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SUMMARY While initiatives exist to address the worldwide need for surgeons, none involve a student-driven solution from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In response to falling surgical residency enrolment in [...]

Several generic cyclosporine (CsA) formulations have been developed over the last decade and are now widely available. In 2003 our local Health Department replaced Neoral with CicloHexal for the cost benefits, and we were compelled to convert all our renal transplant reci-pients to the generic CsA formulation. All renal transplant recipients were converted from Neoral to CicloHexal on a 1:1 dose basis in August/September 2003. Study 1 constitutes the retrospective review of all stable renal transplant patients and the CsA dose, CsA level and serum creatinine were noted. Study 2 constitutes the review of the records of de novo transplant patients inititated on CicloHexal compared to matched patients transplanted on Neoral before the conversion and the CsA dose, CsA level and serum creatinine noted (Study 2). There was no difference in the mean CsA dose, CsA level or serum creatinine at one month before conversion (on Neoral) com-pared to one month after conversion (on CicloHexal) in the 117 stable renal transplant recipients. Similarly, the mean CsA dose, CsA level and serum creatinine in de novo renal transplant reci-pients on Neoral (n= 26) were similar to those on CicloHexal (n= 23) at about seven and ten days postoperatively. In conclusion both stable and de novo renal transplant patients can be safely converted from Neoral to CicloHexal on a 1:1 dose basis.

Abstract Background The female reproductive tract is amongst the main routes for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) transmission. Cervical mucus however is known to protect the female reproductive tract from bacterial invasion and fluid loss and regulates and facilitates sperm transport to the upper reproductive tract. The purpose of this study was to purify and characterize pregnancy plug mucins and determine their anti-HIV-1 activity in an HIV inhibition assay. Methods Pregnancy plug mucins were purified by caesium chloride density-gradient ultra-centrifugation and characterized by Western blotting analysis. The anti-HIV-1 activities of the crude pregnancy plug mucus and purified pregnancy plug mucins was determined by incubating them with HIV-1 prior to infection of the human T lymphoblastoid cell line (CEM SS cells). Results The pregnancy plug mucus had MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC5B. The HIV inhibition assay revealed that while the purified pregnancy plug mucins inhibit HIV-1 activity by approximately 97.5%, the crude pregnancy plug mucus failed to inhibit HIV-1 activity. Conclusion Although it is not clear why the crude sample did not inhibit HIV-1 activity, it may be that the amount of mucins in the crude pregnancy plug mucus (which contains water, mucins, lipids, nucleic acids, lactoferrin, lysozyme, immunoglobulins and ions), is insufficient to cause viral inhibition or aggregation.

Abstract Background Despite the continuous shedding of HIV infected blood into the oral cavity and the detectable presence of the AIDS virus at a high frequency, human saliva is reported to inhibit oral transmission of HIV through kissing, dental treatment, biting, and aerosolization. The purpose of this study was to purify salivary MUC5B and MUC7 mucins from crude saliva and determine their anti-HIV-1 activities. Methods Following Sepharose CL-4B column chromatography and caesium chloride isopycnic density-gradient ultra-centrifugation, the purity and identity of the mucins was determined by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis respectively. Subsequently an HIV-1 inhibition assay was carried out to determine the anti-HIV-1 activity of the crude saliva and purified salivary mucins by incubating them with subtype D HIV-1 prior to infection of the CD4+ CEM SS cells. Results Western blotting analysis confirmed that the mucin in the void volume is MUC5B and the mucin in the included volume is MUC7. The HIV inhibition assay revealed that both the crude saliva and salivary MUC5B and MUC7 mucins inhibited HIV-1 activity by 100%. Conclusion Although the mechanism of action is not clear the carbohydrate moieties of the salivary mucins may trap or aggregate the virus and prevent host cell entry.