Hamster spermatozoa incorporate hypotaurine via TauT for self-protection.

In Brief: Mammalian spermatozoa actively generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) during capacitation, a maturational process necessary for fertilization in vivo. This study shows that hypotaurine, a precursor of taurine present in the oviduct, is incorporated and concentrated in hamster sperm cells via the taurine transporter, TauT, for cytoprotection against self-produced ROS.

Abstract: To achieve fertilization competence, mammalian spermatozoa undergo capacitation, during which they actively generate reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Exploring the Multifaceted Nexus of Uric Acid and Health: A Review of Recent Studies on Diverse Diseases.

The prevalence of patients with hyperuricemia or gout is increasing worldwide. Hyperuricemia and gout are primarily attributed to genetic factors, along with lifestyle factors like consuming a purine-rich diet, alcohol and/or fructose intake, and physical activity. While numerous studies have reported various comorbidities linked to hyperuricemia or gout, the range of these associations is extensive.

Utility of growth differentiation factor-15 as a predictor of cardiovascular surgery outcomes: Current research and future directions.

In a world increasingly confronted by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and an aging population, accurate risk assessment prior to cardiac surgery is critical. Although effective, traditional risk calculators such as the Japan SCORE, Society of Thoracic Surgeons score, and EuroSCORE II may not completely capture contemporary risks, particularly due to emerging factors such as frailty and sarcopenia. These calculators often focus on regional and ethnic specificity and rely heavily on evaluations based on age and underlying diseases.

Uric acid and neurological disease: a narrative review.

Hyperuricemia often accompanies hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and chronic renal disease; it is also closely related to cardiovascular disease. Moreover, several epidemiological studies have linked hyperuricemia and ischemic stroke. However, uric acid may also have neuroprotective effects because of its antioxidant properties.

Dysuricemia-A New Concept Encompassing Hyperuricemia and Hypouricemia.

The importance of uric acid, the final metabolite of purines excreted by the kidneys and intestines, was not previously recognized, except for its role in forming crystals in the joints and causing gout. However, recent evidence implies that uric acid is not a biologically inactive substance and may exert a wide range of effects, including antioxidant, neurostimulatory, proinflammatory, and innate immune activities. Notably, uric acid has two contradictory properties: antioxidant and oxidative ones.

Overview of mechanical circulatory support for the management of post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal rupture.

Post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal rupture (PIVSR) is becoming increasingly rare in the percutaneous coronary intervention era; however, the mortality rates remain high. Surgical repair is the gold standard treatment for PIVSR but is associated with surgical difficulty and high mortality. Therefore, the timing of surgery is controversial (i.

Serum and Adipose Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 in Cardiovascular Surgery Patients: Influence of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 Inhibitors.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) is a novel adipokine and may be involved in the association between adipose tissue and metabolic syndrome. We investigated DPP-4 and adiponectin levels in the serum, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), and their relationship with preoperative factors, as well as comparing the DPP-4 levels in SAT and EAT with and without DPP-4 inhibitors. This study included 40 patients (25 men, age 67.

Effects of 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol on insulin secretion both in in vitro and ex vivo pancreatic preparations.

Organ bath experiments are conventionally used to investigate the physiological actions and effects of hormones and drugs on organ responses. We developed an experimental method to reproduce insulin secretion from isolated rat pancreas preparations, to investigate substances that promote insulin secretion ex vivo. 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol (1,5-AG) is found in foods, and exists in humans and rodents; however, whether 1,5-AG stimulates insulin secretion remains unclear.

Hypouricemia and Urate Transporters.

Hypouricemia is recognized as a rare disorder, defined as a serum uric acid level of 2.0 mg/dL or less. Hypouricemia is divided into an overexcretion type and an underproduction type.

Effect of sarcopenia on hospital stay from post cardiac surgery to discharge.

Background: Cardiovascular surgery in older patients with sarcopenia has high rates of major complications, long hospital stays, readmissions, and discharge transfers. However, the factors that influence the length of hospital stay are unknown. This study aimed was to identify the predictors of the prolonged hospital stay in patients with sarcopenia after cardiovascular surgery.

In vitro study on effect of bardoxolone methyl on cisplatin-induced cellular senescence in human proximal tubular cells.

Bardoxolone methyl [methyl-2-cyano-3, 12-dioxooleana-1, 9(11)dien-28-oate (CDDO-Me)], an activator of the nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-related factor2 pathway, is a potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of kidney diseases. However, its effect against cellular senescence remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether CDDO-Me protects cells against cisplatin-induced cellular senescence using an in vitro model.

Glucose control, diabetic retinopathy, and hemodialysis induction in subjects with normo-microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients with normal renal function followed for 15 years.

Aims: A high urinary albumin excretion (UAE) and low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are risk factors for progressive renal function loss in type 2 diabetic patients. In addition, diabetic retinopathy (DR) is also a risk factor for progressive renal function decline in microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients. We aimed to elucidate the factors, including DR, associated with a more severe situation of diabetic nephropathy, i.

The Effects of Trypsin Inhibitor on Insulin Secretion Using Rat Pancreas in an Organ Bath.

Background/aim: We developed an experimental method to reproduce insulin secretion from isolated rat pancreas preparations using an organ bath system. However, secretion of trypsin, another pancreatic enzyme, interferes with insulin production in such systems. We aimed to ascertain the minimum trypsin inhibitor (TI), dose for obtaining a sustained, stable rate of insulin secretion.

Antitumor effect of dimethyl itaconate on thymic carcinoma by targeting LDHA-mTOR axis.

Aims: Thymic carcinoma is a rare type of cancer without an established standard pharmaceutical treatment. This study investigated the antitumor effect of dimethyl itaconate (DI), a cell-permeable derivative of itaconate, on human thymic carcinoma cell line.

Main Methods: Human thymic carcinoma cell line Ty82 was used to evaluate the effect of DI on cell viability.

Evidence for Urate Uptake Through Monocarboxylate Transporter 9 Expressed in Mammalian Cells and Its Enhancement by Heat Shock.

Monocarboxylate transporter 9 (MCT9), an orphan transporter member of the solute carrier family 16 (SLC16), possibly reabsorbs uric acid in the renal tubule and has been suggested by genome-wide association studies to be involved in the development of hyperuricemia and gout. In this study we investigated the mechanisms regulating the expression of human (h) MCT9, its degradation, and physiological functions. hMCT9-FLAG was stably expressed in HEK293 cells and its degradation, intracellular localization, and urate uptake activities were assessed by pulse-chase analysis, immunofluorescence, and [C]-urate uptake experiments, respectively.

Arteriolar hyalinosis is related to rapid GFR decline and long-standing GFR changes observed on renal biopsies in normo-microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients.

Aims: Whether or not renal structural changes, especially arteriolar hyalinosis, are related to the rate of renal functional decline and increase in urinary albumin excretion (UAE) at the early stage of diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes is still unknown. Our previous study determined that arteriolar hyalinosis is an independent risk factor for low GFR. We sought to determine whether arteriolar hyalinosis is also a risk factor for rapidly progressive decline in GFR.

Recent approaches to gout drug discovery: an update.

Introduction: Inflammation induced by urate deposition in joints causes gout. Healthy individuals maintain serum levels of urate by balancing urate production/excretion, whereas a production/excretion imbalance increases urate levels. Hyperuricemia is diagnosed when the serum urate level is continuously above 7 mg/dl as the solubility limit, and urate accumulates in the kidneys and joints.

Contribution of Rare Variants of the Gene to the Missing Heritability of Serum Urate Levels.

Gout is a common arthritis caused by monosodium urate crystals. The heritability of serum urate levels is estimated to be 30-70%; however, common genetic variants account for only 7.9% of the variance in serum urate levels.

Association of Hemoglobin A1c, 1,5-Anhydro-D-Glucitol and Glycated Albumin with Oxidative Stress in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Oxidative stress plays a central role in the development and progression of vascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We have previously shown that markers of glucose variability evaluated by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) are positively associated with oxidative stress in patients with T2DM. However, the evaluation of the glycemic variability by CGM remains a time- and money-consuming procedure.

Development of an organ bath technique for isolated rat pancreas preparations to assess the effect of 1,5-AG on insulin secretion.

To investigate substances related to insulin secretion, we reported a convenient experimental method to reproduce insulin secretion from isolated rat pancreas preparations using an organ bath. While the method has experimental utility for investigating insulin secretion, optimization of the experimental design is still needed. The level of insulin outflow in the control decreased over time in our previous study.

Sodium-coupled monocarboxylate transporter 1 interacts with the RING finger- and PDZ domain-containing protein PDZRN3.

Sodium-coupled monocarboxylate transporter SMCT1 (SLC5A8) mediates monocarboxylate transport in the proximal tubule of the kidney. We have identified PDZK1 and PDZ domain-containing RING finger 3 (PDZRN3) as potent binding partners of SMCT1, which has a PDZ motif (Thr-Arg-Leu), by yeast two-hybrid screening and revealed that PDZK1 enhances the transport activity of SMCT1. In this study, we aimed to characterize the interaction between SMCT1 and PDZRN3 as well as to examine how PDZRN3 regulates SMCT1 function.

Serial renal biopsies in normo- and microalbuminuric patients with type 2 diabetes demonstrate that loss of renal function is associated with a reduction in glomerular filtration surface secondary to mesangial expansion.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between changes in renal structure in patients with type 2 diabetes at an early stage of diabetic nephropathy using serial renal biopsies, and change in renal function.

Methods: The study population comprised 10 patients with type 2 diabetes with normo- or microalbuminuria at baseline. Light and electron microscopy-based morphometric analyses were performed to quantitatively evaluate glomerular and interstitial structural changes.

Effects of uric acid on vascular endothelial function from bedside to bench.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of uric acid on vascular endothelial function in measurements carried out either at the bedside or the laboratory bench. First, we performed reactive hyperemia peripheral arterial tonometry using an EndoPAT 2000 device and measured serum uric acid levels in 92 outpatients with hypertension. The reactive hyperemia index (RHI) showed no correlation with serum uric acid level (R = -0.

MARCKS phosphorylation and amylase release in GLP-1-stimulated acini isolated from rat pancreas.

Little is known about the effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) on the pancreatic exocrine gland. In the gland, secretagogues induce amylase release. That signal transduction is evoked mainly by an increase in intracellular Ca levels and activation of protein kinase C (PKC).