External Validation of the International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool in Older Adult Patients.

Purpose: The International IgA Nephropathy Prediction Tool (IIgAN-PT) can predict the risk of End-stage renal disease (ESRD) or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline ≥ 50% for adult IgAN patients. Considering the differential progression between older adult and adult patients, this study aims to externally validate its performance in the older adult cohort. Patients and Methods: We analyzed 165 IgAN patients aged 60 and above from six medical centers, categorizing them by their predicted risk. The primary outcome was a ≥50% reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or kidney failure. Evaluation of both models involved concordance statistics (C-statistics), time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and calibration plots. Comparative reclassification was conducted using net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). Results: The study included 165 Chinese patients (median age 64, 60% male), with a median follow-up of 5.1 years. Of these, 21% reached the primary outcome. Both models with or without race demonstrated good discrimination (C-statistics 0.788 and 0.790, respectively). Survival curves for risk groups were well-separated. The full model without race more accurately predicted 5-year risks, whereas the full model with race tended to overestimate risks after 3 years. No significant reclassification improvement was noted in the full model without race (NRI 0.09, 95% CI: -0.27 to 0.34; IDI 0.003, 95% CI: -0.009 to 0.019). Conclusion: : Both models exhibited excellent discrimination among older adult IgAN patients. The full model without race demonstrated superior calibration in predicting the 5-year risk.

Urinary miR-185-5p is a biomarker of renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis in IgA nephropathy.

Background: For IgA nephropathy (IgAN), tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis is the most important prognostic pathological indicator in the mesangial and endocapillary hypercellularity, segmental sclerosis, interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy, and presence of crescents (MEST-C) score. The identification of non-invasive biomarkers for tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis would aid clinical monitoring of IgAN progression and improve patient prognosis. Methods: The study included 188 patients with primary IgAN in separate confirmation and validation cohorts. The associations of miR-92a-3p, miR-425-5p, and miR-185-5p with renal histopathological lesions and prognosis were explored using Spearman correlation analysis and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase experiments were used to identify hub genes for miR-185-5p. The fibrotic phenotypes of tubular epithelial cells were evaluated in vivo and in HK-2 cells. Results: miRNA sequencing and cohort validation revealed that the expression levels of miR-92a-3p, miR-425-5p, and miR-185-5p in urine were significantly increased among patients with IgAN; these levels could predict the extent of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis in such patients. The combination of the three biomarkers resulted in an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.742. The renal prognosis was significantly worse in the miR-185-5p high expression group than in the low expression group (P=0.003). Renal tissue in situ hybridization, bioinformatics analysis, and dual luciferase experiments confirmed that miR-185-5p affects prognosis in patients with IgAN mainly by influencing expression of the target gene tight junction protein 1 (TJP1) in renal tubular epithelial cells. In vitro experiment revealed that an miR-185-5p mimic could reduce TJP1 expression in HK-2 cells, while increasing the levels of α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, collagen I, and collagen III; these changes promoted the transformation of renal tubular epithelial cells to a fibrotic phenotype. An miR-185-5p inhibitor can reverse the fibrotic phenotype in renal tubular epithelial cells. In a unilateral ureteral obstruction model, the inhibition of miR-185-5p expression alleviated tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis. Conclusion: Urinary miR-185-5p, a non-invasive biomarker of tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis in IgAN, may promote the transformation of renal tubular epithelial cells to a fibrotic phenotype via TJP1.

Comparison of the effects of peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis on spontaneous brain activity in CKD patients: an rs-fMRI study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis on spontaneous brain activity in patients with end-stage renal disease. METHODS: A total of 52 dialysis patients with end-stage renal disease, including 25 patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD-CKD) and 27 patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD-CKD), and 49 healthy controls (normal control) were included. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing (Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal cognitive assessment) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations and Regional Homogeneity algorithms were employed to evaluate spontaneous brain activity. Statistical analysis was performed to discern differences between the groups. RESULTS: When compared with the normal control group, the PD-CKD group exhibited significant alterations in fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations in various cerebellum regions and other brain areas, while the HD-CKD group showed decreased fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations in the bilateral pericalcarine cortex. The Regional Homogeneity values in the PD-CKD group were notably different than those in the normal control group, particularly in regions such as the bilateral caudate nucleus and the right putamen. CONCLUSION: Both peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis modalities impact brain activity, but manifest differently in end-stage renal disease patients. Understanding these differences is crucial for optimizing patient care.

