Endothelial cells (EC) coordinate vascular homeostasis and inflammation. In organ transplantation, EC are a direct alloimmune target. We posited that tissue specific heterogeneity of vascular EC may partly underlie the disparate organ-specific alloimmune risk. We examined the vascular endothelial response to inflammation across six primary endothelial beds from four major transplanted organs: the heart, lung, kidney and liver. First, we reanalyzed a public dataset of cardiac allograft rejection and found that endothelial inflammatory response genes were elevated in human cardiac allograft biopsies undergoing rejection compared with stable grafts. Next, the inducible inflammatory phenotypes of EC from heart, lung, kidney, and liver were characterized in vitro, focused on expression of adhesion molecules and chemokines, and recruitment of allogeneic peripheral blood mononuclear immune cells. Large vessel cardiac EC most highly upregulated VCAM-1, particularly compared with hepatic EC, supported greater leukocyte adhesion and had distinct chemokine profiles after stimulation with cytokines and complement. Differentially expressed gene candidates that are known regulators of cytokine signaling and inflammatory programming were verified in publicly available datasets of organ-specific endothelial transcriptomes. In summary, differential baseline expression of immune regulating genes may contribute to differential vascular inflammatory responses depending on organ.

Background: Parents are active participants in the referral process of children with non-life-threatening surgical pathologies. Nonetheless, there is scarce literature about the influence of parent’s level of income and perception of their children’s conditions on their decision process. Our study aims at expanding our knowledge about this parameter. We focused our research on parents of children spina bifida occulta (SBO), a condition that with a broad clinical impact and that often requires timely referral. Methods: Questionnaires in Mandarin were administered to parents of patients presenting to the neurosurgery clinic of a children’s hospital in Shanghai. Participants were grouped according to the level of income, above and below 50,000 Yuan. The SBO was classified into two groups, with and without evident subcutaneous mass. Results: One hundred and forty-five participants completed the questionnaire. Regardless of the type of lesion, families with lower income attributed their concerns for seeking care to their local physicians and the lack of health resources. Families with higher income exhibited fear of treatment. The lower income cohort presented for treatment at an older age than a higher income group. Patients with subcutaneous mass presented for treatment at a younger age than those that did not exhibit mass. Conclusion: Parental social economic background and visual presentation of SBO have to be factored when analyzing their decision-making process when seeking care for their children. Parental factors can be barriers to surgical care. Healthcare providers must bring parents to the forefront of the treatment process.