Association between DASH and novel atherogenic risk factors, anthropometric indices and foot ulcer indicators in type 2 diabetic patients with foot ulcer: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Diabetes can cause nerve damage, vascular issues, and reduced blood flow to organs such as the feet, leading to foot deformities and ulcers due to high glucose levels. A healthy dietary pattern like DASH can improve insulin sensitivity and weight loss. Due to limited data and rare evidence, our study aims to investigate the relationship between DASH diet adherence and anthropometric, cardiovascular, and foot ulcer indicators. Methods: The study included 339 diabetic patients with foot ulcers (122 females and 217 males). The study gathered data on patient dietary intake, anthropometric measurements, biochemistry, foot ulcers, and novel atherogenic risk factors per international definitions. Results: The average BMI of the participants was 29.2 ± 5.0, 28.1 ± 4.3, and 28.2 ± 4.2 in the tertiles of DASH index (P-value: 0.18). By increasing the adherence to the DASH index, the monofilament score did not change significantly OR: 1.47; CI: (0.81-2.67). Also, foot ulcer area did not change significantly between DASH tertiles OR: 1.01; CI: (0.56-1.83). Atherogenic risk factors also decreased among the DASH tertiles, but statistically not significant. Conclusion: DASH adherence did not change neuropathy score and cholindex and cardiovascular risk factors significantly and has no significant effect on foot ulcer size.

TGF-ß1 receptor blockade attenuates unilateral ureteral obstruction-induced renal fibrosis in C57BL/6 mice through attenuating Smad and MAPK pathways.

Renal fibrosis is characterized by accumulation of extracellular matrix components and collagen deposition. TGF-ß1 acts as a master switch promoting renal fibrosis through Smad dependent and/or Smad independent pathways. Thirty-five male C57BL/6 mice were divided into five groups of seven each; sham, unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), UUO+galunisertib (150 and 300 mg/kg/day), galunisertib (300 mg/kg/day). The UUO markedly induced renal fibrosis and injury as indicated by renal functional loss, increased levels of collagen Iα1, fibronectin and α-SMA; it also activated both the Smad 2/3 and MAPKs pathways as indicated by increased levels of TGF-ß1, p-Smad 2, p-Smad 3, p-p38, p-JNK and p-ERK. These UUO-induced changes were markedly attenuated by oral administration of galunisertib, the TGFßRI small molecule inhibitor. In conclusion, we demonstrated that TGF-ß1 receptor blockade can prevent UUO-induced renal fibrosis through indirect modulation of Smad and MAPKs signaling pathways and may be useful as a therapeutic agent in treatment and/or prevention of renal fibrosis.

The emerging role of miR-200 family in metastasis: focus on EMT, CSCs, angiogenesis, and anoikis.

INTRODUCTION: Cancer is the second major threat to human society and one of the main challenges facing healthcare systems. One of the main problems of cancer care is the metastases of cancer cells that cause 90% of deaths due to cancer. Multiple molecular mechanisms are involved in cancer cell metastasis. Therefore, a better understanding of these molecular mechanisms is necessary for designing restrictive strategies against cancer cell metastasis. Accumulating data suggests that MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in metastasis and invasion of human tumors through regulating multiple genes expression levels that are involved in molecular mechanisms of metastasis. The goal of this review is to present the molecular pathways by which the miR 200 family manifests its effects on EMT, cancer stem cells, angiogenesis, anoikis, and the effects of tumor cell metastases. METHODS: A detailed literature search was conducted to find information about the role of the miR-200 family in the processes involved in metastasis in various databases. RESULTS: Numerous lines of evidence revealed an association between the mir-200 family and metastasis of human tumors by impressing processes such as cancer stem cells, EMT, angiogenesis, and anoikis. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the molecular mechanisms associated with metastasis in which the miR-200 family is involved can be effective in treating metastatic cancers.