ps1 17 lupus nephritis severely reduced urinary dnase i levels reflect loss of renal dnase i disease progression and may reduce the need for renal biopsies

Loss of renal DNase I leads to progression of lupus nephritis. Therefore, we determined if loss of renal DNase I reflects a concurrent loss of urinary DNase I, and whether absence of urinary DNase I predicts disease progression, which thus may reduce the need for renal biopsies. Here, mouse renal DNase I mRNA was determined by qPCR, whereas mouse and human DNase I protein and DNase I endonuclease activity levels were determined by Western blots, and gel and radial zymography assays, respectively, during different stages of the murine and human forms of the disease. Cellular localization of DNase I was analysed by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy and immune electron microscopy. We further compared DNase I levels in human native and transplanted kidneys to determine if the disease depended on autologous renal genes, or whether the nephritic process proceeded also in transplanted kidneys. We also analysed if DNase I levels in urine samples reflected expression levels in the kidneys, and if the mouse data were translatable to humans. The data indicates that silencing of the renal DNase I gene expression level relates to serious progression of lupus nephritis in murine, human native, and transplanted kidneys. Notably, silencing of renal DNase I correlates with loss of DNase I protein and endonuclease activity in the urine samples. Thus, urinary DNase I levels reflects the renal DNase I expression and activity levels, and may therefore be used as a marker of lupus nephritis disease progression and reduce the need for renal biopsies

Terrestrial vegetation redistribution and carbon balance under climate change

BACKGROUND: Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) compute the terrestrial carbon balance as well as the transient spatial distribution of vegetation. We study two scenarios of moderate and strong climate change (2.9 K and 5.3 K temperature increase over present) to investigate the spatial redistribution of major vegetation types and their carbon balance in the year 2100. RESULTS: The world's land vegetation will be more deciduous than at present, and contain about 125 billion tons of additional carbon. While a recession of the boreal forest is simulated in some areas, along with a general expansion to the north, we do not observe a reported collapse of the central Amazonian rain forest. Rather, a decrease of biomass and a change of vegetation type occurs in its northeastern part. The ability of the terrestrial biosphere to sequester carbon from the atmosphere declines strongly in the second half of the 21(st )century. CONCLUSION: Climate change will cause widespread shifts in the distribution of major vegetation functional types on all continents by the year 2100

Impact of climate change at species level: a case study of teak in India

Adaptive capacity, Climate change, Impact modelling, Plantation forests, Teak (Tectona grandis), Species-level analysis, India,