Pathfinder cells provide a novel therapeutic intervention for acute kidney injury

Pathfinder cells (PCs) are a novel class of adult-derived cells that facilitate functional repair of host tissue. We used rat PCs to demonstrate that they enable the functional mitigation of ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in a mouse model of renal damage. Female C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 30 min of renal ischemia and treated with intravenous (i.v.) injection of saline (control) or male rat pancreas-derived PCs in blinded experimentation. Kidney function was assessed 14 days after treatment by measuring serum creatinine (SC) levels. Kidney tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for markers of cellular damage, proliferation, and senescence (TUNEL, Ki67, p16ink4a, p21). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to determine the presence of any rat (i.e., pathfinder) cells in the mouse tissue. PC-treated animals demonstrated superior renal function at day 14 post-I/R, in comparison to saline-treated controls, as measured by SC levels (0.13 mg/dL vs. 0.23 mg/dL, p<0.001). PC-treated kidney tissue expressed significantly lower levels of p16ink4a in comparison to the control group (p=0.009). FISH analysis demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of repaired kidney tissue was mouse in origin. Rat PCs were only detected at a frequency of 0.02%. These data confirm that PCs have the ability to mitigate functional damage to kidney tissue following I/R injury. Kidneys of PC-treated animals showed evidence of improved function and reduced expression of damage markers. The PCs appear to act in a paracrine fashion, stimulating the host tissue to recover functionally, rather than by differentiating into renal cells. This study demonstrates that pancreatic-derived PCs from the adult rat can enable functional repair of renal damage in mice. It validates the use of PCs to regenerate damaged tissues and also offers a novel therapeutic intervention for repair of solid organ damage in situ

Temperature dependence of the energy and broadening parameter of the fundamental band gap of GaSb and Ga1-xInxAsySb1-y/GaSb (0.07 <= x <= 0.22, 0.05 <= y <= 0.19) quaternary alloys using infrared photoreflectance

We have measured the temperature dependence of the energy [E-0(T)] and broadening parameter [Gamma (0)(T)] of the fundamental gap for GaSb and four samples of Ga1-xInxAsySb1-y (lattice matched to GaSb) using infrared photoreflectance. The parameters that describe the temperature variation of the energy (including thermal-expansion effects) were evaluated using both the semiempirical Vashni relation as well as an equation that incorporates the Bose-Einstein occupation factor. The behavior of Gamma (0)(T) was described by a Bose-Einstein-type equation.6224166001660

Reproducibility of the serum lipid response to coffee oil in healthy volunteers

BACKGROUND: Humans and animals show a certain consistency in the response of their serum lipids to fat-modified diets. This may indicate a genetic basis underlying this response. Coffee oil might be used as a model substance to investigate which genes determine differences in the serum lipid response. Before carrying out such studies our objective was to investigate to what extent the effect of coffee oil on serum lipid concentrations is reproducible within subjects. METHODS: The serum lipid response of 32 healthy volunteers was measured twice in separate five-week periods in which coffee oil was administered (69 mg cafestol / day). RESULTS: Total cholesterol levels increased by 24% in period 1 (range:0;52%) and 18% in period 2 (1;48%), LDL cholesterol by 29 % (-9;71%) and 20% (-12;57%), triglycerides by 66% (16;175%) and 58% (-13;202%), and HDL cholesterol did not change significantly: The range of the HDL response was -19;25% in period 1 and -20;33% in period 2. The correlation between the two responses was 0.20 (95%CI -0.16, 0.51) for total cholesterol, 0.16 (95%CI -0.20, 0.48) for LDL, 0.67 (95%CI 0.42, 0.83) for HDL, and 0.77 (95%CI 0.56, 0.88) for triglycerides. CONCLUSIONS: The responses of total and LDL cholesterol to coffee oil were poorly reproducible within subjects. The responses of HDL and triglycerides, however, appeared to be highly reproducible. Therefore, investigating the genetic sources of the variation in the serum-lipid response to coffee oil is more promising for HDL and triglycerides

Biotechnological production and application of fructooligosaccharides

Currently, prebiotics are all carbohydrates of relatively short chain length. An important group is the fructooligosaccharides, which are a special kind of prebiotics associated to their selective stimulation of the activity of certain groups of colonic bacteria that have a positive and beneficial effect on intestinal microbiota, reducing incidence of gastrointestinal infections, respiratory and also possessing a recognized bifidogenic effect. Traditionally, these prebiotic compounds have been obtained through extraction processes from some plants, as well as through enzymatic hydrolysis of sucrose. However, different fermentative methods have also been proposed for the production of fructooligosaccharides, such as solid-state fermentation utilizing various agroindustrial by-products. By optimizing the culture parameters, fructooligosaccharides yields and productivity can be improved. The use of immobilized enzymes and cells has also been proposed as being an effective and economic method for large-scale production of fructooligosaccharides. This paper is an overview on the results of recent studies on fructooligosacharides biosynthesis, physicochemical properties, sources, biotechnological production and applications.The authors thank the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT) for funding this study. D. A. Flores-Maltos thank the CONACYT for the financial support provided for her postgraduate studies in the Food Science and Technology Program, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Mexico

