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Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), the main metabolite of Creosote Bush, has been shown to have profound effects on the core components of metabolic syndrome, including lowering of blood glucose, free fatty acids and triglyceride levels, attenuating elevated blood pressure in several rodent models of dyslipidemia, and improving body weight, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension. In the present study, a high-fructose diet fed rat model of hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis was employed to investigate the global transcriptional changes in the lipid metabolizing pathways in three insulin sensitive tissues: liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in response to chronic dietary administration of NDGA. Sprague-Dawley male rats (SD) were fed a chow (control) diet, high-fructose diet (HFrD) or HFrD supplemented with NDGA (2.5 g/kg diet) for eight weeks. Dietary administration of NDGA decreased plasma levels of TG, glucose, and insulin, and attenuated hepatic TG accumulation. DNA microarray expression profiling indicated that dietary administration of NDGA upregulated the expression of certain genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and their transcription regulator, PPARα, decreased the expression of a number of lipogenic genes and relevant transcription factors, and differentially impacted the genes of fatty acid transporters, acetyl CoA synthetases, elongases, fatty acid desaturases and lipid clearance proteins in liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. These findings suggest that NDGA ameliorates hypertriglyceridemia and steatosis primarily by inhibiting lipogenesis and enhancing fatty acid catabolism in three major insulin responsive tissues by altering the expression of key enzyme genes and transcription factors involved in de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study's aim is to measure liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) levels in urine using a rapid semiquantitative assay kit in the emergency department and to investigate whether the onset of acute kidney injury (AKI) after hospitalization can be predicted., Methods: This was a prospective observation study. Patients transferred to the emergency and critical care center were divided into two groups: urinary L-FABP negative and positive groups. The status and severity of AKI were evaluated for the respective patients based on the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) classification. We compared the proportion of AKI patients in the two groups., Results: In the urine L-FABP-positive group, many patients had a significant onset of AKI (p < 0.001). After excluding patients who were diagnosed as AKI for creatinine level at admission, urinary L-FABP could predict the onset of AKI after admission (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: By measuring urinary L-FABP concentration using a rapid semiquantitative assay kit, there is the possibility that the onset of AKI after admission can be predicted from immediately after a patient is transported by ambulance.

Nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), the main metabolite of Creosote Bush, has been shown to have profound effects on the core components of metabolic syndrome, including lowering of blood glucose, free fatty acids and triglyceride levels, attenuating elevated blood pressure in several rodent models of dyslipidemia, and improving body weight, insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension. In the present study, a high-fructose diet fed rat model of hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis was employed to investigate the global transcriptional changes in the lipid metabolizing pathways in three insulin sensitive tissues: liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in response to chronic dietary administration of NDGA. Sprague-Dawley male rats (SD) were fed a chow (control) diet, high-fructose diet (HFrD) or HFrD supplemented with NDGA (2.5 g/kg diet) for eight weeks. Dietary administration of NDGA decreased plasma levels of TG, glucose, and insulin, and attenuated hepatic TG accumulation. DNA microarray expression profiling indicated that dietary administration of NDGA upregulated the expression of certain genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and their transcription regulator, PPARα, decreased the expression of a number of lipogenic genes and relevant transcription factors, and differentially impacted the genes of fatty acid transporters, acetyl CoA synthetases, elongases, fatty acid desaturases and lipid clearance proteins in liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. These findings suggest that NDGA ameliorates hypertriglyceridemia and steatosis primarily by inhibiting lipogenesis and enhancing fatty acid catabolism in three major insulin responsive tissues by altering the expression of key enzyme genes and transcription factors involved in de novo lipogenesis and fatty acid oxidation.