Tolerance after lung transplantation is associated with the induction of Foxp3 regulatory T cell-enriched bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue, which suppresses local and systemic alloimmune responses. How this tolerogenic graft environment shapes responses to respiratory viral infections, a known contributor to adverse outcomes after lung transplantation, remains unknown. Using a mouse model of a seasonally circulating parainfluenza virus, we found that acute infection of tolerant lung allografts results in temporary reductions of both bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue size and abundance of graft-resident Foxp3 cells, but doesn't trigger rejection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1) has been shown to amplify inflammatory signals, such as Toll-like receptor signaling, after infection and sterile injury. While previous studies have demonstrated that TREM-1 activation in circulating immune cells promotes injury, the role of TREM-1 signaling in tissue-resident cells in the context of sterile inflammation remains poorly understood. Here, we used a cardiac transplantation model to dissect how Trem1/3 expression on heart-resident cells regulates sterile inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe role of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) in the regulation of immune responses to transplanted lungs remains an area of interest and controversy. Early studies in a rat pulmonary transplant model suggested BALT may accelerate rejection of grafts by inducing a local and systemic inflammatory response. Such observations were corroborated in intrapulmonary tracheal transplant models in the rat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA woman with a history of congenital heart disease status post multiple valve operations including mitral valve repair presented with 2 months of low back pain and general malaise. Blood cultures returned positive for Gram-positive cocci. While transthoracic echocardiography did not identify vegetations, transoesophageal echocardiography visualised vegetations on the patient's mitral valve, which had previously undergone repair with annuloplasty.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF