Association of genetic polymorphisms of eNOS with glaucoma.

PURPOSE: Several studies suggest that vascular dysregulation play a role in the etiology of glaucoma. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene polymorphisms with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and primary closed angle glaucoma (PCAG). METHODS: There were 102 POAG and 88 PCAG patients, diagnosed on the basis of clinical history, raised intraocular pressure (IOP), cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) and visual field defects, and 120 age- and sex-matched control subjects genotyped for 5 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs743507, rs3793342, rs11771443, rs7830, and rs3918188) of the human eNOS gene. RESULTS: rs3793342, rs743507, rs11771443, rs7830, and rs3918188 were not found to be associated with POAG or with PCAG. In the haplotype-based case-control analysis, the frequency of the C-T haplotype established by rs3793342 and rs11771443 was significantly higher for POAG patients than for control subjects (p<0.001, OR=5.111, 95%CI=1.766~14.788). CONCLUSIONS: The C-T haplotype established by rs3793342 and rs11771443 may be genetic marks of POAG in the Han Chinese population.

Conditioned medium from renal tubular epithelial cells stimulated by hypoxia influences rat bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: It has been well documented that endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) participate in neovascularization in adults and that rarefaction of peritubular capillaries (PTCs) is closely associated with progressive kidney disease. Therefore, we investigated whether EPCs were influenced by conditioned medium (CM) of renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) stimulated by hypoxia, to provide evidence for EPCs transplantation in vivo in the future. METHODS: Mononuclear cells of rat bone marrow were isolated by density gradient centrifugation and were cultured according to previously described techniques. RTECs were cultured primarily with routine tissue block adhering wall method. In addition, CM was harvested from RTECs cultivated for 48 h in 5% O(2). EPCs proliferation and migration were evaluated by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay and transwell. The protein and mRNA expression of stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin 1 (Ang-1), and C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) was separately assessed by Western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. RESULTS: We showed that hypoxia increased the expression of SDF-1 and VEGF in RTEC. In addition, hypoxic CM improved proliferation, migration, and expression of VEGF, Ang-1, and CXCR4 of EPCs. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that hypoxic CM improves neovascularization of EPCs and may also be considered as therapeutic agents to supply the potent origin of reconstituion of PTCs of progressive kidney disease.

Clinical analysis of 156 cases of multiple organ failure caused by fish bile.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical features and prognosis of patients suffering from fish bile poisoning. METHODS: A total of 156 multiple organ failure (MOF) patients caused by fish bile poisoning were hospitalized in our department over the past 28 years. The patients' symptoms, examination results, treatment and outcomes were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: All patients' first symptom was gastrointestinal discomfort, including unbearable nausea and intractable vomiting. The symptoms that followed were oliguria or anuria, edema, headache, fatigue, jaundice, palpitation, alimentary tract hemorrhage, gross hematuria, dyspnea, shock, tachycardia, bradycardia, arrhythmia, coma, and cardiac arrest. The symptom severity and cohort were different among different patients. Twenty-one cases received gastroscopy, which exhibited diffuse gastric mucosal bleeding. Twelve patients received renal biopsy, which exhibited focal necrosis of tubular epithelial cells. One patient received a liver biopsy, which exhibited extensive hepatocyte necrosis. All patients received blood purification therapy. Of the four patients who died, 4 out of 5 organs had failed. The general mortality rate was 2.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the MOF caused by trauma and sepsis, the fish bile poisoning MOF has a much lower morality rate. However, patients with higher age, more underlying diseases, and more organ failure tended to have a worse prognosis.

Costimulatory molecule VSIG4 exclusively expressed on macrophages alleviates renal tubulointerstitial injury in VSIG4 KO mice.

BACKGROUND: Activation and infiltration of T cells and macrophages are key features of renal tubulointerstitial injury. The costimulatory molecule V-set and immunoglobulin domain-containing protein-4 (VSIG4), which is exclusively expressed on macrophages, is capable of inhibiting the T cell response. However, it is unclear whether VSIG4 is involved in renal tubulointerstitial injury. This study was designed to investigate the role of VSIG4 in renal tubulointerstitial injury and the related T cell infiltration. METHODS: The unilateral ureteric obstruction (UUO) model of renal inflammation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis was established in VSIG4 transgenic knock-out C57BL/6 mice (VSIG4(-/-)) and wild-type C57BL/6 mice (VSIG4(+/+)). Comparative analysis of renal biological indices were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Both the VSIG4(-/-) and VSIG4(+/+) mice showed UUO-related temporal changes in renal expression of CD3, CD4 and CD8 T cell markers, with the protein levels being significantly lower in the VSIG4(+/+) UUO mice. Moreover, at each time point examined the UUO VSIG4(+/+) mice showed significantly lower renal mRNA levels of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-2, interferon- and tumor necrosis factor-, but significantly higher IL-10, than the UUO VSIG4(-/-) mice. CONCLUSIONS: The macrophage-expressed VSIG4 may act to alleviate renal tubulointerstitial injury via inhibition of T cell infiltration and secretion of inflammation related factors.