Search

Abstract Background Proximal tubular cells (PTCs) play a critical role in the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). As one of important progenitor markers, CD133 was reported to indicate the regeneration of dedifferentiated PTCs in acute kidney disease. However, its role in chronic DKD is unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the expression patterns and elucidate its functional significance of CD133 in DKD. Methods Data mining was employed to illustrate the expression and molecular function of CD133 in PTCs in human DKD. Subsequently, rat models representing various stages of DKD progression were established. The expression of CD133 was confirmed in DKD rats, as well as in human PTCs (HK-2 cells) and rat PTCs (NRK-52E cells) exposed to high glucose. The immunofluorescence and flow cytometry techniques were utilized to determine the expression patterns of CD133, utilizing proliferative and injury indicators. After overexpression or knockdown of CD133 in HK-2 cells, the cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by EdU assay, real-time cell analysis and flow analysis. Additionally, the evaluation of epithelial, progenitor cell, and apoptotic indices was performed through western blot and quantitative RT-PCR analyses. Results The expression of CD133 was notably elevated in both human and rat PTCs in DKD, and this expression increased as DKD progressed. CD133 was found to be co-expressed with CD24, KIM-1, SOX9, and PCNA, suggesting that CD133+ cells were damaged and associated with proliferation. In terms of functionality, the knockdown of CD133 resulted in a significant reduction in proliferation and an increase in apoptosis in HK-2 cells compared to the high glucose stimulus group. Conversely, the overexpression of CD133 significantly mitigated high glucose-induced cell apoptosis, but had no impact on cellular proliferation. Furthermore, the Nephroseq database provided additional evidence to support the correlation between CD133 expression and the progression of DKD. Analysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing data revealed that CD133+ PTCs potentially play a role in the advancement of DKD through multiple mechanisms, including heat damage, cell microtubule stabilization, cell growth inhibition and tumor necrosis factor-mediated signaling pathway. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that the upregulation of CD133 is linked to cellular proliferation and protects PTC from apoptosis in DKD and high glucose induced PTC injury. We propose that heightened CD133 expression may facilitate cellular self-protective responses during the initial stages of high glucose exposure. However, its sustained increase is associated with the pathological progression of DKD. In conclusion, CD133 exhibits dual roles in the advancement of DKD, necessitating further investigation.

The energy needs of tubular epithelial components, especially proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTECs), are high and they heavily depend on aerobic metabolism. As a result, they are particularly vulnerable to various injuries caused by factors such as ischemia, proteinuria, toxins, and elevated glucose levels. Initial metabolic and phenotypic changes in PTECs after injury are likely an attempt at survival and repair. Nevertheless, in cases of recurrent or prolonged injury, PTECs have the potential to undergo a transition to a secretory state, leading to the generation and discharge of diverse bioactive substances, including transforming growth factor-β, Wnt ligands, hepatocyte growth factor, interleukin (IL)-1β, lactic acid, exosomes, and extracellular vesicles. By promoting fibroblast activation, macrophage recruitment, and endothelial cell loss, these bioactive compounds stimulate communication between epithelial cells and other interstitial cells, ultimately worsening renal damage. This review provides a summary of the latest findings on bioactive compounds that facilitate the communication between these cellular categories, ultimately leading to the advancement of tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF).

Abstract Background Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) has mainly been considered as a glomerular disease. Our previous study showed that the progression of DKD was highly correlated with the dysfunction of renal proximal tubular cells. Fermented Cordyceps sinensis (CS), a substitute for natural CS, is a prominent herb widely used in China, and has exhibited excellent efficacy on DKD. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Methods The database analysis was used to identify the main therapeutic targets and pathways of CS involved in DKD treatment. Next, the protective effects of fermented CS on high glucose (HG, 30 mM) induced HK-2 cell injury was validated through cell proliferation and apoptosis assay, including CCK-8, EdU and TUNEL. Finally, quantitative real‑time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were used to verify key target genes. Results Our results revealed that 9 main targets (RELA, JNK1, PTEN, VEGFA, EGF, ERK2, CASP3, AKT1, MMP9) were recognized as key therapeutic targets with excellent binding affinity screened by database analysis and molecular docking. The biological processes were identified by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, which appeared mainly involved in the positive regulation of cell proliferation as well as the negative regulation of apoptosis. The verification experiments in vitro revealed that fermented CS significantly attenuated the HG-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and promoted the proliferation of HK-2 cells. Moreover, fermented CS significantly downregulated the expressions of Bax, Caspase-3, VEGFA, P-AKT and P-ERK, and upregulated the expression of PTEN compared with that of HG group. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that the fermented CS has nephroprotective effects significantly, which functions via promoting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis of renal proximal tubular cells, likely by targeting Caspase-3, Bax, VEGFA and PTEN. Furthermore, AKT and ERK signaling pathway may be the critical mechanisms underlying the efficacy of fermented CS in DKD treatment.

ObjectiveThe relationship between serum selenium levels and papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), especially the pathological features, still remains controversial. We conducted this study to investigate the relationship between serum selenium levels and PTC in a Chinese population.MethodsCross-sectional data of 284 patients with PTC were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University. The general clinical characteristics, serum selenium levels, and tumor pathological features were described in PTC. The association between serum selenium levels and pathological features in PTC was analyzed using SPSS 26.0 statistical software.ResultsOur results showed that the median serum selenium level was 79.15 μg/L (IQR: 71.00 - 86.98 μg/L) in PTC patients. Serum selenium levels were lower in females than males (p = 0.035). Serum selenium levels were negatively correlated with the number of lymph node metastases (p = 0.048). High serum selenium (OR = 0.397, 95%CI: 0.217 - 0.725) and diastolic blood pressure (OR = 1.028, 95%CI: 1.005 - 1.051) were related factors for the incidence of bilateral tumors. High serum selenium (OR = 0.320, 95%CI: 0.166 - 0.617) and diastolic blood pressure (OR = 1.066, 95%CI: 1.031 - 1.103) were related factors for tumor multifocal incidence.ConclusionsThe serum selenium levels of PTC patients in females were lower than males. High serum selenium levels might be a protective factor in PTC patients. Further research is necessary to better understand the influence of selenium on PTC progression.

BackgroundIn 2019, there was a global outbreak of new coronary pneumonia. Studies have found that the severity of patients with new coronary pneumonia may be related to their comorbidities. This article discusses the impact of thyroid disease on the severity of new coronary pneumonia through a meta-analysis and provides new treatment ideas for the later treatment and recovery of new coronary pneumonia.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, SINOMED, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and thyroid diseases were searched. Reference lists of all eligible articles and related previous review articles were handsearched. Fifty-three articles were included to conduct the meta-analysis.ResultsFifty-three articles with 12,022 COVID-19 infection patients were included in this meta-analysis. The proportion of patients with thyroid diseases in all COVID-19 infection patients fluctuates between 0% and 88.46%. Of the 53 included studies, 22 studies reported the severity of COVID-19 infection and grouped. The fixed-effects model was used to merge odds ratio (OR) values, and the pooled effect size in favor of non-severe patients is 2.62 (95% CI = 1.96–3.49, P < 0.0001), which means that patients with severe COVID-19 infection are more likely to have thyroid diseases. The analysis subgrouped into Asia and Europe shows that patients with COVID-19 severe infection in Asia are 3.77 times more likely to have thyroid diseases than non-severe patients (fixed-effects model: OR = 3.77, 95% CI = 2.66–5.35, P < 0.00001). No significant statistical heterogeneity was found by the heterogeneity analysis (chi-square = 19.85, P = 0.34, I2 = 9%). Severe COVID-19 infection patients are more likely to be complicated by hypothyroidism and low T3 syndrome. The pooled ORs with fixed-effects model are 3.72 (95% CI = 1.62–8.58, P = 0.002) and 5.86 (95% CI = 2.79–12.33, P < 0.00001), respectively.ConclusionCOVID-19 infection patients with thyroid diseases are very common, and severe patients are more likely to have thyroid diseases. Asian COVID-19 infection, hypothyroidism patients, and patients with low T3 syndrome are more likely to progress to severe condition.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://inplasy.com, identifier INPLASY202190079.

