Urinary Sediments as Predictors of the Histopathology of Lupus Nephritis.

Lupus nephritis (LN) is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Urinalysis has an invaluable role in the diagnosis of various renal and urological diseases. Examinations of the urinary sediment using phase contrast microscopy (PCM) may add more information to help earlier diagnoses of LN. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the possible role of the components of urinary sediment examined using PCM in discriminating the proliferative classes of LN (III and IV ± V) from the non-proliferative classes (I, II, and V), and to detect the correlation between the components of urinary sediment and indices of both activity and chronicity found by the renal biopsy. The study was conducted on 40 SLE patients for whom a renal biopsy was indicated. Clinical, demographic, and laboratory data and the results of the histopathological renal biopsy were collected. The morning before the renal biopsy; urine samples were collected from every patient and examined by PCM. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to detect the area under the curve to predict proliferative LN. The correlations of counts of leukocytes, erythrocytes, all dysmorphic erythrocytes, acanthocytes, and stomatocytes with the indices of activity and chronicity were significant (activity: P = 0.027, P = 0.015, P = 0.033, P = 0.040, and P <0.001*; chronicity: P = 0.035, P = 0.009, P = 0.027, P = 0.010, and P <0.001, respectively). For patients with SLE, urinary sediment examinations can suggest a renal biopsy for the histopathology of LN.

Potential effect of adrenomedullin on metabolic and endocrinal dysfunctions in the experimentally induced polycystic ovary: Targeting implication of endoplasmic reticulum stress.

This study investigated the potential effect of adrenomedullin (ADM) on metabolic and endocrinal dysfunctions in experimentally induced polycystic ovary. Twenty-four female Wistar rats were allocated into three groups: control; polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in which PCOS was induced by letrozole, orally in a dose of 1 mg/kg once daily for 3 weeks; and ADM group in which ADM was injected intraperitonally in a dose of 3.5/µg/twice daily for 4 weeks. At the end of the experimental period, the serum sex hormone profile, ADM, fasting glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and lipid parameters were determined. Ovarian tissue homogenates were used to determine malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase activity, tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 6, B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2 associated X protein. The profibrotic growth factors, including transforming growth factor ß1 and connective tissue growth factor, were determined; and also, the relative gene expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, including (Xbox-binding protein-1 [XBP-1], activating transcription factor 6 [ATF6], and homologous protein [CHOP]), serine/threonine kinase 1 (Akt1), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) were determined. Finally, histopathological analysis of the ovaries was evaluated. PCOS group exhibited increased ER stress, suppressing of PI3K/Akt1 and PPAR-γ pathways, imbalance of sex hormonal profile, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, increased profibrotic factors, and abnormal ovarian histopathological picture, while ADM treatment alleviated these disturbances occurring in the PCOS model. We concluded that ADM mitigated PCOS via attenuating the ER stress, in addition to activation of PI3K/Akt1 and PPAR-γ pathways, its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antifibrotic properties.

The prospective curative role of lipoxin A4 in induced gastric ulcer in rats: Possible involvement of mitochondrial dynamics signaling pathway.

This study purposed to examine the prospective curative role of lipoxin A4 (LXA4 ) in induced gastric ulcer in rats and explore the possible involvement of mitochondrial dynamics signaling pathway. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control, indomethacin (IND), IND + omeprazole (IND + Omez), and IND+ LXA4 groups. At the end of the experiment, the gastric pH, gastric fluid volume, total gastric acidity, ulcer index, and curative index were estimated. The gene expression of mitochondrial related protein 1 and mitofusin 2 were determined. In addition, some mitochondrial parameters include mitochondrial transmembrane potential, complex-I activity and reactive oxygen species were measured. Also, some gastric biochemical parameters, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses of the gastric mucosa were determined. We found that IND induced gastric ulcer, as manifested by the biochemical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses. Both Omez and LXA4 treatment for 15 days alleviated the IND-induced gastric ulcer as explored by ameliorating the biochemical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical findings. We concluded that LXA4 mitigated the IND-induced gastric ulcer via improving the mitochondrial dynamic imbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction, in addition to its anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.