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Reduced Complications after Arterial Reconnection in a Rat Model of Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

The rat orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) model is a powerful tool to study acute and chronic rejection. However, it is not a complete representation ...

University of Toronto

Tufting enteropathy (TE) is a classical congenital disorder of the intestinal mucosa causing protracted diarrhea in infancy as a result of a dysfunctional epithelial cell barrier, which is mainly caused by mutations in the EpCAM gene and expression of a nonfunctional epithelial cell adhesion molecule in the intestine. We report here a novel nonsense mutation in a patient suspected of having TE, resulting in a complete absence of EpCAM in duodenal enterocytes.

A novel nonsense mutation in the EpCAM gene in a patient with congenital tufting enteropathy.

Severe intestinal diseases observed in very young children are often the result of monogenic defects. We used whole exome sequencing (WES) to examine the genetic cause in a patient with a distinct severe form of protein losing enteropathy (PLE) characterized by hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hypertriglyceridemia.

Mutations in Plasmalemma Vesicle Associated Protein Result in Sieving Protein-Losing Enteropathy Characterized by Hypoproteinemia, Hypoalbuminemia, and Hypertriglyceridemia.

Defects in intestinal innate defense systems predispose patients to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidases in the mucosal barrier maintain gut homeostasis and defend against pathogenic attack. We hypothesized that molecular genetic defects in intestinal NADPH oxidases might be present in children with IBD.

Defects in NADPH Oxidase Genes  and  in Very Early Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Severe forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that develop in very young children can be caused by variants in a single gene. We performed whole-exome sequence (WES) analysis to identify genetic factors that might cause granulomatous colitis and severe perianal disease, with recurrent bacterial and viral infections, in an infant of consanguineous parents.

Variants in TRIM22 That Affect NOD2 Signaling Are Associated With Very-Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Human actin-related protein 2/3 complex (Arp2/3), required for actin filament branching, has two ARPC1 component isoforms, with ARPC1B prominently expressed in blood cells. Here we show in a child with microthrombocytopenia, eosinophilia and inflammatory disease, a homozygous frameshift mutation in ARPC1B (p.Val91Trpfs*30). Platelet lysates reveal no ARPC1B protein and greatly reduced Arp2/3 complex. Missense ARPC1B mutations are identified in an unrelated patient with similar symptoms and ARPC1B deficiency. ARPC1B-deficient platelets are microthrombocytes similar to those seen in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome that show aberrant spreading consistent with loss of Arp2/3 function. Knockout of ARPC1B in megakaryocytic cells results in decreased proplatelet formation, and as observed in platelets from patients, increased ARPC1A expression. Thus loss of ARPC1B produces a unique set of platelet abnormalities, and is associated with haematopoietic/immune symptoms affecting cell lineages where this isoform predominates. In agreement with recent experimental studies, our findings suggest that ARPC1 isoforms are not functionally interchangeable.

Loss of the Arp2/3 complex component ARPC1B causes platelet abnormalities and predisposes to inflammatory disease.

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are the members of the efflux pumps that are responsible for the removal of cytotoxic substances by active transport. ABCB11, the bile salt efflux pump of hepatocytes, coordinates cellular excretion of numerous conjugated bile salts into the bile canaliculi, whereas ABCB4 acts as an ATP-dependent floppase translocating phosphatidylcholine from the inner to the outer leaflet of the bile canalicular membrane. Loss of functional ABCB11 and ABCB4 proteins causes early-onset refractory cholestasis or cholangiopathy. In this study, we investigated the expression and localization pattern of ABCB11 and ABCB4 using immunohistochemistry and RNA profiling in liver samples from patients with different types and stages of chronic cholestatic liver disease, with emphasis on primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), compared to a variety of cholestatic and noncholestatic hepatopathies. Therefore, ABCB11 and ABCB4 expressions were investigated on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) material in a patient cohort of total 43 patients with or without cholestatic liver diseases, on protein level using immunohistochemistry and on RNA level using nanoString technology. Intriguingly, our results demonstrated increased expression of ABCB11 and ABCB4 on protein as well as RNA level in PSC, and the expression pattern correlated with disease progression. We concluded from our study that patients with PSC demonstrate altered expression levels and pattern of ABCB11 and ABCB4 which correlated with disease progression; thereby, ABCB11 and ABCB4 analysis may be a useful tool for assessment of disease stages in PSC.

Expression Analysis of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters ABCB11 and ABCB4 in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and Variety of Pediatric and Adult Cholestatic and Noncholestatic Liver Diseases.

There is a tremendous focus on the application of nanomaterials for the treatment of cancer. Nonprimate models are conventionally used to assess the biomedical utility of nanomaterials. However, these animals often lack an intact immunological background, and the tumors in these animals do not develop spontaneously. We introduce a preclinical woodchuck hepatitis virus-induced liver cancer model as a platform for nanoparticle (NP)-based  experiments. Liver cancer development in these out-bred animals occurs as a result of persistent viral infection, mimicking human hepatitis B virus-induced HCC development. We highlight how this model addresses key gaps associated with other commonly used tumor models. We employed this model to (1) track organ biodistribution of gold NPs after intravenous administration, (2) examine their subcellular localization in the liver, (3) determine clearance kinetics, and (4) characterize the identity of hepatic macrophages that take up NPs using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). We found that the liver and spleen were the primary sites of NP accumulation. Subcellular analyses revealed accumulation of NPs in the lysosomes of CD14 cells. Through RNA-seq, we uncovered that immunosuppressive macrophages within the woodchuck liver are the major cell type that take up injected NPs. The woodchuck-HCC model has the potential to be an invaluable tool to examine NP-based immune modifiers that promote host anti-tumor immunity.

Cornelia Thoeni

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

University of Toronto

Reduced Complications after Arterial Reconnection in a Rat Model of Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

Cornelia Thoeni

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

University of Toronto

Reduced Complications after Arterial Reconnection in a Rat Model of Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology