MID1-COMPLEMENTING ACTIVITY (MCA) is a land plant-specific, plasma membrane protein, and Ca2+ signaling component that responds to exogenous mechanical stimuli, such as touch, gravity, and hypotonic-osmotic stress, in various plant species. MCA is essential for cell proliferation and differentiation during growth and development in rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays). However, the mechanism by which MCA mediates cell proliferation and differentiation via Ca2+ signaling remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/objectives: Lipid metabolism and adiponectin modulate erythropoiesis in vitro and in general population studies and may also affect responsiveness to erythropoietin in patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD). However, little is known about the impact of lipid-associated biomarkers on reticulocyte production and erythropoietin resistance index (ERI) in patients undergoing HD. Therefore, we aimed to investigate their impacts in 167 stable patients undergoing HD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) and its exogenous activators (fibrates) promote autophagy. However, whether the deleterious effects of PPAR-α deficiency on doxorubicin (DOX)-induced podocytopathy are associated with reduced autophagy remains to be clarified. We investigated the mechanisms of PPAR-α in DOX-induced podocytopathy and tubular injury in PPAR-α knockout (PAKO) mice and in a murine podocyte cell line.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients on haemodialysis (HD) have high mortality risk, and prognostic values of the major cardiovascular biomarkers cardiac troponin I (cTnI), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and adiponectin should be ascertained over longer follow-up periods using higher-sensitivity assays, which we undertook. In 221 HD patients, levels of high-sensitivity (hs)-cTnI, NT-proBNP, and adiponectin, were measured using high-sensitivity assays, and their associations with all-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) were prospectively investigated for 7 years. Higher hs-cTnI and NT-proBNP levels were significant risk factors for ACM and CVM in the Kaplan-Meier analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF