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Biomedical subjects

M Reynes

Publications and source records attributed to M Reynes.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Successful treatment of severe azathioprine-induced hepatic veno-occlusive disease in a kidney-transplanted patient with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

Azathioprine-induced veno-occlusive disease of the liver mainly described after kidney transplantation is as rare as severe with a high mortality due to acute portal hypertension and liver failure. A kidney-transplanted patient with severe azathioprine-induced veno-occlusive disease of the liver and worsening despite drug discontinuation was treated by emergency transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Whereas the veno-occlusive disease was controlled, the patient developed severe intractable portosystemic encephalopathy successfully treated by a stent reducer maintaining a certain degree of portal diversion. Twelve months after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, liver function was normalized and the stent was thrombosed with a subnormal liver histology. Thirty-six months after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt the patient is alive with normal liver function tests and kidney graft function. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for treatment of severe veno-occlusive disease of the liver is an alternative to tide the patient over until recovery of liver function.

Adult↗

Major histocompatibility complex class I presentation of exogenously acquired minor alloantigens initiates skin allograft rejection.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules present peptides from endogenous proteins. However, in some cases class I-restricted peptides can also derive from exogenous antigens. This MHC class I exogenous presentation could be involved in minor histocompatibility antigen (mHAg)-disparate allograft rejection when donor alloantigens are not expressed in graft antigen-presenting cells (APC) that initiate the rejection mechanism. Here we addressed this question by using a skin graft experimental model where donors (H-2b or H-2d Tg beta-gal mice) expressed the mHAg like beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) in keratinocytes but not in Langerhans' cells (LC) which have an APC function. Rejection of Tg beta-gal skin by a beta-gal-specific CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector mechanism should require presentation by donor and/or recipient LC of MHC class I-restricted peptides of exogenous beta-gal shed by keratinocytes. Indeed, our results showed that 1) H-2b Tg beta-gal skin was rejected by H-2bxs and H-2bxd recipients; 2) rejection was mediated by beta-gal-specific CD8+ CTL effectors; and 3) H-2bxd mice having rejected H-2b Tg beta-gal skin generated beta-gal-specific CTL restricted by H-2b and H-2d class I molecules and rejected subsequently grafted H-2d Tg beta-gal skin in an accelerated fashion, demonstrating that recipient LC have presented exogenous beta-gal-derived MHC class I epitopes. These results lead to the conclusion that MHC class I exogenous presentation of donor mHAg can initiate allograft rejection.

Animals↗

De novo and apparent de novo hepatitis B virus infection after liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to clarify the aetiology of apparent de novo HBV infection after liver transplantation. METHODS: Twenty out of 570 HBsAg negative patients (3.5%) became HBsAg positive after transplantation and were studied. Donor and recipient sera were retrospectively tested for HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, and HBV DNA by PCR. Donor and recipient livers were tested for HBV DNA by PCR on paraffin-embedded tissue. RESULTS: Group 1: HBV infection of donor origin (eight patients): one donor serum was HBsAg positive, three were serum HBV DNA positive, four were liver HBV DNA positive. Group 2: reactivation of latent HBV infection (eight patients) with detection of HBV DNA in pretransplant serum (seven patients) or in native liver (one patient): three were anti-HBs positive, two anti-HBc positive, and three with fulminant hepatitis had no serological HBV markers. Group 3: undetermined origin (four patients) defined by absence of HBV DNA in pretransplant donor and/or recipient sera and liver; however, acquired infection was suspected from two anti-HBs and anti-HBc positive donors. Two patients became HBsAg negative, and five HBV DNA negative. One died from HBV-cirrhosis and two were retransplanted. In the others, the last histology showed cirrhosis (three), chronic hepatitis (nine), acute hepatitis (one), and non-specific change (four patients). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of de novo HBV infection in liver transplant patients was 3.5%; the aetiology was determined in 16/20 patients: from the donor in eight, and from the recipient in eight. One should be cautious when donors or recipients are anti-HBc or both anti-HBs and anti-HBc positive.

Adult↗

Beneficial effects of Eurocollins as aortic flush for the procurement of human livers.

