Spontaneous remission of membranous glomerulonephritis with successful fetal outcome: A case report and literature review

Morphophysiological alterations in fruit-eating bats after oral exposure to deltamethrin

Deltamethrin (DTM) is a synthetic pyrethroid widely used in the cultivation and management of several crops due to its insecticidal action. Application to crops of pyrethroids such as DTM can result in the exposure of water and fruit consumed by fruit bats having a high pyrethroid content which may be harmful. Therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of short-term oral exposure of the fruit-eating bats (Artibeus lituratus) to two concentrations of DTM (0.02 and 0.04 mg/kg of papaya) on histopathology of the intestine, liver and kidney. The intestine of the animals exposed to both concentrations showed inflammatory infiltrate, degeneration, necrosis and goblet cell hyperplasia as the most frequent pathologies. Besides, the acid mucins showed an increase in the frequency of non-viable cells. The liver showed hepatocyte vacuolizatio and nuclear enlargement, as well as inflammatory infiltrate and steatosis. The kidneys of the exposed animals showed and inflammatory infiltrate, benign nephrosclerosis, vacuolization and necrosis. Also, DTM reduced nitric oxide synthesis, decreased glomerular diameter and increased glycogen percentage in the proximal tubules. Our results suggest that acute exposure to DTM at low concentrations has the potential to induce pronounced histopathological changes in vital organs, such as intestine, liver and kidney of fruit-eating bats.

Renoprotective Effects Of Isoliquiritin Against Cationic Bovine Serum Albumin-Induced Membranous Glomerulonephritis In Experimental Rat Model Through Its Anti-Oxidative And Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Background

Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is a nephrotic syndrome which shows the symptoms of heavy proteinuria and immune complex deposition in glomerular sub-epithelial space and finally leads to chronic kidney disease. Isoliquiritin (ILQ) is a flavonoid with a wide range of pharmacological properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible mechanisms by which ILQ ameliorates cationic bovine serum albumin (C-BSA) induced MGN in rat model.

Methods

The MGN condition was confirmed by the 24 hr proteinuria and ILQ (10 mg/kg/bw/day) or TPCA-1 (10 mg/kg/bw/day; IKKβ inhibitor) was administered to successfully induce rats for 4 weeks.

Results

The present study revealed that MGN rats treated with ILQ showed significantly ameliorated kidney dysfunction and histopathological changes in kidneys. ILQ treated MGN rats alleviated the oxidative stress and were presented with increased anti-oxidative status in kidneys. Furthermore, ILQ treatment to MGN rats showed anti-oxidative effects through the prominent stimulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway and inhibition of Keap1, which consequently increases the Nrf2 nuclear translocation and thereby induces expression of NQO1 and HO-1. In addition, ILQ-treated MGN rats demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway through decreased mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB p65, IKKβ, COX-2, iNOS, p38-MAPK, p-p38-MAPK, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, ICAM-1, E-selectin and VCAM-1 and reduced the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65.

Conclusion

The protective effect of ILQ on MGN can be explained by its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities, which in turn due to the activation of Nrf2 and downregulation of NF-κB pathway.

Network analysis of membranous glomerulonephritis based on metabolomics data

Membranous glomerulonephritis (MGN) is one of the most frequent causes of nephrotic syndrome in adults. It is characterized by the thickening of the glomerular basement membrane in the renal tissue. The current diagnosis of MGN is based on renal biopsy and the detection of antibodies to the few podocyte antigens. Due to the limitations of the current diagnostic methods, including invasiveness and the lack of sensitivity of the current biomarkers, there is a requirement to identify more applicable biomarkers. The present study aimed to identify diagnostic metabolites that are involved in the development of the disease using topological features in the component‑reaction‑enzyme‑gene (CREG) network for MGN. Significant differential metabolites in MGN compared with healthy controls were identified using proton nuclear magnetic resonance and gas chromatography‑mass spectrometry techniques, and multivariate analysis. The CREG network for MGN was constructed, and metabolites with a high centrality and a striking fold‑change in patients, compared with healthy controls, were introduced as putative diagnostic biomarkers. In addition, a protein‑protein interaction (PPI) network, which was based on proteins associated with MGN, was built and analyzed using PPI analysis methods, including molecular complex detection and ClueGene Ontology. A total of 26 metabolites were identified as hub nodes in the CREG network, 13 of which had salient centrality and fold‑changes: Dopamine, carnosine, fumarate, nicotinamide D‑ribonucleotide, adenosine monophosphate, pyridoxal, deoxyguanosine triphosphate, L‑citrulline, nicotinamide, phenylalanine, deoxyuridine, tryptamine and succinate. A total of 13 subnetworks were identified using PPI analysis. In total, two of the clusters contained seed proteins (phenylalanine‑4‑hydroxlylase and cystathionine γ‑lyase) that were associated with MGN based on the CREG network. The following biological processes associated with MGN were identified using gene ontology analysis: 'Pyrimidine‑containing compound biosynthetic process', 'purine ribonucleoside metabolic process', 'nucleoside catabolic process', 'ribonucleoside metabolic process' and 'aromatic amino acid family metabolic process'. The results of the present study may be helpful in the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of MGN. However, validation is required in the future.