Agrimol B alleviates cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury by activating the Sirt1/Nrf2 signaling pathway in mice.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent that has remarkable antineoplastic effects. However, CDDP can cause severe acute kidney injury (AKI), which limits its clinical application. Agrimol B is the main active ingredient found in Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb and has a variety of pharmacological activities. The effect of agrimol B on CDDP-induced renal toxicity has not been determined. To investigate whether agrimol B has a protective effect against CDDP-induced AKI, we first identify Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) as a critical target protein of agrimol B in regulating AKI through network pharmacology analysis. Subsequently, the AKI mouse model is induced by administering a single dose of CDDP via intraperitoneal injection. By detecting the serum urea nitrogen and creatinine levels, as well as the histopathological changes, we confirm that agrimol B effectively reduces CDDP-induced AKI. In addition, treatment with agrimol B counteracts the increase in renal malondialdehyde level and the decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione levels induced by CDDP. Moreover, western blot results reveal that agrimol B upregulates the expressions of Sirt1, SOD2, nuclear factor erythroid2-related factor 2, and downstream molecules, including heme oxygenase 1 and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1. However, administration of the Sirt1 inhibitor EX527 abolishes the effects of agrimol B. Finally, we establish a tumor-bearing mouse model and find that agrimol B has a synergistic antitumor effect with CDDP. Overall, agrimol B attenuates CDDP-induced AKI by activating the Sirt1/Nrf2 signaling pathway to counteract oxidative stress, suggesting that this compound is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of CDDP-induced AKI.

Variable selection for joint models of multivariate skew-normal longitudinal and survival data.

Many joint models of multivariate skew-normal longitudinal and survival data have been presented to accommodate for the non-normality of longitudinal outcomes in recent years. But existing work did not consider variable selection. This article investigates simultaneous parameter estimation and variable selection in joint modeling of longitudinal and survival data. The penalized splines technique is used to estimate unknown log baseline hazard function, the rectangle integral method is adopted to approximate conditional survival function. Monte Carlo expectation-maximization algorithm is developed to estimate model parameters. Based on local linear approximations to conditional expectation of likelihood function and penalty function, a one-step sparse estimation procedure is proposed to circumvent the computationally challenge in optimizing the penalized conditional expectation of likelihood function, which is utilized to select significant covariates and trajectory functions, and identify the departure from normality of longitudinal data. The conditional expectation of likelihood function-based Bayesian information criterion is developed to select the optimal tuning parameter. Simulation studies and a real example from the clinical trial are used to illustrate the proposed methodologies.

Heart-brain connections: Phenotypic and genetic insights from magnetic resonance images.

Cardiovascular health interacts with cognitive and mental health in complex ways, yet little is known about the phenotypic and genetic links of heart-brain systems. We quantified heart-brain connections using multiorgan magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from more than 40,000 subjects. Heart MRI traits displayed numerous association patterns with brain gray matter morphometry, white matter microstructure, and functional networks. We identified 80 associated genomic loci (P < 6.09 × 10-10) for heart MRI traits, which shared genetic influences with cardiovascular and brain diseases. Genetic correlations were observed between heart MRI traits and brain-related traits and disorders. Mendelian randomization suggests that heart conditions may causally contribute to brain disorders. Our results advance a multiorgan perspective on human health by revealing heart-brain connections and shared genetic influences.

Inhibition of NAD kinase elevates the hepatic NAD+ pool and alleviates acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury in mice.

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose induces acute liver injury (ALI), even acute liver failure (ALF). There is a significant unmet need to furtherly elucidate the mechanisms and find new therapeutic target. Recently, emerging evidence indicates that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) plays a crucial role in APAP-induced ALI. Herein, we firstly investigated the protein expression of NAD kinase (NADK), as the rate-limiting enzyme converting NAD+ to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+), and found it was positively correlated with APAP-induced ALI in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Additionally, supplementation of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), known as an antidote of APAP, mitigated the ALI and downregulated the expression of NADK which was also in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, pretreatment with methotrexate (MTX), the inhibitor of NADK, attenuated the levels of transaminases, alleviated morphological abnormalities, and improved oxidative stress triggered by APAP overdose, which was attributed to elevated hepatic NAD+ pool. Subsequently, the increased NAD+ upregulated the expression of Sirt1, SOD2 and attenuated DNA damage. Collectively, elevated expression of NADK is related to APAP-induced ALI, and inhibition of NADK alleviates the ALI through elevating liver NAD+ level and improving antioxidant capacity.