Publications by authors named "I Alexandru Bobulescu"

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma is the most common and deadly type of cancer affecting the kidney, and is characterized histologically by large intracellular lipid deposits. These deposits are thought to result from lipid metabolic reprogramming occurring in tumor cells, but the exact mechanisms and implications of these metabolic alterations are incompletely understood. Obesity is an independent risk factor for clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and is also associated with lipid accumulation in noncancerous epithelial cells of the proximal tubule, where clear cell renal cell carcinoma originates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hyperuricemia is more prevalent among people with obesity and metabolic syndrome, and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. We hypothesized that increased renal reabsorption of uric acid (UA) in obesity and metabolic syndrome may be an adaptive response of the kidney when faced with fatty acid-induced oxidative stress. To test this hypothesis, we examined lipid accumulation, markers of oxidative stress, and renal UA handling in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, and in matched lean control animals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Idiopathic uric acid nephrolithiasis, which is closely associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome, is increasing in prevalence. Unduly acidic urine pH, the quintessential pathophysiologic feature of this disease, is in part explained by inadequate excretion of the principal urinary buffer ammonium. The role of net acid excretion in the pathogenesis of uric acid nephrolithiasis is incompletely understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Mildly elevated serum uric acid levels are often seen in individuals with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, but their direct impact on diabetes development is still unclear.
  • A study involving rodent models tested whether chronically elevated uric acid could induce glucose intolerance, using dietary potassium oxonate to raise uric acid levels.
  • The research showed that increased uric acid did not affect fasting glucose, glucose tolerance, or blood pressure in healthy rats or in those genetically prone to type 2 diabetes, suggesting that high uric acid levels do not play a direct role in developing glucose intolerance or diabetes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF