Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes as a new drug carrier for the treatment of spinal cord injury: A review.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating traumatic disease seriously impairing the quality of life in patients. Expectations to allow the hopeless central nervous system to repair itself after injury are unfeasible. Developing new approaches to regenerate the central nervous system is still the priority.

Facile formulation of near-infrared light-triggered hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles based on mitochondria targeting for on-demand chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy.

The incorporation of chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy in subcellular organelles such as mitochondria has attracted extensive attention recently. Here, we designed mitochondria-targeted hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (THMSNs) loaded biocompatible phase-change material L-menthol (LM) via a facile method. Meanwhile, antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX) and near-infrared (NIR) dye indocyanine green (ICG) approved by FDA were simultaneously encapsulated into THMSNs, denoted as THMSNs@LMDI, which showed NIR radiation triggered capacity for cancer treatment.

Subcellular co-delivery of two different site-oriented payloads based on multistage targeted polymeric nanoparticles for enhanced cancer therapy.

The co-delivery of two or more anti-tumor agents using nanocarriers has shown great promise in cancer therapy, but more work is needed to selectively target drugs to specific subcellular organelles. To this end, our research has reported on "smart" polymeric nanoparticles that can encapsulate two different site-oriented pro-drug molecules, allowing them to reach their targeted subcellular organelles based on NIR-mediated controlled release, allowing for targeted modifications in the nucleus or the mitochondria. Specially, an all-trans retinoic acid (RA) conjugated cisplatin derivative (RA-Pt) can be delivered with high affinity to the nucleus of target cells, facilitating the binding of cisplatin to double-stranded DNA.

IL-6 increases podocyte motility via MLC-mediated focal adhesion impairment and cytoskeleton disassembly.

The disturbance of podocyte motility is an essential pathogenic mechanisms of foot process effacement during proteinuric diseases, and myosin light chain (MLC) is a pivotal component in regulating the motility of podocytes. Inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been reported to induce podocyte abnormalities by various mechanisms, however, whether aberrant cell motility contributes to the IL-6-induced podocyte injury remains unknown. Here, by wound healing, transwell, and cell migration assays, we confirmed that IL-6 accelerates the motility of podocyte.

Evaluation of Mental Disorders Using Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Dialysis and Predialysis Patients.

Background/aims: Psychological complications are prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aimed to investigate mental disorders in stage 4-5 CKD patients, to detect metabolite concentrations in the brain by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and to compare the effects of different dialysis therapies on mental disorders in end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Methods: The sample population was made up of predialysis (13), hemodialysis (HD) (13), and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients (12).

MDM2 Contributes to High Glucose-Induced Glomerular Mesangial Cell Proliferation and Extracellular Matrix Accumulation via Notch1.

Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is an E3-ubiquitin ligase critical for various biological functions. Previous data have revealed an indispensable role of MDM2 in kidney homeostasis. However, its role in glomerular mesangial cell (GMC) proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation during hyperglycemia condition remains unclear.

MDM2 mediates fibroblast activation and renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis via a p53-independent pathway.

It is well recognized that murine double minute gene 2 (MDM2) plays a critical role in cell proliferation and inflammatory processes during tumorigenesis. It is also reported that MDM2 is expressed in glomeruli and involved in podocyte injury. However, whether MDM2 is implicated in renal fibrosis remains unclear.