Clinical Course and Factors Correlated with Severe Morbidity and Mortality in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Undergoing Maintenance Dialysis in Kanagawa, Japan.

Objective Patients undergoing maintenance dialysis are at a higher risk of morbidity and mortality due to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population. However, longitudinal data regarding this subpopulation of patients are lacking. We therefore examined the prognosis of patients with COVID-19 undergoing maintenance dialysis between 2020 and 2023.

Renal tubule angiotensin II type 1 receptor-associated protein promotes natriuresis and inhibits salt-sensitive blood pressure elevation.

Background: Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R)-associated protein (ATRAP; Agtrap gene) promotes AT1R internalization along with suppression of pathological AT1R activation. In this study, we examined whether enhancement of ATRAP in the renal distal tubules affects sodium handling and blood pressure regulation in response to high salt (HS) loading, using ATRAP transgenic mice on a salt-sensitive C57BL/6J background.

Methods And Results: Renal ATRAP transgenic (rATRAP-Tg) mice, which exhibit renal tubule-dominant ATRAP enhancement, and their wild-type littermate C57BL/6J mice on a normal salt diet (0.

Endovascular treatment of renal artery stenosis improves contralateral renal hypertrophy with nephrotic syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome due to renovascular hypertension is uncommon. We herein report a case of nephrotic syndrome associated with unilateral atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis. A 76-year-old woman who had been taking antihypertensive medication for more than 15 years was referred to our hospital for treatment of uncontrolled hypertension and massive proteinuria in the nephrotic range.

Efficient de novo assembly of highly heterozygous genomes from whole-genome shotgun short reads.

Although many de novo genome assembly projects have recently been conducted using high-throughput sequencers, assembling highly heterozygous diploid genomes is a substantial challenge due to the increased complexity of the de Bruijn graph structure predominantly used. To address the increasing demand for sequencing of nonmodel and/or wild-type samples, in most cases inbred lines or fosmid-based hierarchical sequencing methods are used to overcome such problems. However, these methods are costly and time consuming, forfeiting the advantages of massive parallel sequencing.

Prepubertal angiotensin blockade exerts long-term therapeutic effect through sustained ATRAP activation in salt-sensitive hypertensive rats.

Objective: We previously showed that the molecule interacting with Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R), ATRAP, promotes AT1R internalization and attenuates AT1R-mediated pathological responses. In this study we examined whether the regulation of renal ATRAP expression is related to the development of salt-induced hypertension and renal injury as well as to the beneficial effects of AT1R blockade.

Methods And Results: Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive hypertensive and Dahl Iwai salt-resistant rats were divided into six groups for the administration of vehicle or olmesartan either continuously from 3 to 16 weeks, or transiently from weaning to puberty (3-10 weeks), and fed high salt diet from 6 to 16 weeks.

[Effects of combination therapy with losartan/hydrochlorothiazide on the relationships between base blood pressure, autonomic function, and health-related QOL].

We reported on the relationship between base blood pressure (BP), autonomic function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in healthy adults. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between the antihypertensive effects, autonomic function, and HRQOL following the treatment of hypertensive subjects with losartan/hydrochlorothiazide in hypertensives. In the 10 hypertensive patients treated with angiotensin receptor blockers for more than 1 month, combination therapy with losartan/hydrochlorothiazide was conducted for 3 months after the cessation of treatment with angiotensin receptor blockers.

Intrarenal suppression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor binding molecule in angiotensin II-infused mice.

ATRAP [ANG II type 1 receptor (AT1R)-associated protein] is a molecule which directly interacts with AT1R and inhibits AT1R signaling. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of continuous ANG II infusion on the intrarenal expression and distribution of ATRAP and to determine the role of AT1R signaling in mediating these effects. C57BL/6 male mice were subjected to vehicle or ANG II infusions at doses of 200, 1,000, or 2,500 ng·kg(-1)·min(-1) for 14 days.

Cardiac-specific activation of angiotensin II type 1 receptor-associated protein completely suppresses cardiac hypertrophy in chronic angiotensin II-infused mice.

We cloned a novel molecule interacting with angiotensin II type 1 receptor, which we named ATRAP (for angiotensin II type 1 receptor-associated protein). Previous in vitro studies showed that ATRAP significantly promotes constitutive internalization of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor and further attenuates angiotensin II-mediated hypertrophic responses in cardiomyocytes. The present study was designed to investigate the putative functional role of ATRAP in cardiac hypertrophy by angiotensin II infusion in vivo.

Expression, transcription, and possible antagonistic interaction of the human Nedd4L gene variant: implications for essential hypertension.

Net sodium balances in humans are maintained through various ion transporters expressed along the entire nephron. Among these ion transporters, epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) located along the aldosterone-sensitive distal nephron (ASDN) play a pivotal role in the homeostasis of sodium balance. This is supported by analyses of inherited hypertensive disorders, showing that genes encoding ENaC and other modulatory proteins cause hereditary hypertension, such as Liddle syndrome.

Behçet's disease complicated by IgA nephropathy with nephrotic syndrome.

A 65-year-old woman with a 48-year history of Behçet's disease associated with nephrotic syndrome is described. Immunofluorescence study revealed IgA nephropathy. Following treatment with an angiotensin II type-I receptor-blocker, an anti-platelet drug, and an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, accompanied by dietary restrictions of protein and sodium, proteinuria was markedly decreased.

Ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate in hypertensives with renal failure: comparison between diabetic nephropathy and non-diabetic glomerulopathy.

The purpose of this study was to examine a possible difference in the 24-h blood pressure (BP) profile between hypertensives with diabetic nephropathy (DN) and those with non-diabetic glomerulopathy (non-DN). We measured 24-h ambulatory BP in 34 type 2 DN and 34 non-DN patients who were hospitalized for the educational program in our hospital. There were no significant differences in 24-h and daytime systolic BP between DN (143 vs.

Expression of MAK-V/Hunk in renal distal tubules and its possible involvement in proliferative suppression.

MAK-V/Hunk is an SNF1-related serine/threonine kinase which was previously shown to be highly expressed in the mammary gland and central nervous system. In this study, we found MAK-V/Hunk is abundantly and specifically expressed in the thick ascending limbs and distal convoluted tubules (DCT) of the kidney from the embryonic stage to the adult stage. We demonstrated that dietary salt depletion significantly enhances renal MAK-V/Hunk mRNA levels compared with a normal-salt diet.

A possible relationship of nocturnal blood pressure variability with coronary artery disease in diabetic nephropathy.

Evidence suggests a relationship between short-term blood pressure (BP) variability and cardiovascular target-organ damage. Although a blunted nocturnal decrease in BP and reduced heart rate variability have been shown to be associated with cardiovascular morbidity in diabetic patients, little information is available on short-term BP variability. In this study, short-term BP variability was assessed in 36 subjects with type 2 diabetes and overt nephropathy who underwent ambulatory BP monitoring, and the factors that correlated with short-term BP variability were examined.

Interacting molecule of AT1 receptor, ATRAP, is colocalized with AT1 receptor in the mouse renal tubules.

The renin-angiotensin system in the kidney plays a critical role in the regulation of renal hemodynamics and sodium handling through the activation of vascular, glomerular and tubular angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor-mediated signaling. We previously cloned a molecule that specifically bound to the AT1 receptor and modulated AT1 receptor signaling in vitro, which we named ATRAP (for AT1 receptor-associated protein). The purpose of this study is to analyze the renal distribution of ATRAP and to examine whether ATRAP is co-expressed with the AT1 receptor in the mouse kidney.

Acute renal failure due to cholesterol crystal embolism treated with LDL apheresis followed by corticosteroid and candesartan.

Cholesterol crystal embolism (CCE) is caused by the shedding of cholesterol crystals into the bloodstream, and it has been recently recognized as a serious complication after vascular procedures. Our case of CCE, which was diagnosed by skin and renal biopsies, occurred in a patient with hypertension and diabetes mellitus, 3 months after coronary angiography, with the development of renal failure and blue toes. After low-density lipoprotein apheresis (LDL-A), the skin lesions, including livedo reticularis and pain from the acrocyanotic toes, dramatically improved, with partial recovery of renal function.

Severe hyperparathyroidism with hypercalcemia associated with chronic renal failure at pre-dialysis stage.

We report a case of a 23-year-old Japanese woman who had severe hyperparathyroidism associated with chronic renal failure before the start of dialysis treatment. Her chief complaints were swelling and pain in both shoulders. Laboratory examination revealed renal failure (BUN 134 mg/dl, serum Cr 7.

Angiotensin II inhibits interleukin-1 beta-induced nitric oxide production in cultured rat mesangial cells.

Background: Macrophage-type nitric oxide synthase (NOS-II) is expressed in glomerular mesangial cells in response to inflammatory cytokines. Nitric oxide (NO) has antithrombotic and cytostatic activities in glomerular diseases. Recent studies have suggested that several vasoactive substances and growth factors modulate NO production in a tissue-specific manner.

Renin-angiotensin system and fibronectin gene expression in Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats.

Objective: The tissue renin-angiotensin system and extracellular matrix are involved in the cardiovascular hypertrophy and remodeling induced by hypertension. In this study, we examined the gene expression of the tissue renin-angiotensin system and fibronectin in inbred Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats.

Materials And Methods: Eight pairs of 6-week-old male Dahl Iwai salt-sensitive and salt-resistant rats were fed either a low- or high-salt diet (0.

Simultaneous improvement of minimal-change nephrotic syndrome and anemia with steroid therapy.

A 56-year-old man presented with transient anemia in minimal-change nephrotic syndrome. Following nephrotic syndrome, anemia suddenly appeared without renal dysfunction. The anemia might be attributable to hemodilution because of significant correlations between the values of hemoglobin concentration and serum total protein or blood urea nitrogen during the clinical course.

Developmental changes in expression of angiotensinogen mRNA in rat nephron segments.

We studied the localization of angiotensinogen mRNA in rat nephron segments and the differences in angiotensinogen mRNA levels between male Sprague-Dawley rats at 6 and 12 wk of age using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Each nephron segment of the rat kidney was microdissected. Total RNA was prepared and used in the following RT-PCR assay.

Possible role of c-Jun in transcription of the mouse renin gene.

Background: Renin is a rate-limiting enzyme for activity of the circulating renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and expression of the renin gene is regulated by a variety of stimuli. In this study, we examined a possible role of c-Jun in the transcription of renin gene.

Methods: The renin promoter, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), fusion genes with or without c-Jun expression vector (pSV-c-Jun) were transfected into human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells, and the effects of c-Jun were examined by deletion and mutation analyses of CAT assay and by in vitro transcription-primer extension assay.