MicroRNA 181a-2-3p Alleviates the Apoptosis of Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells via Targeting GJB2 in Sepsis-Induced Acute Kidney Injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the most common complication of sepsis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the sepsis-induced AKI. This paper aimed to explore the role of miRNA 181a-2-3p (miR-181a-2-3p) in the sepsis-induced AKI and the underlying mechanism. Our results revealed that miR-181a-2-3p showed low expression levels in patients with sepsis and mouse models undergoing cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The addition of miR-181a-2-3p antagonists aggravated the sepsis-induced kidney injuries and inflammatory response in CLP mouse models, as suggested by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). In addition, miR-181a-2-3p mimic alleviated the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response, along with apoptosis of TCMK-1. Moreover, results from the GSE46955 data set indicated that GJB2 was highly expressed in septic patients but lowly expressed after recovery. Further, the dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were carried out, which confirmed that GJB2 was a target of miR-181a-2-3p, and overexpression of GJB2 reversed the anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects of miR-181a-2-3p mimic on the LPS-induced sepsis cell models. In conclusion, miR-181a-2-3p alleviates the inflammatory response and cell apoptosis of septic patients and animal models by upregulating GJB2 expression, which may provide a new therapeutic strategy for sepsis.

Suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery versus standard laparoscopic nephrectomy: A propensity score-based analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To compare suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery nephrectomy with standard laparoscopic nephrectomy. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study comparing three surgeons' experience with 122 suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery nephrectomy and 107 standard laparoscopic nephrectomy was carried out. Operative time, estimated blood loss, intraoperative complications, intraoperative conversion, postoperative bowel recovery, postoperative analgesics, postoperative visual analog pain scale score, postoperative length of stay, days before going back to work, postoperative complications and Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire were compared after propensity score matching. RESULTS: A total of 97 matched pairs were obtained after propensity score matching. There were no statistically significant differences between the suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery nephrectomy and standard laparoscopic nephrectomy groups with respect to operative time, estimated blood loss, intraoperative complications, intraoperative conversion, postoperative bowel recovery, length of stay and postoperative complications. Suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery nephrectomy group had decreased postoperative analgesics (20.9 vs 23.5, P = 0.04), visual analog pain scale score at 24 h (4.28 vs 5.28, P = 0.000), visual analog pain scale score at discharge (1.01 vs 1.47, P = 0.000), days before going back to work (28.4 vs 31.9, P = 0.000) and Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire score (34.0 vs 42.0, P = 0.000), compared with the standard laparoscopic nephrectomy group. CONCLUSIONS: Suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery nephrectomy and standard laparoscopic nephrectomy are equivalent in terms of the safety and efficacy. However, suprapubic-assisted laparoendoscopic single-site surgery nephrectomy confers less postoperative pain, fewer days before going back to work and better cosmetic result when compared with standard laparoscopic nephrectomy.