This study investigated the kidney‐protective ability of N6‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐adenosine (HEA) in alloxan‐induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in the rats by the administration of alloxan monohydrate (150 mg/kg, i.p) and treated with HEA for 6 weeks. Diabetic rats displayed marked increase in blood glucose, serum creatinine (Scr), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), in addition to high excretion of urinary protein and albumin. Furthermore, diabetic rats showed decreased renal levels of glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) as well as renal concentrations of pro‐inflammatory mediators (TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐1β, and TGF‐β1). Treatment of diabetic rats with HEA (20 and 40 mg/kg) significantly increased the renal antioxidant level, reduced the levels of blood glucose, Scr, BUN, urinary protein, albumin, and pro‐inflammatory mediators in a dose‐dependent fashion. Histological evaluation of the kidney of diabetic rats indicated that HEA also ameliorated glomerular and tubular changes. Practical applications HEA is a bioactive constituent isolated from Cordyceps cicadae and has been shown to possess antihyperglycemic, kidney protective, antioxidant, and antiinflammatory effects in diabetic rats. HEA stimulated the antioxidant enzymes’ activities in the kidney tissues as well as reduced pro‐inflammatory mediators, indicating its antidiabetic and renoprotective effects in diabetic models. The results showed that HEA attenuated oxidative stress and inflammation in kidney tissues.

No abstract

Magnetic resonance (MR) scanning has become an important diagnostic and management tool in cryptococcal meningitis (CM). However, there are only isolated case reports documenting neuroradiological findings in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients with CM and none has clearly addressed the relationship between cerebral lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and prognosis. The MR brain images available from 114 HIV-negative patients with CM were retrospectively analysed. Patients were divided into Group I with one or more CM-related lesions and Group II without CM-related lesions. Initial clinical and biochemical markers and prognosis were collected and compared between the two groups. In the present study, the most common pattern of CM-related lesions by MRI was radiological meningitis, following by Virchow-Robin (VR) dilatation, hydrocephalus, intracerebral nodules and pseudocysts, which was different from previous studies reporting that the main MR findings of cerebral cryptococcosis in HIV-infected patients include dilated VR spaces, masses and pseudocysts. Compared to the patients without CM-related lesions, patients with CM-related lesions presented with a higher percentage of male patients, a higher frequency of altered mental status, a higher positive rate of Cryptococcus culture in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and a lower ratio of CSF glucose/blood glucose. Poor outcomes were more frequent in patients with presence of CM-related lesions compared to patients without CM-related lesions. In conclusion, the main pattern of cryptococcosis-related lesions on MR scanning differ between non-HIV- and HIV-positive patients with CM. The presence of CM-related lesions was significantly associated with predictors for poor outcome. Neuroimaging on MR scanning is a useful tool to evaluate the initial severity and prognosis of CM without HIV infection.

No abstract

Carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) hydrolyzes the prodrug clopidogrel to an inactive carboxylic acid metabolite. The effects of CES1 S75N (rs2307240,C>T) on clopidogrel response among 851 acute coronary syndrome patients who came from the north, central and south of China were studied. The occurrence ratios of each endpoint in the CC group were significantly higher than in the CT + TT group for cerebrovascular events (14% vs 4.8%, p < 0.001, OR = 0.31), acute myocardial infarction (15.1% vs 6.1%, p < 0.001, OR = 0.37) and unstable angina (62.8% vs 37.7%, p < 0.001, OR = 0.36). The results showed that there was a significant association between CES1 S75N (rs2307240) and the outcome of clopidogrel therapy. Moreover, the frequency of the T allele of rs2307240 in acute coronary syndrome patients (MAF = 0.22) was more than four times higher than that in the general public (MAF = 0.05).

The complement system is one of the immune system’s oldest defense mechanisms and is historically regarded as a liver-derived and serum-active innate immune system that ‘complements’ cell-mediated and antibody-mediated immune responses against pathogens. However, the complement system is now recognized as a central component of both innate and adaptive immunity at both the systemic and local tissue levels. More findings have uncovered novel activities of an intracellularly active complement system—the complosome—that have shifted established functional paradigms in the field. The complosome has been shown to play a critical function in regulating T cell responses, cell physiology (such as metabolism), inflammatory disease processes, and cancer, which has amply proved its immense research potential and informed us that there is still much to learn about this system. Here, we summarize current understanding and discuss the emerging roles of the complosome in health and disease.

Background: Liver cancer (LC) is the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality. However, the critical time window during the marital status may influence the prognosis of LC is still unknown.Methods: Information on a total of 4,933 patients diagnosed with primary LC who had not undergone surgery was collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to analyze the impact of marital status on the risk of cancer-specific mortality (CSM). All confirmed patients were monitored from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2015 for the occurrence of death. We performed 1:1 propensity score matching among the married and non-married groups to eliminate dissimilarities in age, sex, race and clinical characteristics. Cox proportional hazards regression model was adopted to investigate the associations between marital status and the risk of CSM.Results: Married patients were significantly negatively associated with the risk of CSM among patients compared to non-married status, with a hazard ratio (HR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] of 1.15 (1.07-1.23).The strongest associations were observed for patients with Grade II, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) I and III. Furthermore, the protective effect of marriage on the prognosis of LC was independent of sex, age, race, grade, AJCC and SEER stage. Unmarried or separated patients may have a worse prognosis. Conclusions:Marriage was strongly associated with a positive prognosis among patients with LC, especially in the critical window of Grade II, AJCC I and III. This study highlights the important impact of marriage on cancer prognosis.

No abstract