Blood microparticles (MPs) in sickle cell disease (SCD) are reportedly derived only from erythrocytes and platelets. Yet in SCD, endothelial cells and monocytes are activated and abnormally express tissue factor (TF). Thus, sickle blood might contain TF-positive MPs derived from these cells. With the use of flow cytometry to enumerate and characterize MPs, we found total MPs to be elevated in c...

Better understanding of disease pathophysiology, improved supportive care and availability of disease-specific treatments for some of the mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) disorders have greatly improved the outlook for patients with MPS disorders. Optimal management of these multisystemic disorders involves a multidisciplinary team and regular, comprehensive follow-up. Enzyme replacement therapy (ER...

With the objective of enhancing upper gastrointestinal (GI) tolerability, enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS, myfortic, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland) has been developed. This double-blinded, 12-month study investigated whether renal transplant patients taking mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) can be safely converted to EC-MPS. Stable kidney transplant patients were randomized to re...

BACKGROUND Treatments for mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) have increased longevity, but coronary artery disease (CAD) and cardiovascular complications cause mortality in a high percentage of patients. Non-invasive measures of sub-clinical atherosclerosis, such as carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and arterial stiffness, may be useful for prediction of CAD outcomes in MPS patients. OBJECTIVES...

Computational prediction of membrane protein (MP) structures is very challenging partially due to lack of sufficient solved structures for homology modeling or parameter estimation of computational methods. Recently direct evolutionary coupling analysis (DCA) sheds some light on protein contact prediction and accordingly, contact-assisted folding, but DCA is effective only on some very large-si...

BACKGROUND This study tested the hypothesis that circulating microparticles (MPs) are useful biomarkers for predicting one-year mortality in patients with end-stage non-small cell lung cancer (ES-NSCLC). METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred seven patients were prospectively enrolled into the study between April 2011 and February 2012, and each patient received regular follow-up after enrollment. L...

Stimulation of a variety of cell types leads to the release of submicron vesicles that bud off from the plasma membrane. These so-called microparticles (MPs) or microvesicles are defined by their small size (0.1 to 1 m) and the presence of surface antigens from the parental cells.1,2 MPs contribute to a variety of physiological and pathological processes. For instance, they appear to play a rol...

Microplastics (MPs) are a significant environmental health issue and increasingly greater source of concern. MPs have been detected in oceans, rivers, sediments, sewages, soil and even table salts. MPs exposure on marine organisms and humans has been documented, but information about the toxicity of MPs in mammal is limited. Here we used fluorescent and pristine polystyrene microplastics (PS-MP...

BACKGROUND Microparticles (MPs) are small vesicles released from cells of different origin, bearing surface antigens from parental cells. Elevated numbers of blood MPs have been reported in (cardio)vascular disorders and cancer. Most of these MPs are derived from platelets. OBJECTIVES To investigate whether atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be used to detect platelet-derived MPs and to define...