Daniela Baltadjieva - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Daniela Baltadjieva
K ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti... more K ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti–human leukocyte antigen antibodies (HLA-Abs) produced after kidney transplantation and their impact on graft outcome. A total of 72 first cadaver donor kidney recipients were prospectively monitored for the development of HLA-Abs using beadbased flow-cytometry assays (One Lambda FlowPRA tests). Sixteen recipients (22.2%) developed HLA-Abs after transplantation (class I, n 7; class I II, n 6; class II, n 3), in most cases (81.25%) within the first 2 weeks posttransplantation. A strong association between alloantibody presence and delayed graft function (Chi-square 7.659, p 0.01), acute rejection (Chi-square 14.504, p 0.001), chronic rejection (Chi-square 12.84, p 0.001), and graft loss (Chi-square 20.283, p 0.001) was found. Patients with higher alloantibody titers experienced acute rejections and even early graft loss, compared with those r
Cell and Tissue Banking, 2008
The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is l... more The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is limited due to the necessity to identify HLA matched donor within the family or in bone marrow donor registries. Although, more than 10 million donors are available worldwide, completely HLA matched donors could be found only for 75% of the patients. It is well known that transplantations of hematopoietic stem cell from cord blood are characterized with a lower risk of GvHD and therefore do not require so strict criteria for HLA matching, and less time for search of matched donor is needed. The necessity to establish a National cord blood bank in Bulgaria is emphasized further by the heterogeneity of HLA allele and haplotype distribution in the Bulgarian population. That could be explained by the ethnic diversity of the population. As a result some alleles are more frequent in Bulgarians compared to other populations. The organization, accreditation, and development of a strategy for a National cord blood bank will be discussed.
Cell and Tissue Banking, 2007
The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is l... more The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is limited due to the necessity to identify HLA matched donor within the family or in bone marrow donor registries. Although, more than 10 million donors are available worldwide, completely HLA matched donors could be found only for 75% of the patients. It is well known that transplantations of hematopoietic stem cell from cord blood are characterized with a lower risk of GvHD and therefore do not require so strict criteria for HLA matching, and less time for search of matched donor is needed. The necessity to establish a National cord blood bank in Bulgaria is emphasized further by the heterogeneity of HLA allele and haplotype distribution in the Bulgarian population. That could be explained by the ethnic diversity of the population. As a result some alleles are more frequent in Bulgarians compared to other populations. The organization, accreditation, and development of a strategy for a National cord blood bank will be discussed.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006
Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary... more Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary fatty acyl chains of LPS, is localized on chromosome 7p14-p12, where evidence for linkage to total IgE (tIgE) concentrations and asthma has been previously reported. Objective: We hypothesized that variants in AOAH are associated with asthma and related phenotypes. Because both AOAH and soluble CD14 respond to LPS, we tested for genegene interaction. Methods: We investigated the association between 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms throughout the AOAH gene and asthma, concentrations of tIgE, the ratio of IL-13/IFN-g, and soluble CD14 levels among 125 African Caribbean, multiplex asthmatic pedigrees (n 5 834). Real-time PCR was used to assess whether AOAH cDNA expression differed with AOAH genotype.
Human Immunology, 2006
The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leuko... more The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies (HLA-Abs) produced after kidney transplantation and their impact on graft outcome. A total of 72 first cadaver donor kidney recipients were prospectively monitored for the development of HLA-Abs using beadbased flow-cytometry assays (One Lambda FlowPRA tests). Sixteen recipients (22.2%) developed HLA-Abs after transplantation (class I, n ϭ 7; class IϩII, n ϭ 6; class II, n ϭ 3), in most cases (81.25%) within the first 2 weeks posttransplantation. A strong association between alloantibody presence and delayed graft function (Chi-square ϭ 7.659, p Ͻ 0.01), acute rejection (Chi-square ϭ 14.504, p Ͻ 0.001), chronic rejection (Chi-square ϭ 12.84, p Ͻ 0.001), and graft loss (Chi-square ϭ 20.283, p Ͻ 0.001) was found. Patients with higher alloantibody titers experienced acute rejections and even early graft loss, compared with those with lower titers for whom chronic rejections were more common. Immunologic complications occurred in recipients with both donor-specific and cross-reacting groups or non-donor-specific antibodies alone. A positive correlation (Pearson correlation, 0.245; p Ͻ 0.05) between HLA class I amino acid triplet incompatibility and alloantibody production was observed, mainly resulting from immunogenic triplotypes. Given the results obtained in this study, an alloantibody testing algorithm has been designed and implemented for routine monitoring and to define optimally the alloantibody reactivity in kidney transplant recipients.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Jul 1, 2006
Cell and Tissue Banking, 2007
The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is l... more The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is limited due to the necessity to identify HLA matched donor within the family or in bone marrow donor registries. Although, more than 10 million donors are available worldwide, completely HLA matched donors could be found only for 75% of the patients. It is well known that transplantations of hematopoietic stem cell from cord blood are characterized with a lower risk of GvHD and therefore do not require so strict criteria for HLA matching, and less time for search of matched donor is needed. The necessity to establish a National cord blood bank in Bulgaria is emphasized further by the heterogeneity of HLA allele and haplotype distribution in the Bulgarian population. That could be explained by the ethnic diversity of the population. As a result some alleles are more frequent in Bulgarians compared to other populations. The organization, accreditation, and development of a strategy for a National cord blood bank will be discussed.
