scholarly journals The Post-Storage Performance of RBCs from Beta-Thalassemia Trait Donors Is Related to Their Storability Profile

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 12281
Author(s):  
Alkmini T. Anastasiadi ◽  
Efthymios C. Paronis ◽  
Vasiliki-Zoi Arvaniti ◽  
Athanasios D. Velentzas ◽  
Anastasia C. Apostolidou ◽  
...  

Blood donors with beta-thalassemia traits (βThal+) have proven to be good “storers”, since their stored RBCs are resistant to lysis and resilient against oxidative/proteotoxic stress. To examine the performance of these RBCs post-storage, stored βThal+ and control RBCs were reconstituted in plasma donated from transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemic patients and healthy controls, and incubated for 24 h at body temperature. Several physiological parameters, including hemolysis, were evaluated. Moreover, labeled fresh/stored RBCs from the two groups were transfused in mice to assess 24 h recovery. All hemolysis metrics were better in the group of heterozygotes and distinguished them against controls in the plasma environment. The reconstituted βThal+ samples also presented higher proteasome activity and fewer procoagulant extracellular vesicles. Transfusion to mice demonstrated that βThal+ RBCs present a marginal trend for higher recovery, regardless of the recipient’s immune background and the RBC storage age. According to correlation analysis, several of these advantageous post-storage characteristics are related to storage phenotypes, like the cytoskeleton composition, low cellular fragility, and enhanced membrane proteostasis that characterize stored βThal+ RBCs. Overall, it seems that the intrinsic physiology of βThal+ RBCs benefits them in conditions mimicking a recipient environment, and in the circulation of animal models; findings that warrant validation in clinical trials.

1984 ◽  
Vol 52 (03) ◽  
pp. 301-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Gugliotta ◽  
Silvana Viganò ◽  
A D’Angelo ◽  
Anna Guarini ◽  
S Tura ◽  
...  

SummaryPlasma levels of fibrinopeptide A (FPA) in 30 untreated patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were significantly higher than in 30 healthy controls (p <0.001). Patients without laboratory signs of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) had levels of FPA higher than controls (p <0.02) but markedly lower than patients with DIC (p <0.001). Five patients with M3 leukemia had a higher mean FPA level (p <0.02) and a lower peripheral blast cell count (p <0.05) than patients with other cytological subtypes of ANLL. When patients with M3 were excluded, a significant correlation was observed between the peripheral blast cell counts and the FPA levels (r = 0.66, p <0.001). FPA levels were similar with body temperature either above or below 38° C. After intravenous bolus of heparin FPA dropped to normal levels in 14 out of 17 patients who had high baseline values. These findings indicate that intravascular thrombin formation, which probably result from the expression of procoagulant activities of blast cells, is the main cause of high FPA in the majority of patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin F. Brückmann ◽  
Jürgen Hennig ◽  
Matthias J. Müller ◽  
Stanislava Fockenberg ◽  
Anne-Marthe Schmidt ◽  
...  

Summary Depression risk is associated with a late chronotype pattern often described as an ‘evening chronotype’. Fluctuations in mood over consecutive days have not yet been measured according to chronotype in in-patients with depression. A total of 30 in-patients with depression and 32 healthy controls matched for gender and age completed a chronotype questionnaire and twice-daily ratings on mood for 10 consecutive days (registered in the German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00010215). The in-patients had Saturdays and Sundays as hospital-leave days. The relationship between chronotype and daily mood was mediated by the weekday–weekend schedule with higher levels of negative affect in the evening-chronotype patient subgroup at weekends. Results are discussed with respect to a probably advantageous standardised clinical setting with early morning routines, especially for patients with evening chronotypes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 696.2-696
Author(s):  
G. Abignano ◽  
D. Temiz Karadağ ◽  
O. Gundogdu ◽  
G. Lettieri ◽  
M. C. Padula ◽  
...  

Background:The Very Early Diagnosis Of Systemic Sclerosis (VEDOSS) study has shown that 82% of patients with Raynaud’s Phenomenon, specific ANA positivity and scleroderma pattern at nail fold videocapillaroscopy will fulfil classification criteria within 5 years. This is suggesting that there is a subclinical window of opportunity to diagnose systemic sclerosis (SSc) before clinical manifestations occur. In this scenario, a non-invasive tool to diagnose SSc in clinically unaffected skin might improve the early detection of disease in at risk-patients. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the skin has been shown to be a sensitive and accurate biomarker of skin fibrosis in SSc.Objectives:Here we aimed to assess the ability of skin OCT to “detect” SSc in clinically unaffected skin from a multicentre cohort.Methods:Dorsal forearm skin of SSc patients and matched-healthy controls (HC) was evaluated using VivoSight scanner (Michelson Diagnostics). Mean A-scans (mean OCT signal plotted against depth-in-tissue) were derived as previously described. Minimum Optical Density (MinOD), Maximum OD (MaxOD) and OD at 300 micron-depth (OD300) were calculated. Clinical involvement was assessed by an operator blinded to OCT findings using the mRSS. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was carried out for MinOD, MaxOD, and OD300 to evaluate their ability to discriminate between SSc and HC. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism software V.7.0.Results:One hundred seventy four OCT images were collected from 87 subjects [43 SSc (39 Female, mean age 49.7±9.1 years) and 44 gender/age-matched healthy controls (HC) (36 Female, mean age 50.2±8.3 years)] in two different SSc centres. All patients fulfilled classification criteria for SSc. OCT measures demonstrated discriminative ability in SSc skin detection with any clinical skin involvement (0-3 at site of analysis) with an AUC of 0.73 (MinOD, 95%CI 0.64-0.81), 0.77 (MaxOD, 95%CI 0.7-0.85) and 0.82 (OD300, 95%CI 0.76-0.89); p<0.0001 for all as previously indicated. Most importantly, all three measures showed comparable performance in detecting scleroderma also in clinically unaffected skin (mRss=0 at site of analysis), with an AUC of 0.7 (95%CI 0.6-0.81, p=0.001), 0.72 (95%CI 0.61-0.83, p=0.0003) and 0.72 (95%CI 0.61-0.83, p=0.0003) for MinOD, MaxOD and OD300 respectively.Conclusion:Virtual biopsy by OCT recognises clinically unaffected skin of SSc patients from the HC skin. This is consistent with gene array data showing that scleroderma specific signatures are consistent in affected and clinically unaffected skin. These results inform future studies on at risk patients with clinically unaffected skin which may define a role for OCT in detecting subclinical SSc.Disclosure of Interests:Giuseppina Abignano: None declared, Duygu Temiz Karadağ: None declared, Ozcan Gundogdu: None declared, Giovanni Lettieri: None declared, Maria Carmela Padula: None declared, Angela Padula: None declared, Paul Emery Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pfizer, Roche (all paid to employer), Consultant of: AbbVie (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Bristol-Myers Squibb (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Lilly (clinical trials, advisor), Merck Sharp & Dohme (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Novartis (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Pfizer (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Roche (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Samsung (clinical trials, advisor), Sandoz (clinical trials, advisor), UCB (consultant, clinical trials, advisor), Salvatore D’Angelo: None declared, Francesco Del Galdo: None declared


