Scientific overview on CSCI-CITAC Annual General Meeting and 2017 Young Investigators' Forum.

The 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Society of Clinician Investigators (CSCI) and Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada/Association des Cliniciens-Chercheurs en Formation du Canada (CITAC/ACCFC) was a national Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Toronto, Ontario November 20-22, 2017, in conjunction with the University of Toronto Clinician Investigator Program Research Day. The theme for this year's meeting was "Roll up your sleeves-How to manage your physician scientist career", emphasizing lectures and workshops that were designed to provide tools for being proactive and successful in career planning. The keynote speakers were Dr. Rod McInnes (McGill University and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Acting President), who was the Distinguished Scientist Award recipient, Dr. David Goltzman (McGill University), who was the 2017 Henry Friesen Award recipient, Dr. Gillian Hawker (University of Toronto), Dr. Mike Sapieha (Université de Montréal), who was the 2017 Joe Doupe Award recipient, and Dr. Alex MacKenzie (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, University of Ottawa). The workshops, focusing on career development for clinician scientists, were hosted by Dr. Lisa Robinson, Dr. Nicola Jones, Kevin Vuong, Fran Brunelle, Dr. Jason Berman and Dr. Alan Underhill. Further to this, the Young Investigators' Forum encompasses presentations from scientist-clinician trainees from across the country. All scientific abstracts are summarized in this review. There were over 100 abstracts showcased at this year's meeting during the highlighted poster sessions, with six outstanding abstracts selected for oral presentations during the President's Forum.

Metabolomics for the identification of early biomarkers of nephrotoxicity in a mouse model of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity manifests as acute kidney injury (AKI) in approximately one third of patients receiving cisplatin therapy. Current measures of AKI are inadequate in detecting AKI prior to significant renal injury, and better biomarkers are needed for early diagnosis of cisplatin-induced AKI. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: C57BL/6 and FVB/N mice were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin (15 mg kg-1) or saline. Plasma, urine, and kidney samples were collected prior to cisplatin injection and 24-, 48-, 72-, and 96-hours following cisplatin injection. Untargeted metabolomics was employed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify early diagnostic biomarkers for cisplatin nephrotoxicity. PRINCIPAL RESULTS: There was clear metabolic discrimination between saline and cisplatin-treated mice at all timepoints (day 1 to day 4). In total, 26 plasma, urine, and kidney metabolites were identified as exhibiting early alterations following cisplatin treatment. Several of the metabolites showing early alterations were associated with mitochondrial function and energetics, including intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, regulators of mitochondrial function and indicators of fatty acid ß-oxidation dysfunction. Furthermore, several metabolites were derived from the gut microbiome. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the detrimental effects of cisplatin on mitochondrial function and demonstrate potential involvement of the gut microbiome in the pathophysiology of cisplatin-induced AKI. We provide a panel of metabolites to guide future clinical studies of cisplatin-induced AKI and provide insight into potential mechanisms behind cisplatin nephrotoxicity.

Uremic Toxins in the Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease and Cardiovascular Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive loss of renal function. The gradual decline in kidney function leads to an accumulation of toxins normally cleared by the kidneys, resulting in uremia. Uremic toxins are classified into three categories: free water-soluble low-molecular-weight solutes, protein-bound solutes, and middle molecules. CKD patients have increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), due to an assortment of CKD-specific risk factors. The accumulation of uremic toxins in the circulation and in tissues is associated with the progression of CKD and its co-morbidities, including CVD. Although numerous uremic toxins have been identified to date and many of them are believed to play a role in the progression of CKD and CVD, very few toxins have been extensively studied. The pathophysiological mechanisms of uremic toxins must be investigated further for a better understanding of their roles in disease progression and to develop therapeutic interventions against uremic toxicity. This review discusses the renal and cardiovascular toxicity of uremic toxins indoxyl sulfate, p-cresyl sulfate, hippuric acid, TMAO, ADMA, TNF-α, and IL-6. A focus is also placed on potential therapeutic targets against uremic toxicity.

The effect of chronic kidney disease on CYP2B expression and activity in male Wistar rats.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by progressive reduction in kidney function over time. CKD affects greater than 10% of the population and its incidence is on the rise due to the growing prevalence of its risk factors. Previous studies demonstrated CKD alters nonrenal clearance of drugs in addition to reducing renal clearance. We assessed the function and expression of hepatic CYP2B enzymes using a rat model of CKD. CKD was induced in Wistar rats by supplementing their chow with adenine and confirmed through the detection of elevated uremic toxins in plasma. Liver enzymes AST and ALT were unchanged by the adenine diet. Bupropion was used as a probe substrate for hepatic CYP2B function using rat liver microsomes. The resulting metabolite, hydroxy-bupropion, and bupropion were quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Level of mRNA and protein were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The results of our study demonstrate that CYP2B1 is downregulated in a rat model of CKD. CYP2B1 mRNA level was significantly decreased (88%, P < 0.001) in CKD relative to control. Similarly, maximal enzymatic velocity (Vmax) for CYP2B was decreased by 46% in CKD relative to control (P < 0.0001). Previous studies involving patients with CKD demonstrated altered bupropion pharmacokinetics compared to control. Hence, our results suggest that these alterations may be mediated by attenuated CYP2B hepatic metabolism. This finding may partially explain the alterations in pharmacokinetics and nonrenal drug clearance frequently observed in patients with CKD.

Untargeted metabolomics reveals N, N, N-trimethyl-L-alanyl-L-proline betaine (TMAP) as a novel biomarker of kidney function.

The diagnosis and prognosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) currently relies on very few circulating small molecules, which can vary by factors unrelated to kidney function. In end-stage renal disease (ESRD), these same small molecules are used to determine dialysis dose and dialytic clearance. Therefore, we aimed to identify novel plasma biomarkers to estimate kidney function in CKD and dialytic clearance in ESRD. Untargeted metabolomics was performed on plasma samples from patients with a single kidney, non-dialysis CKD, ESRD and healthy controls. For ESRD patients, pre- and post-dialysis plasma samples were obtained from several dialysis modalities. Metabolomics analysis revealed over 400 significantly different features in non-dialysis CKD and ESRD plasma compared to controls while less than 35 features were significantly altered in patients with a single kidney. N,N,N-trimethyl-L-alanyl-L-proline betaine (TMAP, AUROC = 0.815) and pyrocatechol sulfate (AUROC = 0.888) outperformed creatinine (AUROC = 0.745) in accurately identifying patients with a single kidney. Several metabolites accurately predicted ESRD; however, when comparing pre-and post-hemodialysis, TMAP was the most robust biomarker of dialytic clearance for all modalities (AUROC = 0.993). This study describes TMAP as a novel potential biomarker of kidney function and dialytic clearance across several hemodialysis modalities.

Identification of a two-component Class IIb bacteriocin in Streptococcus pyogenes by recombinase-based in vivo expression technology.

Streptococcus pyogenes is a globally prominent bacterial pathogen that exhibits strict tropism for the human host, yet bacterial factors responsible for the ability of S. pyogenes to compete within this limited biological niche are not well understood. Using an engineered recombinase-based in vivo expression technology (RIVET) system, we identified an in vivo-induced promoter region upstream of a predicted Class IIb bacteriocin system in the M18 serotype S. pyogenes strain MGAS8232. This promoter element was not active under in vitro laboratory conditions, but was highly induced within the mouse nasopharynx. Recombinant expression of the predicted mature S. pyogenes bacteriocin peptides (designated SpbM and SpbN) revealed that both peptides were required for antimicrobial activity. Using a gain of function experiment in Lactococcus lactis, we further demonstrated S. pyogenes immunity function is encoded downstream of spbN. These data highlight the importance of bacterial gene regulation within appropriate environments to help understand mechanisms of niche adaptation by bacterial pathogens.