Low risk of prolonged SARS-CoV-2 shedding and molecular evolution in kidney transplant recipients during the Omicron era: A prospective observational study.

The aim of this prospective study was to assess the duration of culture-viable SARS-CoV-2 and to monitor the emergence of mutations in a cohort of 23 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) from June 2022 to June 2023. Combined nares/oropharyngeal swabs were collected weekly starting as soon as possible after symptom onset. The time from symptom onset to a negative culture was 11 days (interquartile range, 8-14), while the time to negative reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction was 18 days (interquartile range, 15-30).

Comparison of gene expression of epicardial and visceral adipocytes with regard to the differentiation stage.

Background: Our study focused on the ability of epicardial adipocytes to produce bioactive substances and compare the extent of this production with the production of adipokines in visceral adipocytes, which are well known endocrine cells capable of contributing to the development of atherosclerosis.

Material And Methods: The gene expression of human cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, RANTES and MCP-1) and adipokines (leptin and adiponectin) was measured in primary cell lines of epicardial and visceral adipocytes, both in undifferentiated and mature statuses, after a 21-day-long differentiation protocol. Each condition was assayed in triplicate in two independent primary cell lines obtained from two different donors.

Kupffer cells ameliorate hepatic insulin resistance induced by high-fat diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids: the evidence for the involvement of alternatively activated macrophages.

Background: Resident macrophages (Kupffer cells, KCs) in the liver can undergo both pro- or anti-inflammatory activation pathway and exert either beneficiary or detrimental effects on liver metabolism. Until now, their role in the metabolically dysfunctional state of steatosis remains enigmatic. Aim of our study was to characterize the role of KCs in relation to the onset of hepatic insulin resistance induced by a high-fat (HF) diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids.

The increased activity of liver lysosomal lipase in nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease contributes to the development of hepatic insulin resistance.

We tested the hypothesis that TAG accumulation in the liver induced by short-term high-fat diet (HFD) in rats leads to the dysregulation of endogenous TAG degradation by lysosomal lipase (LIPA) via lysosomal pathway and is causally linked with the onset of hepatic insulin resistance. We found that LIPA could be translocated between qualitatively different depots (light and dense lysosomes). In contrast to dense lysosomal fraction, LIPA associated with light lysosomes exhibits high activity on both intracellular TAG and exogenous substrate and prandial- or diet-dependent regulation.

Renal activity of Akt kinase in obese Zucker rats.

Insulin resistance (IR) and consequent hyperinsulinemia are hallmarks of Type 2 diabetes (DM2). Akt kinase (Akt) is an important molecule in insulin signaling, implicated in regulation of glucose uptake, cell growth, cell survival, protein synthesis, and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production. Impaired Akt activation in insulin-sensitive tissues contributes to IR.

Renal effects of HMG-CoA reductase inhibition in a rat model of chronic inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis.

Background/aims: In addition to their lipid-lowering effects, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) induce a variety of pleiotropic actions that have been recently studied in the area of cardiovascular and renal protection. In the present studies we sought to determine whether statins retain beneficial effects in the experimental model of NO deficiency achieved by chronic administration of a pressor dose of L-arginine analogue N-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME).

Methods: To address this issue, blood pressure (BP), renal function (GFR), and albuminuria were determined in rats treated for 4 weeks with L-NAME, L-NAME + atorvastatin (ATO), and in untreated controls.

Renal cyclooxygenase-2 in obese Zucker (fatty) rats.

Background: Cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2, are involved in production of prostanoids in the kidney. Increases in renal COX-2 expression have been implicated in the pathophysiology of progressive renal injury, including type 1 diabetes. Thromboxane A(2) (TxA(2)) has been suggested as the key mediator of these effects resulting in up-regulation of prosclerotic cytokines and extracellular matrix proteins.

Molecular cloning, expression and isolation of ferritins from two tick species--Ornithodoros moubata and Ixodes ricinus.

Genes encoding ferritins were isolated and cloned from cDNA libraries of hard tick Ixodes ricinus and soft tick Ornithodoros moubata. Both tick ferritins are composed of 172 amino-acid residues and their calculated mass is 19,667.2 Da and 19,974.