Emodin, a Natural Anthraquinone, Increases Uric Acid Excretion in Rats with Potassium Oxonate-Induced Hyperuricemia.

The treatment of hyperuricemia and gout is mostly based on lowering serum uric acid levels using drugs, such as allopurinol, or increasing urinary excretion of uric acid. However, some patients still experience adverse reactions to allopurinol and turn to Chinese medicine as an alternative. Therefore, it is crucial to design a preclinical study to obtain more convincing data on the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout with Chinese medicine.

Extract Prevents Calcium Oxalate Crystallization and Extends Lifespan in a Urolithiasis Model.

Approximately 1 in 20 people develops kidney stones at some point in their life. Although the surgical removal of stones is common, the recurrence rate remains high and it is therefore important to prevent the occurrence of kidney stones. We chose (AM), which is a traditional Chinese medicine, to study the prevention of urolithiasis using a model based on our previous screening of traditional Chinese herbs.

Downregulation of tight junction protein zonula occludens-2 and urothelium damage in a cyclophosphamide-induced mouse model of cystitis.

Objectives: The cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced model of cystitis in mice closely fits the symptoms of chronic bladder inflammation. Cystitis was recently found to be due to an altered gap junction protein in a rat model. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate changes in protein expression and composition in the bladder of CYP-treated mice.

A promising protein responsible for overactive bladder in ovariectomized mice.

Objective: Ovariectomy (OVX) in mice is a model mimicking a neuro-electronic proof of an overactive bladder in postmenopausal women. Overactive bladder (OAB) was recently found to be due to an altered gap junction protein in a rat model. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate changes in cell junction protein expression and composition in the bladder of OVX mice.

Urethral proteomic analysis in ovariectomized mice administered 17β-oestradiol replacement therapy.

The molecular mechanism by which 17β-oestradiol (E2) increases urethral tone is unclear. As human tissue is limited in availability, we explored changes in the urethras of ovariectomized (OVX) mice. Twenty-four virgin female mice were randomised into three groups: mice with a sham operation only (control), OVX mice without E2 replacement (OVX), and OVX mice with E2 replacement (OVX + E2).

Toward a new insight of calcium oxalate stones in Drosophila by micro-computerized tomography.

We previously developed an animal model of calcium oxalate (CaOx) deposition on the Malphigian tubules of Drosophila melanogaster as a model of urolithiasis. Here, we introduce a new tool for the study of anatomical structure for Drosophila. As a consequence of technical development, the invention of micro-computerized tomography (CT) has been introduced to the small animal, such as rat and mice.