Publications by authors named "Jia-Gen Wen"

Acute kidney injury (AKI) manifests as a clinical syndrome characterised by the rapid accumulation of metabolic wastes, such as blood creatinine and urea nitrogen, leading to a sudden decline in renal function. Currently, there is a lack of specific therapeutic drugs for AKI. Previously, we identified gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) as a pathogenic factor in AKI.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined as sudden loss of renal function characterized by increased serum creatinine levels and reduced urinary output with a duration of 7 days. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent regulated necrotic pathway, has been implicated in the progression of AKI, while ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), a selective inhibitor of ferroptosis, inhibited renal damage, oxidative stress and tubular cell death in AKI mouse models. However, the clinical translation of Fer-1 is limited due to its lack of efficacy and metabolic instability.

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Microglial activation is a critical factor in the pathogenesis and progression of neuroinflammatory diseases. Mild hypothermia, known for its neuroprotective properties, has been shown to alleviate microglial activation. In this study, we explore the differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in BV-2 microglial cells under different conditions: normal temperature (CN), mild hypothermia (YT), normal temperature with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and mild hypothermia with LPS (LPS + YT).

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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has high morbidity and mortality, which is manifested by inflammation and apoptosis. Effective treatment methods for AKI are currently lacking.

Objective: This study demonstrated the protecting effects of Madecassoside (MA) in the cisplatin- and hypoxia-reoxygenation-induced renal tubular epithelial cells in vitro and AKI mice in vivo.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on the role of N-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications in renal fibrosis and aims to explore mechanisms that could lead to potential treatments for this condition.
  • - Researchers utilized human and mouse renal tissues and HK-2 cells, employing various methods like RNA sequencing and gene silencing to understand how the regulator METTL3 influences m6A modifications in renal fibrosis.
  • - Findings reveal that elevated METTL3 leads to increased stability of EVL mRNA, promoting its expression and ultimately contributing to renal fibrosis by enhancing TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling, suggesting that targeting this pathway could yield therapeutic options.
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Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a cell-signal transcription factor that has attracted considerable attention in recent years. The stimulation of cytokines and growth factors can result in the transcription of a wide range of genes that are crucial for several cellular biological processes involved in pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. STAT3 has attracted considerable interest as a result of a recent upsurge in study because of their role in directing the innate immune response and sustaining inflammatory pathways, which is a key feature in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including renal disorders.

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Article Synopsis
  • Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) binds to its receptor (GRPR) and plays a significant role in biological processes, but its specific role in acute kidney injury (AKI) was previously unclear.
  • The study found that GRPR is highly expressed in kidney cells during AKI, and genetic deletion of GRPR in mice protected them from kidney damage caused by cisplatin and low blood flow.
  • The research suggests that GRPR contributes to AKI by activating the STAT1 pathway, leading to kidney cell death and inflammation, indicating that targeting GRPR could offer a new treatment approach for AKI.
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Background And Purpose: Necroptosis plays an essential role in acute kidney injury and is mediated by receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1), receptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3), and mixed lineage kinase domain-like pseudokinase (MLKL). A novel RIPK3 inhibitor, compound 42 (Cpd-42) alleviates the systemic inflammatory response. The current study was designed to investigate whether Cpd-42 exhibits protective effects on acute kidney injury and reveal the underlying mechanisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • Gentamicin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic known for causing nephrotoxicity, with no current effective treatments available.
  • A study found that epigallocatechin gallate (EG), an ingredient in green tea, significantly reduced kidney damage and oxidative stress markers in gentamicin-injected rats and kidney cells.
  • The protective effects of EG involve activating specific proteins that help reduce cell death and damage, but these effects diminish when the Nrf2 protein is silenced.
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In recent decades, renal disease research has witnessed remarkable advances. Experimental evidence in this field has highlighted the role of inflammation in kidney disease. Epigenetic dynamics and immunometabolic reprogramming underlie the alterations in cellular responses to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli; these factors determine cell identity and cell fate decisions and represent current research hotspots.

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Article Synopsis
  • The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 since late 2019 has led to a pneumonia epidemic affecting 236 countries, causing significant public health issues and multiple organ failures, particularly in critical patients.
  • Previous coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, have also shown a strong link to kidney damage in affected patients.
  • This review focuses on summarizing the epidemiological and clinical features of these three pandemics, analyzing the mechanisms by which COVID-19 affects kidney health, and discussing the causes and prevention of secondary kidney diseases related to SARS-CoV-2.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasing public health concern, characterized by a reduced glomerular filtration rate and increased urinary albumin excretion. Renal fibrosis is an important pathological condition in patients with CKD. In this study, we evaluated the anti-fibrotic effect of Cpd-0225, a novel transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) type I receptor (also known as ALK5) inhibitor, in vitro and in vivo, by comparing its effect with that of SB431542, a classic ALK5 inhibitor, which has not entered the clinical trial stage owing to multiple side effects.