A review of 550 consecutively transplanted liver grafts stored in University of Wisconsin solution (UW) was performed during a 4-year period to ascertain whether graft function was impaired by flushing the aorta with Eurocollins (EC) rather than UW during the harvesting. The outcome of 255 liver grafts flushed with UW in both the aorta and portal vein (group UW/UW) was compared with 295 liver grafts flushed with EC through the aorta and UW through the portal vein (group ECUW). Liver grafts in both groups were flushed with 1 L of UW during the back table procedure and subsequently stored in UW at 4 degrees C before transport. Donor and recipient characteristics, cold and warm ischemia times, and methods of transplantation were similar in both groups, except that the recipient prothrombin time (PT) before liver transplantation (LT) was lower in the UW/UW group. There was no significant difference between the groups with peak transaminases aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase, maximum value of serum bilirubin within 10 days following LT, incidence of primary nonfunction, need for retransplantation, and patient and graft survival at 1 month. Results were improved, however, in the EC/UW group in regard to PT after LT, operative bleeding and proportion of grafts with histologic lesions at the reperfusion biopsy (P<0.001). These better results in the EC/UW group were confirmed when grafts transplanted in urgent situations were excluded from analysis and by multivariate analysis assessing the effects of pretransplant PT and AST values of the recipients combined with the method of liver cooling with each of the aforementioned criteria. In conclusion, the method of using EC for the aortic flush during liver procurement reduces the amount of UW solution by 50% with improved graft function. This method seems justified in that it is less expensive while affording improved graft function.

Adenosine↗

The value of early transjugular liver biopsy after liver transplantation.

Conventional percutaneous liver biopsy in the early postoperative period, within 30 days, following liver transplantation may be impossible due to coagulopathy and/or ascites. The use of transjugular liver graft biopsy (TJLB) in this setting is an attractive alternative in that a tissue diagnosis can be obtained despite the relative contraindications for percutaneous biopsy during this period. During the early posttransplant period, 124 TJLBs were performed in 105 liver patients, the majority (89%) of whom had standard liver transplantation without preservation of the native inferior vena cava; the others (11%) had the native inferior vena cava intact. The technical success rate was 87%, with adequate specimen for definitive diagnosis in most instances (86%), which included both rejection (61%) and nonrejection (39%) diagnoses on final histopathology. The biopsy diagnosis influenced clinical management in the majority of cases (65%), with decisions made to perform retransplantation (3%), to influence initiation of antirejection therapy (59%), and to institute antiviral therapy (3%). There was no morbidity or mortality associated with TJLB and it is feasible, safe, and effective in the early period after liver transplantation.

Biopsy, Needle↗

Incidence of rejection and infection after liver transplantation as a function of the primary disease: possible influence of alcohol and polyclonal immunoglobulins.

A retrospective analysis was undertaken to determine if the incidence, timing, and severity of acute and chronic rejection were influenced by the primary disease necessitating transplantation. Of the 875 liver transplantations performed between 1984 and 1992, 768 were primary transplantations and 107 were retransplantations. Among the former, 330 patients that were liver transplant recipients for a chronic liver disease without cancer in the native liver received an ABO-compatible and cross-match-negative graft and were given a cyclosporine- or tacrolimus-based immunosuppression. These included primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC, 66 patients), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC, 23 patients), alcoholic cirrhosis (ALC, 21 patients), autoimmune cirrhosis (AIC, 17 patients), hepatitis B virus-induced cirrhosis (HBV-C, 116 patients) and hepatitis C virus-induced cirrhosis (HCV-C, 87 patients). The incidence of acute (48% +/- 3% [SE] at 1 year) and chronic rejection (10% +/- 2% at 3 years) was comparable in patients who have undergone transplantation for PBC, PSC, AIC, and HCV-C. However, the incidence of acute (but not chronic) rejection was significantly lower in patients who have undergone transplantation for ALC (29% at 1 year). This reduced incidence of acute rejection was associated with an increased incidence of bacterial infections. In patients who have undergone transplantation for HBV-C (the majority of whom had received long-term anti-hepatitis B surface antigen [HBs] immunoglobulins), the incidence of both acute (21% at 1 year) and chronic rejection (0% at 3 years) was significantly lower, whereas the incidence of septic complications was comparable with that in the other groups. The incidence of acute rejection in patients who have undergone transplantation for nonviral disease receiving polyclonal human anti-cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulins was also significantly lower than that of patients who did not receive the immunoglobulins (19% vs. 48% at 3 months; P = .01), and this was identical to that of patients who have undergone transplantation for viral disease receiving polyclonal human anti-HBs immunoglobulins (19% at 3 months). These results show that the risk of rejection is unequal among patients, being lower in patients who have undergone transplantation for ALC (probably as a result of a state of nonspecific hyporesponsiveness) and in patients who have undergone transplantation for HBV-C (possibly as a result of long-term administration of polyclonal human immunoglobulins).

