Clinicopathological characteristics, treatment responses and long-term outcomes differ remarkably in LN patients with different gender and pathological subtypes. New indicators of poor renal outcome were identified. Infections and TTP were the most common causes of death in LN patients.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common serious syndrome characterized by rapid decrease of glomerular filtration rate and the progressive increase of serum creatinine. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are regulatory RNAs that recently became popular among various diseases. However, the expression profile and function of circRNAs in AKI remain largely unknown. The main function of circRNAs is acting as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) by binding with microRNAs (miRNAs), as indicated by recent research. In the present study, we established cisplatin-induced AKI model in mice and isolated renal tubular tissues to extract circRNAs for next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics analysis. We analyzed the composition, distribution and Gene Ontology terms of circRNAs in cisplatin-induced AKI and revealed differentially expressed circRNAs related to AKI. By finding homologous genes between mouse and human, we identified circRNA- circ-0114427 in humans. We further investigated its function in AKI cell model. Circ-0114427 expression was significantly up-regulated in different AKI cell models. Knockdown of circ-0114427 indicated that circ-0114427 bound to miR-494 as a miRNA sponge to regulate ATF3 expression and further affected the expression of downstream cytokine IL-6. Circ-0114427 regulates inflammatory progression in AKI’s early stage via circ-0114427/miR-494/ATF3 pathway. Our findings reveal the expression profile of circRNAs in cisplatin-induced AKI and provide a novel insight into the regulatory mechanism of circRNAs, which may become a new molecular target resource for early diagnosis and treatment strategies.

A new post-PCI CIN risk score model was developed based on a retrospective study of 805 patients. Application of this model might be helpful to predict CIN in patients undergoing PCI procedure.

BackgroundCaregiving burden and depression in family caregivers have been investigated, but little is known about how they affect paid caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate caregiving burden and depression in paid caregivers of hospitalized patients.MethodsA cross-sectional survey study was conducted in a tertiary referral hospital (Chengdu, China) that enrolled 108 paid caregivers who worked in the inpatient department. The Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale were incorporated into a self-developed questionnaire to gather demographic information on the following four aspects: general, work, income, and family.ResultsThe mean total CBI score was 29.7 ± 12.5. The time-dependence burden had the highest score of 15.3 ± 4.0, which was followed by the physical burden score of 6.5 ± 4.6, developmental burden score of 3.7 ± 4.0, social burden score of 3.2 ± 4.0, and emotional burden score of 2.4 ± 3.1. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that a higher CBI was associated with a longer time as a paid caregiver [β=7.041, 95% Confidence Interval (CI):1.935 to 12.974, p = 0.009], lower income satisfaction (β= − 6.573, 95% CI: -11.248 to −3.020, p = 0.001), and higher frequency of meeting with their relatives (β=7.125, 95% CI: 2.019 to 12.456, p = 0.006). The mean CES-D score was 11.9 ± 8.7, and significant depression was found in 28 (25.9%) paid caregivers according to the CES-D score ≥ 16 cut-off. There was a moderate positive correlation between the CBI and CES-D scores (Pearson’s r = 0.452, p < 0.001).ConclusionsA high caregiving burden was commonly observed in paid caregivers of hospitalized patients in China, as was a high prevalence of depression symptoms. Several associated factors were identified that could be areas for future interventions.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes with a poorly defined etiology and limited treatment options. Early intervention is a key to preventing the progression of DN. Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) regulates mitochondrial morphology by promoting its fission and is involved in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Furthermore, DRP1 is also closely associated with the development of diabetes, but its functional role in DN remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of DRP1 on early stage of DN. DRP1 expression has increased significantly in glomerular mesangial cell (GMC), which is cultivated in high glucose (HG). Ultramicrostructural changes of nephrons, expression of collagen IV and phosph-p38, ROS production, and mitochondrial function were evaluated and, at the same time, were compared with glomerular mesangial cell (GMC) cultured in normal-glucose (NG), mannitol, and a medium with mitochondrial division inhibitor 1 (Midivi-1). Endogenous DRP1 expression increased in DN. Compared to the control groups ofNG and mannitol, overexpression of DRP1 destroyed pathological changes typical of the GMC, like accumulation of extracellular matrix, and an increase in mitochondria division. In addition, Overexpression of DRP1 promoted the activation of p38, the accumulation of ROS, mitochondrial dysfunction, and the synthesis of collagen IV, and all these changes are suppressed by Midivi-1. This study demonstrates that DRP1 overexpression can accelerate pathological changes in the GMC cultured in HG. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanism of this destructive function.