The starting dose of FK 506 has been kept the same in the pediatric population as when the drug was introduced: 0.15 mglkgld IV as a continuous infusion and 0.15 mglkg bid orally. 1 The dose was increased in case of rejection if the trough serum FK 506 level was <2 ng/mL and there was no nephrotoxicity. The dose was decreased in the absence of rejection if the serum FK 506 level was > 3 ng/mL o...

From days 30-120 after birth, 59 BB rats were treated with water (n = 20) or FK 506 in intragastric doses of 1 mg.kg-1.day-1 (n = 19) or 2 mg.kg-1.day-1 (n = 20). Diabetes developed in 75, 15, and 0% of the 3 groups, respectively. Animals protected from diabetes by FK 506 had normal intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests, virtual absence histopathologically of autoimmune insulitis, and normal ...

cADP ribose (cADPR) serves as second messenger to activate the ryanodine receptors (RyRs) of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and mobilize intracellular Ca(2+) in vascular smooth muscle cells. However, the mechanisms mediating the effect of cADPR remain unknown. The present study was designed to determine whether FK-506 binding protein 12.6 (FKBP12.6), an accessory protein of the RyRs, plays a r...

The immunosuppressant FK-506 binding protein 38 (FKBP38) is localized at the mitochondrial membrane and appears to play an important role in apoptosis. Recent reports about the potential functions of FKBP38 in apoptosis appear to be controversial. To further understand the biological function of FKBP38, here, we studied its molecular characteristics and a potential regulatory role on the anti-a...

The effect of FK 506, an immunosuppressant which is widely used in the transplantation of liver, kidney and bone marrow, on cerebral infarction volume in transient focal ischemia was investigated. Focal cerebral ischemia was produced by 2 h occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery in rats. FK 506 (0.3 mg/kg body weight) and vehicle were administered intravenously immediately after induction...

Immunosuppressive agents such as FK-506 and rapamycin inhibit aldosterone- stimulated Na+ transport in A6 cells. Concentration dependence is consistent with the known affinities of these agents for immunophilins. The inhibition was also dependent on time, requiring preincubation with FK-506 or rapamycin before inhibition was seen. The present studies were designed to determine whether this inhi...

The new immunosuppressive drug FK 506 was used from the outset with low doses of prednisone to treat 120 recipients of primary liver grafts and 20 more patients undergoing liver retransplantation. The patient survival rate after 2 to 8 months in the primary liver transplantation series is 93.3%, with original graft survival of 87.5%. Of the 20 patients in the hepatic retransplant series, 17 (85...

The effect of FK 506 on regeneration of the liver was studied in rats after a two-thirds partial hepatectomy after 60 min of ischemia of the unresected liver. The animals were divided into three distinct groups of 10 rats each. Group 1 (controls) received 0.5 ml saline solution intravenously 30 min after the induction of ischemia. Groups 2 and 3 were injected with FK 506 (0.3 mg/kg) intravenous...

I T IS KNOWN that donor-specific transfusion (DST) enhances graft survival in clinical transplantation. However, efforts using xenogeneic DST to improve xenograft survival have resulted in hyperacute rejection (HAR) even in the presence of conventional immunosuppression. 1 In this study. we tested the effect of DST combined with FK 506 on survival of hamster-to-rat liver xenografts. L VG hamste...