Aerobiologia, 2000
The aerobiological study of the Ambrosia pollen in Sofia, Bulgaria began in 1991. The quantitativ... more The aerobiological study of the Ambrosia pollen in Sofia, Bulgaria began in 1991. The quantitative dynamics of Ambrosia pollen grains during the last seven years was determined by Chebishev's method of parabolic interpolation with orthogonal polynoms. Thesensitization to ragweed pollen was investigated in random groups of patients with clinical manifestation of hay fever.
Transplant Immunology, 2008
Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is one of the main causes of graft loss in renal transplantat... more Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is one of the main causes of graft loss in renal transplantation. Polymorphisms with functional significance in the promoter and coding regions of cytokine genes have been suggested as a possible factor for graft rejection. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cytokine gene polymorphism of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines on development of CAN in a group of renal transplant patients and donors. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including TNFA (-308), TGFB1 (cdns10, 25), IL-10 (-1082, -819, -592), IL-6 (-174) and IFNG (+874) were analyzed in 56 patients with stable graft function (SGF), 10 with CAN and 28 kidney donors by PCR-SSP method. CAN was significantly associated with the recipient TGFB1 cod10 T/T and combination of cods10, 25 T/T G/G genotypes (high producer), (p<0.05). Influence of patient's TNFA genotype correlated with high level of gene expression on the development of CAN was further demonstrated when the patients were stratified according to the HLA mismatches (HLA-DRB MMs). Additionally donor TNFA-308 G/A (high) and IL-6-174 CC (low) genotypes were increased in cases with CAN. No statistically significant differences in distribution of IL-10, IL-6 and IFNG genotypes between recipients with SGF and CAN were found. In conclusion our data suggest that the high producer genotype of profibrogenetic TGF-beta1, pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha and genetically determined low production of immunoregulatory IL-6 cytokine might be risk factors for CAN development.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006
Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary... more Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary fatty acyl chains of LPS, is localized on chromosome 7p14-p12, where evidence for linkage to total IgE (tIgE) concentrations and asthma has been previously reported. Objective: We hypothesized that variants in AOAH are associated with asthma and related phenotypes. Because both AOAH and soluble CD14 respond to LPS, we tested for genegene interaction. Methods: We investigated the association between 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms throughout the AOAH gene and asthma, concentrations of tIgE, the ratio of IL-13/IFN-g, and soluble CD14 levels among 125 African Caribbean, multiplex asthmatic pedigrees (n 5 834). Real-time PCR was used to assess whether AOAH cDNA expression differed with AOAH genotype.
