by Robert G. Audet  , Eric E. Lee  , Robert B. Diller  , Aaron J. Tabor  , Robert S. Kellar  , Peter McFetridge  and Mediha Gurel

Received: 25 September 2019;  Published: 09 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002112

Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells (MSCs) were originally discovered in the 1970s. MSCs are considered a multipotent population that retain tri-lineage differentiation. These cells can be sourced from a variety of tissues, including bone marrow, adipose, molar pulp, and birth tissues. Historically varying definitions of MSCs have existed, but in 2006, the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) set forth a standardized, minimal criteria for MSCs, including plastic adherence, differentiation into osteoblasts, [...]

by Yasuhiko Sugawara

Received: 15 May 2020;  Published: 18 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002111

by Alberto Ferrarese  , Marco Senzolo  and Patrizia Burra

Received: 29 March 2020;  Published: 18 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002110

Bacterial infection represents a common event in the natural history of cirrhosis, especially in patients with end-stage liver disease. An episode of bacterial infection may significantly modify a patient’s outcome in the setting of liver transplantation (LT) by impairing hepatic and extrahepatic organ functions, both in pre-operative and post-operative phases. Infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) are increasing in cirrhosis due to high antibiotic exposure and hospitalizations. This issue is pa [...]

by Antoine Buemi  , Jerome Duisit  , Flora Musuamba  , Tom Darius  , Martine De Meyer  , Selda Aydin  , Nada Kanaan  , Eric Goffin  and Michel Mourad

Received: 13 January 2020;  Published: 13 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002109

This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of transplantation from donors aged less than three years in a single-center consecutive series. A total of 52 en bloc kidney graft transplantations were performed. In 22 cases, organs were procured from donors aged less than one year (group 1). In 30 cases, the age of donors varied from one to three years (group 2). After transplantation, renal function and graft and patient survival were evaluated retrospectively. No significant difference was observed between the grou [...]

by Anita Verma  and Anil Dhawan

Received: 14 February 2020;  Published: 11 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002108

The infectious complications before and after liver transplant (LT) are affected by the severity of liver disease and immunosuppression intensity after transplantation. Both cirrhosis and immunosuppression contribute to dysfunction of defensive mechanisms of the host. When a patient is evaluated for transplantation, the opportunity arises to assess the individual’s risk for infection and how one may modify those risks through prophylactic and therapeutic strategies. Pretransplant infectious disease evaluation focus [...]

by Allison Ramsey  , Christine Natori  , Kristen Cisneros  , David J. Ross  and Abbas Ardehali

Received: 27 March 2020;  Published: 06 May 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002107

Biomarker surveillance after solid organ transplant is an advancing field with promise for further elucidation through high-throughput analyses and “omics” technologies. To date, Gene Expression Profiling (GEP; AlloMapâ) is the only FDA-cleared genomic assay as surveillance for moderate-severe TCMR versus allograft quiescence after heart transplantation. Clinical validity and utility, however, have been recently established after kidney and heart transplantation, for analysis of donor-derived cell-free DNA in the a [...]

by David J. Ross

Received: 27 March 2020;  Published: 31 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2001106

by Adam K. Morrison  , Robert J. Gajarski  , Ashley Hodge  , Sara Fitzgerald-Butt  , Peter Baker  , Patrick M. McConnell  and Deipanjan Nandi

Received: 21 May 2019;  Published: 26 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2001105

Left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is a rare form of heritable cardiomyopathy with wide genotypic variability, numerous phenotypic variations, and a wide spectrum of clinical disease from asymptomatic to end stage heart failure. Here, we present a case of a 2-year-old boy who presented to their pediatrician with a cough as a first clinical sign of heart failure, rapidly progressing to severe heart failure. He was found to have mixed LVNC with a restrictive phenotype, a rare phenotype of this form [...]

by Victoria Rendell  , Natalie M. Bath  and Todd V. Brennan

Received: 09 May 2019;  Published: 10 March 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2001104

Brazilian-born British biologist Dr. Peter Medawar played an integral role in developing the concepts of immunologic rejection and tolerance, which led to him receiving the Nobel Prize “for the discovery of acquired immunologic tolerance” and eventually made organ transplantation a reality. However, at the time of his early work in tolerance, a paradox to his theories was brought to his attention; how was pregnancy possible? Pregnancy resembles organ transplantation in that the fetus, possessing paternal antigens, [...]

by Amy Spallone  , Udit Dhal  , Laila Woc-Colburn  and Marion Hemmersbach-Miller

Received: 21 October 2019;  Published: 28 February 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2001103

We report two cases of histoplasmosis in orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients to illustrate the variable presentations, complications encountered during treatment, the spectrum of diagnostic modalities, and case outcomes. Case 1 describes the insidious presentation of presumed gastrointestinal histoplasmosis 12 years after OLT, which was defined by months of intermittent diarrhea and focal colonic disease on colonoscopy. A diagnosis of Histoplasma capsulatum was ultimately made by broad range PCR performed [...]