Training Reading Skills in Central Field Loss Patients: Impact of Clinical Advances and New Technologies to Improve Reading Ability

The primary goal of patients with central field loss attending to visual rehabilitation (VR) offices is to get adapted to daily life activities in near vision, mainly looking for recovering their ability to read again. The disparity in the functionality of these patients, due to the new advances in medical treatment and the increasing number of new apps and technological devices in the market, implies a heterogeneity in the reading training programs to be applied, and consequently a variability in the results obtained. Currently, with the increasing access to information and communication technologies and social networks, the opportunities for improving their access to information and communication is taken an important role. For this reason, the basis of ad-hoc evidence-based reading training programs is needed to standardized the clinical practice in reading rehabilitation for visual impaired and blind patients. This chapter will go in depth into these topics offering an exhaustive state of the art of reading rehabilitation for central field loss patients that will be useful for clinicians dedicated to the rehabilitation of visual impaired and blind people

Microvesicles Derived from Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhance Survival in a Lethal Model of Acute Kidney Injury

Several studies demonstrated that treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reduces cisplatin mortality in mice. Microvesicles (MVs) released from MSCs were previously shown to favor renal repair in non lethal toxic and ischemic acute renal injury (AKI). In the present study we investigated the effects of MSC-derived MVs in SCID mice survival in lethal cisplatin-induced AKI. Moreover, we evaluated in vitro the effect of MVs on cisplatin-induced apoptosis of human renal tubular epithelial cells and the molecular mechanisms involved. Two different regimens of MV injection were used. The single administration of MVs ameliorated renal function and morphology, and improved survival but did not prevent chronic tubular injury and persistent increase in BUN and creatinine. Multiple injections of MVs further decreased mortality and at day 21 surviving mice showed normal histology and renal function. The mechanism of protection was mainly ascribed to an anti-apoptotic effect of MVs. In vitro studies demonstrated that MVs up-regulated in cisplatin-treated human tubular epithelial cells anti-apoptotic genes, such as Bcl-xL, Bcl2 and BIRC8 and down-regulated genes that have a central role in the execution-phase of cell apoptosis such as Casp1, Casp8 and LTA. In conclusion, MVs released from MSCs were found to exert a pro-survival effect on renal cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that MVs may contribute to renal protection conferred by MSCs

Adaptive Evolution of the Myo6 Gene in Old World Fruit Bats (Family: Pteropodidae)

PMCID: PMC3631194This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Biochemical Comparison of Anopheles gambiae and Human NADPH P450 Reductases Reveals Different 2′-5′-ADP and FMN Binding Traits

NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (CPR) plays a central role in chemical detoxification and insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae, the major vector for malaria. Anopheles gambiae CPR (AgCPR) was initially expressed in Eschericia coli but failed to bind 2′, 5′-ADP Sepharose. To investigate this unusual trait, we expressed and purified a truncated histidine-tagged version for side-by-side comparisons with human CPR. Close functional similarities were found with respect to the steady state kinetics of cytochrome c reduction, with rates (kcat) of 105 s−1 and 88 s−1, respectively, for mosquito and human CPR. However, the inhibitory effects of 2′,5′-ADP on activity were different; the IC50 value of AgCPR for 2′, 5′ –ADP was significantly higher (6–10 fold) than human CPR (hCPR) in both phosphate and phosphate-free buffer, indicative of a decrease in affinity for 2′, 5′- ADP. This was confirmed by isothermal titration calorimetry where binding of 2′,5′-ADP to AgCPR (Kd = 410±18 nM) was ∼10 fold weaker than human CPR (Kd = 38 nM). Characterisation of the individual AgFMN binding domain revealed much weaker binding of FMN (Kd = 83±2.0 nM) than the equivalent human domain (Kd = 23±0.9 nM). Furthermore, AgCPR was an order of magnitude more sensitive than hCPR to the reductase inhibitor diphenyliodonium chloride (IC50 = 28 µM±2 and 361±31 µM respectively). Taken together, these results reveal unusual biochemical differences between mosquito CPR and the human form in the binding of small molecules that may aid the development of ‘smart’ insecticides and synergists that selectively target mosquito CPR

Acute kidney disease and renal recovery : consensus report of the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) 16 Workgroup

Consensus definitions have been reached for both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and these definitions are now routinely used in research and clinical practice. The KDIGO guideline defines AKI as an abrupt decrease in kidney function occurring over 7 days or less, whereas CKD is defined by the persistence of kidney disease for a period of > 90 days. AKI and CKD are increasingly recognized as related entities and in some instances probably represent a continuum of the disease process. For patients in whom pathophysiologic processes are ongoing, the term acute kidney disease (AKD) has been proposed to define the course of disease after AKI; however, definitions of AKD and strategies for the management of patients with AKD are not currently available. In this consensus statement, the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) proposes definitions, staging criteria for AKD, and strategies for the management of affected patients. We also make recommendations for areas of future research, which aim to improve understanding of the underlying processes and improve outcomes for patients with AKD