Protective effect of pioglitazone on kidney injury in diabetic rats.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the protective effect of pioglitazone on kidney injury in diabetic rat model and its mechanisms. METHODS: Forty healthy Sprague Dawley rats were selected and randomly divided into five groups, with 8 rats in each group. Group A served as control group and were administered with sterile citrate buffer (i.p.) as placebo. Groups B, C, D and E rats were injected (i.p.) with streptozotocin to induce type I diabetes. Diabetic rats in Group B were intragastrically administered with sterile saline solution alone. Groups C, D and E rats were intragastrically given pioglitazone hydrochloride suspension at doses of 10, 20, 30 mg/kg per day, respectively. After eight weeks of treatment, all rats were anesthetized and blood was withdrawn from the abdominal aortic for detection of hemoglobin A1c, serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels. Rats were then sacrificed and the left kidney was excised for calculation of kidney hypertrophy index (KHI), observation of renal pathological changes using light microscope and electron microscope. Mean glomerular cross-sectional areas (MGA), mean glomerular volume (MGV), glomerular basement membrane thickness and foot process fusion ratio were calculated. RT-PCR was employed for detection of podocalyxin (PCX) protein expression. RESULTS: Results showed that levels of hemoglobin A1c, BUN, SCr in Groups B, C, D and E rats were significantly higher than those in Group A (P<0.05), while BUN and SCr levels in rats of Groups C, D and E were significantly lower than those in Group B (P<0.05). KHI, MGA and MGV levels were significantly higher in Groups B, C, D and E rats than those in Group A (P<0.05); KHI and MGA levels in Group B rats were significantly higher than those in Groups C, D and E (P<0.05) and MGV in Groups D and E was significantly lower than that in Groups B and C (P<0.05). Histology study showed normal glomerulus structure, morphology, volume, endothelial cells and mesangial cells as well as clear glomerular capillary in Group A rats. Renal mesangial matrix proliferation and expansion of glomerulus cavities in Groups B, C, D and E were observed. However, damage degree in Groups C, D and E were more moderate than that in Group B. CONCLUSIONS: Pioglitazone can reduce kidney damage in diabetic rats, which may be attributed to its role in increasing glomerular PCX protein expression and inhibiting urinary excretion of PCX, and its effect is dose dependent.

Overexpression of immunoglobulin G prompts cell proliferation and inhibits cell apoptosis in human urothelial carcinoma.

Only B lymphocytes can express immunoglobulins according to the traditional immunological theories, and the expression of immunoglobulin G (IgG) messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein was found in certain human cancer cells recently. However, the expression pattern of IgG and its possible role in human urothelial carcinoma are still elusive. In this study, we investigated the expression of IgG in two human urothelial carcinoma cell lines, T24 and BIU-87, and in 56 cases of clinical urothelial carcinoma tissues. The mRNA of IgG was positively detected by in situ hybridization and reverse transcription PCR; furthermore, IgG protein was also positively detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Moreover, blockade of tumor-derived IgG by either antihuman IgG antibody or antisense oligonucleotides increased cell apoptosis and inhibited cell growth in bladder cancer cell lines in vitro, and antihuman IgG antibody could suppress the growth of xenotransplant tumor in vivo. In addition, either antihuman IgG antibody or antisense oligonucleotides enhanced the sensitivity to mitomycin C in bladder cancer cell line T24. Furthermore, blockade of IgG in bladder cancer cell T24 resulted in upregulation of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Our results indicated that bladder cancer cells were capable of expressing IgG, and blockade of IgG expression induced cell apoptosis through activation of caspase-dependent pathway. A novel potential targeted therapy for bladder cancer will be possibly developed based on these data.

Effect of collagen on the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite coatings.

In this study, the mechanical properties of bioactive coatings on Ti6Al4V substrates were investigated using instrumented nanoindentation. The aim was to observe the differences in the mechanical properties before and after immersion in collagen solution. The hydroxyapatite coatings were prepared through two processes: self-assembly in simulated body fluid and a hydrothermal method. Sintered hydroxyapatite disks were used as controls. The test samples were then incubated in a dilute collagen solution for 24 hours to produce composite coatings. The materials were investigated using XRD, SEM and nanoindentation. The results showed that the grain sizes of the hydroxyapatite coatings formed using two processes were 1 µm and 10 µm, respectively. The Young's modulus of the pure hydroxyapatite, the disk and the coatings, was 3.6 GPa. After collagen incubation treatment, the composites had a Young's modulus of 7.5 GPa. The results also showed that the strengthening phenomena of collagen were more obvious for homogeneous and small-grain hydroxyapatite coatings. These results suggest that there are similarities between these HAp/collagen composited and natural composite materials, such as teeth and bones.

[Urethroplasty with oblique preputial island flap for the treating of hypospadia].

OBJECTIVE: To Explore the effect of oblique preputial island flap for the treating of hypospadias. METHODS: Fifty-one patients were performed one-stage urethroplasty with oblique preputial island flap to repair hypospadias. RESULTS: All cases resulted in a good contour of the penis without any redundancy and a normal anatomic position of slit-shaped urethral meatus. The urination was perfect. Six patients occurred complications (3 cases of urinary fistula, 3 cases of meatal stenosis). CONCLUSION: With extensive scope of materials, reliable blood supply of skin flap, satisfactory appearance of shaping penis and few complications, one-stage urethroplasty with oblique preputial island flap is an effective method to repair hypospadias of penile type and penile-scrotal type.