Urinary miR-16-5p can be used as a potential marker of endocapillary hypercellularity in IgA nephropathy.

The most prevalent primary glomerulonephritis and leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide is IgA nephropathy (IgAN). More and more studies are describing urinary microRNA (miRNA) as a non-invasive marker for a variety of renal diseases. We screened candidate miRNAs based on data from three published IgAN urinary sediment miRNAs chips. In separate confirmation and validation cohorts, we included 174 IgAN patients, 100 patients with other nephropathies as disease controls (DC), and 97 normal controls (NC) for quantitative real-time PCR. A total of three candidate miRNAs, miR-16-5p, Let-7g-5p, miR-15a-5p were obtained. In both the confirmation and validation cohorts, these miRNAs levels were considerably higher in the IgAN than in NC, with miR-16-5p significantly higher than in DC. The area under the ROC curve for urinary miR-16-5p levels was 0.73. Correlation analysis suggested that miR-16-5p was positively correlated with endocapillary hypercellularity (r = 0.164 p = 0.031). When miR-16-5p was combined with eGFR, proteinuria and C4, the AUC value for predicting endocapillary hypercellularity was 0.726. By following the renal function of patients with IgAN, the levels of miR-16-5p were noticeably higher in the IgAN progressors than in the non- progressors (p = 0.036). Urinary sediment miR-16-5p can be used as noninvasive biomarkers for the assessment of endocapillary hypercellularity and diagnosis of IgA nephropathy. Furthermore, urinary miR-16-5p may be predictors of renal progression.

A pivotal role of selective autophagy in mitochondrial quality control: Implications for zinc oxide nanoparticles induced neurotoxicity.

Excessive occupational, medical, and environmental exposure of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) caused its accumulation in the nervous system and raised global concerns over its detrimental effects. However, very few researches had been conducted on the impact of mitochondrial quality control process on central nervous system (CNS) after ZnONPs administration, including mitochondrial fission, fusion, biogenesis, and autophagy. In present study, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis were triggered in ZnONPs-exposed human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Upregulation of mitochondrial biogenesis regulator (PGC-1α) and fission proteins (Drp1) and downregulation of fusion proteins (OPA1 and Mfn2) were observed in 3 and 6 µg/mL ZnONPs-treated cells. Meanwhile, loss of mitochondrial dynamics and biogenesis was observed in the severe impaired cells (treated with 12 µg/mL ZnONPs). More, autophagy and mitophagy were significantly activated in ZnONPs-treated cells. The increased Beclin1 and LC3 II proteins, decreases of p62 protein, and activated PINK1/Parkin signaling were quantified. The autophagy agonist (Rapamycin), inhibitor (3-MA), and mitophagy inhibitor (Cyclosporine A, CsA) were employed to verify the roles of autophagy and mitophagy in ZnONPs-treated cells. Consequently, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis were aggravated by the blockage of autophagy and mitophagy. Our research could be used to evaluate the risk assessment of ZnONPs exposure in CNS neurons so as to provide a crucial guideline for their future biological applications.

Selenium nanoparticles coupling with Astragalus Polysaccharides exert their cytotoxicities in MCF-7 cells by inhibiting autophagy and promoting apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: Astragalus Polysaccharides (APS) had been reported to exhibit antitumor activities. Given that nanoparticles possessed unique advantages in cancer treatment, APS was used as the modifier to prepare gold, silver and selenium nanoparticles (APS-Au, APS-Ag and APS-Se NPs) in the present study. METHODS: The three nanoparticles were synthesized via a green approach and characterized by DLS, TEM, XRD, FT-IR and UV-Vis. The inhibitory effects of these nanoparticles on various tumor cells proliferation were examined by MTT assay in vitro. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the expression of apoptosis and autophagy-related proteins were also detected. RESULTS: Among these, APS-Se NPs displayed the most potent antitumor activities against MCF-7 cells in vitro. Flow cytometric analysis suggested that after cells were exposed to elevated concentrations of APS-Se NPs (10, 20 and 40 µmol/L), the rate of apoptosis was increasing (16.63 ± 0.89, 38.60 ± 3.46 and 44.38 ± 2.62%, respectively). Further analysis by immunofluorescence revealed an increase in intracellular ROS and a loss of MMP. This was accompanied by increased LC3-I to LC3-II conversion. Also, western blot analysis demonstrated that the ratios of Bax/Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase9/caspase 9 rose, and LC3-II and p62 protein levels increased. The addition of chloroquine, an inhibitor of autophagy, further enhanced protein expression of p62 and LC3-II. CONCLUSION: APS-Se NPs exerted their cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 cells by blocking autophagy and facilitating mitochondrial pathway-mediated apoptosis.

Diffusion tensor imaging of the brain white matter microstructure in patients with chronic kidney disease and its correlation with cognition.

Purpose: In individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD), neurological damage is commonly observed. This neurodegeneration is closely linked to microstructural damage to the brain white matter due to the high incidence of cognitive dysfunction. However, the specific pathogenesis of CKD nephropathy caused by cognitive system developmental disorders remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the correlation between cognitive impairment and diffusion parameters obtained on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of abnormal white matter tracts in CKD patients. Methods: Sixty-four patients with CKD were divided into the non-dialysis-dependent CKD (NDD-CKD) group (N = 26) and dialysis-dependent CKD (DD-CKD) group (N = 38) according to the estimated glomerular filtration rate, whereas 43 healthy control subjects (normal control [NC]) were included and underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging during the same period. Differences in the abnormal white matter microstructure and correlations between them and cognitive scores were assessed using several parameters between the groups. Results: There were more extensive peri-lesions and distant white matter microstructural changes in the DD-CKD and NDD-CKD groups than in the NC group. DTI diffusion parameters in abnormal white matter regions were associated with impaired cognitive function in CKD patients. The DD-CKD group had worse cognitive function and more severe microstructural damage in the cerebral white matter than the NDD-CKD group. Conclusion: CKD patients showed cognitive impairment and changes in the brain white matter microstructure; CKD can lead to extensive white matter tract damage. Additionally, diffusion parameters can be used as a complement to describe structural brain damage in CKD patients.

Meta-Analysis of Renal Replacement Therapy for Burn Patients: Incidence Rate, Mortality, and Renal Outcome.

Background: Renal replacement therapy (RRT) was often needed by some severe burn patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). The primary aim of this study was to review incidence rate and mortality of RRT in severe burn patients. Second aims were to review RRT complications and renal outcome. Methods: We searched multiple databases for studies published between 1 January 1960 and 31 December 2019. Studies about adult populations with burn injury, providing epidemiologic data on prevalence or mortality of RRT, were included. Results: A total of selected 57 studies, including 27,437 patients were enrolled in our analysis. The prevalence rates of RRT were 8.34% (95% CI 7.18-9.5%) in all burn patients and 37.05% (95% CI 29.85-44.24%) in AKI patients. The mortality of all burn patients with RRT was 65.52% (95% CI 58.41-72.64%). The prevalence rates of RRT in sample size≥100 group were 6.86% (95% CI 5.70-8.03%), which was lower than that of <100 group (17.61%, 95% CI 13.39-21.82%). With the increase of TBSA, the prevalence of RRT may have the increasing trend. The prevalence rates of RRT in Asian group was 12.75% (95% CI 9.50-16.00%), which was higher than that of European (10.45%, 95% CI 7.30-13.61%) and North America group (5.61%, 95% CI 4.27-6.95%). The prevalence rates of RRT in 2010-2019 group was 12.22% (95% CI 10.09-14.35%), which was higher than that of 2009-2000 group (5.17%, 95% CI 2.88-7.46%). The prevalence rates of RRT in 1989 and before group was the lowest, which was 1.56% (95% CI 0-3.68%). However, there was no significant correlation between the year of publication and the mortality of burn patients with RRT. Dialysis-requiring AKI in burn patients could increases the risk of chronic kidney disease progression and end-stage renal disease. About 35% of RRT patients need to maintain haemodialysis temporarily, even if they survive and leave hospital. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of RRT is about 6-8%; approximately, one-third of burn patients with AKI need RRT. The prevalence rate of RRT increased over time, but the mortality did not change. The prevalence rates of RRT in Asian group was higher than that of European and North America group.

Cisplatin-induced renal toxicity in elderly people.

Despite available prevention and treatment measures, such as hydration, diuresis, magnesium supplementation, and amifostine, renal toxicity is still one of the major dose-limiting side effects of cisplatin. The aim of this review is to discuss the issue of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in the elderly. Compared with young patients, the incidences of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and acute kidney injury (AKI) in elderly patients are significantly increased, and survival time may be decreased. Following cisplatin treatment of elderly patients, tubulointerstitial injuries will be significantly aggravated based on their original age, both for acute injuries due to cell necrosis and exfoliation and chronic injuries due to interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, and dilatation. The high incidence of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in elderly patients may be associated with renal hypoperfusion; increased comorbidities, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), cardiovascular disease, and diabetes mellitus; increased use of combined drugs [especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB), and antibiotics]; decreased clearance of cisplatin; and high plasma ultrafilterable cisplatin. Considering hemodynamic stability and water balance, short duration and low volume hydration may be more suitable for treating elderly people. With the increasing popularity of low-dose daily/weekly regimens, we do not recommend routine diuretic treatment for elderly patients. We recommend using a less nephrotoxic platinum if large doses of cisplatin (100mg/m2) are needed.

Impact of aging on the risk of platinum-related renal toxicity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Renal toxicity limits the clinical use of platinum-based therapy in the elderly. In order to clarify the impact of aging on the risk of platinum-related nephrotoxicity, the following meta-analysis was performed. METHODS: We searched multiple databases for studies published before January 2017. The inclusion criteria were case-control, cohort studies published in any language. RESULTS: The risk of platinum-induced nephrotoxicity in the older group was 1.43 times (risk rate) higher than in the non-older group. Platinum-induced nephrotoxicity in older patients was mainly I/II. There was no significant difference in the incidence of grade III/IV renal toxicity between groups. The risk for elderly patients in Asia was significantly higher than in Europe and North America. Carboplatin had a lower risk of renal toxicity and only half of the amount of moderate and severe nephrotoxicity than cisplatin. In the age stratification analysis, the RR values were 1.43, 1.51 and 1.35 respectively for the elderly group (55, 60, 70 years old), and all had significant differences. The risk of platinum-related nephrotoxicity in elderly patients was significantly increased in the high comorbidity rate group. Moreover, the RR values of the normal renal function group were significantly higher than that of the 'no mention or renal insufficiency' subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Aging increased the risk of platinum-induced nephrotoxicity by 43%, partly due to more comorbidities in elderly patients, and mild renal toxicity was dominant. The risk of renal toxicity of the elderly patients in Asian countries was much higher than that of in European countries and North America.

U6 can be used as a housekeeping gene for urinary sediment miRNA studies of IgA nephropathy.

Recent studies have indicated that urinary sediment miRNAs not only are able to serve as non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for IgA nephropathy (IgAN) but may also be closely related to several clinical and pathological indicators. However, the lack of a suitable internal reference miRNA has hampered research into urinary sediment miRNAs. To date, U6 has been used as a reference gene in urinary sediment miRNA studies mostly based on the results from studies using tissue samples and cell lines. In a total of 330 IgAN patients, 164 disease control patients and 130 normal control patients, there was no significant difference in U6 levels. We also compared the U6 levels in different types of primary glomerular disease groups (IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, minimal change nephrosis and focal segmental glomerular sclerosis). The results confirmed that there was no significant difference in the expression of U6 in different primary glomerular disease groups. Moreover, treatment had no significant effect on the expression levels of U6 in IgA nephropathy. Therefore, U6 is an excellent housekeeping gene for urinary sediment miRNA studies of IgA nephropathy.

Urinary Erythrocyte-Derived miRNAs: Emerging Role in IgA Nephropathy.

Hematuria is one of the basic clinical manifestations of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Isolated microscopic hematuria or microscopic hematuria combined with proteinuria is risk factor for the long-term prognosis of IgAN. Current evidence of the consequences of glomerular hematuria rests on insights from basic research on the molecular mechanisms of hemoglobin and related reactive oxygen species-induced tubular injury as well as on the clinical evidence of macroscopic hematuria-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) in IgAN. These researches may simply elucidate some effects of macroscopic hematuria but not microscopic hematuria. Recent studies conducted on blood and urinary erythrocytes have made progress. Researches have revealed that mature erythrocytes contain abundant, long, non-coding RNA, miRNA (microRNA) and Y RNA. Among the top 50 expressions of erythrocyte-derived miRNAs, 33 (66%) of them may be the potential urinary biomarkers of IgAN. Moreover, when urinary erythrocytes are compressed while exiting out of an impaired nephron, erythrocyte-derived vesicles (including microvesicles and apoptotic vesicles) may increase. Animal models for hematuria and human biopsy tissues confirm renal parenchymal cells could phagocytose red blood cells and erythrocyte-derived vesicles. These vesicles, which contain miRNAs, may alter the transcriptome of recipient cells and impact the occurrence and development of IgAN.

Urinary sediment miRNAs reflect tubulointerstitial damage and therapeutic response in IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common glomerulonephritis worldwide. The clinical spectrum of IgAN varies from minor urinary abnormalities to rapidly progressive renal failure. Evaluation of the disease by repeated renal biopsy is not practical due to its invasive procedure. Urinary sediment miRNAs promise to serve as non-invasive biomarkers to assess kidney injury of IgAN. METHODS: Fifty two biopsy-proven IgAN patients and twenty five healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Urinary sediment miRNAs were extracted. Expressions of miR-34a, miR-205, miR-21, miR-146a and miR-155 were quantified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-QPCR). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to investigate the value of the miRNAs for predicting diagnosis of IgAN and evaluating histopathological injury. The patients were treated according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines and followed up. The roles of miRNAs in reflecting therapeutic efficacy and disease progression were analyzed. RESULTS: 1. The IgAN group had significantly lower urinary miR-34a, miR-205, and miR-155, but higher miR-21 levels than controls. The ROC revealed that urinary miR-34a ≤ 0.047, miR-205 ≤ 0.209, miR-21 ≥ 0.461 and miR-155 ≤ 0.002 could distinguish patients with IgAN from healthy ones. In addition, miR-205 ≤ 0.125 and miR-21 ≥ 0.891 can distinguish IgAN patients with severe tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis from those with mild tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis. 2. After a mean 15.19 months follow-up, the reduction of proteinuria (g/24 h/year) was positively correlated with baseline urinary miR-21 and inversely correlated with miR-205. The levels of baseline eGFR and miR-205 in the complete remission group were significantly higher than non-complete remission group (p < 0.001; p = 0.018), while proteinuria, miR-21 and miR-146a were lower than non-complete remission group (p = 0.002; p = 0.021; p = 0.009). But multivariate analysis revealed that only baseline eGFR correlated with the remission of IgAN (p = 0.001, OR = 1.042). CONCLUSIONS: The levels of some urinary sediment miRNAs, especially baseline miR-21 and miR-205, may be used as potential prognostic markers for evaluating the tubulointerstitial damage of IgAN. Furthermore, baseline levels of urinary miRNAs may be predictors of therapeutic efficacy and disease progression.

Selection of urinary sediment miRNAs as specific biomarkers of IgA nephropathy.

The miRNAs in urinary sediment are easy to obtain, which provides a new approach to searching for non-invasive biomarkers of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Compared with normal controls (n = 3), 214 different miRNAs in the urinary sediment of IgAN (n = 9) were found by miRNA chip assay. By quantitative PCR analysis, miR-25-3p, miR-144-3p and miR-486-5p were confirmed to be significantly higher in IgAN (n = 93) than in the normal group (n = 82) or disease control (n = 40). These three miRNAs had good specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of IgAN by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, in which the AUC value of miR-486-5p was the largest at 0.935. Urinary sediment miR-25-3p, miR-144-3p and miR-486-5p were demonstrated to be mainly derived from urinary erythrocytes, which were separated by CD235a magnetic beads. The increased expression of urinary erythrocyte miRNAs in IgAN patients was not associated with those in the blood erythrocytes. In addition, urinary supernatant microvesicles of miR-144-3p and miR-486-5p in the IgAN group were also significantly increased. This study showed that the miR-25-3p, miR-144-3p and miR-486-5p in urinary sediment were mainly derived from urinary erythrocytes, which could be non-invasive candidate biomarkers for IgA nephropathy.

Profiling and initial validation of urinary microRNAs as biomarkers in IgA nephropathy.

