Acute kidney injury predisposes patients to the development of both chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure, but the molecular details underlying this important clinical association remain obscure. We report that kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), an epithelial phosphatidylserine receptor expressed transiently after acute injury and chronically in fibrotic renal disease, promotes kidney fibrosis. Conditional expression of KIM-1 in renal epithelial cells (Kim1 RECtg ) in the absence of an injury stimulus resulted in focal epithelial vacuolization at birth, but otherwise normal tubule histology and kidney function. By 4 weeks of age, Kim1 RECtg mice developed spontaneous and progressive interstitial kidney inflammation with fibrosis, leading to renal failure with anemia, proteinuria, hyperphosphatemia, hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and death, analogous to progressive kidney disease in humans. Kim1 RECtg kidneys had elevated expression of proinflammatory monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) at early time points. Heterologous expression of KIM-1 in an immortalized proximal tubule cell line triggered MCP-1 secretion and increased MCP-1-dependent macrophage chemotaxis. In mice expressing a mutant, truncated KIM-1 polypeptide, experimental kidney fibrosis was ameliorated with reduced levels of MCP-1, consistent with a profibrotic role for native KIM-1. Thus, sustained KIM-1 expression promotes kidney fibrosis and provides a link between acute and recurrent injury with progressive chronic kidney disease.
We demonstrate an ultrathin flexible cone-scanning forward-viewing OCT probe which can fit through the working channel of a flexible ureteroscope for renal pelvis imaging. The probe is fabricated by splicing a 200 µm section of core-less fiber and a 150 µm section of gradient-index (GRIN) fiber to the end of a single mode (SM) fiber. The probe is designed for common-path OCT imaging where the back-reflection of the GRIN fiber/air interface is used as the reference signal. Optimum sensitivity was achieved with a 2 degree polished probe tip. A correlation algorithm was used to correct image distortion caused by non-uniform rotation of the probe. The probe is demonstrated by imaging human skin in vivo and porcine renal pelvis ex vivo and is suitable for imaging the renal pelvis in vivo for cancer staging.
Objective. To report the perioperative outcomes of patients treated with partial nephrectomy by a single surgeon using three surgical modalities—open, laparoscopic, and robotic. Methods. Between August 2006 and February 2012, 106 consecutive patients underwent open partial nephrectomy (OPN) (n = 23), laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) (n = 48), and robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) (n = 35) by a single surgeon. Clinical variables, operative parameters, and renal functional outcomes were analyzed. Results. Preoperative patient characteristics were similar except for baseline glomerular filtration rate (GFR), which was highest in the RPN group (P = 0.004). Surgery time was longest in the RPN group (244 minutes) and shortest in the OPN group (163 minutes, P < 0.0001). Patients who had OPN had the highest incidence of 30-day complications (30%), while the RPN approach had the lowest (14%, P = 0.008). Conclusions. When performed by a single surgeon, robotic partial nephrectomy appears to be associated with fewer complications than both open and laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Kidney function was not affected by surgical approach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.