Protective Effects of Mitochondrial Uncoupling Protein 2 against Aristolochic Acid I-Induced Toxicity in HK-2 Cells.

Aristolochic acid I (AA I) is one of the most abundant and toxic aristolochic acids that is reported to cause Aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). This paper was designed to assess whether mitochondrial Uncoupling Protein 2 (UCP2), which plays an antioxidative and antiapoptotic role, could protect human renal proximal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells from toxicity induced by AA I. In this study, HK-2 cells were treated with different concentrations of AA I with or without UCP2 inhibitor (genipin). To upregulate the expression of UCP2 in HK-2 cells, UCP2-DNA transfection was performed. The cell viability was evaluated by colorimetric method using MTT. A series of related biological events such as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and Malondialdehyde (MDA) were evaluated. The results showed that the cytotoxicity of AA I with genipin group was much higher than that of AA I alone. Genipin dramatically boosted oxidative stress and exacerbated AA I-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the increased expression of UCP2 can reduce the toxicity of AA I on HK-2 cells and upregulation of UCP2 expression can reduce AA I-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. In conclusion, UCP2 might be a potential target for alleviating AA I-induced nephrotoxicity.

Combination therapy of Ulinastatin with Thrombomodulin alleviates endotoxin (LPS) - induced liver and kidney injury via inhibiting apoptosis, oxidative stress and HMGB1/TLR4/NF-κB pathway.

Sepsis is a type of systemic inflammation response syndrome that leads to organ function disorders. Currently, there is no specific medicine for sepsis in clinical practice. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an important endotoxin that causes sepsis. Here, we report an effective two-drug combination therapy to treat LPS-induced liver and kidney injury in endotoxic rats. Ulinastatin (UTI) and Thrombomodulin (TM) are biological macromolecules extracted from urine. In our study, combination therapy significantly improved LPS-induced liver and kidney pathological structure and functional injury, and significantly improved the survival rate of endotoxic rats. Results of TUNEL staining and Western blot showed that UTI combined with TM inhibited the excessive apoptosis of liver and kidney cells caused by LPS. The drug combination also promoted the proliferation of liver and kidney cells, reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1ß, tumor or necrosis factor (TNF)-α and nitric oxide, and down-regulated the expression of High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1), Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 and Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB phosphorylation to inhibit inflammation. In addition, the combination of UTI and TM also promoted the production of a variety of antioxidant enzymes in the tissues and inhibited the production of lipid peroxidation malondialdehyde (MDA) to enhance antioxidant defenses. Our experiments also proved that UTI combined with TM did not reduce the anticoagulant effect of TM. These results suggested that UTI combined with TM can improve endotoxin-induced liver and kidney damage and mortality by inhibiting liver and kidney cell apoptosis, promoting proliferation, and inhibiting inflammation and oxidative injury.

An investigation on nephrotoxicity of Aristolactam I induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition on HK-2 cells.

Aristolactam I (AL-I) is the main active ingredient in the Aristolochia plant species, which have been associated with severe nephrotoxicity. In order to investigate the mechanism of AL-I induced renal epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), we established an AL-I induced EMT model in human proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cells). Biochemical analysis experiment including Morphological examination, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and Western blot analysis were performed. The results showed that AL-I accumulates in the cytosol causing cytotoxicity and inhibition of proliferation in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Morphological examination showed that with the increasing concentration of AL-I, the tendency of HK-2 cells transform form epithelial cell to fibroblast cells was stronger. In the Western blot analysis, the expression of α-Smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and Transforming Growth Factor ß1 (TGF-ß1) were significantly up-regulated, the expression of E-cadherin was significantly down-regulated after administrating. The ratio of the expression of P-Smad2/3 and Smad2/3 was significantly up-regulated, suggested that TGF-ß/Smad-dependent signaling pathway was activated in this process. With presence of TGF-ß receptor inhibitor (LY364947), we found that the expressions of three EMT related proteins (E-cadherin, α-SMA and TGF-ß1) were obviously reversed. In conclusion, we acknowledge that AL-I can induce renal EMT process in HK-2 cell, which is triggered by the activation of TGF-ß/Smad-dependent signaling pathway.

Prognostic Evaluation of Metastasis-Related Lymphocyte/Monocyte Ratio in Stage â -â ¢ Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy.

Purpose: This study aims to clarify the prognostic significance of metastasis-related indicators in peripheral blood in stage I-III breast cancer (BC). Methods: The clinicopathological data of 938 breast cancer patients and 509 benign breast disease patients were retrospectively analyzed, and fasting blood samples were collected before treatment. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to evaluate factors related to metastasis risk and prognosis. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to generate survival curves, and the log-rank test was used to measure differences in survival between groups. Results: Use the cut-off value (3.433) of LMR, the logistic regression analysis revealed that high carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), killer T cell level, and low lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) level were significantly associated with BC distant metastasis. In contrast, LMR>=3.433 (HR: 0.409, 95%CI: 0.193-0.867, P = 0.020), Th/Tc ratio >=1.946 (HR: 0.378, 95% CI: 0.158-0.904, P =0.029) is regarded as a protective factor in the multivariate cox analyses. LMR is an independent prognostic factor for DFS in HER2-negative BC patients. Conclusion: Peripheral blood parameters play an important role in predicting distant metastasis and prognosis of BC patients. As a potential marker, LMR can predict the metastasis and prognosis of patients with stage I-III BC.

[Effect of emodin on gut microbiota of rats with acute kidney failure].

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of emodin on gut microbiota in acute kidney injury rats( AKI). Rats were randomly divided into several groups: normal group,model group,low-dose of emodin group( 10 mg·kg~(-1)),medium-dose of emodin group( 25 mg·kg~(-1)),high-dose of emodin group( 50 mg·kg~(-1)) and control group( 5 mg·kg~(-1) of benazepril hydrochloride).The AKI model rats were established by intraperitoneal injection of small dose of gentamicin sulfate for 7 days. Two hours after intraperitoneal injection,except for the normal group and the model group,the other groups were given corresponding doses of drugs for 15 days. The serum levels of serum creatinine( SCr),urea nitrogen( BUN),plasma endotoxin level,24 h urinary protein and D-lactate in the plasma were determined by sarcosine oxidase,urease method,tal reagent method,bromo cresol chloroform method and double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay,respectively. Gut microbial communities were assayed by fluorescent quantitative PCR methods. HE staining was used to detect the pathological changes of the kidneys. Compared with the normal group,there were significant differences in body weight,urinary protein( UTP),bacterial endotoxin,urea nitrogen,creatinine,D-lactate in the plasma and four bacterial contents in the model group( P<0. 05). The urinary protein,urea nitrogen,D-lactate,creatinine and plasma bacterial endotoxin in control group and each emodin group were lower than those in model group,especially for high-dose of emodin( P<0. 01). Moreover,pathology resolution in high-dose emodin was better than other groups. Except for low-dose of emodin group,qRT-PCR data suggested that the amounts of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus in medication administration group were increased,while the amounts of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium were reduced compared with model group( P<0. 05),especially for high-dose of emodin( P<0. 01). There is a clear imbalance of gut microbiota in rats with AKI. Emodin could regulate the imbalance of gut microbiota,which might be one of the mechanisms of its effects on AKI rats.