Renovascular hypertension (RVH) is a progressive disease, leading to chronic kidney disease when untreated and no specific treatment is available. Therefore, development of new therapeutic modalities is imperative. RVH is triggered by renal artery stenosis and subsequent renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation; it can be experimentally induced by the 2 Kidneys-1 Clip (2K1C) model. This study investigates the therapeutic potential of renal subcapsular mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) infusion in 2K1C rats. Renal morphological and functional changes were analyzed, including Na+K-ATPase activity and expression, renin angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensin-II type 1 (ATR) and type 2 (ATR) receptors expression. 2K1C rats developed hypertension accompanied by renin upregulation (clipped kidney) and renal Na+K-ATPase activity and expression reduction. MSC therapy decreased systolic blood pressure, renin, ACE, and ATR, upregulated ATR and podocin expression and restored renal Na+K-ATPase activity and expression. In addition, MSC improved renal morphology, reduced fibrosis and TGF-β expression in the clipped kidney, decreased proteinuria and restored protein plasma levels. In conclusion, transplantation into a renal subcapsule is an efficient route and MSC is a good candidate for cell therapy, which may represent an interesting approach for chronic kidney disease treatment.

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New Findings What is the central question of this study?Can a single bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplant into the subcapsular region of kidney improve cellular communication and adhesion, while restoring renal tissue cytoarchitecture and function during renovascular hypertension? What is the main finding and its importance?The BMMC transplantation restored connexin 40 expression and led to recovery of N‐ and E‐cadherin levels within 15 days. It was observed, for the first time, that BMMC transplantation restores expression of nephrin, a component of the glomerular filtration barrier related to podocytes and the glomerular basal membrane. Abstract Stem cell therapy has emerged as a potential treatment for renal diseases owing to the regenerative potential of stem cells. However, a better understanding of the morphological and functional changes of damaged renal cells in the presence of transplanted stem cells is needed. The aim of this study was to investigate cell–cell communication and adhesion in renal parenchyma, with analysis of fibrosis, to evaluate renal morphology and function after bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation in two‐kidney–one‐clip rats. The BMMC therapy significantly decreased blood pressure and renin expression, improved renal morphology and restored the glomerular filtration barrier, with remodelling of podocytes. In addition, there was a reduction in fibrosis, and connexin 40 and nephrin expression were significantly increased after 7 and 15 days of transplantation. Plasma creatinine, urea and total protein levels were restored, and proteinuria was reduced. Furthermore, N‐ and E‐cadherin expression was increased soon after BMMC therapy. Green fluorescent protein‐positive BMMCs were found in the renal cortex 24 and 48 h after transplantation into the renal subcapsule, and at 7 and 15 days after transplantation, these cells were observed throughout the renal medulla, indicating cellular migration. Therefore, these data suggest that transplanted BMMCs improve cell–cell communication and adhesion between damaged cells, which is accompanied by a recovery of renal morphology and function.

Objetivo: conhecer o significado da participação em uma liga acadêmica de humanização para a formação profissional em saúde, na perspectiva de ligantes egressos graduados. Metodologia: estudo com abordagem qualitativa, utilizando o Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo, cujos dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevista semiestruturada. Resultados: participaram do estudo, 20 egressos que atuaram como participantes da liga no ano de 2015 (seis psicólogos; quatro enfermeiros; quatro fisioterapeutas; dois nutricionistas; dois biomédicos; um terapeuta ocupacional e um médico) e, 90% estavam atuando como profissionais da área da saúde no momento da entrevista. Foram extraídas quatro ideias centrais: a liga de humanização possibilitou formação profissional mais humanizada; a liga de humanização contribuiu para valorização das relações interpessoais no cuidado em saúde; a liga de humanização ensinou princípios humanitários como elementos do cuidado em saúde e, a liga de humanização destacou atuação profissional coletiva e respeitosa. Conclusão: Evidenciou-se que a experiência, na liga, impactou na formação profissional, com potencial transformador para um olhar humanístico e cuidado ampliado do usuário, assim como possibilitou que os processos de trabalho em saúde se fundamentem em atuação mais acolhedora, atentiva e sensível.

As gestational age advances, there is an increase in tongue perimeter and length, in the percentage of collagen fibers, and in vascular perimeter, demonstrating that tongue formation is directly related to tongue growth and development.

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A new coccidian species parasitizing white-necked thrushes Turdus albicollis Vieillot, 1818 is described from the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, in Southeastern Brazil. Isospora machadoae sp. nov. has oocysts that are sub-spherical, 22.2 × 21.2 µm, with bilayered wall, ~1.3 μm thick. Outer layer is rough with micropyle and micropyle cap. Oocyst residuum is absent, but one or two polar granules are present. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, 13.3 × 9.7 µm. The Stieda body is flattened to half-moon-shaped and substieda body rounded. Sporocyst residuum is present, composed of scattered spherules of different sizes. Sporozoites are vermiform with a refractile body and a nucleus. These parasitized thrushes had no apparent clinical signs of coccidiosis or high densities of oocysts in feces. This condition may be associated with a specific low pathogenicity of I. machadoae sp. nov. and/or with the conserved habitat of these birds, which ensures the ecological niches and thus the immunocompetence to wildlife.