ABSTRACT
Background@#Oxidative stress induced by chronic hyperglycemia is recognized as a significant mechanistic contributor to the development of diabetic kidney disease (DKD).Nonphagocytic nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (Nox4) is a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in many cell types and in the kidney tissue of diabetic animals. We designed this study to explore the therapeutic potential of chloroquine (CQ) and amodiaquine (AQ) for inhibiting mitochondrial Nox4 and diabetic tubular injury. @*Methods@#Human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (hRPTCs) were cultured in highglucose media (30 mM D-glucose), and diabetes was induced with streptozotocin (STZ, 50 mg/kg i.p. for 5 days) in male C57BL/6J mice. CQ and AQ were administered to the mice via intraperitoneal injection for 14 weeks. @*Results@#CQ and AQ inhibited mitochondrial Nox4 and increased mitochondrial mass in hRPTCs under high-glucose conditions. Reduced mitochondrial ROS production after treatment with the drugs resulted in decreased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, suppressed inflammatory protein expression and reduced cell apoptosis in hRPTCs under high-glucose conditions. Notably, CQ and AQ treatment diminished Nox4 activation and ER stress in the kidneys of STZ-induced diabetic mice. In addition, we observed attenuated inflammatory protein expression and albuminuria in STZ-induced diabetic mice after CQ and AQ treatment. @*Conclusion@#We substantiated the protective actions of CQ and AQ in diabetic tubulopathy associated with reduced mitochondrial Nox4 activation and ER stress alleviation. Further studies exploring the roles of mitochondrial Nox4 in the pathogenesis of DKD could suggest new therapeutic targets for patients with DKD.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between powerlessness, sense of belonging and nutritional status of the elderly. METHOD: The study sample was 100 living at home and institutions. Data were collected by interview from Oct. to Dec. in 2003. The instruments were helplessness scale developed by Jung (1998), sense of belonging scale SOBI-A and nutritional initial screening. RESULT: The mean score of powerlessness was 2.71+/-.30, sense of belonging was 2.87+/-.19, and nutritional status was 4.42+/-.34. There was a statistically significant differences in powerlessness according to age (F=3.185, p=0.027), health status (F=6.945, P=0.002), religion (F=5.941, P=0.001), current spouse (t=-0.384, p=0.026), in sense of belonging according to age (F=4.40, P=0.006), length of education (F=10.64, P=<.0001) and in nutritional status according to age (F=3.34, P= 0.022), health status (F=2.86, P=0.027). There was a statistically significant correlation between powerlessness and nutritional status (r=0.219, p=0.029). CONCLUSION: Nurses are able to decrease powerlessness or increase sense of belonging and nutritional status of the elderly by developing the health promotion program, improving perceived health status and empowering social interaction of the elderly specifically living at institutions.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Health Promotion , Interpersonal Relations , Mass Screening , Nutritional Status , SpousesABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to identify molecular markers associated with oncogenic differentiation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Using an unsupervised clustering method with a cDNA microarray, HCC (T) gene expression profiles and corresponding non-tumor tissues (NT) from 40 patients were analyzed. Of total 217 genes, 72 were expressed preferentially in HCC tissues. Among 186 differentially regulated genes, there were molecular chaperone and tumor suppressor gene clusters in the Edmondson grades I and II (GI/II) subclass compared with the liver cirrhosis (LC) subclass. The Edmondson grades III and IV (GIII/IV) subclass with a poor survival (P = 0.0133) contained 122 differentially regulated genes with a cluster containing various metastasis- and invasion-related genes compared with the GI/II subclass. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that ANXA2, one of the 72 genes preferentially expressed in HCC, was over-expressed in the sinusoidal endothelium and in malignant hepatocytes in HCC. The genes identified in the HCC subclasses will be useful molecular markers for the genesis and progression of HCC. In addition, ANXA2 might be a novel marker for tumor angiogenesis in HCC.