Sox7 is involved in antibody-dependent endothelial cell activation and renal allograft injury via the Jagged1-Notch1 pathway

Analysis of complement system and its related factors in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a primary cause of dementia. The complement system is closely related to AD pathology and may be a potential target for the prevention and treatment of AD. In our study, we conducted a bioinformatics analysis to analyze the role of the complement system and its related factors in AD using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data. We also conducted a functional analysis. Our study verified that 23 genes were closely related to differentially expressed complement system genes in diseases after intersecting the disease-related complement system module genes and differentially expressed genes. The STRING database was used to predict the interactions between the modular gene proteins of the differential complement system. A total of 21 gene proteins and 44 interaction pairs showed close interactions. We screened key genes and created a diagnostic model. The predictive effect of the model was constructed using GSE5281 and our study indicated that the predictive effect of the model was good. Our study also showed enriched negative regulation of Notch signaling, cytokine secretion involved in the immune response pathway, and cytokine secretion involved in immune response hormone-mediated apoptotic signaling pathway. We hope that our study provides a promising target to prevent and delay the onset, diagnosis, and treatment of AD.

Inhibition of Inflammatory Cytokine Expression Prevents High-Fat Diet-Induced Kidney Injury: Role of Lingonberry Supplementation

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a major stimulus for progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in individuals consuming high-fat diet. Currently, there are limited treatment options for CKD other than controlling the progression rate and its associated complications. Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) is rich in anthocyanins with demonstrated anti-inflammatory effect. In the current study, we investigated the potential renal protective effect of lingonberry and its anthocyanin (cyanidin-3-glucoside) in high-fat diet fed obese mice and in human proximal tubular cells. Prolonged consumption of high-fat diets is strongly associated with obesity, abnormal lipid and glucose metabolism. Mice (C57BL/6J) fed a high-fat diet (62% kcal fat) for 12 weeks developed renal injury as indicated by an elevation of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level as well as an increase in renal kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and renin expression. Those mice displayed an activation of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and increased expression of inflammatory cytokines-monocyte chemoattractant-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the kidneys. Mice fed a high-fat diet also had a significant elevation of inflammatory cytokine levels in the plasma. Dietary supplementation of lingonberry for 12 weeks not only attenuated high-fat diet-induced renal inflammatory response but also reduced kidney injury. Such a treatment improved plasma lipid and glucose profiles, reduced plasma inflammatory cytokine levels but did not affect body weight gain induced by high-fat diet feeding. Lingonberry extract or its active component cyanidin-3-glucoside effectively inhibited palmitic acid-induced NF-κB activation and inflammatory cytokine expression in proximal tubular cells. These results suggest that lingonberry supplementation can reduce inflammatory response and prevent chronic kidney injury. Such a renal protective effect by lingonberry and its active component may be mediated, in part, through NF-κB signaling pathway.