Human Immunology, 2002
Early graft rejection and post-transplant graft function mainly influence long-term graft surviva... more Early graft rejection and post-transplant graft function mainly influence long-term graft survival. One of the risk factors for alograft failure is the production of alloantibodies directed against HLA antigens at transplantation. Association between alloimmunization and graft outcome was investigated. We tested 221 sera from 102 kidney recipients -71 from cadaver donor and 31 from living related donor, transplanted at the Medical University, Sofia for the period 1998 -2000. HLA class I and class II antibody screening and specification were performed using One Lambda FlowPRA bead tests. Pre-transplant alloantibody status in kidney transplanted patients was -non-sensitized-91%, sensitized to class I antigens-7%, to class II antigens-1% and to both class I and II antigens-1%. Post-transplant alloantibody status was-non-sensitized-71%, sensitized to class I antigens-16%, to class II antigens -3% and to both-10%. Donor-specific HLA antibody to private epitopes (DSP) were determined in 27.8% recipients and to CREG in 41.4 %. Non-donor specific HLA antibodies (NDS) were detected in 17.2 % of the recipients. Antibody specificity pattern was stable in most of the patients or varied within the CREG in some of them. All HLA class II antibodies detected in the studied patients were with non-donor specificity. Graft failure was developed in 15 patients -4 with antibodies to HLA class I and class II antigens, 11 with HLA class I antibodies only. Two of the patients with donor-specific alloantibody to Bw4 and Bw6 of the relevant donor had early graft failure and one with DSP alloantibodies experienced severe rejection. 48.3% of the patients had a delayed graft function. Twelve patients (41.4%) developed chronic graft failure. Two of them had DSP HLA class I antibodies, 9 had donor-specific alloantibodies to CREG and two had HLA class I NDS antibodies. The presence of donor-specific anti-HLA class I antibodies were associated with a poor graft outcome. Post-transplant monitoring of anti-donor alloreactivity could be an important tool to identify recipients at high risk for graft loss.
Human Immunology, 2006
The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leuko... more The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies (HLA-Abs) produced after kidney transplantation and their impact on graft outcome. A total of 72 first cadaver donor kidney recipients were prospectively monitored for the development of HLA-Abs using beadbased flow-cytometry assays (One Lambda FlowPRA tests). Sixteen recipients (22.2%) developed HLA-Abs after transplantation (class I, n ϭ 7; class IϩII, n ϭ 6; class II, n ϭ 3), in most cases (81.25%) within the first 2 weeks posttransplantation. A strong association between alloantibody presence and delayed graft function (Chi-square ϭ 7.659, p Ͻ 0.01), acute rejection (Chi-square ϭ 14.504, p Ͻ 0.001), chronic rejection (Chi-square ϭ 12.84, p Ͻ 0.001), and graft loss (Chi-square ϭ 20.283, p Ͻ 0.001) was found. Patients with higher alloantibody titers experienced acute rejections and even early graft loss, compared with those with lower titers for whom chronic rejections were more common. Immunologic complications occurred in recipients with both donor-specific and cross-reacting groups or non-donor-specific antibodies alone. A positive correlation (Pearson correlation, 0.245; p Ͻ 0.05) between HLA class I amino acid triplet incompatibility and alloantibody production was observed, mainly resulting from immunogenic triplotypes. Given the results obtained in this study, an alloantibody testing algorithm has been designed and implemented for routine monitoring and to define optimally the alloantibody reactivity in kidney transplant recipients.
Experimental Gerontology, 2004
In order to clarify immunogenetic markers contributing to successful aging, HLA and cytokine gene... more In order to clarify immunogenetic markers contributing to successful aging, HLA and cytokine gene profiles were analyzed in healthy elderly Bulgarians. Family segregation analysis was performed to define combined effect of haplotypes and immunophenotype profiles. The results of this study did not reveal any statisticaly significant allele and haplotype frequency differences between elderly and control group. In families with two generations longevity members we did not observed HLA alleles and haplotypes associated with autoimmunity. IL-10 Bulgarians. This effect was modulated by IL-6 and IFNg genotypes associated with the low level of these pro-inflammatory cytokines. Immunophenotypic studies indicated lower relative and absolute numbers of CD3 þ 8 þ , CD8 þ 28 þ and CD8 þ 57 þ cells in elderly people. Analysis in familes showed that although most pronounced in the elderly group, lower numbers of CD8 þ T cells were also found in middle aged and young members of the families compared to the age matched controls. A progressive CD8 þ 28 þ cell subsets decline was seen with aging. In addition, we did not observed the 'immune risk phenotype' which is a marker of an increased inflammatory activity. Based on the results of this study, it seems reasonable to suggest that a combination of specific immunogenetic and immunophenotype profiles could contribute to the successful aging and to maintaining healthy status in elderly. q
Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 2006
Aerobiologia, 1996
Up to now, Ambrosia pollen has not been considered a cause of allergy symptoms in Bulgaria. Howev... more Up to now, Ambrosia pollen has not been considered a cause of allergy symptoms in Bulgaria. However, the results of pollen monitoring suggest that such allergies will become inevitable in the near future. This conclusion is supported by allergometric data on 120 patients.
K ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti... more K ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti–human leukocyte antigen antibodies (HLA-Abs) produced after kidney transplantation and their impact on graft outcome. A total of 72 first cadaver donor kidney recipients were prospectively monitored for the development of HLA-Abs using beadbased flow-cytometry assays (One Lambda FlowPRA tests). Sixteen recipients (22.2%) developed HLA-Abs after transplantation (class I, n 7; class I II, n 6; class II, n 3), in most cases (81.25%) within the first 2 weeks posttransplantation. A strong association between alloantibody presence and delayed graft function (Chi-square 7.659, p 0.01), acute rejection (Chi-square 14.504, p 0.001), chronic rejection (Chi-square 12.84, p 0.001), and graft loss (Chi-square 20.283, p 0.001) was found. Patients with higher alloantibody titers experienced acute rejections and even early graft loss, compared with those r
Cell and Tissue Banking, 2008
The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is l... more The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is limited due to the necessity to identify HLA matched donor within the family or in bone marrow donor registries. Although, more than 10 million donors are available worldwide, completely HLA matched donors could be found only for 75% of the patients. It is well known that transplantations of hematopoietic stem cell from cord blood are characterized with a lower risk of GvHD and therefore do not require so strict criteria for HLA matching, and less time for search of matched donor is needed. The necessity to establish a National cord blood bank in Bulgaria is emphasized further by the heterogeneity of HLA allele and haplotype distribution in the Bulgarian population. That could be explained by the ethnic diversity of the population. As a result some alleles are more frequent in Bulgarians compared to other populations. The organization, accreditation, and development of a strategy for a National cord blood bank will be discussed.
Cell and Tissue Banking, 2007
The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is l... more The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is limited due to the necessity to identify HLA matched donor within the family or in bone marrow donor registries. Although, more than 10 million donors are available worldwide, completely HLA matched donors could be found only for 75% of the patients. It is well known that transplantations of hematopoietic stem cell from cord blood are characterized with a lower risk of GvHD and therefore do not require so strict criteria for HLA matching, and less time for search of matched donor is needed. The necessity to establish a National cord blood bank in Bulgaria is emphasized further by the heterogeneity of HLA allele and haplotype distribution in the Bulgarian population. That could be explained by the ethnic diversity of the population. As a result some alleles are more frequent in Bulgarians compared to other populations. The organization, accreditation, and development of a strategy for a National cord blood bank will be discussed.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006
Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary... more Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary fatty acyl chains of LPS, is localized on chromosome 7p14-p12, where evidence for linkage to total IgE (tIgE) concentrations and asthma has been previously reported. Objective: We hypothesized that variants in AOAH are associated with asthma and related phenotypes. Because both AOAH and soluble CD14 respond to LPS, we tested for genegene interaction. Methods: We investigated the association between 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms throughout the AOAH gene and asthma, concentrations of tIgE, the ratio of IL-13/IFN-g, and soluble CD14 levels among 125 African Caribbean, multiplex asthmatic pedigrees (n 5 834). Real-time PCR was used to assess whether AOAH cDNA expression differed with AOAH genotype.
Human Immunology, 2006
The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leuko... more The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies (HLA-Abs) produced after kidney transplantation and their impact on graft outcome. A total of 72 first cadaver donor kidney recipients were prospectively monitored for the development of HLA-Abs using beadbased flow-cytometry assays (One Lambda FlowPRA tests). Sixteen recipients (22.2%) developed HLA-Abs after transplantation (class I, n ϭ 7; class IϩII, n ϭ 6; class II, n ϭ 3), in most cases (81.25%) within the first 2 weeks posttransplantation. A strong association between alloantibody presence and delayed graft function (Chi-square ϭ 7.659, p Ͻ 0.01), acute rejection (Chi-square ϭ 14.504, p Ͻ 0.001), chronic rejection (Chi-square ϭ 12.84, p Ͻ 0.001), and graft loss (Chi-square ϭ 20.283, p Ͻ 0.001) was found. Patients with higher alloantibody titers experienced acute rejections and even early graft loss, compared with those with lower titers for whom chronic rejections were more common. Immunologic complications occurred in recipients with both donor-specific and cross-reacting groups or non-donor-specific antibodies alone. A positive correlation (Pearson correlation, 0.245; p Ͻ 0.05) between HLA class I amino acid triplet incompatibility and alloantibody production was observed, mainly resulting from immunogenic triplotypes. Given the results obtained in this study, an alloantibody testing algorithm has been designed and implemented for routine monitoring and to define optimally the alloantibody reactivity in kidney transplant recipients.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Jul 1, 2006
Cell and Tissue Banking, 2007
The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is l... more The allogenic transplantation of hemopoietic stem cell from bone marrow and peripheral blood is limited due to the necessity to identify HLA matched donor within the family or in bone marrow donor registries. Although, more than 10 million donors are available worldwide, completely HLA matched donors could be found only for 75% of the patients. It is well known that transplantations of hematopoietic stem cell from cord blood are characterized with a lower risk of GvHD and therefore do not require so strict criteria for HLA matching, and less time for search of matched donor is needed. The necessity to establish a National cord blood bank in Bulgaria is emphasized further by the heterogeneity of HLA allele and haplotype distribution in the Bulgarian population. That could be explained by the ethnic diversity of the population. As a result some alleles are more frequent in Bulgarians compared to other populations. The organization, accreditation, and development of a strategy for a National cord blood bank will be discussed.
