Plasmapheresis in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis with Active Kidney Involvement in the United States (2016-2020): A Cross-Sectional Study.

Key Points: Plasmapheresis is recommended for treating ANCA-associated vasculitis with severe renal and/or lung involvement. We established the cohort being admitted for ANCA-associated vasculitis with active kidney involvement from the 2016–2020 National Inpatient Sample. We described characteristics, inpatient procedures, lengths of stay, hospital costs, and disposition for patients treated with plasmapheresis.

A Survey for Charting Intake, Output, and Body Weight in the Electronic Medical Record.

Background: The accuracy of documentation of body weight and fluid balance in hospitalized patients is frequently questioned.

Methods: We conducted a survey to understand provider perceptions of the accuracy of intake, output, and weight charting in the electronic medical record. We sent a six-item questionnaire to nurses and physicians who provide inpatient service in a community-based teaching hospital of the Northeastern United States.

Fibroblast expression of transmembrane protein smoothened governs microenvironment characteristics after acute kidney injury.

The smoothened (Smo) receptor facilitates hedgehog signaling between kidney fibroblasts and tubules during acute kidney injury (AKI). Tubule-derived hedgehog is protective in AKI, but the role of fibroblast-selective Smo is unclear. Here, we report that Smo-specific ablation in fibroblasts reduced tubular cell apoptosis and inflammation, enhanced perivascular mesenchymal cell activities, and preserved kidney function after AKI.

Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis with Active Kidney Involvement in the United States: 2016-2020.

Introduction: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) and its subtypes, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), and eosinophilic GPA (EGPA), frequently present with acute kidney injury and can often lead to kidney failure, even with successful induction therapy. Few contemporary, nationally representative studies have described hospital complications of AAV.

Methods: Using data from the 2016-2020 National Inpatient Sample, a nationally representative database, we identified hospitalizations from adults with a new diagnosis of AAV (subtype or unspecified) and an inpatient kidney biopsy during the index hospitalization.

The effects of Hook F on renal outcomes in type 2 diabetic kidney disease patients with severe proteinuria: a single-center cohort study.

Aim: Hook F (TwHF) has been shown to substantially reduce proteinuria in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD); however, the effect of TwHF on renal outcomes in DKD remains unknown. Accordingly, we aimed to establish the effects of TwHF on renal outcomes in patients with DKD.

Methods: Overall, 124 patients with DKD, induced by type 2 diabetes mellitus, with 24-h proteinuria > 2 g, and an estimated glomerular filtration rate > 30 mL/min/1.

Urinary complement proteins in IgA nephropathy progression from a relative quantitative proteomic analysis.

Aim: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Urine testing is a non-invasive way to track the biomarkers used for measuring renal injury. This study aimed to analyse urinary complement proteins during IgAN progression using quantitative proteomics.

Calponin 2 harnesses metabolic reprogramming to determine kidney fibrosis.

Objective: In the fibrotic kidneys, the extent of a formed deleterious microenvironment is determined by cellular mechanical forces. This process requires metabolism for energy. However, how cellular mechanics and metabolism are connected remains unclear.

pSTAT1 Is Activated during the Progression of IgA Nephropathy.

Introduction: IgA nephropathy is the most common primary glomerular disease. Its pathogenesis is still poorly understood. Alterations of the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway may play an important role in IgA nephropathy.

Calponin 2 harnesses metabolic reprogramming to determine kidney fibrosis.

In the fibrotic kidneys, the extent of a formed deleterious microenvironment is determined by cellular mechanical forces. This process requires metabolism for energy; however, how cellular mechanics and metabolism are connected remains unclear. Our proteomics revealed that actin filament binding and cell metabolism are the two most dysregulated events in the fibrotic kidneys.

Serum integrative omics reveals the landscape of human diabetic kidney disease.

Objective: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (2-DM). Currently, urine and kidney biopsy specimens are the major clinical resources for DKD diagnosis. Our study proposes to evaluate the diagnostic value of blood in monitoring the onset of DKD and distinguishing its status in the clinic.

JAK-STAT Activity in Peripheral Blood Cells and Kidney Tissue in IgA Nephropathy.

Background And Objectives: IgA nephropathy is the most common primary glomerular disease in the world. Marked by mesangial inflammation and proliferation, it generally leads to progressive kidney fibrosis. As the Janus kinase signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway has been implicated as an important mediator of diabetic kidney disease and FSGS, detailed investigation of this pathway in IgA nephropathy was undertaken to establish the basis for targeting this pathway across glomerular diseases.

Effects of keto acid supplements on Chinese patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis: a prospective, randomized, controlled, single-center clinical study.

Background: The effects of keto acid (KA) supplements on Chinese patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) are unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of KA supplementation on nutritional status, inflammatory markers, and bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) parameters in a cohort of Chinese patients with MHD without malnutrition.

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, controlled, single-center clinical study conducted in 2011 till 2014.

A rare case of Alport syndrome, atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome and Pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis.

Background: Renal thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is occasionally seen in biopsies with pauci-immune necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis (PCGN). Recent study indicated that the complement activation is more prominent in the ANCA-negative glomerulonephritis.

