A comparative analysis of high-flux and low-flux dialysis in cervical cancer patients with obstructive renal failure showing no significantly improved renal function after catheterisation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare the clinical application value of high-flux dialysis with low-flux dialysis in patients without significantly improved renal function after cervical cancer and obstructive renal failure catheterisation. METHODS: This prospective randomised study was conducted from January 2018 to December 2019. Eighty cervical cancer patients with obstructive renal failure who showed no significant renal function improvement after catheterisation were randomised into two groups (n = 40 in each group) in the Second People's Hospital of Yibin City. High-flux and low-flux dialysis were employed in the experimental group and the control group, respectively. Treatments in both groups were provided every other day, with the whole course lasting one week. Data were recorded before and after dialysis included inflammatory factors such as IL-6, CRP and TNF-a, large and moderate molecular toxins (e.g., ß2 micro-globulin, parathyrin (PTH) and cysteine protease inhibitor). Renal function changes during the dialysis were also recorded. Afterwards, the two groups were compared regarding the overall efficacy. RESULTS: Both the experimental group and the control group experienced a significant decrease in IL-6, CRP, TNF-a, ß2 micro-globulin, PTH and cysteine protease inhibitor, with the decrease in the experimental group being more evident (p < 0.05). After dialysis was completed, the experimental group restored renal function indicators such as Cre, CysC and serum K+ levels more quickly than the control group (p < 0.05). The effective rate was 100% for the experimental group and 87.5% for the control group. The intragroup difference in the efficacy.was significant. CONCLUSIONS: High-flux dialysis appears to be more beneficial for cervical cancer patients with obstructive renal failure, showing no significant improvement in renal function after catheterisation. It restored renal function more quickly, had more radical draining of inflammatory factors and large and moderate molecular toxins, and had a higher overall effective rate.

Sulforaphane alleviates hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury through promoting the activation of Nrf-2/HO-1 signaling.

BACKGROUND: Sulforaphane (SFN)displays both anti-oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory activity. Given that inflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HI/RI), we examined the protective effect and potential mechanism of SFN on HI/RI. METHODS: The maneuver of Pringle's was used to establish the mode of HI/RI and 60 SD rats were randomly divided into Sham, HI/RI, SFN and ML385 Groups. The expression of aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2(Nrf-2), heme oxygenase 1(HO-1), nitric oxide (NO), Cyclooxygenase2 (COX-2), NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and monocyte chemotactic protein 1(MCP-1) were measured. Moreover, hepatic pathological morphology and the activity of glutathione (GSH), Catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) of the liver were also examined. RESULTS: SFN treatment can significantly decrease the hepatic pathological injury and down-regulate the expression of ALT, AST, ALP, COX-2, TNF-a, IL-6, MCP-1, NO and MDA in HI/RI with increasing the expression of Nrf2, NQO1 and HO-1, and up-regulating the activity of GSH, CAT and SOD. Moreover, Nrf-2 inhibitor, ML385 can obliviously reverse the protective effect of SFN on HI/RI. CONCLUSION: Sulforaphane can inhibit the inflammatory response and oxidative stress induced by HI/RI through promoting the activation of the Nrf-2 / HO-1 signal pathway.

Osthole decreases renal ischemia-reperfusion injury by suppressing JAK2/STAT3 signaling activation.

Renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of acute kidney injury. The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying renal I/R injury involve inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. Osthole is a coumarin derivative that exhibits potential anti-inflammatory activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of osthole in renal I/R injury and its underlying mechanism. Renal I/R injury was induced by clamping the left renal artery for 45 min followed by 24 h reperfusion with the contralateral nephrectomy. A total of 70 rats were randomly assigned to seven groups (n=10 per group): Sham; IRI; and osthole (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) groups. Rats were administered intraperitoneally with osthole 45 min prior to renal ischemia. Serum and renal tissue were harvested 24 h after reperfusion. Renal function and histological changes were assessed. In addition, the mRNA and protein expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in renal tissue and serum were evaluated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and ELISA assays, respectively. The protein expression levels of p65, p-p65, janus kinase 2 (JAK2), p-JAK2, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and p-STAT3 were measured using western blot analysis. The results indicate that osthole pretreatment was able to significantly attenuate the renal dysfunction in a dose-dependent manner, histological changes and the expression of TNF-α, IL-8, IL-6, p-JAK2, p-STAT3 and p-p65 induced by renal I/R injury. However, neither osthole or I/R injury affected the expression p65, JAK2 and STAT3. Osthole pretreatment is able to reduce renal I/R injury by abrogating inflammation and the mechanism is partially involved in suppressing JAK2/STAT3 activation. Thus, osthole may be a novel practical strategy for the mitigation of renal I/R injury.

Isolation and Characterization of China Isolates of Duddingtonia flagrans, a Candidate of the Nematophagous Fungi for Biocontrol of Animal Parasitic Nematodes.

The nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans has been investigated as a biological agent for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes infecting domestic animals in other countries. However, D. flagrans has not been detected in China. In this study 1,135 samples were examined from 2012 to 2014; 4 D. flagrans isolates (SDH 035, SDH 091, SFH 089, SFG 170) were obtained from the feces of domestic animals and dung compost. The 4 isolates were then characterized morphologically. The SDH 035 strain was characterized by sequencing the ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region. A BLAST search showed that the SDH 035 strain (GenBank KP257593) was 100% identical to Arthrobotrys flagrans (AF106520) and was identified as D. flagrans. The morphological plasticity of the isolated strain and the interaction of this strain with the nematode targets were observed by subjecting the infected trichostrongylide L3 to scanning electron microscopy. At 6 and 8 hr after trichostrongylide L(3) was added, hyphal ramifications were observed and L(3) were captured, respectively. Scanning electron micrographs were obtained at 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, and 48 hr, where 0 is the time when trichostrongylide L(3) were first captured by the fungus. The details of the capture process by the fungus are also described. Chlamydospores were observed in the body of L(3) in the late stage of digestion. A sticky substance and bacteria could be observed in contact areas between predation structures and nematode cuticle.

Isolation, identification, and characterization of the nematophagous fungus Monacrosporium salinum from China.

Nematophagous fungi are considered to have the best potential as biological agents for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes in domestic animals. However, relatively few studies have been conducted with the genus Monacrosporium, especially with strains native to China. In the present study, we isolated and identified nematophagous fungi from fresh sheep feces. A pure fungal strain was molecularly characterized, and its nematophagous activity was evaluated. The morphological plasticity of the isolated strain, as well as its interaction with the nematode targets, was observed by scanning electron microscopy of the infected Trichostrongylus colubriformis L3 and the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Three isolated fungal strains from the 30 fresh fecal samples of sheep from Inner Mongolia, China exhibited predatory activity; however, only a single strain was successfully purified (SF 0459). The SF 0459 strain was characterized by morphological analysis of its conidia and sequencing of its ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2 region. This strain was identified to be Monacrosporium salinum (GenBank ID: KP036623). Nematophagous fungus helper bacteria were found at the interaction points between fungi and nematodes. The percentage of live T. colubriformis L3 was reduced by 83.79-88.69% based on the in vitro assay.

[Expression of Bcl-2 and Fas and apoptosis of T lymphocyte in the peripheral blood of patients with end-stage renal diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of Bcl-2 and Fas and the apoptosis of T lymphocyte in the peripheral blood of patients with end-stage renal diseases; and to test the impact of various dialysis membranes on the apoptosis of T lymphocyte. METHODS: T lymphocyte was cultured with the stimulation of Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) for 24 h. The apoptosis of T lymphocyte was measured by flow cytometry. The expression of Bcl-2 and Fas was measured with immunohistochemical approach. A total of 10 non-dialyszed (ND) patients, 45 maintenance hemodialysis patients with cellulose acetate (CA) membrane, low-flux (PS-LF) and high-fluxpolusulfone (PS-HF) membrane, and 8 healthy volunteers (HC) participated in the study. RESULTS: The patients with end-stage renal diseases had greater apoptosis of T lymphocyte than healthy volunteers (P < 0.01). The patients undergoing hemodialysis with CA membrane had greater apoptosis of T lymphocyte than those with PS-LF and PS-HF membranes (P < 0.05). The expression of Bcl-2 in T lymphocyte of patients with end-stage renal diseases was lower than that of healthy valunteers (P < 0. 01). The apoptosis of T lymphocyte was negatively correlated with the expression of Bcl-2 (r = -0. 83, P < 0.01). The expression of Fas in T lymphocyte of patients with end-stage renal diseases was greater than that of healthy valunteers (P < 0.01). The apoptosis of T lymphocyte was positively correlated with the expression of Fas (r = 0.81, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Patients with end-stage renal diseases may experience accelerated apoptosis of T lymphocyte, which is associated with the high expression of Fas and low expression of Bcl-2 in T lymphocyte. The apoptosis of T lymphocyte is also influenced by the permeability of the dialysis membranes.

[The characterization of Th1/Th2 profile in end-stage renal disease patients and the correlation with the apoptosis of T lymphocyte].

AIM: To investigate the characterization of Th1/Th2 profile in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and the correlation with the apoptosis of the peripheral blood T cells; and to study the influence of different dialysis membranes on the apoptosis of T lymphocyte. METHODS: T cells from 10 non-dialyzed (ND) patients, 45 maintenance hemodialysis patients with cellulose acetate (CA) membrane, low-flux (PS-LF) and high-flux polusulfone (PS-HF) membrane, and 8 healthy volunteers (HC) were separated and stimulated with PHA for 24 hours in vitro. Then the apoptosis of T cells and supernatants levels of IFN-gamma and IL-4 were detected by Flow cytometry (FCM) and ELISA. RESULTS: In ESRD patients, the expression of Annexin V in T lymphocyte was higher than that of group HC (P<0.05), group CA was higher than group PS-HF and PS-LF (P<0.05). The level of IFN-gamma of ESRD patients was decreased significant compared with that in group HC (P<0.05), and there was negative correlation. between the Annexin V and IFN-gamma. IL-4 was increased in ESRD patients (P<0.05) and it was positive correlated with Annexin V. CONCLUSION: ESRD patients showed suppressed secretion of IFN-gamma, increased secretion of IL-4 and apoptosis of T lymphocytes.