Aerobiologia, 2000
The aerobiological study of the Ambrosia pollen in Sofia, Bulgaria began in 1991. The quantitativ... more The aerobiological study of the Ambrosia pollen in Sofia, Bulgaria began in 1991. The quantitative dynamics of Ambrosia pollen grains during the last seven years was determined by Chebishev's method of parabolic interpolation with orthogonal polynoms. Thesensitization to ragweed pollen was investigated in random groups of patients with clinical manifestation of hay fever.
Transplant Immunology, 2008
Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is one of the main causes of graft loss in renal transplantat... more Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is one of the main causes of graft loss in renal transplantation. Polymorphisms with functional significance in the promoter and coding regions of cytokine genes have been suggested as a possible factor for graft rejection. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cytokine gene polymorphism of pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines on development of CAN in a group of renal transplant patients and donors. Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including TNFA (-308), TGFB1 (cdns10, 25), IL-10 (-1082, -819, -592), IL-6 (-174) and IFNG (+874) were analyzed in 56 patients with stable graft function (SGF), 10 with CAN and 28 kidney donors by PCR-SSP method. CAN was significantly associated with the recipient TGFB1 cod10 T/T and combination of cods10, 25 T/T G/G genotypes (high producer), (p<0.05). Influence of patient's TNFA genotype correlated with high level of gene expression on the development of CAN was further demonstrated when the patients were stratified according to the HLA mismatches (HLA-DRB MMs). Additionally donor TNFA-308 G/A (high) and IL-6-174 CC (low) genotypes were increased in cases with CAN. No statistically significant differences in distribution of IL-10, IL-6 and IFNG genotypes between recipients with SGF and CAN were found. In conclusion our data suggest that the high producer genotype of profibrogenetic TGF-beta1, pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha and genetically determined low production of immunoregulatory IL-6 cytokine might be risk factors for CAN development.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2006
Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary... more Background: The gene encoding acyloxyacyl hydroxylase (AOAH), an enzyme that hydrolyzes secondary fatty acyl chains of LPS, is localized on chromosome 7p14-p12, where evidence for linkage to total IgE (tIgE) concentrations and asthma has been previously reported. Objective: We hypothesized that variants in AOAH are associated with asthma and related phenotypes. Because both AOAH and soluble CD14 respond to LPS, we tested for genegene interaction. Methods: We investigated the association between 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms throughout the AOAH gene and asthma, concentrations of tIgE, the ratio of IL-13/IFN-g, and soluble CD14 levels among 125 African Caribbean, multiplex asthmatic pedigrees (n 5 834). Real-time PCR was used to assess whether AOAH cDNA expression differed with AOAH genotype.