Case Presentation: We report a case of concurrent TMA and PCGN without ANCA positivity.

JAK-STAT signaling is activated in the kidney and peripheral blood cells of patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS) is a devastating disease with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. Activated JAK-STAT signaling has been implicated in other kidney diseases. Since new technologies allow us to better evaluate changes in systemic and renal JAK-STAT activity as it relates to kidney function, we examined this in 106 patients with biopsy-proven FSGS compared to 47 healthy control individuals.

A High Fat Diet During Pregnancy and Lactation Induces Cardiac and Renal Abnormalities in GLUT4 +/- Male Mice.

Background/aims: Altered nutrients during the in utero (IU) and/or lactation (L) period predispose offspring to cardio-renal diseases in adulthood. This study investigates the effect of a high fat diet (HFD) fed to female mice during IU/L on gene expression patterns associated with heart and kidney failure and hypertension in male offspring.

Methods: Female wild type (WT) mice were fed either a HFD or control chow (C) prior to mating with males with a genetic heterozygous deletion of GLUT4 (G4+/-, a model of peripheral insulin resistance and hypertension) and throughout IU/L.

Cytomegalovirus infection in patients with lupus nephritis: clinical and laboratory features and therapeutic considerations.

To better clarify the clinical features and therapeutic strategy of CMV infection in lupus nephritis patients, we retrospectively surveyed a total of 40 lupus nephritis patients, who had been hospitalized and underwent renal biopsy and diagnosed as having CMV infection during their hospitalization at our institution within the last 10 years. The percentage of CMV infections in the entire hospitalized lupus nephritis population was 5.3% (40/755).

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Predicts Clinical Response to Cyclosporine Treatment in Primary Membranous Nephropathy.

Background: Little is known about the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) marker glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and calcineurin in the kidney in primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) and if they could predict post-cyclosporine treatment outcome.

Methods: This is a retrospective study using a dataset of biopsy-confirmed PMN from Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 1996 to 2014. Seventy-six adult patients treated with cyclosporine as primary immunosuppression for at least 6 months were studied.

Differential urinary glycoproteome analysis of type 2 diabetic nephropathy using 2D-LC-MS/MS and iTRAQ quantification.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of chronic kidney failure and end-stage kidney disease. More accurate and non-invasive test for the diagnosis and monitoring the progression of DN is urgently needed for the better care of such patients.

Methods: In this study we utilized urinary glycoproteome to discover the differential proteins during the course of type 2 DN.

Kick it up a notch: Notch signaling and kidney fibrosis.

Notch is a critical regulator of kidney development, but the pathway is mostly silenced once kidney maturation is achieved. Recent reports demonstrated increased expression of Notch receptors and ligands both in acute and chronic kidney injury. studies indicated that Notch activation might contribute to regeneration after acute kidney injury; on the other hand, sustained Notch expression is causally associated with interstitial fibrosis and glomerulosclerosis.

Deletion of Lkb1 in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells Leads to CKD by Altering Metabolism.

Renal tubule epithelial cells are high-energy demanding polarized epithelial cells. Liver kinase B1 (LKB1) is a key regulator of polarity, proliferation, and cell metabolism in epithelial cells, but the function of LKB1 in the kidney is unclear. Our unbiased gene expression studies of human control and CKD kidney samples identified lower expression of LKB1 and regulatory proteins in CKD.

Defective fatty acid oxidation in renal tubular epithelial cells has a key role in kidney fibrosis development.

Renal fibrosis is the histological manifestation of a progressive, usually irreversible process causing chronic and end-stage kidney disease. We performed genome-wide transcriptome studies of a large cohort (n = 95) of normal and fibrotic human kidney tubule samples followed by systems and network analyses and identified inflammation and metabolism as the top dysregulated pathways in the diseased kidneys. In particular, we found that humans and mouse models with tubulointerstitial fibrosis had lower expression of key enzymes and regulators of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and higher intracellular lipid deposition compared to controls.

[Expression of calcineurin in podocytes in response to endoplasmic reticulum stress in diabetic nephropathy].

Objective: To investigate the regulation of calcineurin (CaN) by endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in podocytes in vitro and in vivo at the stage microalbuminuria in diabetic nehropathy (DN).

Methods: The urinary albumin excretions of C57BLKS/J (Lepr) db/db and db/m mice at the ages of 6, 9, and 12 weeks were measured. The expressions of CaN and synaptopodin of these mice were observed.

A multicolor podocyte reporter highlights heterogeneous podocyte changes in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

In contrast to most glomerular diseases, the injury pattern in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is highly heterogeneous, even though podocytes are genetically identical and exposed to the same environmental factors. To understand changes in individual podocytes, we generated and analyzed a stochastic multicolor Cre-reporter, encoding four fluorescent proteins. In these animals, podocytes were randomly labeled allowing individual cells and their foot processes to be distinguished.

Correlations of podocyte injury with glucose regulated protein 78 expression and proteinuria in patients with diabetic nephropathy.

Objective: To explore the podocyte injury in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) and analyze its relationship with glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and proteinuria.

Methods: The clinical data of 48 patients diagnosed as DN by renal biopsy were reviewed. All patients were divided into two groups according to proteinuria (>3.