Adult↗

Hepatic failure associated with imipramine therapy.

Imipramine is an antidepressant drug that is rarely associated with mild liver function abnormalities. These are usually minor and transient liver enzyme elevations which return to normal levels upon discontinuation of the drug. We describe a 48-year-old male who developed subfulminant hepatic failure after imipramine usage, with complete recovery within three months after discontinuation of the drug.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗

Auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation for fulminant hepatitis. The Paul Brousse experience.

OBJECTIVE: The authors objective is to report their experience with auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation in fulminant hepatitis (FH) and to discuss the principles that may help in its safe application. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation is an attractive therapeutic method in FH because it provides hepatic function, whereas the remaining native liver is given the possibility to recover. Despite early encouraging reports, its place in the treatment of FH remains to be defined. METHODS: Evaluation of 5 cases of FH treated with auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation from a collective of 22 transplantations for 35 cases of FH referred to the authors' center from January 1994 to November 1995. The grafts were one left lobe, two left livers, and two right livers. RESULTS: The native liver regenerated in three patients: one with Reye's syndrome who died of irreversible neurologic damage, one with FH caused by the hepatitis B virus who is alive 20 months after ABO incompatible graft removal, and one with FH caused by the hepatitis A virus who had her graft removed at 4 months. In two patients, regeneration did not occur: one with drug-induced FH who died of sepsis 3 months after surgery and one with FH of unknown origin who was retransplanted with a standard liver transplantation at 4 months for uncontrollable biliary rejection of an ABO incompatible graft (alive at 10 months). Two of the three patients who survived suffered severe neurologic complications. CONCLUSIONS: Auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation is an attractive treatment for FH, especially in the presence of good prognostic factors for native liver regeneration: a young patient, rapid onset of the disease, and viral hepatitis. It should be considered cautiously in patients with advanced encephalopathy. By providing a smaller mass of liver tissue than with standard orthotopic liver transplantation, and as a more complex operative procedure, auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation may not be as effective in arresting the progression of neurologic damage.

Adolescent↗

Bone marrow stromal cell defects and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 deficiency underlying human myeloid leukemias.

Primary myelodysplasia (MDP) and acute and chronic myelogenous leukemias (AML, CML) are considered disorders of clonal stem cell division. Several constitutive gene defects that contribute to the development of abnormal cell behavior have been identified in the hematopoietic cells. The role of bone marrow stroma cells in leukemogenesis, however, has not been established. We studied the organization of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment to see if it was impaired during the initiation and progression of these malignancies. The buffy coat, hematon, and plasma fractions were separated from BM aspirates taken from healthy donors and diseased subjects at distinct clinical stages. The structural integrity of the BM microenvironment was evaluated analyzing the morphogenetic unit, the hematon. The hematon is a multicellular complex that includes fibroblasts, adipocytes, endothelial cells, resident macrophages, hematopoietic cobblestone area-forming cells (CAFC), high-proliferative potential colony-forming cells (HPP-CFC), granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit (GM-CFU), burst-forming unit erythroid (BFU-E), and terminally differentiated cells in normal BM. Hematon complexes were present in most BM aspirates from healthy donors (46H+/55). But they were absent from most of the patients with MDP (21H+/62) and AML (5H+/24) in the first perceptible phase, and from those with CML throughout the disease (5H+/55). Hematon complexes were present in the BM aspirate in 22/36 AML patients at clinical remission after chemotherapy or differentiation therapy. The hematon fraction isolated from normal BM, contained 25 times more 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and about 500-fold more 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 than the BM plasma. The concentration of 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 was low or undetectable in the BM plasma of some, but not all, patients with MDP (18/35) or AML (9/24). Thus, in the BM microenvironment, the metabolism of low-density lipids and lipophylic hormones are severely impaired prior to initiation or during the accelerated expansion of leukemia cells. The lack of organized stromal network and the decreased level of some lipophylic hormones, acting probably as morphogens, may contribute to the onset and progression of human myeloid leukemias.

