Role of Inherited Thrombophilia Risk Factors in Patients with CKD-5 Receiving Haemodialysis.

Background: The inherited thrombophilic mutations of the factor V gene (FVG1691A Leiden-FVL), prothrombin gene (PTG20210A), and the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene C677T (MTHFR C677T) are risk factors for thromboembolic events and are related to the pathogenesis of vascular diseases.

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to explore the role of these factors in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and survival of patients with CKD-5 receiving haemodialysis.

Methods: A cohort of 395 patients with CKD-5 on haemodialysis, from 6 dialysis units in Crete, Greece were recruited based on their medical records and were followed for 5 years.

Intense immunostaining of heat shock protein 70 within renal interstitium associates with long-term renal survival in an ANCA-associated vasculitis cohort.

In anti-neutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) genetic predisposition, ANCA autoantibodies, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), complement activation, and toll-like receptor signaling are implicated in AAV pathogenesis. Heat shock proteins (HSPs), a highly conserved group of small-sized molecular chaperones, take part in protein folding during cellular stress. Although HSPs were initially observed intracellularly, it has been shown that they can be secreted in the extracellular space and modulate the immune response in various autoimmune diseases including AAV.

Preoperative Albuminuria and Intraoperative Chloride Load: Predictors of Acute Kidney Injury Following Major Abdominal Surgery.

Background: Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is a common and serious complication associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While several pre- and intra-operative risk factors for AKI have been recognized in cardiac surgery patients, relatively few data are available regarding the incidence and risk factors for perioperative AKI in other surgical operations. The aim of the present study was to determine the risk factors for perioperative AKI in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

The family of 14-3-3 proteins and specifically 14-3-3σ are up-regulated during the development of renal pathologies.

Chronic kidney disease, the end result of most renal and some systemic diseases, is a common condition where renal function is compromised due to fibrosis. During renal fibrosis, calreticulin, a multifunctional chaperone of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is up-regulated in tubular epithelial cells (TECs) both in vitro and in vivo. Proteomic analysis of cultured TECs overexpressing calreticulin led to the identification of the family of 14-3-3 proteins as key proteins overexpressed as well.

IgA nephropathy in Greece: data from the registry of the Hellenic Society of Nephrology.

Background: Natural history, predisposing factors to an unfavourable outcome and the effect of various therapeutic regimens were evaluated in a cohort of 457 patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and follow-up of at least 12 months.

Methods: Patients with normal renal function and proteinuria <1 g/24 h as well as those with serum creatinine (SCr) >2.5 mg/dL and/or severe glomerulosclerosis received no treatment.

Renal artery stenting for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis identified in patients with coronary artery disease: Does captopril renal scintigraphy predict outcomes?

The authors evaluated the effectiveness of percutaneous renal revascularization (PRR) with stenting for the treatment of atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) in patients with coronary artery disease and the usefulness of captopril renal scintigraphy for predicting clinical outcomes after PRR. Sixty-four consecutive patients, referred for evaluation of suspected ARAS, after coronary angiography, underwent baseline captopril renal scintigraphy followed by renal angiography. Forty-four patients (68.

Frequent COL4 mutations in familial microhematuria accompanied by later-onset Alport nephropathy due to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Familial microscopic hematuria (FMH) is associated with a genetically heterogeneous group of conditions including the collagen-IV nephropathies, the heritable C3/CFHR5 nephropathy and the glomerulopathy with fibronectin deposits. The clinical course varies widely, ranging from isolated benign familial hematuria to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) later in life. We investigated 24 families using next generation sequencing (NGS) for 5 genes: COL4A3, COL4A4, COL4A5, CFHR5 and FN1.

Renal Effects of SGLT-2 Inhibitors and Other Anti-diabetic Drugs: Clinical Relevance and Potential Risks.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disease affecting an increasing percentage of general population worldwide. Patients with T2DM are frequently characterized by impaired renal function, primarily as a result of diabetic kidney injury, but also by other contributing factors, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and medications. Sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT)-2 inhibitors have emerged as a new, promising class of antidiabetic agents with actions that seem to extend beyond their hypoglycemic effect.

The Effect of Sodium-Glucose Co-transporter-2 (SGLT-2) Inhibitors on Cardiometabolic Profile; Beyond the Hypoglycaemic Action.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has growing prevalence worldwide and major clinical implications, chiefly cardiovascular (CV) and renal disease burden. Sodium-glucose co-transporter (SGLT)-2 inhibitors are a new drug class in the management of T2DM with a mechanism of action independent of insulin. In addition to their hypoglycaemic effect, SGLT-2 inhibitors appear to have haemodynamic and nephroprotective effects.

A functional variant in NEPH3 gene confers high risk of renal failure in primary hematuric glomerulopathies. Evidence for predisposition to microalbuminuria in the general population.

Background: Recent data emphasize that thin basement membrane nephropathy (TBMN) should not be viewed as a form of benign familial hematuria since chronic renal failure (CRF) and even end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a possible development for a subset of patients on long-term follow-up, through the onset of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). We hypothesize that genetic modifiers may explain this variability of symptoms.

Methods: We looked in silico for potentially deleterious functional SNPs, using very strict criteria, in all the genes significantly expressed in the slit diaphragm (SD).

Increased Urinary Excretion of Podocyte Markers in Normoalbuminuric Patients with Diabetes.

Background: Podocyte injury plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). We investigated whether patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) without overt DN present podocyte markers in urine suggestive of early podocyte injury.

Methods: We studied 71 patients with DM type 2 and normal urine albumin excretion (UAE) and 39 non-diabetic controls.

Acute Interstitial Nephritis and Membranous Nephropathy in the Context of IgG4-Related Disease.

