Comparison of different methods for PAS staining of renal biopsy tissue sections / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the performance of a modified PAS staining, traditional PAS staining, Lyon's PAS staining, and Tsunahico Watanabe staining for staining sections of renal biopsy tissue.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The sections of the renal biopsy tissue were stained with the 4 methods and their staining performance was compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The modified PAS staining method produced a better contrast and a higher resolution and showed a greater stability after repeated use than the other 3 methods for staining the renal tissue sections (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The modified PAS staining method shows a better applicability than the other 3 PAS methods for staining sections of renal biopsy tissue.</p>

Changes in pathological pattern and treatment regimens based on repeat renal biopsy in lupus nephritis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Relapses occur frequently in patients with lupus nephritis. Renal biopsy is the gold standard for assessing renal activity and hence guiding the treatment. Whether repeat renal biopsy is helpful during flares of lupus nephritis remains inconclusive. In the present study, we retrospectively reviewed the patients with lupus nephritis who had more than one renal biopsy with the hope to find the clinical value of repeat biopsy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Patients who had a diagnosis of lupus nephritis and two or more renal biopsies were selected from the database of the patient pathology registration at this renal division. Renal biopsy was evaluated according to the International Society of Nephrology/Renal Pathology Society (ISN/RPS) classification of lupus nephritis. The pathological patterns and treatment regimens were analyzed after a repeat biopsy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We identified 44 systemic lupus erythematosus patients with serial renal biopsies. In total, there were 94 renal biopsies. Overall, the pathological transition occurred in 64% instances according to the ISN/RPS class. When the transition was analyzed according to proliferative, membranous or mix lesions, it showed different profile: 35% in patients with proliferative lesion, 23.5% patients with mix lesions, 100% in patients with pure membranous lesion. The pathological transition could not be predicted by any clinical characteristics. After the repeat renal biopsy, 34% of patients had a change in their treatment regimens.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The pathological conversion was very prevalent in patients with lupus nephritis. However, the transitions became less prevalent when they were analyzed according to pure membranous, proliferative, and mix lesion. Repeat biopsy might be helpful to avoid unnecessary increased immunosuppression therapy.</p>

Effect of the ethanol extract of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora on the progression of chronic kidney disease in a rat remnant kidney model / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of the ethanol extract of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora (EPS) on renal function and tissue damage in a rat remnant kidney model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat models of chronic kidney disease induced by 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) were randomly assigned into two groups for treatment with a gavage of either EPS or vehicle for 9 weeks. The rats in the control group received only sham operation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with vehicle-treated 5/6 Nx rats, the EPS-treated rats displayed significantly decreased urinary excretion of malondialdehyde, serum levels of AGEs and AOPPs, and increased serum SeGSHPx activities. These changes were associated with attenuated urinary protein excretion, glomerular sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EPS can obviously improve the renal functions and renal pathologies in rats with chronic kidney disease probably by inhibiting the oxidative stress.</p>