Transplant Glomerulopathy: Importance of Ultrastructural Examination

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Transplant glomerulopathy (TG) is a morphologic alteration in glomeruli of renal allografts, characterized by glomerular basement membrane reduplications. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> TG is associated with progressive chronic allograft dysfunction and proteinuria and is a diagnostic feature of chronic antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) in patients positive for donor-specific antibodies, according to the Banff schema for renal allograft pathology. It is a definitive endpoint in clinical trials and interventional studies for ABMR, but the lesion can also occur in the absence of definitive alloimmune injury, as a consequence of chronic thrombotic microangiopathy, and in some cases in association with hepatitis C infection. This review discusses the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of TG, the diagnostic features by light microscopy, and focuses on the sequential ultrastructural stages of the lesion. The differential diagnosis of TG, and Banff grading of the lesion, are reviewed. Clinicopathological indications for performing routine ultrastructural examination of renal allograft biopsies are discussed. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> TG can be diagnosed at an early stage by electron microscopy, before histological features are apparent, emphasizing the importance of ultrastructural examination of renal allograft biopsies for an early diagnosis, when therapeutic intervention may be beneficial.

miR-29b promotes skin wound healing and reduces excessive scar formation by inhibition of the TGF-β1/Smad/CTGF signaling pathway

The hypertrophic scar is a medical difficulty of humans, which has caused great pain to patients. Here, we investigated the inhibitory effect of miR-29b on scar formation. The scalded model was established in mice and miR-29b mimics or a negative control was subcutaneously injected into the injury skin. Then various molecular biological experiments were performed to assess the effect of miR-29b on scar formation. According to our present study, first, the results demonstrated that miR-29b was down-regulated in thermal injury tissue and miR-29b treatment could promote wound healing, inhibit scar formation, and alleviate histopathological morphologic alteration in scald tissues. Additionally, miR-29b treatment suppressed collagen deposition and fibrotic gene expression in scar tissues. Finally, we found that miR-29b treatment inhibited the TGF-β1/Smad/CTGF signaling pathway. Taken together, our data suggest that miR-29b treatment has an inhibitory effect against scar formation via inhibition of the TGF-β1/Smad/CTGF signaling pathway and may provide a potential molecular basis for future treatments for hypertrophic scars.

Differences of temporomandibular joint condyle morphology with and without clicking using digital panoramic radiograph

Introduction: Clicking is the most common clinical symptom in patients with Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD). Lacking attention by either the patient or dentist, many patients were found to have suffered from morphologic alteration of the condyles seen in the panoramic radiograph inadvertently. The purpose of the study was to determine the differences of condyle morphology of the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) with and without the existence of clicking by means of digital panoramic radiographs. Methods: This study was based on an analytic descriptive research, whereas subjects are digital panoramic radiographs taken from clicking and non-clicking patients at the Radiology Installation of Dental Hospital Universitas Padjadjaran. 16 samples of each group were chosen in a non-random purposive sampling manner. Results: The research showed the mean of condyle morphology, HOC height on clicking (6.31 mm) was shorter than the non clicking (7.63 mm), the width of HOC on clicking (10.38 mm) was higher than the non clicking (10.22 mm) and height of the processus condylaris on clicking (19.70 mm) was shorter than non clicking (20.04 mm). Ratio of the high of HOC, width of HOC and high of processus condylaris were 12.13 (clicking), and 12.63 (non-clicking). Conclusion: There was no significant difference between the morphology of the TMJ condyle between clicking and not clicking group, except on high of HOC.