Most ApoL1 Is Secreted by the Liver.

Two coding sequence variants in the gene (G1 and G2) explain much of the increased risk for FSGS, HIV-associated nephropathy, and hypertension-attributed ESRD among people of recent African ancestry. The ApoL1 protein is expressed in a wide variety of cell tissues. It has been assumed that the majority of circulating ApoL1 is produced by the liver, but this has not been shown.

Low nephron number and its clinical consequences.

Epidemiologic studies now strongly support the hypothesis, proposed over two decades ago, that developmental programming of the kidney impacts an individual's risk for hypertension and renal disease in later life. Low birth weight is the strongest current clinical surrogate marker for an adverse intrauterine environment and, based on animal and human studies, is associated with a low nephron number. Other clinical correlates of low nephron number include female gender, short adult stature, small kidney size, and prematurity.

Respiratory modulation of heart sound morphology.

Heart sounds, the acoustic vibrations produced by the mechanical processes of the cardiac cycle, are modulated by respiratory activity. We have used computational techniques of cluster analysis and classification to study the effects of the respiratory phase and the respiratory resistive load on the temporal and morphological properties of the first (S1) and second heart sounds (S2), acquired from 12 healthy volunteers. Heart sounds exhibited strong morphological variability during normal respiration and nearly no variability during apnea.