Analysis of risk factors of acute kidney injury in organ donors

Background: To investigate the occurrence and risk factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) in organ donors. Methods: Clinical data of 153 donor patients who donated organs in our hospital from January 2016 to July 2018 were collected. Patients were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group according to AKI diagnostic criteria. Clinical indicators of patients in the two groups were compared, and the related risk factors were analyzed by unifactorial and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The incidence of donor patients complicated with AKI was 48.37%. Unifactorial analysis suggested that the SOFA score, positive rate of blood culture, hypothermia incidence and vasoactive drug dose in donor AKI group were larger than those in non-AKI group. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the dose of booster drugs (P=0.02, OR=3.53) and the positive rate of blood culture (P=0.01, OR=6.64) were independent risk factors for donor patients complicated with AKI. Conclusion: The incidence of acute kidney injury in organ donors is high, with the dose of booster drugs and the positive rate of blood culture as independent risk factors for evaluation basis to assess the incidence rate of donor patients complicated with AKI.

The Role of Procalcitonin in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Severe Surgical Patients with Sepsis

Purpose:To investigate the clinical significance of serum procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations and related indicators of infection in the early diagnosis and prognosis of severe surgical patients with infection. Methods: This study included 77 critically ill patients taken from the Surgery Department to the Intensive Care unit between June 2015 and July 2017. Patients were divided into control, sepsis and septic shock groups, and their serum concentrations of PCT and related indicators of infection were compared. Results: PCT levels increased significantly from the control to the sepsis group and from the sepsis to the septic shock group (P<0.01 each). There were no significant differences in white blood cell (WBC) count, neutrophil percentage and body temperature among the groups (P>0.05). Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis showed that the areas under the curve (AUC) for PCT, WBC count, neutrophil percentage and body temperature were 0.949, 0.657, 0.640 and 0.656, respectively. PCT, with 0.52 µg/L as the cut-off concentration, had the highest performance in the diagnosis of severe surgical sepsis, with a sensitivity of 96.1%, a specificity of 92.3% and a Youden index of 0.884. Conclusion: PCT concentration is diagnostic of infection in severe surgical patients, has high specificity in the early diagnosis of sepsis, and can reflect the severity of infection.

Bio‑informatics analysis of renal carcinoma gene matrix metalloproteinase‑7.

BACKGROUND: Renal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of the urinary system, seriously threatening human being’s health. The current discoveries, however, are far enough for efficient and secure treatment of renal cancer. AIMS: The aim was to explore the mechanism of matrix metalloproteinase‑7 (MMP‑7) protein in renal carcinoma cell metastasis by bioinformatics analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the composition of amino acids, as well as transmembrane structure, coiled coils, subcellular localization, signal peptide, functions and structures at all levels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: It showed that the gene MMP‑7 totally had 1131 bp. A peptide chain containing 267 amino acids was encoded in the coding region. Based on random coil, α helix, and further super‑helix, it had formed a stable neutral hydrophilic protein. The subcellular location analysis indicated that the protein was located outside the cell. The mature peptide started from the 18th amino acid, and its front‑end was the sequence of the signal peptide, belonging to the secreted protein. Analysis of the functional domain showed that this protein had two functional domains, the PG binding domain, and the zinc finger binding domain. Moreover, the protein, which was cross‑linked with it, was also one related to cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. To sum up, MMP‑7 is a stable neutral hydrophilic secreted protein, and it may play a vital role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells.

Effect of JJYMD-C, a novel synthetic derivative of gallic acid, on proliferation and phenotype maintenance in rabbit articular chondrocytes in vitro

Tissue engineering encapsulated cells such as chondrocytes in the carrier matrix have been widely used to repair cartilage defects. However, chondrocyte phenotype is easily lost when chondrocytes are expanded in vitro by a process defined as “dedifferentiation”. To ensure successful therapy, an effective pro-chondrogenic agent is necessary to overcome the obstacle of limited cell numbers in the restoration process, and dedifferentiation is a prerequisite. Gallic acid (GA) has been used in the treatment of arthritis, but its biocompatibility is inferior to that of other compounds. In this study, we modified GA by incorporating sulfamonomethoxine sodium and synthesized a sulfonamido-based gallate, JJYMD-C, and evaluated its effect on chondrocyte metabolism. Our results showed that JJYMD-C could effectively increase the levels of the collagen II, Sox9, and aggrecan genes, promote chondrocyte growth, and enhance secretion and synthesis of cartilage extracellular matrix. On the other hand, expression of the collagen I gene was effectively down-regulated, demonstrating inhibition of chondrocyte dedifferentiation by JJYMD-C. Hypertrophy, as a characteristic of chondrocyte ossification, was undetectable in the JJYMD-C groups. We used JJYMD-C at doses of 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 µg/mL, and the strongest response was observed with 0.25 µg/mL. This study provides a basis for further studies on a novel agent in the treatment of articular cartilage defects.

