Transplantation
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NOD2 and TLR-4 genes belong to the innate immune system that detects invading pathogens through several pattern-recognition receptors. Here we analyzed 403 patients for NOD2 gene mutations and 307 patients for TLR-4 gene mutations (Thr399Ile) with their respective donors and correlated the results with the incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), severe acute GVHD (saGVHD), the risk for transplant-related mortality (TRM), overall survival (OS) and incidence of infectious complications. ⋯ These results suggest that NOD2 mutations have influence on the occurrence of acute GVHD after transplantation.
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Carbon monoxide (CO), a byproduct of heme catalysis, has lately received considerable attention as a regulatory molecule in cellular and biological processes. CO has been shown to provide potent protection against a variety of tissue injuries. We hypothesized in this study that low concentration CO would be beneficial for organ allografts, which frequently undergo several types of injury such as ischemia/reperfusion, alloimmune reaction, and inflammation ⋯ These results show that low dose CO inhalation protects heart allografts and can considerably prolong their survival. CO appears to function via multiple mechanisms, including direct inhibition of Th1 type cytokine production and regulation of inflammatory responses.