Low appendicular muscle mass is associated with mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients: a single-center cohort study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: There are few studies of the association between low appendicular muscle mass (LAM) and clinical outcomes in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We aimed to determine the clinical association between LAM and clinical outcomes in PD patients. SUBJECT/METHODS: We reviewed all PD patients who underwent PD between January 2001 and April 2014. Each patient's appendicular lean mass was estimated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The appendicular muscle mass index (AMI) was calculated using total appendicular lean mass (kg) over body mass index (kg/m2). The cut-off AMI value for LAM was <0.789 for men and <0.512 for women. RESULTS: The number of patients in the Non-LAM and LAM groups was 328 and 303, respectively. The median follow-up durations in the Non-LAM and LAM groups were 47 and 49 months, respectively. The numbers of deaths in the Non-LAM and LAM groups were 96 (29.3%) and 160 (52.8%), respectively. In a comparison with the Non-LAM group, the hazard ratio in the LAM group was 1.74 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.35-2.24) in univariate and 1.71 (95% CI, 1.28-2.26) in multivariate Cox regression analysis. In addition, the hazard ratio for a 0.1 increase in baseline AMI was 0.89 (95% CI, 0.84-0.95) in univariate analysis and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.76-0.91) in multivariate analysis. Analyses using the 1-year AMI showed trends similar to those for the initial AMI. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed the association of LAM with mortality in the incident PD patients.

Anti-heparan sulfate antibody and functional loss of glomerular heparan sulfate proteoglycans in lupus nephritis.

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the features of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) as agrins of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) and circulating anti-heparan sulfate (HS) antibodies in lupus nephritis, comparing titers among the following groups: lupus nephritis (LN), non-renal lupus, non-lupus nephritis, and healthy controls. Methods The stage of nephritis was determined based on the kidney biopsy. Alcian blue staining and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for agrin were performed for histological evaluation of GBM HSPGs in normal glomeruli, non-lupus membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN), and lupus MGN. The results were used for measurement of the serum anti-HS antibody titers using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the following groups: 38 healthy controls, 38 non-lupus nephritis, 37 non-renal lupus, and 38 LN. Results Glomerulus HSPGs were stained bluish-green along the GBM with Alcian blue. However, IHC staining against agrin was almost completely negative in the lupus MGN group compared with the normal and non-lupus MGN groups, which showed brown staining of GBM. A higher level of anti-HS IgG was detected in LN compared with other groups, respectively. Higher titers were associated with the presence of SLE and nephritis. A higher degree of proteinuria normalized to glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was observed in association with higher anti-HS antibody titers in LN. Conclusion This study demonstrated a functional loss of GBM HSPGs and higher levels of circulating anti-HS antibodies as a characteristic feature of lupus nephritis, suggesting their involvement in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis and proteinuria.

Detection and characterization of extracellular phospholipase A2 in pleural effusion of patients with tuberculosis.

Extracellular phospholipase A2 activity has been identified in pleural fluid of patients with tuberculosis. This enzyme is a calcium requiring protein and has a pH optimum of 10.0. The enzyme was inhibited by the active site-directed histidine reagent, rho-bromophenacyl bromide. Ionic and non-ionic detergents, or the sulfhydryl reagent dithiothreitol, caused loss of enzyme activity. When substrate specificity was tested using 2-[1-14C]linoleoyl phospholipids as substrates, phosphatidyl-ethanolamine was the best substrate, followed by phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylcholine. This phospholipase A2 showed high affinity for heparin, and was recognized by a monoclonal antibody raised against phospholipase A2 from human synovial fluid. These findings suggest that an extracellular phospholipase A2, which may belong to the 14K group II phospholipase A2 family, exists in the pleural fluid of patients with tuberculosis.

Biogenesis of aroma constituents of fruits and vegetables.

The aroma of fruits and vegetables may be considered to originate from the basic nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, as well as vitamins and minerals. These nutrients, in turn, are produced by photosynthetic and related metabolic activities occurring in the plant. Current interests in aroma of fruits and vegetables have been shifting from isolation and identification to elucidation of their formation pathways either of biogenetic or processing nature. This article is intended to provide a summary on the development and degradation of aroma of selected major fruits and vegetables, 20 in each category. It reveals that information concerning this matter is still meager at present and that much more exploratory research is needed.