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Necroptosis is defined as a novel programmed cell necrosis that is mediated by receptor interacting serine-threonine protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) and other related signals. Necrosis, apoptosis and inflammation are commonly considered as the leading mechanism in acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by gentamicin (GEN), which is a useful antibiotic for treating the infection of Gram-negative bacterial. However, the necroptosis in the pathogenesis of GEN-induced AKI is unknown.

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Renal fibrosis, a common feature of chronic kidney disease, causes the progressive loss of renal function, in which TGF-β plays a critical role. In this study, we found that expression levels of TGF-β and its receptor 1 (TGF-βR1) were both significantly increased in obstructive fibrosis kidneys. AZ12601011 is a small molecular inhibitor of TGF-βR1; however, its therapeutic potential for renal fibrosis remains unclear.

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The novel biomarker, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), is used clinically to predict different types of acute kidney injury (AKI) and has drawn significant attention as a urinary biomarker. However, as a secreted protein in the circulation of patients with AKI, it is unclear whether IGFBP7 acts as a key regulator in AKI progression, and if mechanisms underlying its upregulation still need to be determined. Here we found that IGFBP7 is highly expressed in the blood and urine of patients and mice with AKI, possibly via a c-Jun-dependent mechanism, and is positively correlated with kidney dysfunction.

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Nephrotoxicity is a major adverse reaction of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2) which is located on the basement membrane of human proximal renal tubules is responsible for the renal accumulation of cisplatin and its nephrotoxicity. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of PPIs to CP-induced nephrotoxicity.

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Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by infection, following with acute injury to multiple organs. Sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is currently recognized as one of the most severe complications related to sepsis. The pathophysiology of sepsis-AKI involves multiple cell types, including macrophages, vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs), etc.

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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI), characterised by excessive inflammatory cell recruitment and programmed cell death, has a high morbidity and mortality; however, effective and specific therapies for AKI are still lacking.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the renoprotective effects of gypenoside XLIX (Gyp XLIX) in AKI.

Methods: The protective effects of Gyp XLIX were tested in two AKI mouse models established using male C57BL/6 mice (aged 6-8 weeks) by a single intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin (20 mg/kg) or renal ischemia-reperfusion for 40 min.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by a rapid decline in renal function, is triggered by an acute inflammatory response that leads to kidney damage. An effective treatment for AKI is lacking. Using in vitro and in vivo AKI models, our laboratory has identified a series of anti-inflammatory molecules and their derivatives.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory synovitis, but its pathogenesis remains unclear. NLRC5 is a newly discovered member of the NLR family that is effective in regulating autoimmunity, inflammatory responses, and cell death processes. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been reported to have a variety of pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

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The incidence and severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) is increased yearly in diabetic patients. Although the mechanisms for this remain unclear, the prevention of AKI in diabetic nephropathy is feasible and of value. As we detected highly activation of TGF-β/Smad3 signaling in both human biopsy and mouse model of diabetic nephropathy, we hypothesized that Smad3 activation in diabetic kidneys may increase AKI sensitivity.

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Alcohol consumption causes renal injury and compromises kidney function. The underlying mechanism of the alcoholic kidney disease remains largely unknown. In the present study, an alcoholic renal fibrosis animal model was first employed which mice received liquid diet containing alcohol for 4 to 12 weeks.

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Background/aims: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by a tumor-like expansion of the synovium and the subsequent destruction of adjacent articular cartilage and bone. Recent studies have shown that phosphatase and tension homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) might contribute to the surviva of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in RA. The purpose of this study was to explore the functions and underlying mechanisms of PTEN in the proliferation and migration of FLSs.

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth most frequent type of malignancy in the world. Metastasis accounts for >90% mortalities in patients with CRC. The metastasis-associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) gene has been identified as a novel biomarker for the prediction of metastasis and disease prognosis, particularly for patients with early-stage disease.

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Adverse drug reactions (ADR) and drug ineffectiveness are the common in clinical practice. Recent studies have indicated their strong connection to the genetic feature of patients. To further illustrate this relationship, the discipline of Pharmacogenomics (PGx) was born.

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