Human Immunology, 2002
Early graft rejection and post-transplant graft function mainly influence long-term graft surviva... more Early graft rejection and post-transplant graft function mainly influence long-term graft survival. One of the risk factors for alograft failure is the production of alloantibodies directed against HLA antigens at transplantation. Association between alloimmunization and graft outcome was investigated. We tested 221 sera from 102 kidney recipients -71 from cadaver donor and 31 from living related donor, transplanted at the Medical University, Sofia for the period 1998 -2000. HLA class I and class II antibody screening and specification were performed using One Lambda FlowPRA bead tests. Pre-transplant alloantibody status in kidney transplanted patients was -non-sensitized-91%, sensitized to class I antigens-7%, to class II antigens-1% and to both class I and II antigens-1%. Post-transplant alloantibody status was-non-sensitized-71%, sensitized to class I antigens-16%, to class II antigens -3% and to both-10%. Donor-specific HLA antibody to private epitopes (DSP) were determined in 27.8% recipients and to CREG in 41.4 %. Non-donor specific HLA antibodies (NDS) were detected in 17.2 % of the recipients. Antibody specificity pattern was stable in most of the patients or varied within the CREG in some of them. All HLA class II antibodies detected in the studied patients were with non-donor specificity. Graft failure was developed in 15 patients -4 with antibodies to HLA class I and class II antigens, 11 with HLA class I antibodies only. Two of the patients with donor-specific alloantibody to Bw4 and Bw6 of the relevant donor had early graft failure and one with DSP alloantibodies experienced severe rejection. 48.3% of the patients had a delayed graft function. Twelve patients (41.4%) developed chronic graft failure. Two of them had DSP HLA class I antibodies, 9 had donor-specific alloantibodies to CREG and two had HLA class I NDS antibodies. The presence of donor-specific anti-HLA class I antibodies were associated with a poor graft outcome. Post-transplant monitoring of anti-donor alloreactivity could be an important tool to identify recipients at high risk for graft loss.
Human Immunology, 2006
The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leuko... more The purpose of this study was to define the incidence, dynamics, and profiles of anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies (HLA-Abs) produced after kidney transplantation and their impact on graft outcome. A total of 72 first cadaver donor kidney recipients were prospectively monitored for the development of HLA-Abs using beadbased flow-cytometry assays (One Lambda FlowPRA tests). Sixteen recipients (22.2%) developed HLA-Abs after transplantation (class I, n ϭ 7; class IϩII, n ϭ 6; class II, n ϭ 3), in most cases (81.25%) within the first 2 weeks posttransplantation. A strong association between alloantibody presence and delayed graft function (Chi-square ϭ 7.659, p Ͻ 0.01), acute rejection (Chi-square ϭ 14.504, p Ͻ 0.001), chronic rejection (Chi-square ϭ 12.84, p Ͻ 0.001), and graft loss (Chi-square ϭ 20.283, p Ͻ 0.001) was found. Patients with higher alloantibody titers experienced acute rejections and even early graft loss, compared with those with lower titers for whom chronic rejections were more common. Immunologic complications occurred in recipients with both donor-specific and cross-reacting groups or non-donor-specific antibodies alone. A positive correlation (Pearson correlation, 0.245; p Ͻ 0.05) between HLA class I amino acid triplet incompatibility and alloantibody production was observed, mainly resulting from immunogenic triplotypes. Given the results obtained in this study, an alloantibody testing algorithm has been designed and implemented for routine monitoring and to define optimally the alloantibody reactivity in kidney transplant recipients.
Experimental Gerontology, 2004
In order to clarify immunogenetic markers contributing to successful aging, HLA and cytokine gene... more In order to clarify immunogenetic markers contributing to successful aging, HLA and cytokine gene profiles were analyzed in healthy elderly Bulgarians. Family segregation analysis was performed to define combined effect of haplotypes and immunophenotype profiles. The results of this study did not reveal any statisticaly significant allele and haplotype frequency differences between elderly and control group. In families with two generations longevity members we did not observed HLA alleles and haplotypes associated with autoimmunity. IL-10 Bulgarians. This effect was modulated by IL-6 and IFNg genotypes associated with the low level of these pro-inflammatory cytokines. Immunophenotypic studies indicated lower relative and absolute numbers of CD3 þ 8 þ , CD8 þ 28 þ and CD8 þ 57 þ cells in elderly people. Analysis in familes showed that although most pronounced in the elderly group, lower numbers of CD8 þ T cells were also found in middle aged and young members of the families compared to the age matched controls. A progressive CD8 þ 28 þ cell subsets decline was seen with aging. In addition, we did not observed the 'immune risk phenotype' which is a marker of an increased inflammatory activity. Based on the results of this study, it seems reasonable to suggest that a combination of specific immunogenetic and immunophenotype profiles could contribute to the successful aging and to maintaining healthy status in elderly. q
Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 2006
Aerobiologia, 1996
Up to now, Ambrosia pollen has not been considered a cause of allergy symptoms in Bulgaria. Howev... more Up to now, Ambrosia pollen has not been considered a cause of allergy symptoms in Bulgaria. However, the results of pollen monitoring suggest that such allergies will become inevitable in the near future. This conclusion is supported by allergometric data on 120 patients.