Improvement of diabetes-induced spinal cord axon injury with taurine via nerve growth factor-dependent Akt/mTOR pathway.

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a common neurological complication caused by diabetes mellitus (DM). Axonal degeneration is generally accepted to be the major pathological change in peripheral DN. Taurine has been evidenced to be neuroprotective in various aspects, but its effect on spinal cord axon injury (SCAI) in DN remains barely reported.

Practice of dialysis access interventional nephrology procedures in the Asia-Pacific region: Getting lay of the land.

Aim: This cross-sectional survey aimed to determine the prevalence of Interventional Nephrology (IN) practice amongst nephrologists in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR), specifically related to dialysis access (DA).

Methods: The Association of VA and intervenTionAl Renal physicians (AVATAR) Foundation from India conducted a multinational online survey amongst nephrologists from the Asia-Pacific to determine the practice of IN in the planning, creation, and management of dialysis access. The treatment modalities, manpower and equipment availability, monthly cost of treatment, specifics of dialysis access interventions, and challenges in the training and practice of IN by nephrologists were included in the survey.

Taurine Ameliorates Oxidative Stress in Spinal Cords of Diabetic Rats via Keap1-Nrf2 Signaling.

Hyperglycemia associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) causes oxidative stress, which is involved in the onset and development of diabetic neuropathy. Taurine, a powerful antioxidant, is an effective inhibitor of oxidative stress. The present experiment was conducted to explore the effect of taurine treatment on alterations in body weight, blood glucose, oxidative stress, and Keap1-Nrf2 signaling in the spinal cords of DM rats.

A strategy for the rapid discovery and validation of active diterpenoids as quality markers in different habitats of Langdu using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with multivariate statistical analysis.

Langdu, known as a traditional Chinese medicine, was identified as the roots of species of Euphorbia ebracteolata Hayata and Euphorbia fischeriana Steud, displaying anti-tuberculosis activity. To clarify the potent quality markers of Langdu, this research first developed a fast and sensitive ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of 13 diterpenoids in Langdu. The developed method was further applied in the analyses of 12 authentic E.

Identification of 8 Feature Genes Related to Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression Based on Co-Expression Analysis.

Background: The aim of the study was to screen biomarkers related to clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) progression and prognosis.

Methods: 1,026 ccRCC-related genes were dug from 494 ccRCC samples in TCGA based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and 7 modules were identified. Afterward, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses were conducted on modules of interest.

Urinary proteomics investigations into contrast-induced acute kidney injury.

Some patients have a decline in renal function after contrast medium injection, and this phenomenon is called contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI); a small number of people even suffer severe renal failure. To date, the mechanism of CI-AKI remains unclear. We aimed to identify novel potential biomarkers in the urine of patients with CI-AKI through LC-MS/MS and bioinformatics analysis.

NGF mediates protection of mesenchymal stem cells-conditioned medium against 2,5-hexanedione-induced apoptosis of VSC4.1 cells via Akt/Bad pathway.

It has been shown that the conditioned medium of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC-CM) can inhibit apoptosis of neural cells exposed to 2,5-hexanedione (HD), but its protective mechanism remains unclear. To investigate the underlying mechanism, VSC4.1 cells were given HD and 5, 10 and 15% BMSC-CM (v/v) in the current experiment.

Overexpression of miR‑30c‑5p reduces cellular cytotoxicity and inhibits the formation of kidney stones through ATG5.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are critical regulators in various diseases. In the current study, the role of miR‑30c‑5p in the formation of sodium oxalate‑induced kidney stones was investigated. For this purpose, human renal tubular epithelial cells (HK‑2 cells) were incubated with sodium oxalate at the concentrations of 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1,000 µM.

2,5-hexanedione-induced deregulation of axon-related microRNA expression in rat nerve tissues.

Exposure to organic solvent in industry, including n-hexane is correlated with central-peripheral axonopathy, which is mediated by its active metabolite, 2,5-hexanedione (HD). However, the underlying mechanism is still largely unknown. Recently identified microRNAs (miRNAs) may play important roles in toxicant exposure and in the process of toxicant-induced neuropathys.

Assessment of dialysis initiation by a fuzzy mathematics equation (ADIFE): a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Starting dialysis early or late both result in a low quality of life and a poor prognosis in patients undergoing haemodialysis. However, there remains no consensus on the optimal timing of dialysis initiation, mainly because of a lack of suitable methods to assess variations in dialysis initiation time. We have established a novel equation named DIFE (Dialysis Initiation based on Fuzzy-mathematics Equation) through a retrospective, multicentre clinical cohort study in China to determine the most suitable timing of dialysis initiation.

An Equation Based on Fuzzy Mathematics to Assess the Timing of Haemodialysis Initiation.

In order to develop an equation that integrates multiple clinical factors including signs and symptoms associated with uraemia to assess the initiation of dialysis, we conducted a retrospective cohort study including 25 haemodialysis centres in Mainland China. Patients with ESRD (n = 1281) who commenced haemodialysis from 2008 to 2011 were enrolled in the development cohort, whereas 504 patients who began haemodialysis between 2012 and 2013 were enrolled in the validation cohort comprised. An artificial neural network model was used to select variables, and a fuzzy neural network model was then constructed using factors affecting haemodialysis initiation as input variables and 3-year survival as the output variable.

Impacts of parathyroidectomy on renal anemia and nutritional status of hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of parathyroidectomy (PTX) towards the renal anemia and nutritional status of hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). 32 patients, enrolled into the blood purification center of our hospital for the hemodialysis treatment, were collected and divided into the PTX group and the non-PTX group, with 16 patients in each group. The changes of relevant indicators such as immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH), anemia and nutrition were observed before, 1-, 3-, 6-month after the treatment.

Angiogenesis inhibitor, TNP-470, prevents diet-induced and genetic obesity in mice.

Adipose tissue growth has been proposed to involve recruitment of new blood vessels. Here, we test the hypothesis that delivery of an angiogenesis inhibitor in mice may prevent diet-induced obesity, the most common type of obesity in humans. We show that systemic administration of a selective angiogenesis inhibitor, TNP-470 (AGM-1470), prevents obesity in high caloric diet-fed wt mice as well as in genetically leptin-deficient ob/ob mice.

Repeated immobilization stress increases uncoupling protein 1 expression and activity in Wistar rats.

Repeat immobilization-stressed rats are leaner and have improved cold tolerance due to enhancement of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. This process likely involves stress-induced sympathetic nervous system activation and adrenocortical hormone release, which dynamically enhances and suppresses uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) function, respectively. To investigate whether repeated immobilization influences UCP1 thermogenic properties, we assessed UCP1 mRNA, protein expression, and activity (GDP binding) in BAT from immobilization-naive or repeatedly immobilized rats (3 h daily for 4 weeks) and sham operated or adrenalectomized (ADX) rats.

Enhanced gene expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in brown adipose tissue during cold exposure.

It has been shown that norepinephrine (NE) can mediate vasodilatation by stimulating the production of nitric oxide (NO) in brown adipose tissue (BAT), resulting in an increase in BAT blood flow. We speculated that constitutive NO synthase (NOS) is involved in this NO production. However, it is not known whether constitutive NOS is expressed in BAT.