthesized by AMV reverse transcriptase using oligo (dT) as a primer, according to the method described previously [22]. The coding region of TgCyP was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR, Biometra, Germany) with cDNA as the template. The designed primer was as follows, forward primer: 5′- CTG GAT CCA TGG AAA ATG CCG GAG TCA GAA AG -3′; reverse primer 5′- GCG AAT TCTTAC TCC AAC AAA CCA ATG TC -3′, with BamHI and EcoRI restriction sites respectively. The PCR conditions were as follows: pre-denaturation

at 94°C for 30 s, annealing at 56°C for 30 s and extension at 72°C for 1 min, followed by 30 cycles; final extension at 72°C for 10 min. The amplified TgCyP DNA fragment was subcloned into the eukaryotic expression vector pVAX1 to form the plasmid pVAX1-TgCyP using BamHI and EcoRI L-gulonolactone oxidase sites. PCR, double restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing methods were used to screen for positive plasmids, designated pVAX1-TgCyP. The recombinant plasmid concentration was determined by a spectrophotometer (optical density at 260 nm). The recombinant pVAX1-TgCyP plasmid (25–35 μg/well) was transfected into HeLa cells using the FuGENE® HD transfection reagent (Promega, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA) in 6-well tissue culture plates. pVAX1 vector-transfected cells were used as negative controls. After 48 h, all cells were fixed in 10% formaldehyde for 20 min at room temperature and processed for an IFA.

Although LXs have been identified as crucial in resolving acute inflammation in in-vivo systems, clearer evidence in the signalling cascades triggered by FPR2/ALX and CysLT1 receptors

has not been well established. The aim of the current study was to determine whether the anti-inflammatory and resolution properties reported for 15-epi-LXA4 are mediated through FPR2/ALX or if other receptors, such as CysLT1, could also be involved. Surprisingly, using specific modulators of FPR2/ALX and CysLT1 receptors we found that the natural FPR2/ALX ligand 15-epi-LXA4 does not induce FPR2/ALX or CysLT1-mediated signalling, has no effect on neutrophil survival induced by IL-8 and exerts only minor effects on IL-8-mediated neutrophil migration. In contrast, Selleckchem Panobinostat the FPR2/ALX proinflammatory peptide (WKYMVm) and the FPR2/ALX small-molecule agonist (compound 43) induce FPR2/ALX signalling, although acting as proinflammatory mediators

in neutrophils, as described previously [27, 28]. Reference Kinase Inhibitor Library clinical trial compounds were selected according to the reported agonist or antagonist behaviour described in the literature. 15-epi-LXA4 is described as a FPR2/ALX binding ligand with anti-inflammatory properties in in-vitro and in-vivo models [10, 12]; compound 43 is a small molecular weight FPR2/ALX agonist described by Amgen [29, 30]; the hexapeptide Trp-Lys-Tyr-Met-Val-D-Met-NH(2) (WKYMVm) is a synthetic peptide described as a proinflammatory FPR2/ALX agonist in neutrophils [12, 27]; montelukast and MK-571 are CysLT1 antagonists 3-oxoacyl-(acyl-carrier-protein) reductase presenting bronchodilation and anti-inflammatory properties in preclinical models [21]. Chemical structures of the reference molecules are shown in Fig. 1. 15-Epi-LXA4 was purchased from Cayman (Ann Arbor, MI, USA). The concentration of 15-epi-LXA4 was determined accurately immediately before starting any biochemical

or cellular experimental work by measuring ultraviolet (UV) absorbance by spectrophotometry at the UV spectrum of lipoxins (lambda max at 301 nm) to confirm that the material has not been degraded. In addition, 15-epi-LXA4 stability was monitored by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Chromatographic separation was carried out on a Acquity ultra-performance liquid chromatograph (UPLC) from Waters (Milford, MA, USA) with a BEH C18 column (50 mm × 2 1 internal diameter, particle size 1·7 μm) at a constant flow rate of 0·4 ml/min. The mobile phase consisted of 10 mM formic acid (pH 2·8) (A) and acetonitrile (B), linear gradient from 30 to 55% B within 1·8 min. The mobile phase was then returned to the starting solvent mixture in 0·1 min and the system equilibrated for 0·4 min between runs.