Lentiviral-mediated RNAi targeting caspase-3 inhibits apoptosis induced by serum deprivation in rat endplate chondrocytes in vitro

Current studies find that degenerated cartilage endplates (CEP) of vertebrae, with fewer diffusion areas, decrease nutrient supply and accelerate intervertebral disc degeneration. Many more apoptotic cells have been identified in degenerated than in normal endplates, and may be responsible for the degenerated grade. Previous findings suggest that inhibition of apoptosis is one possible approach to improve disc regeneration. It is postulated that inhibition of CEP cell apoptosis may be responsible for the regeneration of endplates. Caspase-3, involved in the execution phase of apoptosis, is a candidate for regulating the apoptotic process. In the present study, CEP cells were incubated in 1% fetal bovine serum. Activated caspases were detected to identify the apoptotic pathway, and apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry. Lentiviral caspase-3 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was employed to study its protective effects against serum deprivation. Silencing of caspase-3 expression was quantified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blots, and inhibition of apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry. Serum deprivation increased apoptosis of rat CEP cells through activation of a caspase cascade. Lentiviral caspase-3 shRNA was successfully transduced into CEP cells, and specifically silenced endogenous caspase-3 expression. Surviving cells were protected by the downregulation of caspase-3 expression and activation. Thus, lentiviral caspase-3 shRNA-mediated RNAi successfully silenced endogenous caspase-3 expression, preventing inappropriate or premature apoptosis.

Incongruent evolution of chromosomal size in rice

To investigate genome size evolution, it is usually informative to compare closely related species that vary dramatically in genome size. A whole genome duplication (polyploidy) that occurred in rice (Oryza sativa) about 70 million years ago has been well documented based on current genome sequencing. The presence of three distinct duplicate blocks from the polyploidy, of which one duplicated segment in a block is intact (no sequencing gap) and less than half the length of its syntenic duplicate segment, provided an excellent opportunity for elucidating the causes of their size variation during the post-polyploid time. The results indicated that incongruent patterns (shrunken, balanced and inflated) of chromosomal size evolution occurred in the three duplicate blocks, spanning over 30 Mb among chromosomes 2, 3, 6, 7, and 10, with an average of 20.3% for each. DNA sequences of chromosomes 2 and 3 appeared to had become as short as about half of their initial sequence lengths, chromosomes 6 and 7 had remained basically balanced, and chromosome 10 had become dramatically enlarged (approximately 70%). The size difference between duplicate segments of rice was mainly caused by variations in non-repetitive DNA loss. Amplification of long terminal repeat retrotransposons also played an important role. Moreover, a relationship seems to exist between the chromosomal size differences and the nonhomologous combination in corresponding regions in the rice genome. These findings help shed light on the evolutionary mechanism of genomic sequence variation after polyploidy and genome size evolution.

Studies on efficacy of praziquantel and mebendazole-medicated salt in treatment of Echinochasmus fujianensis infection.

The therapeutic effect of praziquantel and mebendazole-medicated salt has been studied in 109 cases with Echinochasmus fujianensis infection. These cases were randomly divided into four groups: 2 groups with a single dose of praziquantel 5 mg/kg or 2.5 mg/kg; and other 2 groups with mebendazole 800mg or 400 mg in 10d table salt. Four weeks after treatment, the egg negative conversion rates were 100%, 92.3%, 85.2% and 71.4% respectively, the egg reduction rates were 84.8-100%, and side-effects were mild. The symptoms caused by infection such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, distension and anorexia were obviously relieved. These data indicated that praziquantel is the drug of choice in the treatment of Echinochasmus fujianensis. The dosage is only 2.5 mg/kg, and its egg negative conversion rate and reduction rate reach 92.3% and 95.4%, respectively. For convenience, the dosage can be made according to their age. Children under 12 take half a tablet (100 mg), and one tablet (200 mg) for those over 12. This dosage is approximately equal to 2.5-5.0 mg/kg. Although the efficacy of mebendazole is lower than praziquantel, its egg negative conversion rate also reaches 71.4-85%. Mebendazole-medicated salt can be used for treating Echinochasmus fujianensis infection as the presence of co-infection with nematodes.