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Lind ◽  
Ilaria Marzinotto ◽  
Cristina Brigatti ◽  
Anita Ramelius ◽  
Lorenzo Piemonti ◽  
...  

AbstractAn increased incidence of narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) was observed in Scandinavia following the 2009–2010 influenza Pandemrix vaccination. The association between NT1 and HLA-DQB1*06:02:01 supported the view of the vaccine as an etiological agent. A/H1N1 hemagglutinin (HA) is the main antigenic determinant of the host neutralization antibody response. Using two different immunoassays, the Luciferase Immunoprecipitation System (LIPS) and Radiobinding Assay (RBA), we investigated HA antibody levels and affinity in an exploratory and in a confirmatory cohort of Swedish NT1 patients and healthy controls vaccinated with Pandemrix. HA antibodies were increased in NT1 patients compared to controls in the exploratory (LIPS p = 0.0295, RBA p = 0.0369) but not in the confirmatory cohort (LIPS p = 0.55, RBA p = 0.625). HA antibody affinity, assessed by competition with Pandemrix vaccine, was comparable between patients and controls (LIPS: 48 vs. 39 ng/ml, p = 0.81; RBA: 472 vs. 491 ng/ml, p = 0.65). The LIPS assay also detected higher HA antibody titres as associated with HLA-DQB1*06:02:01 (p = 0.02). Our study shows that following Pandemrix vaccination, HA antibodies levels and affinity were comparable NT1 patients and controls and suggests that HA antibodies are unlikely to play a role in NT1 pathogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3021
Author(s):  
Jeong Yong Lee ◽  
Eun Hee Ahn ◽  
Hyeon Woo Park ◽  
Ji Hyang Kim ◽  
Young Ran Kim ◽  
...  

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) refers to the occurrence of more than two failed in vitro fertilization–embryo transfers (IVF-ETs) in the same individual. RIF can occur for many reasons, including embryo characteristics, immunological factors, and coagulation factors. Genetics can also contribute to RIF, with some single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) reported to be associated with RIF occurrence. We examined SNVs in a long non-coding RNA, homeobox (HOX) transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR), which is known to affect cancer development. HOTAIR regulates epigenetic outcomes through histone modifications and chromatin remodeling. We recruited 155 female RIF patients and 330 healthy controls, and genotyped HOTAIR SNVs, including rs4759314, rs920778, rs7958904, and rs1899663, in all participants. Differences in these SNVs were compared between the patient and control groups. We identified significant differences in the occurrence of heterozygous genotypes and the dominant expression model for the rs1899663 and rs7958904 SNVs between RIF patients and control subjects. These HOTAIR variants were associated with serum hemoglobin (Hgb), luteinizing hormone (LH), total cholesterol (T. chol), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, as assessed by analysis of variance (ANOVA). We analyzed the four HOTAIR SNVs and found significant differences in haplotype patterns between RIF patients and healthy controls. The results of this study showed that HOTAIR is not only associated with the development of cancer but also with pregnancy-associated diseases. This study represents the first report showing that HOTAIR is correlated with RIF.


npj Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola J. Rose ◽  
Paul Stickings ◽  
Silke Schepelmann ◽  
Marc J. A. Bailey ◽  
Chris Burns

AbstractThe past 18 months have seen an unprecedented approach to vaccine development in the global effort against the COVID-19 pandemic. The process from discovery research, through clinical trials and regulatory approval often takes more than 10 years. However, the critical need to expedite vaccine availability in the pandemic has meant that new approaches to development, manufacturing, and regulation have been required: this has necessitated many stages of product development, clinical trials, and manufacturing to be undertaken in parallel at a global level. Through the development of these innovative products, the world has the best chance of finding individual, or combinations of, vaccines that will provide adequate protection for the world’s population. Despite the huge scientific and regulatory achievements and significant investment to accelerate vaccine availability, it is essential that safety measures are not compromised. Here we focus on the post regulatory approval testing by independent laboratories that provides an additional assurance of the safety and quality of a product, with an emphasis on the UK experience through the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), an expert centre of the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).


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