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of empagliflozin on diffuse myocardial fibrosis by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) T1 mapping.Research methods and proceduresDatabases including PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, and Sinomed for clinical studies of empagliflozin on myocardial fibrosis were searched. Two authors extracted the data and evaluated study quality independently. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used for continuous variables. Review Manager 5.3 was used to performed the analysis.ResultsSix studies were included in this meta-analysis. One of the six studies was assessed as poor quality by the assessment of methodological quality; however, the remaining five studies were considered good. The WMD value of △extracellular volume (ECV) was merged by the fixed-effect model, and the pooled effect size was -1.48 (95% CI -1.76 to -1.21, P < 0.00001), which means in favor of empagliflozin. Heterogeneity analysis did not find any heterogeneity (chi2 = 0.39, P = 0.82, I2 = 0%). In addition, empagliflozin had a tendency to reduce ECV compared to treatment before with no statistical significance (WMD = -0.29, 95% CI -1.26 to 0.67, P = 0.55; heterozygosity test, chi2 = 2.66, P = 0.45, I2 = 0%). The WMD value of △native T1 was also merged by the fixed-effect model, but the pooled effect size showed neither statistical difference between empagliflozin and placebo treatment (WMD = -5.40, 95% CI -21.63 to 10.83, P = 0.51) nor heterogeneity (chi2 = 0.05, P = 0.83, I2 = 0%).ConclusionsEmpagliflozin has cardiovascular benefits by reducing diffuse myocardial fibrosis. ECV could act as a non-invasive imaging tool to assess diffuse myocardial fibrosis and monitor disease progression.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=324804, identifier: CRD42022324804

PurposeThe correlation of abnormal glucose metabolism and thyroid carcinoma, especially the aggressiveness of thyroid cancer, still remains controversial. We conducted this study to investigate the relationship between abnormal glucose metabolism parameters and differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) in the Chinese population.Materials and MethodsThe study was designed as a hospital-based case–control study and was approved by the Ethics Committee of our hospital and registered in the Clinical Trial Protocol Registration and Results System (Registration code: NCT 03006289). From January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021, a total of 377 DTC patients were enrolled in the study. Demographic and general characteristics, details of thyroid surgery and histopathological results, hematological test indicators were collected. Glucose metabolism parameters were calculated. Variables were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, chi-squared analysis and Fisher’s exact test. Pearson bi-variate correlation and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used for bi-variate analysis.ResultsMore than 40% of patients with DTC were multifocality, more than half were extra-glandular invasion, and nearly 85% complied by lymph node metastasis. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) was about 10.08% in DTC patients. It was found that the proportion of postprandial 2 h blood glucose ≥11.1mmol/L and HbA1c ≥6.5% was significantly higher than the known proportion of DM (17.8%, 16.7% vs. 10.08%). Additionally, 87.3% of the DTC patients in this study had varying degrees of insulin resistance. Further analysis found that higher T staging was associated with higher levels of area under curve of C-peptide (P = 0.029), insulin sensitivity index (P = 0.012) and C-peptide sensitivity index (P = 0.016). A delayed peak of insulin secretion was found to be positive related with capsule invasion (r = 0.206, P = 0.004). In patients without a DM history, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P = 0.017), insulin sensitivity index (P = 0.019) and C-peptide sensitivity index (P = 0.020) were statistic associated with T staging. Also, the glucose metabolism parameter at 3-hour after a meal was related to a larger number of metastatic lymph nodes.ConclusionAbnormal glucose metabolism, namely, DM, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, were significantly associated with the carcinogensis and aggressiveness of DTC.