| 1. |
- Senage, T., et al.
(författare)
-
The role of antibody responses against glycans in bioprosthetic heart valve calcification and deterioration
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 28, s. 283-294
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) are commonly used to replace severely diseased heart valves but their susceptibility to structural valve degeneration (SVD) limits their use in young patients. We hypothesized that antibodies against immunogenic glycans present on BHVs, particularly antibodies against the xenoantigens galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha Gal) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), could mediate their deterioration through calcification. We established a large longitudinal prospective international cohort of patients (n = 1668, 34 +/- 43 months of follow-up (0.1-182); 4,998 blood samples) to investigate the hemodynamics and immune responses associated with BHVs up to 15 years after aortic valve replacement. Early signs of SVD appeared in <5% of BHV recipients within 2 years. The levels of both anti-alpha Gal and anti-Neu5Gc IgGs significantly increased one month after BHV implantation. The levels of these IgGs declined thereafter but anti-alpha Gal IgG levels declined significantly faster in control patients compared to BHV recipients. Neu5Gc, anti-Neu5Gc IgG and complement deposition were found in calcified BHVs at much higher levels than in calcified native aortic valves. Moreover, in mice, anti-Neu5Gc antibodies were unable to promote calcium deposition on subcutaneously implanted BHV tissue engineered to lack alpha Gal and Neu5Gc antigens. These results indicate that BHVs manufactured using donor tissues deficient in alpha Gal and Neu5Gc could be less prone to immune-mediated deterioration and have improved durability. In a large cohort of patients who underwent aortic valve replacement, antibody responses to glycans present in bioprosthetic heart valves, notably galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose and N-glycolylneuraminic acid, were implicated in valve calcification and deterioration.
|
|
| 2. |
- de Monchy, J., et al.
(författare)
-
Living & learning with allergy: a European perception study on respiratory allergic disorders
- 2004
-
Ingår i: Respir Med. ; 98:5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Knowledge of allergy patients' perception of own disease is inadequate, and understanding of the impact of local environment, including family and health-care system, on patients' management of disease is insufficient. We examined the potential of telephone-based survey techniques for establishing this knowledge in 10 European countries. METHODS: A two-phased questionnaire developed by use of focus groups in seven countries was translated into 10 languages. To ensure that the true values of the populations were restored in randomly selected populations, 75,343 telephone numbers selected for screening represented balanced national distributions of households. RESULTS: Eight thousand two hundred and sixty-eight respiratory allergy sufferers were identified by the telephone screening process. 85.4% accepted to participate in the survey and 89.6% completed both phases comprising 34 questions and rating of 49 statements. Data for each country were weighted in terms of age, sex and the recorded allergy prevalence within age intervals. CONCLUSIONS: The telephone survey technique allowed for establishment of random representative samples, and application of mathematical weighting procedures assured that the true national values were restored in the data set. As all interviews were performed in a standardised manner we conclude that the telephone-based survey methodology enables national representative data set to be established and compared.
|
|
