Importance of metastatic site analysis in determining tumor lineage in a lung transplant recipient.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Philip Paul.
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We report the development of a hand-held instrument capable of performing two simultaneous microchip separations (gel and zone electrophoresis), and demonstrate this instrument for the detection of protein biotoxins. Two orthogonal analysis methods are chosen over a single method in order to improve the probability of positive identification of the biotoxin in an unknown mixture. Separations are performed on a single fused-silica wafer containing two separation channels. The chip is housed in a microfluidic manifold that utilizes o-ring sealed fittings to enable facile and reproducible fluidic connection to the chip. Sample is introduced by syringe injection into a septum-sealed port on the device exterior that connects to a sample loop etched onto the chip. Detection of low nanomolar concentrations of fluorescamine-labeled proteins is achieved using a miniaturized laser-induced fluorescence detection module employing two diode lasers, one per separation channel. Independently controlled miniature high-voltage power supplies enable fully programmable electrokinetic sample injection and analysis. As a demonstration of the portability of this instrument, we evaluated its performance in a laboratory field test at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory with a series of biotoxin variants. The two separation methods cleanly distinguish between members of a biotoxin test set. Analysis of naturally occurring variants of ricin and two closely related staphylococcal enterotoxins indicates the two methods can be used to readily identify ricin in its different forms and can discriminate between two enterotoxin isoforms.
BACKGROUND: Recipients of hearts from donors with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are at increased risk of allograft vasculopathy compared with trauma donors. We have recently shown that the vitronectin receptor (integrin alpha(V)beta3) is upregulated in transplant vasculopathy. We hypothesized that donor ICH is associated with systemic activation of alpha(V)beta3 in the donor before transplantation. METHODS: We evaluated mRNA expressions of alpha(V)beta3 (TaqMan PCR) in endomyocardial biopsy samples at 1-week post-transplant in 20 recipients from ICH donors and 20 recipients from trauma donors. To investigate whether systemic activation of alpha(V)beta3 was present in the donor before transplantation, alpha(V)beta3 expression was also evaluated in the corresponding donor spleen lymphocytes. All patients underwent serial coronary intravascular ultrasound to evaluate for coronary vasculopathy. The baseline characteristics were similar except for increased donor age in the ICH Group. RESULTS: The ICH Group showed significant increased mRNA expression of alpha(V)beta3 in the heart biopsy samples (3.8-fold, p = 0.012) and in the corresponding donor spleen lymphocytes (3.5-fold, p = 0.014) compared with the Trauma Group. At 1 year, the ICH Group also showed increased progression of coronary vasculopathy. Multivariate regression analysis found that donor lymphocytic alpha(V)beta3 mRNA expression was independently associated with increased risk of vasculopathy (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.21-3.98, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Our report demonstrates the presence of systemic activation of alpha(V)beta3 in donors with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and its association with the subsequent development of allograft vasculopathy in the recipient.
Separate haploid analysis is frequently required for heterozygous genotyping to resolve phase ambiguity or confirm allelic sequence. We demonstrate a technique of single-molecule dilution followed by multiple strand displacement amplification to haplotype polymorphic alleles. Dilution of DNA to haploid equivalency, or a single molecule, is a simple method for separating di-allelic DNA. Strand displacement amplification is a robust method for non-specific DNA expansion that employs random hexamers and phage polymerase Phi29 for double-stranded DNA displacement and primer extension, resulting in high processivity and exceptional product length. Single-molecule dilution was followed by strand displacement amplification to expand separated alleles to microgram quantities of DNA for more efficient haplotype analysis of heterozygous genes.
OBJECTIVES: We evaluated whether the angiotensin II (Ang II) receptors from perioperation through one-year post-transplantation predict the transplant coronary artery disease (TCAD) progression. BACKGROUND: The role of Ang II receptors (type 1: AT(1)R; type 2: AT(2)R) in TCAD is uncertain. METHODS: We investigated 28 heart donors and the corresponding recipients. The levels of AT(1)R and AT(2)R messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) were examined in lymphocytes from the donor spleen and in the donor heart at one-week and one-year posttransplantation to determine their association with the progression of TCAD, measured as changes in maximal intimal thickness (CMIT) and plaque volume (CPV) by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examinations. RESULTS: The AT(1)R mRNA in lymphocytes from the donor spleen (CMIT: r = 0.73, p < 0.0001; CPV: r = 0.69, p < 0.0001) and in the donor hearts at one-week (CMIT: r = 0.52, p = 0.005; CPV: r = 0.56, p = 0.002) and at one-year (CMIT: r = 0.63, p < 0.0001; CPV: r = 0.43, p = 0.004) post-transplantation along with AT(2)R mRNA in the donor hearts at one-year post-transplantation (CMIT: r = 0.3, p < 0.0001; CPV: r = 0.53, p = 0.009) were univariate predictors, whereas AT(1)R mRNA in lymphocytes and in the donor hearts at one-year post-transplantation proved to be multivariate predictors of the progression of TCAD. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a role for Ang II receptors in the pathogenesis of TCAD and support a novel concept that TCAD may have its origin in the donor per se and may be modulated by the recipient's inherent biological factors.
Donor spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a potential risk factor for morbidity and mortality after cardiac transplantation. We hypothesized that donor ICH is associated with systemic up-regulation of angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R). We evaluated mRNA expression of AT1R and AT2R in donor spleen lymphocytes and in heart biopsies from 20 recipients of hearts from donors with spontaneous ICH which were compared with 20 recipients from trauma donors. Heart biopsies showed 4.7-fold increased mRNA expression of AT1R (p < 0.0001) in the ICH group compared with the Trauma group. The ICH group also showed 2.6-fold (p < 0.01) increased mRNA expression of AT1R in the donor spleen lymphocytes, suggesting the presence of systemic activation before transplantation. At 1 year, the ICH group had increased coronary vasculopathy by vascular ultrasound. Using multivariate regression analysis, mRNA expression of AT1R in the donor spleen lymphocytes was found to be a strong independent predictor of transplant vasculopathy (odds ratio = 4.397, CI = 1.243-15.553, adjusted p = 0.02). This is the first report to describe splenic up-regulation of AT1R in the presence of spontaneous ICH and its association with subsequent development of transplant vasculopathy.
BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 have been shown to play a role in the progression of hemorrhagic stroke. We hypothesized that donor intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with activation of the metalloproteinases before transplantation that play a key role in the subsequent development of transplant vasculopathy. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated mRNA expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in donor spleen lymphocytes (before transplantation) and in heart biopsies at 1 week after transplantation in 20 recipients from ICH donors and 20 recipients from trauma donors. Patients underwent serial coronary intravascular ultrasound, and interstitial myocardial fibrosis was quantified at 1 year. The baseline characteristics were similar except for increased donor age in the ICH group. Heart biopsies from the ICH group showed significant increased expression of MMP-2 (17-fold, P<0.0001) and MMP-9 (20-fold, P<0.0001) compared with the trauma group. Furthermore, the ICH group showed 1.8-fold (P=0.016) increased mRNA expression of MMP-2 and 1.7-fold (P=0.015) increased mRNA expression of MMP-9 in the donor spleen lymphocytes, suggesting the presence of systemic activation of metalloproteinases before transplantation. At 1 year, the ICH group showed increased myocardial fibrosis and accelerated coronary vasculopathy. Using multivariate regression analysis, MMP-9 was found to be associated with increased risk for vasculopathy independent of donor age (OR, 2.41; P=0.01; 95% CI, 1.24 to 4.69). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report to describe systemic activation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in donors with intracerebral hemorrhage and subsequent development of allograft vasculopathy.
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