Scanning electron microscope studies of the aorta and other major arteries have been performed in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. After 5 weeks, a variety of structural abnormalities of the endothelial lining were detected including a significant increase in the number of argyrophilic cells and an increased number of craters or openings in the endothelial junctional region. Evidence of more extensive micro-damage was present after 5 months duration of diabetes. These zones with structural changes in the endothelial lining of major vessels seem to be areas of high predilection to atherosclerosis in diabetes.
Immunomorphological staining of specimens prepared from human carotid arteries with anti-collagen type I antibodies reveals large amounts of type I collagen in the subendothelium of lipid fibrous plaques. Collagen type Icontaining structures, once in direct contact with blood after plaque rupture, can serve as potential targets for selective delivery of liposomes and erythrocytes to these areas. To verify this rationale, ['4C]cholesterol oleate-containing liposomes were conjugated with bovine or human anti-collagen type I antibodies or human plasma fibronectin. Biotin derivatives of human anti-collagen type I antibody were coupled to human erythrocytes. Modified liposomes and erythrocytes were perfused in situ through segments of bovine, rabbit, or human arteries partially denuded with a balloon catheter prior to perfusion. After perfusion, the control and denuded areas were excised and subjected to scanning electron microscopic analysis and measurements of associated radioactivity. It was found that conjugates of liposomes or erythrocytes with anti-collagen type I antibodies or fibronectin are selectively bound by endothelium-free zones of arterial segments. Carrier-directed targeting of drug-laden liposomes and erythrocytes to thrombosis-prone areas of arterial lumen is discussed.
It has been proposed that circulating HSCs play a role in graft survival after liver transplantation. The aim was to analyze the relationship between the number of HSCs before and after LDLT and liver function, immune biomarkers, and clinical outcomes in pediatric patients. We studied 15 pairs of adult healthy liver donors and pediatric recipients with ESLD. The CD34/CD45+ cell number was measured in the blood via flow cytometry, and plasma levels of immune biomarkers - via ELISA. CD34/CD45+ cell number in the recipients decreased within the first week after LDLT. The cell number before LDLT was negatively correlated with the plasma levels of CRP and the development of graft dysfunction in the early post-transplant period. After LDLT, the CD34/CD45+ cell number was positively correlated with the pretransplant plasma level of sCD40L, a T-cell activation marker. In adult liver donors, the cell number did not change within the first week after liver resection and was lower than in pediatric recipients. The results suggest that in pediatric recipients, the HSC number may be associated with graft function and could be regarded as a potential predictor of the clinical outcome after LDLT.
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