The decision of stem cells to proliferate and differentiate is finely controlled. The Caenorhabditis elegans germline provides a tractable system for studying the mechanisms that control stem cell proliferation and homeostasis [1-4]. Autophagy is a conserved cellular recycling process crucial for cellular homeostasis in many different contexts [5], but its function in germline stem cell prolife...

RATIONALE Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) followed by ventricular remodeling is the major cause of congestive heart failure and death in western world countries. OBJECTIVE Of relevance are reports showing that infusion of apoptotic leucocytes or anti-lymphocyte serum after AMI reduces myocardial necrosis and preserves cardiac function. In order to corroborate this therapeutic mechanism, the...

Low-dose antithymocyte globulin (ATG) plus pegylated granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) preserves β-cell function for at least 12 months in type 1 diabetes. Herein, we describe metabolic and immunological parameters 24 months following treatment. Patients with established type 1 diabetes (duration 4-24 months) were randomized to ATG and pegylated G-CSF (ATG+G-CSF) (N = 17) or placebo...

BACKGROUND The impact of the use of anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) in allogeneic stem cell transplantation performed with HLA-identical sibling donors following fludarabine and 4 days intravenous busulfan myeloablative conditioning regimen has been poorly explored. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 566 patients who underwent a first HLA-identical allogeneic stem cell transplantation with thi...

BACKGROUND A number of recent studies have demonstrated a protective effect of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) antagonism against immune mediated diseases such as myocarditis, chronic allograft rejection, and antiglomerular basement membrane nephritis. To our knowledge, there has been no report on the immunological contribution of the RAS in colonic tissue. AIMS We evaluated the direct effect ...

BACKGROUND Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is used as induction therapy after cardiac transplant for enhancing immunosuppression and delaying the initiation of nephrotoxic drugs. It is unknown if ATG induction is associated with decreased coronary plaque progression by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). METHODS AND RESULTS Patients transplanted between March 2010 and December 2012 with baseline an...

INTRODUCTION Sensitization is associated with worse clinical outcomes after kidney transplantation (KT), including increased incidence of delayed graft function, acute rejection (AR) and graft loss. OBJECTIVES To evaluate 1-year efficacy and safety outcomes in sensitized KT recipients receiving antithymocyte globulin (ATG) induction and compare them to non-sensitized patients. METHODS Decea...

Six patients with severe aplastic anemia treated with horse anti-human thymocyte globulin (ATG) and androgen. Four of these patients were only given ATG (ATGAMR), 16 mg/Kg/dose x 10 doses. The remaining two cases received an infusion of maternal HLA-haploidentical marrow cells following ATG therapy. One patient had a complete response, three had a partial response, one showed minimal improvemen...

Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), a horse antiserum to human thymus tissue, has been shown to induce granulocytic differentiation of the III60 human leukemia cell line. In this paper we describe the effect of ATG on leukemic blasts and its effect on other human leukemia cell lines in vitro. The in vitro differentiation effect of ATG was observed in blasts from two patients with leukemia and the hu...

INTRODUCTION Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are established markers of infection in the general population. In contrast, several studies reported falsely increased PCT levels in patients receiving T-cell antibodies. We evaluated the validity of these markers in patients scheduled for hemopoietic stem cell transplantation receiving anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) during condition...