Background. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found in virtually all body fluids and used successfully as biomarkers for various diseases. Evidence indicates that miRNAs have important roles in IgA nephropathy (IgAN), a major cause of renal failure. In this study, we looked for differentially expressed miRNAs in IgAN and further evaluated the correlations between candidate miRNAs and the severity of IgAN. Methods. Microarray and RT-qRCR (real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction) were sequentially used to screen and further verify miRNA expression profiles in urinary sediments of IgAN patients in two independent cohorts. The screening cohort consisted of 32 urine samples from 18 patients with IgAN, 4 patients with MN (membranous nephropathy), 4 patients with MCD (minimal changes disease) and 6 healthy subjects; the validation cohort consisted of 102 IgAN patients, 41 MN patients, 27 MCD patients and 34 healthy subjects. The renal pathological lesions of patients with IgAN were evaluated according to Lee's grading system and Oxford classification. Results. At the screening phase, significance analysis of microarrays analysis showed that no miRNA was differentially expressed in the IgAN group compared to all control groups. But IgAN grade I-II and III subgroups (according to Lee's grading system) shared dysregulation of two miRNAs (miR-3613-3p and miR-4668-5p). At the validation phase, RT-qPCR results showed that urinary level of miR-3613-3p was significantly lower in IgAN than that in MN, MCD and healthy controls (0.47, 0.44 and 0.24 folds, respectively, all P < 0.01 by Mann-Whitney U test); urinary level of miR-4668-5p was also significantly lower in IgAN than that in healthy controls (0.49 fold, P < 0.01). Significant correlations were found between urinary levels of miR-3613-3p with 24-hour urinary protein excretion (Spearman r = 0.50, P = 0.034), eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) (r = - 0.48, P = 0.043) and Lee's grades (r = 0.57, P = 0.014). Similarly, miR-4668-5p was significantly correlated with eGFR (r = - 0.50, P = 0.034) and Lee's grades (r = 0.57, P = 0.013). For segmental glomerulosclerosis according to Oxford classification, patients scored as S0 had significantly lower levels of urinary miR-3613-3p and miR-4668-5p than those scored as S1 (0.41 and 0.43 folds, respectively, all P < 0.05). Conclusions. The expression profile of miRNAs was significantly altered in urinary sediments from patients with IgAN. Urinary expression of miR-3613-3p was down-regulated in patients with IgAN. Moreover, urinary levels of both miR-3613-3p and miR-4668-5p were correlated with disease severity. Further studies are needed to explore the roles of miR-3613-3p and miR-4668-5p in the pathogenesis and progression of IgA nephropathy.

Clinicopathologic features of IgA-dominant infection-associated glomerulonephritis: a pooled analysis of 78 cases.

BACKGROUNDS: IgA-dominant infection-associated glomerulonephritis (IgA-dominant IAGN) is a unique form of glomerulonephritis. There are numerous case reports in the literature. However, the risk factors, treatment approach, and outcomes of the disease are not clearly characterized. METHODS: We completed a pooled analysis based on published literature. Clinical features, laboratory findings, and histopathological changes were analyzed. A logistic regression model was employed to identify the determinants of disease outcome, for example, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or death. RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients with IgA-dominant IAGN from 28 reports were analyzed. All of these patients showed granular IgA deposits predominantly along the glomerular peripheral capillary walls using immunofluorescence and majority showed subepithelial 'hump-shaped' electron-dense deposits using electron microscopy. The majority of patients had hematuria (76/78), proteinuria (75/78), acute kidney injury (AKI) (66/78) and hypocomplementemia (43/75) without a previous history of renal disease. All of the patients had clinical infections at the time of presentation. Skin infections (19/78) and visceral abscesses (15/78) were frequently encountered, and staphylococcus was the most common pathogen. After treatment with antibiotics and/or supportive therapy, the renal function of 42 patients (54.5%) improved, 9 patients (11.7%) had persistent renal dysfunction, 15 patients (19.5%) progressed to ESRD, and 11 patients (14.3%) died. A multivariate regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR], 30.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.53-373.07; p = 0.007) and diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR, 16.65; 95% CI, 1.18-235.84; p = 0.038) were independent risk factors for ESRD or death. CONCLUSIONS: IgA-dominant IAGN has unique clinicopathological manifestations and treatment responses. Age and DM are independent risk factors associated with an unfavorable prognosis for IgA-dominant IAGN.

Aging promotes progression of IgA nephropathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There has been considerable interest in whether old age is associated with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) progression, which is still controversial. METHODS: We searched multiple databases for studies published from 1980 to 2012. The inclusion criteria were case-control, cohort studies published in any language. The included studies needed to have an older group. IgAN was proven by biopsy. RESULTS: We included 9 studies with a total of 6,543 patients. The meta-analyses of other risk factors between the older group (>50 years old) and the non-older group (15-50 years old) found significant differences in the presence of hypertension, proteinuria, serum cholesterol levels and baseline renal function. In the overall analysis, compared to the non-older group, older age significantly increased the incidence of developing end-stage renal disease [ESRD; relative risk (RR) random model 1.95; 95% CI: 1.27-3.01]. In the subgroup analyses, we found the age limit and traditional risk factors of IgAN may be the sources of heterogeneity between studies. Moreover, the RR (2.56) of the Asian countries was much higher than the RR (1.11) of the European countries. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive review revealed that old age is a real risk factor for IgAN progression to ESRD. The incidence of ESRD in the older IgAN patients was 1.95 times higher than that in the non-older IgAN patients. Moreover, the risk of IgAN progression to ESRD of the older patients in Asia was higher than that of the older patients in Europe.