Deep learning for the prediction of acute kidney injury after coronary angiography and intervention in patients with chronic kidney disease: a model development and validation study.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are considered the primary population at risk for post-contrast acute kidney injury (PC-AKI), yet there are few predictive tools specifically designed for this vulnerable population.

Methods: Adult CKD patients undergoing coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention at the Second Xiangya Hospital (2015-2021) were enrolled. The patients were divided into a derivation cohort and a validation cohort based on their admission dates.

AIM2 deficiency in CD4 T cells promotes psoriasis-like inflammation by regulating Th17-Treg axis via AIM2-IKZF2 pathway.

Psoriasis vulgaris remains a common inflammatory skin disease globally. The imbalance between Th17 and Treg cells plays an integral role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris, but the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. The role of AIM2 in Treg cell function in psoriasis is unclear.

Establishment and characterization of a mouse model for studying kidney repair in diabetes.

The prognosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) is markedly worse in patients with diabetes. Diabetes not only exaggerates the severity of AKI but also prevent kidney repair or recovery from AKI. Little is known about the cellular and molecular basis of defective kidney repair in diabetes.

Dietary sodium modulates mTORC1-dependent trained immunity in macrophages to accelerate CKD development.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a significant global health issue linked to dietary habits, especially high salt intake. However, the precise mechanisms driving this progression remain incompletely understood. This study reveals that a high-salt diet intensifies macrophage trained immunity, leading to a marked pro-inflammatory response upon repeated pathogenic exposures, as evidenced by increased renal damage and fibrosis.

A potential defensive role of TIM-3 on T lymphocytes in the inflammatory involvement of diabetic kidney disease.

Objective: The aberrant mobilization and activation of various T lymphocyte subpopulations play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), yet the regulatory mechanisms underlying these processes remain poorly understood. Our study is premised on the hypothesis that the dysregulation of immune checkpoint molecules on T lymphocytes disrupts kidney homeostasis, instigates pathological inflammation, and promotes DKD progression.

Methods: A total of 360 adult patients with DKD were recruited for this study.

Podocyte-derived soluble RARRES1 drives kidney disease progression through direct podocyte and proximal tubular injury.

Retinoic acid receptor responder protein-1 (RARRES1) is a podocyte-enriched transmembrane protein whose increased expression correlates with human glomerular disease progression. RARRES1 promotes podocytopenia and glomerulosclerosis via p53-mediated podocyte apoptosis. Importantly, the cytopathic actions of RARRES1 are entirely dependent on its proteolytic cleavage into a soluble protein (sRARRES1) and subsequent podocyte uptake by endocytosis, as a cleavage mutant RARRES1 exerted no effects in vitro or in vivo.

Causal relationship between gut microbiota and diabetic nephropathy: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Objective: Emerging evidence has provided compelling evidence linking gut microbiota (GM) and diabetic nephropathy (DN) via the "gut-kidney" axis. But the causal relationship between them hasn't been clarified yet. We perform a Two-Sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to reveal the causal connection with GM and the development of DN, type 1 diabetes nephropathy (T1DN), type 2 diabetes nephropathy (T2DN), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Bowman's capsule rupture and the Oxford MEST-C score in adult patients with Immunoglobulin a vasculitis nephritis: a single center experience.

Objective: Bowman's capsule rupture (BCR) is a glomerular pathological change, but it is still not well recognized in immunoglobulin A vasculitis nephritis (IgAV-N). The Oxford MEST-C score is a classification for IgA nephropathy; however, its clinical correlation and prognostic value in adult patients with IgAV-N are unclear.

Methods: A retrospective study of 145 adult patients with IgAV-N diagnosed by renal biopsy was conducted.

Differences in Phenotypic Plasticity between Invasive and Native Plants Responding to Three Environmental Factors.

The phenotypic plasticity hypothesis suggests that exotic plants may have greater phenotypic plasticity than native plants. However, whether phenotypic changes vary according to different environmental factors has not been well studied. We conducted a multi-species greenhouse experiment to study the responses of six different phenotypic traits, namely height, leaf number, specific leaf area, total biomass, root mass fraction, and leaf mass fraction, of native and invasive species to nutrients, water, and light.

Mendelian randomization study supports the causal association between serum cystatin C and risk of diabetic nephropathy.

Aims: Cystatin C, an inhibitor of cysteine protease, has been used as a biomarker for estimating glomerular filtration rate. However, the causal relation between cystatin C and diabetic nephropathy remains uncertain.

Methods: We assessed the causal effect of cystatin C together with other five serum biomarkers including KIM-1, GDF-15, TBIL, uric acid, and Scr on diabetic nephropathy by Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

Treating crescentic glomerulonephritis by targeting macrophages.

Macrophage accumulation in the kidney is associated with the progression of crescentic glomerulonephritis (GN) and is mostly derived from circulating monocytes. FROUNT, a C-C motif chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2)-interacted protein, which is strongly expressed in monocytes/macrophages, enhances macrophage infiltration through CCR2-mediated chemotaxis. In this issue of the journal, Toda et al.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress contributes to cisplatin-induced chronic kidney disease via the PERK-PKCδ pathway.

Background: Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic drug, but it may induce both acute and chronic kidney problems. The pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with cisplatin chemotherapy remains largely unclear.

Methods: Mice and renal tubular cells were subjected to repeated low-dose cisplatin (RLDC) treatment to induce CKD and related pathological changes.

Gasdermin D is involved in switching from apoptosis to pyroptosis in TLR4-mediated renal tubular epithelial cells injury in diabetic kidney disease.