Generally perceived as an immune stimulatory cytokine, IFN-γ can also induce inhibitory molecule expression including B7-H1 (PD-L1), IDO, and

arginase on multiple cell populations including DCs [[16]]. IFN-γ, originally termed “macrophage activating factor,” was first described selleck (along with IFN-α and IFN-β) as a mediator that interfered with viral replication [[11]]. IFN-γ is produced primarily by NK cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and NKT cells. In many of these populations, IL-12 and IL-18 can induce or further increase the production of IFN-γ. IDO and IFNs, by depleting the essential amino acid Trp, play key roles in host antiviral defense and in resistance to intracellular pathogens [[9]]. However, the same IFN–IDO axis is also capable of downregulating immune responses,

to minimize immune-mediated tissue and organ damage in the very context of infectious BMS-777607 nmr immunity ([[17]] and reviewed in [[18]]), infection-associated auto-immunity [[19]], and overreactive inflammatory responses [[13]]. This ancestral counter-regulatory mechanism has, with time, evolved and expanded during phylogenesis, well beyond the original concept of “immunosuppression by Trp starvation” [[20]]. First, the products of Trp catabolism (i.e. kynurenines, including the first byproduct, l-kynurenine) have acquired direct immunoregulatory functions [[21, 22]]. Second, the combined effects of Trp starvation and kynurenines (behaving as activating ligands of the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) expressed by naïve T cells [[23]]) have acquired a potential for driving T-cell differentiation towards a Treg phenotype [[7]]. Finally, the IDO mechanism has become a pivotal means of preserving local homeostasis in the transitional response from innate ZD1839 nmr to acquired immunity [[24, 25]]. Yet, there occur instances in the literature documenting

the involvement of IDO in the pathogenesis of Th2 responses and B cell-mediated autoimmunity [[26, 27]]. While such novel properties made IDO pivotal in others forms of immune dysregulation, including allergy [[28]], the broadness and potency of its effects required that its antiinflammatory action be, in turn, finely tuned by regulatory proteolysis [[29, 30]]. In mammals, these properties have turned IDO into a versatile regulator of the dynamic balance between immunity and tolerance, as required by acquired immunity and immune surveillance mechanisms [[31]]. As such, IDO has become a master regulator of tolerance to self [[32]] and feto-maternal tolerance [[33]], both conditions dominated by Treg cells. The activity of Treg cells is tightly connected with that of TGF-β (reviewed in [[34]]) [[35]].

aeruginosa due to a costimulatory mechanism of the dendritic cells involving the complex between BPI and surface antigens from P. aeruginosa [8, 9]. Apart from a study showing decreased levels of BPI-ANCA in seven patients with CF after lung transplantation (LTX) [5], the effect of surgery aiming to eradicate infectious foci and thereby tissue inflammation on levels of BPI-ANCA has not previously been described. As BPI-ANCA seems to be a biomarker

of a detrimental host–pathogen interaction in CF, we chose changes in BPI-ANCA Fer-1 levels as a surrogate marker for the study of potential positive effects of EIGSS. We also compared the effects of EIGSS on BPI-ANCA levels with the effects of LTX as both procedures remove or reduce substantial amounts of P. aeruginosa infected and damaged tissue. The patients with CF were recruited at the CF Centre in Copenhagen. The diagnosis of CF was based on characteristic clinical features, abnormal sweat

electrolytes Idasanutlin and genotype. At least every third month, blood samples are taken for routine measurements. Serum from a cohort of patients with CF (n = 237) were examined for the presence of IgA and IgG BPI-ANCA in 2002–2006 [5]. Serum samples from 199 of the 237 previously examined patients were again analysed for BPI-ANCA in February–April 2010. Thirty-eight patients were ineligible for follow-up as they had either died or did not show up for clinical control or blood sampling within the study period STK38 (Fig. 1). The patients were divided into three groups: a non-operated control group, a group who had LTX within 2006–2010 and a group who had EIGSS in between the period where the serum was examined. Our main objective was to compare BPI-ANCA within the EIGSS group pre- and postoperatively. The pre- and postoperative change was also examined in the LTX group, and the change over time in the non-operated control group was compared with the EIGSS group. Patients were offered EIGSS

based on the following criteria: Patients intermittently lung colonized with increasing frequencies of positive cultures or prolonged declining lung function, despite intensive antibiotic chemotherapy. Patients with an unknown infectious focus and increasing antibodies against P. aeruginosa, A. xylosoxidans or B. cepacia complex were given highest priority. (2) Patients who had undergone LTX. (3) Patients with severe symptoms of rhinosinusitis according to the European Position Paper guidelines [10]. Of the 199 patients with sera examined before 2006 and again in 2010, 59 underwent EIGSS according to the operative and postoperative procedures described below. Six patients were excluded from the EIGSS group due to having double LTX in between the two blood samples, leaving 53 patients to be evaluated for the isolated effect of EIGSS (Fig. 1). Median time from EIGSS to second blood sample was 301 (IQR: 111–644) days.