We present the case of a patient with IgG4-related disease, which manifested in an asynchronous manner as vitiligo, cholecystitis, sialadenitis, lymphadenopathy, facial palsy and kidney dysfunction. The patient underwent a renal biopsy, and a presumptive diagnosis of lupus nephritis was made due to compatible clinical and immunological findings. The biopsy revealed IgG4-related kidney disease with severe interstitial nephritis and membranous nephropathy.

Relationship between adiposity, adipokines, inflammatory markers and lipid profile in hemodialysis patients.

Objectives: Our aim is to study the correlations of leptin and adiponectin with inflammation markers, body composition and lipid profile in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients.

Patients And Methods: Phase angle values and fat mass as calculated using BIA, Malnutrition-Inflammation Score (MIS), leptin, adiponectin, IL-6, IL-8 triglycerides, cholesterol and other common serum markers' concentrations were analyzed using simple and multiple linear regression models in 47 hemodialysis patients.

Results: In contrast to leptin, adiponectin is inversely correlated to BMI and fat mass in hemodialysis patients.

Selecting the optimal peritoneal dialysis catheter.

As the incidence of end stage renal disease increases across the globe, so too do the survival rates of peritoneal dialysis patients. It is notable though, that peritoneal dialysis utilization does not follow at the same pace, attributable into the high technique failure rates, mainly due to peritoneal catheter dysfunction. A new systematic review and meta-analysis by Hagen et al.

The use of pulse wave velocity in predicting pre-eclampsia in high-risk women.

In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic utility of pulse wave velocity (PWV) alone or in combination with other diagnostic markers in predicting pre-eclampsia (PE) in high-risk women. Pregnant women at high risk for PE were recruited between 22 and 26 weeks of gestation and were assessed for (a) PWV, (b) serum levels of the placental soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) protein and uric acid and (c) 24-h urinary protein and calcium excretion. Sensitivities and specificities were derived from receiver operating characteristic curves.

A longitudinal study of nutritional and inflammatory status in patients on dialysis.

Objective: Several anthropometric, laboratory and bioelectrical impedance parameters of nutritional status and inflammation are often used as prognostic indices in patients on dialysis. Their longitudinal assessment is necessary for the estimation of their true prognostic value. We aim to estimate this prognostic value in better-nourished dialysis patients, which are commonly under-represented in pertinent studies.

Incidence, clinical, microbiological features and outcome of bloodstream infections in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Objectives: Infection is a common cause of death among hemodialysis patients. The study investigated incidence, risk factors, clinical features and outcome of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in haemodialysis patients.

Methods: The records of haemodialysis patients from 1999 to 2005 were reviewed.

Rapamycin ameliorates proteinuria and restores nephrin and podocin expression in experimental membranous nephropathy.

Objective: Recent studies have shown a beneficial effect of rapamycin in passive and active Heymann Nephritis (HN). However, the mechanisms underlying this beneficial effect have not been elucidated.

Methods: Passive Heymann Nephritis (PHN) was induced by a single intravenous infusion of anti-Fx1 in 12 Sprague-Dawley male rats.

Refractory and massive lymphocele in a transplant patient with encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis treated with a single infusion of bleomycin: a case report.

A 26-year-old Caucasian man developed a large lymphocele after living-related kidney transplantation necessitating repeated drainage of large volumes every other day owing to ureteral compression. An open laparotomy for internal drainage was unsuccessful because of severe encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis. Prolonged external drainage with a catheter was inefficient.

Hsf-1 affects podocyte markers NPHS1, NPHS2 and WT1 in a transgenic mouse model of TTRVal30Met-related amyloidosis.

Introduction: Familial amyloid polyneuropathy is characterized by transthyretin (TTR) deposition in various tissues, including the kidneys. While deposition induces organ dysfunction, renal involvement in TTR-related amyloidosis could manifest from proteinuria to end-stage kidney failure. As proteinuria is considered result of glomerular filtration barrier injury we investigated whether TTR deposition affects either glomerular basement membrane (GBM) or podocytes.

Epistatic role of the MYH9/APOL1 region on familial hematuria genes.

Familial hematuria (FH) is explained by at least four different genes (see below). About 50% of patients develop late proteinuria and chronic kidney disease (CKD). We hypothesized that MYH9/APOL1, two closely linked genes associated with CKD, may be associated with adverse progression in FH.

Losartan affects glomerular AKT and mTOR phosphorylation in an experimental model of type 1 diabetic nephropathy.

The AKT-mTOR pathway is activated in diabetic nephropathy. Renin-angiotensin system modulators exert beneficial effects on the diabetic kidney. We explored the action of losartan on AKT-mTOR phosphorylation in glomeruli and podocytes.

The role of serum magnesium and calcium on the association between adiponectin levels and all-cause mortality in end-stage renal disease patients.

Background: Adiponectin (ADPN) is the most abundant adipocyte-specific cytokine that plays an important role in energy homeostasis by regulating lipid and glucose metabolism. Studies of the impact of ADPN on clinical outcomes have yielded contradictory results so far. Here, we examined the association of ADPN with serum magnesium (s-Mg) and calcium (s-Ca) levels and explored the possibility whether these two factors could modify the relationship between ADPN and all-cause mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease.

Human TTRV30M localization within podocytes in a transgenic mouse model of transthyretin related amyloidosis: does the environment play a role?

Transthyretin related amyloidosis is a nosological entity that leads to disability, diminished quality of life, all stages of chronic kidney disease and eventually death. Podocytes are polarized, highly differentiated epithelial cells important for proper nephron function. In the present study we investigated whether deposited TTRVal30Met (TTRV30M) molecules could be localized within podocytes in situ under the effect of different housing conditions (i.