Background: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mediated pathway plays a pivotal role in promoting tubulointerstitial inflammation and contributes to the progression in type 2 diabetic kidney disease (T2DKD). As the first identified key pyroptosis executor, gasdermin D (GSDMD) is activated by caspases and might be the key protein to switch apoptosis to pyroptosis. It remains unclear that role of TLR4 on canonical pyroptosis pathway, and whether GSDMD is involved in switching from apoptosis to pyroptosis in the TLR4-related tubular injury in T2DKD.

Inflammation in kidney repair: Mechanism and therapeutic potential.

The kidney has a remarkable ability of repair after acute kidney injury (AKI). However, when injury is severe or persistent, the repair is incomplete or maladaptive and may lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Maladaptive kidney repair involves multiple cell types and multifactorial processes, of which inflammation is a key component.

Association of Bowman's capsule rupture with prognosis in patients with lupus nephritis.

Background And Objective: Lupus nephritis is one of the most severe manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. The clinical and prognostic significance of Bowman's capsule rupture in patients with lupus nephritis is unknown.

Methods: One hundred eighty patients with lupus nephritis were enrolled in the study and the integrity of Bowman's capsule was assessed.

Digital Spatial Profiling of Individual Glomeruli From Patients With Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Autoantibody-Associated Glomerulonephritis.

We previously showed that the rupture of Bowman's capsule (BC) promotes the progression of crescentic glomerulonephritis by enhancing the entry of CD8 T cells into the glomeruli. In the present study, we utilized digital spatial profiling to simultaneously profile the altered abundances of the messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts and proteins in the glomerular and periglomerular areas of four biopsy samples of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated glomerulonephritis (ANCA-GN) and two biopsy specimens of minimal change disease (MCD) controls. The paraffin-embedded biopsy samples were stained with collagen IV, CD45, and SYTO 13 to distinguish the glomeruli with periglomerular infiltration but intact BC, with focal BC rupture, and with extensive rupture of BC and glomeruli without crescent formation and leukocytic infiltration in ANCA-GN.

Pentosan polysulfate ameliorates fibrosis and inflammation markers in SV40 MES13 cells by suppressing activation of PI3K/AKT pathway via miR-446a-3p.

Background: Renal fibrosis is a common outcome of various renal damage, including diabetic nephropathy (DN), the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Currently, there are no effective therapies for renal fibrosis. The present study aimed to determine whether pentosan polysulphate sodium (PPS), a FDA approved medication for interstitial cystitis, protects diabetic renal fibrosis.

Similarities and Differences between COVID-19-Associated Nephropathy and HIV-Associated Nephropathy.

Kidney disease is a major complication of viral infection, which can cause both acute and chronic kidney diseases via different mechanisms such as immune-mediated injury, kidney cell injury from a direct viral infection, systemic effects, and antiviral drug-induced nephrotoxicity. HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN), characterized by collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (cFSGS), has been described 2 decades ago as a major complication of acquired-immunodeficiency syndrome. The pathogenesis of HIVAN has been well studied, including viral entry, host response, and genetic factors.

Controversies in Podocyte Loss: Death or Detachment?

Glomerular podocytes are characterized by terminally differentiated epithelial cells with limited proliferating ability; thus, podocyte loss could not be fully compensated by podocyte regeneration. A large body of clinical studies collectively demonstrated that podocyte loss correlated with glomerular diseases progression. Both podocyte death and podocyte detachment lead to podocyte loss; however, which one is the main cause remains controversial.

Reciprocal regulation between ER stress and autophagy in renal tubular fibrosis and apoptosis.

Both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy have been implicated in chronic kidney injury and renal fibrosis. However, the relationship and regulatory mechanisms between ER stress and autophagy under this condition remain largely unknown. In this study, we first established a mouse model of ER stress-induced chronic kidney injury by 2 weekly injections of a low dose of tunicamycin (TM), a classical ER stress inducer.

Clinical implication of the circumferential crescents lesions in immunoglobulin A nephropathy: a single-center study of Han Chinese population.

A crescentic lesion in renal biopsy could be segmental or circumferential, but the distribution and clinical implication of the circumferential crescents in immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) remains unknown. A total of 384 crescentic IgAN patients between 2011 and 2019 were included. The subjects were classified as the circumferential crescent who have at least one crescent involving ≥50% circumference of Bowman's capsule, otherwise as to the segmental crescent.

Autocrine and paracrine effects of a novel podocyte gene, RARRES1.

Retinoic acid receptor responder protein 1 (RARRES1) has been identified as a novel gene for the regulation of podocyte function, and its expression is increased in glomerular disease and associated with disease progression. Increased expression of RARRES1 in podocytes leads to apoptosis through an autocrine effect. Möller-Hackbarth et al.

Disparate roles of retinoid acid signaling molecules in kidney disease.

Retinoid acid (RA) is synthesized mainly in the liver and has multiple functions in development, cell differentiation and proliferation, and regulation of inflammation. RA has been used to treat multiple diseases, such as cancer and skin disorders. The kidney is a major organ for RA metabolism, which is altered in the diseased condition.

Severity of Intrarenal Arterial Lesions Can Predict the Clinical Prognosis of Hepatitis B Virus-Associated Glomerulonephritis: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Intrarenal arterial lesions (IALs) have been studied in immunoglobulin A nephropathy and lupus nephritis, but this has not been reported in hepatitis B virus-associated glomerulonephritis (HBV-GN). This study aims to investigate the prevalence and the role of IALs in HBV-GN.

Methods: IALs were examined in kidney biopsy specimens from 205 patients with HBV-GN retrospectively.