N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has shown beneficial effects in both acute kidney disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in preclinical and clinical studies. Different dosage and administration forms of NAC have specific pharmacokinetic properties that determine the temporal pattern of plasma concentrations of NAC and its active metabolites. Especially in acute situations with short-term NAC administration, appropriate NAC and glutathione (GSH) plasma concentrations should be timely ensured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntioxidants (Basel)
May 2024
Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that is highly toxic to humans and animals. Its adverse effects have been widely associated with mitochondrial alterations. However, there are not many treatments that target mitochondria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a global health difficulty characterized by an excessive accumulation of fat that increases body weight. Obesity has been studied in multiple animal models, of which those in which it is induced by diet stand out. Due to the increase in this condition, other mechanisms have been addressed that are triggered by states of overweight or obesity, such as the appearance of oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
July 2023
Proper kidney function depends highly on mitochondria homeostasis. This organelle is the primary source of ATP production in the kidney and regulates other cellular processes such as redox and calcium homeostasis. Although the mitochondria's primary recognized function is cellular energy production, through the function of the Krebs cycle, electron transport system (ETS), as well as oxygen and electrochemical gradient consumption, this function is interconnected with multiple signaling and metabolic pathways, making bioenergetics a central hub in renal metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOzone (O) is a reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can interact with cellular components and cause oxidative stress. Following said logic, if O induces such a stressful milieu, how does it exert antioxidant functions? This is mediated by controlled toxicity produced by low concentrations of O, which enhance the cell's suppliance of antioxidant properties without causing any further damage. Therapeutic concentrations vary extensively, although 50 µg/mL is commonly used in experimental and clinical procedures, given that augmented concentrations might work as germicides or cause endogenous damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplex molecular mechanisms define our responses to environmental stimuli. Beyond the DNA sequence itself, epigenetic machinery orchestrates changes in gene expression induced by diet, physical activity, stress and pollution, among others. Importantly, nutrition has a strong impact on epigenetic players and, consequently, sustains a promising role in the regulation of cellular responses such as oxidative stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative stress is a natural physiological process where the levels of oxidants, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS), exceed the strategy of antioxidant defenses, culminating in the interruption of redox signaling and control. Oxidative stress is associated with multiple pathologies, including premature aging, neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and arthritis. It is not yet clear whether oxidative stress is the cause or consequence of these diseases; however, it has been shown that using compounds with antioxidant properties, particularly compounds of natural origin, could prevent or slow down the progress of different pathologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infectious diseases worldwide. These infections are common in all people; however, they are more prevalent in women than in men. The main microorganism that causes 80-90% of UTIs is .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagnesium (Mg) is an essential mineral nutrient, necessary for many biochemical reactions in the human body, including energy metabolism, protein and DNA synthesis, maintenance of the electrical potential of nervous and cardiac tissues, control of blood glucose, and regulation of blood pressure. However, currently, the world population suffers from a severe problem because the consumption of Mg in the diet is deficient and generalized in the populations. Mg deficiency causes oxidative stress (OS) due to the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that originate from mitochondrial dysfunction, activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), and abnormal regulation of calcium homeostasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFree Radic Biol Med
November 2022
Vitamin D is considered an essential micronutrient for human health that is metabolized into a multifunctional secosteroid hormone. We can synthesize it in the skin through ultraviolet B (UVB) rays or acquire it from the diet. Its deficiency is a major global health problem that affects all ages and ethnic groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic metals without biological function, and its accumulation in living organisms has been reported. The kidney is a target organ in Cd toxicity; it has been observed that Cd causes kidney damage even at low concentrations, and Cd damage can quickly progress to chronic kidney disease. The mitochondria play a fundamental role in the nephrotoxicity of Cd; Cd enters the mitochondria and affects the electron transport system (ETS), increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), decreases the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), alters mitochondrial dynamics, induces mutations in mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) and decreased biogenesis leading to increased mitophagy, autophagy, and inevitably apoptosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objective: The antinociceptive effects of garlic have shown promise in treating different chronic diseases in humans, such as knee osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and peripheral arterial occlusive disease stage II. The most common garlic products are garlic powder (dried garlic), steam distilled garlic oils, garlic oil macerate and aged garlic extract. These commercial products contain organosulphur compounds (OSCs) that have been extensively evaluated in preclinical models and some clinical assays to treat different diseases against pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGarlic () has been used in alternative medicine to treat several diseases, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and hepatic diseases. Several publications have highlighted other features of garlic, including its antibacterial, antioxidative, antihypertensive, and antithrombotic properties. The properties of garlic result from the combination of natural compounds that act synergistically and cause different effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMitochondria are complex organelles that orchestrate several functions in the cell. The primary function recognized is energy production; however, other functions involve the communication with the rest of the cell through reactive oxygen species (ROS), calcium influx, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels, cytochrome c release, and also through tricarboxylic acid (TCA) metabolites. Kidney function highly depends on mitochondria; hence mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with kidney diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur work evaluated cardiac function and mitochondrial bioenergetics parameters in hearts from male Wistar rats subjected to the UUO model during 28 days of progression. We measured markers of kidney damage and inflammation in plasma and renal fibrosis by histological analysis and Western blot. Cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography and proteins involved in cardiac damage by Western blot.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an emergent infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths throughout the world. COVID-19 infection's main symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue, and neurological manifestations such as headache, myalgias, anosmia, ageusia, impaired consciousness, seizures, and even neuromuscular junctions' disorders. In addition, it is known that this disease causes a series of systemic complications such as adverse respiratory distress syndrome, cardiac injury, acute kidney injury, and liver dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRenal fibrosis is a well-known mechanism that favors chronic kidney disease (CKD) development in obstructive nephropathy, a significant pathology worldwide. Fibrosis induction involves several pathways, and although mitochondrial alterations have recently emerged as a critical factor that triggers renal damage in the obstructed kidney, the temporal mitochondrial alterations during the fibrotic induction remain unexplored. Therefore, in this work, we evaluated the time course of mitochondrial mass and bioenergetics alterations induced by a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), a widely used model to study the mechanism involved in kidney fibrosis induction and progression.
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