To address this possibility, we performed a LUC reporter assay. A pGL3-LUC vector subcloned with the promoter region from –1500 bp to the Prdm1 transcription start site [29] was co-transfected with a pMIG-Egr-2 vector to 293T cells. As shown in Figure 3A, Egr-2 significantly enhanced the activity of the Prdm1 promoter. Next, a ChIP assay was performed with antibodies against Egr-2 to investigate whether Egr-2 directly binds to the promoter region of Blimp-1 in CD4+ T cells. Among four MLN8237 promoter regions examined (−3000 bp, −2000 bp, −1000 bp, and +1000 bp from its transcription

site) of Blimp-1, only one region (−1000 bp) showed significant enrichment compared with control, indicating that Egr-2 specially binds to the Blimp-1 promoter, but not to Lag3 and Il10 promoters (Fig. 3B and Supporting Information Fig. 2A). Cretney et al. reported that Blimp-1 binds to intron 1 of the Il10 locus and, together selleck screening library with IFN regulatory factor-4, directly regulates IL-10 expression in CD4+CD25+ Treg cells by the remodeling of active chromatin at the Il10 locus [28]. Our observation suggested that IL-10 regulation with Blimp-1 was controlled by Egr-2. STAT1 and STAT3 have been shown to be crucial for IL-10 production from IL-27-stimulated

naïve CD4+ T cells [17]. We investigated the effect of STAT1 and STAT3 deficiencies on IL-27-induced Egr-2 expression. As shown in Figure 4A and B, Egr-2 induction by IL-27 in CD4+ T cells was impaired by a STAT3 deficiency, but not by a STAT1 deficiency. When we analyzed the induction of Il10 transcription and IL-10 protein expression by IL-27 in STAT1- and STAT3-deficient

CD4+ T cells, IL-10 protein induction by IL-27 was abolished both in STAT1 KO and in STAT3 CKO CD4+ T cells, although IL-10 mRNA expression levels were slightly up-regulated by IL-27 in STAT1 KO CD4+ T cells (Fig. 4C and D). These results suggest that IL-27-induced Egr-2 expression in CD4+ T cells is mostly dependent on STAT3, although both STAT1 and STAT3 are important for IL-10 production by IL-27. Next, we investigated the effect of other STAT1 or STAT3 activating cytokines for Egr-2 induction. IL-6 and IFN-γ were selected as the representatives of cytokines activating STAT3- and STAT1-mediated pathways, respectively. As shown in Figure 4E, IL-6 induced Egr-2 expression as effectively as IL-27 Rucaparib in vitro in CD4+ T cells, but IFN-γ did not. Interestingly, both IL-10 and Blimp-1 mRNA expressions were also elevated by IL-6, but expression levels seemed to be lower than those by IL-27 (Fig. 4F). IL-6 is a type I cytokine that shares structural homology and a receptor subunit, gp130, with IL-27 and has already been shown to induce IL-10 in CD4+ T cells [17]. These results suggest that Egr-2 is important for IL-10 production mediated both by IL-27 and by IL-6 through the STAT3-dependent pathway. To examine the role of Egr-2 in inflammatory cytokine production, we investigated the production of IFN-γ and IL-17 in response to IL-27 stimulation.

5–2.0% isoflurane (Minrad Inc.) in an air:O2 (4:1) mixture. The MRI experiments ICG-001 in vivo were performed on a 9.4 T small animal MRI system (Bruker BioSpin MRI) equipped with a gradient system capable of 400 mT/m using established procedures [26]. For MR signal transmission and reception, a circular polarized birdcage resonator with an inner diameter of 21 mm was used. Scout images of the heart anatomy were acquired for accurate planning of the subsequent cine cardiac scans. For left ventricular function analysis, high-resolution black-blood short-axis images covering the entire left ventricle