Bone Marrow↗

Hyperacute rejection of liver allografts in sensitized rats: role of nonparenchymal liver cells.

Reasons why liver allografts are more resistant to antibody mediated rejection than other organ allografts are not fully understood. In order to define the role of nonparenchymal liver cells, we have compared the fate of liver allografts in two combinations of sensitized inbred rats. In the DA into LEW combination, hyperacute rejection of liver allografts was observed (mean survival time of liver grafted rats was 5.2 +/- 0.6 hr). A sharp decrease of the level of cytotoxic antibodies was observed after transplantation associated with deposits of IgG, IgM, C3, and fibrinogen on sinusoidal cells. Macroscopic and histological aspects of liver allografts were suggestive of an antibody-mediated rejection with congestion and portal hemorrhage. On the contrary, in the LEW into BN combination, survival time was significantly longer (259.2 +/- 25.2 hr), whereas histological studies demonstrated signs of cellular rejection. A decrease in the level of cytotoxic antibodies was present and deposits of IgG, IgM, C3, and fibrinogen were more significant. After blockade of the Kupffer cells of the LEW-transplanted liver, survival time of the BN rats was significantly reduced (38.8 +/- 8.0 hr). Macroscopic and histological aspects of the grafts were suggestive of antibody-mediated rejection and deposits of IgG, IgM, and C3 were reduced. The results suggest the hypothesis that resistance of liver allografts to antibody-mediated rejection is probably due to the ability of nonparenchymal liver cells to absorb preformed cytotoxic antibodies and complement.

Animals↗

Sclerosing cholangitis following human orthotopic liver transplantation.

Sclerosing cholangitis defined by cholangiographic criteria may occur after orthotopic liver transplantation. In this retrospective study, we analyzed failed grafts and antecedent serial biopsies of 24 patients who developed this type of nonanastomotic biliary strictures. Sclerosing cholangitis was histologically diagnosed if there was a combination of periductal fibrosis and features of large bile duct obstruction. The condition was observed in all but one available failed allografts. This later showed ischemic-type lesions without periductal fibrosis. Liver biopsy specimens were nondiagnostic relative to sclerosing cholangitis, although 85% of the patients had evidence of large bile duct obstruction. Numerous associated factors may explain the pathogenesis of secondary sclerosing cholangitis: an immunologically related etiologic factor (10 recipients of ABO-incompatible allografts) and compromised arterial blood flow that likely resulted from hepatic artery thrombosis (12 patients), focal arterial fibrointimal hyperplasia (three patients), chronic ductopenic arteriopathic rejection (three patients) and/or preservation-related ischemia (four patients). Sclerosing cholangitis may be a significant cause of graft failure that often has misleading biopsy manifestations. From a practical standpoint, cholestasis with evidence of large bile duct obstruction warrants cholangiographic assessment of the biliary tree.

Adolescent↗

Long-term clinical and virological outcome after liver transplantation for cirrhosis caused by chronic delta hepatitis.

Liver transplantation for liver diseases related to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) remains problematic because of the risk of viral recurrence. We report here the long-term virological outcome of patients transplanted for HDV-related liver cirrhosis (HDV cirrhosis). From December 1984 to December 1990, 76 patients with HDV cirrhosis underwent liver transplantation. Before transplantation, all the patients were HBsAg-positive/anti-HDV positive, and all but one were HBV DNA-negative by dot blot hybridization. HDV RNA was detected by HDV RT-PCR and liver HDAg by fluorescent HDV Ab. After transplantation, all the patients except four received continuous long-term anti-HBs passive immunoprophylaxis. The actuarial 5-year survival was 88%. All patients who did not receive anti-HBs immunoprophylaxis remained HBsAg-positive and developed hepatitis. Among the 68 patients receiving antiHBs immunoprophylaxis with a minimum follow-up of 2 months, HBsAg reappeared in 7 (10.3%) after a mean of 17 months. These seven patients developed hepatitis, with simultaneous HBV and HDV replication; and four cleared later HBsAg. Patients without HBV reinfection were studied for HDV reinfection: liver HD Ag or serum HDV RNA were present in 88% of the patients during the first year, without developing hepatitis; however, they were no longer detectable after 2 years in 95% of the patients. In conclusion, liver transplantation for HDV cirrhosis gives good results, with a 5-year actuarial survival of 88%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Actuarial Analysis↗