Corrigendum to "Effects of Chicory on Serum Uric Acid, Renal Function, and GLUT9 Expression in Hyperuricaemic Rats with Renal Injury and In Vitro Verification with Cells".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/1764212.].

Effects of Chicory on Serum Uric Acid, Renal Function, and GLUT9 Expression in Hyperuricaemic Rats with Renal Injury and In Vitro Verification with Cells.

Hyperuricaemia (HUA) is an independent risk factor for chronic kidney disease. Urate crystals are deposited in the kidney and can cause renal tubular interstitial fibrosis, leading to renal dysfunction. Chicory extract (hereafter referred to as chicory) clearly reduced serum uric acid levels in rats with HUA induced by 10% fructose. This is the first study to observe the effect of chicory on serum uric acid levels and renal function in rats with HUA and renal injury. In vivo studies using hyperuricaemic rats with renal injury induced by yeast and adenine demonstrated that chicory decreased serum uric acid level, and its effect of delaying the progression of kidney injury was better than that of benzbromarone. In vitro cell experiments showed that this effect is related to the inhibition of GLUT9 protein expression in renal tubules and that lowering blood uric acid concentrations is one of the factors that alleviates renal damage. The results of this study indicate that chicory can be used as an alternative for alleviating renal dysfunction in hyperuricaemia.

Heterogeneous water supply affects growth and benefits of clonal integration between co-existing invasive and native Hydrocotyle species.

Spatial patchiness and temporal variability in water availability are common in nature under global climate change, which can remarkably influence adaptive responses of clonal plants, i.e. clonal integration (translocating resources between connected ramets). However, little is known about the effects of spatial patchiness and temporal heterogeneity in water on growth and clonal integration between congeneric invasive and native Hydrocotyle species. In a greenhouse experiment, we subjected severed or no severed (intact) fragments of Hydrocotyle vulgaris, a highly invasive species in China, and its co-existing, native congener H. sibthorpioides to different spatial patchiness (homogeneous and patchy) and temporal interval (low and high interval) in water supply. Clonal integration had significant positive effects on growth of both species. In the homogeneous water conditions, clonal integration greatly improved the growth in fragments of both species under low interval in water. However, in the patchy water conditions, clonal integration significantly increased growth in both ramets and fragments of H. vulgaris under high interval in water. Therefore, spatial patchiness and temporal interval in water altered the effects of clonal integration of both species, especially for H. vulgaris. The adaptation of H. vulgaris might lead to invasive growth and potential spread under the global water variability.