were acquired using the self-gating technique IntraGate (Bruker BioSpin MRI), which is based on a fast low-angle shot (FLASH) multislice sequence with an extra navigator echo [51]. The following BMS-777607 in vivo parameters were used for data acquisition: field-of-view (FOV) = 25 × 25 mm2, matrix dimension = 128 × 128 (zero-filled to 256 × 256), spatial resolution = 98 × 98 μm2, six to seven contiguous slices of 1.0 mm thickness, pulse angle = 10°, echo/repetition time (TE/TR) = 1.8/50.5 ms, number of repetitions (NR) = 200, total acquisition time = 21.5 min. In post processing, acquired MR image data was

assigned to 10 cardiac phases and the end-expiratory motion state according to the self-gating signal. MRI images were analyzed to determine end diastolic volume (EDV) and end systolic volume (ESV) using Paravision 5.0 (Bruker BioSpin) and subsequently stroke volumes (SV) and EFs were calculated from the obtained values. All statistical analyses were performed with Prism 4.0 (Graphpad Software Inc.). Data were analyzed with the nonpaired Student’s t-test assuming that the values followed a Gaussian distribution. A p value of SB-3CT < 0.05 was considered as significant. We would like to thank Eva Allgäuer for technical support. This study received financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (116499 and 130823 to B.L.) and from the Austrian Genome Research Programme GEN-AU II and III (Austromouse) to T.R. The authors declare no financial or commercial conflict of interest. Disclaimer:

Supplementary materials have been peer-reviewed but not copyedited. Figure S1. Isolation and characterization of a myhca614-629-specific TCR. (A) Myhca peptide-stimulated effector T cells were fused to BW 5147 lymphoma cells. Proliferating clones were subcloned by limiting dilution and expression of CD4 and particular Vβ chains was assessed by flow cytometry. Representative dot plots of clone 35 with monoclonal subclones 5.4 and 5.4 are shown. (B) Antigen-specificity of subclones 5.4 and 5.5 was confirmed by IFN-γ ELISPOT assay using dendritic cells pulsed with myhca614-629 or unpulsed (med.) as stimulators. (C) Schematic illustration of the DNA sequence of the myhca-specific TCR that was obtained following PCR sequencing and database alignment. The sequence of the CDR3 region is depicted in detail. Figure S2. Lack of cardiac myosin alpha expression in thymi of BALB/c mice.

A schematic representation of “Injury Cobimetinib in vitro types and reconstruction algorithm” is shown in Figure 2. Experience on intraoperative vascular pedicle damage during axillary lymph-node dissection by general surgeon is reported and an algorithmic approach regarding types of injuries and available options to repair them in attempt to salvage the flap is developed. The knowledge of what to expect and what to do,

may reduce the incidence of flap loss and reconstruction failure, thus saving the patient from the additional stress of a second procedure. Every surgeon must be aware of such complications and of the available surgical strategies, being then adequately skilled in the different techniques of breast reconstruction including CP-673451 microvascular surgery which was required to re-establish blood flow in our cases. “
“The transjugular portosystemic shunt, widely used to treat portal hypertension today, may increase the risk of encephalopathy

and reduce effective hepatic flow. To address these issues, a strategy to produce a portocaval shunt (PCS) with hepatic function using intestinal grafts was conceived, and rat models were developed. We transplanted ileal grafts from wild-type and luciferase transgenic Lewis rats to wild-type Lewis rats, anastomosing the graft mesenteric artery (SMA) and portal vein (PV) to the recipient PV trunk and inferior vena cava, respectively. Recipient survival was significantly longer in the partial PCS model, MG-132 datasheet in which the graft SMA was anastomosed to the recipient PV trunk in an end-to-side fashion, than in the total PCS model, with the end-to-end anastomosis. In the partial PCS model, histological and luminescence analyses showed graft survival for 1 month. These results suggest that intestinal grafts can be maintained in the particular conditions required for our strategy. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery,

2010. “
“The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term regenerative capacity over a 15-mm nerve gap of an autologous nerve conduit, the biogenic conduit (BC), 16 weeks after sciatic nerve transection in the rat. A 19-mm long polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube was implanted parallely to the sciatic nerve. After implantation, a connective tissue cover developed around the PVC-tube, the so-called BC. After removal of the PVC-tube the BCs filled with fibrin (n = 8) were compared to autologous nerve grafts (n = 8). Sciatic functional index (SFI) was evaluated every 4 weeks, histological evaluation was performed at 16 weeks postimplantation. Regenerating axons were visualized by retrograde labelling. SFI revealed no significant differences.