Elevated serum urate levels cause gout, and correlate with cardio-metabolic diseases via poorly understood mechanisms. We performed a trans-ethnic genome-wide association study of serum urate among 457,690 individuals, identifying 183 loci (147 novel) that improve prediction of gout in an independent cohort of 334,880 individuals. Serum urate showed significant genetic correlations with many cardio-metabolic traits, with genetic causality analyses supporting a substantial role for pleiotropy. Enrichment analysis, fine-mapping of urateassociated loci and co-localization with gene expression in 47 tissues implicated kidney and liver as main target organs and prioritized potentially causal genes and variants, including the transcriptional master regulators in liver and kidney, HNF1A and HNF4A. Experimental validation showed that HNF4A trans-activated the promoter of the major urate transporter ABCG2 in kidney cells, and that HNF4A p.Thr139Ile is a functional variant. Transcriptional coregulation within and across organs may be a general mechanism underlying the observed pleiotropy between urate and cardio-metabolic traits.

Early biomarker-based prediction of imminent AKI followed by implementation of KDIGO care bundle reduced AKI severity, postoperative creatinine increase, length of ICU, and hospital stay in patients after major noncardiac surgery.

Increased levels of the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) are associated with higher risk of kidney disease progression and cardiovascular events, but underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we conduct trans-ethnic (n = 564,257) and European-ancestry specific meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies of UACR, including ancestry- and diabetes-specific analyses, and identify 68 UACR-associated loci. Genetic correlation analyses and risk score associations in an independent electronic medical records database (n = 192,868) reveal connections with proteinuria, hyperlipidemia, gout, and hypertension. Fine-mapping and trans-Omics analyses with gene expression in 47 tissues and plasma protein levels implicate genes potentially operating through differential expression in kidney (including TGFB1, MUC1, PRKCI, and OAF), and allow coupling of UACR associations to altered plasma OAF concentrations. Knockdown of OAF and PRKCI orthologs in Drosophila nephrocytes reduces albumin endocytosis. Silencing fly PRKCI further impairs slit diaphragm formation. These results generate a priority list of genes and pathways for translational research to reduce albuminuria.

AimsPatients with chronic heart failure are often characterized by impaired renal function, also referred to as cardiorenal syndrome (CRS). The aim of this study was to assess whether novel markers of kidney injury are elevated in chronic heart failure and CRS. Methods and resultsThe new renal biomarkers kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were assessed from urine samples of 173 individuals. Patients with chronic heart failure (n ¼ 150) were characterized by decreased ejection fraction (32 + 9% vs. controls 62 + 4%, P , 0.001) and increased plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (median 1460 pg/mL, interquartile range (IQR) 630 -3000 pg/mL vs. controls 56, IQR 25 -64l pg/mL, P , 0.001). Urinary analysis showed that KIM-1 was significantly elevated in heart failure patients compared with healthy controls (1100, IQR 620-1920 vs. 550, IQR 320 -740 ng/g urinary creatinine, P , 0.001). Further, KIM-1 increased significantly with decreasing left ventricular function (r ¼ 20.37, P , 0.001) and severity of New York Heart Association (NYHA)-class (r ¼ 0.5, P , 0.001). N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase showed a weaker response but correlated significantly with left ventricular dysfunction (r ¼ 20.18, P ¼ 0.015) and more severe clinical condition (r ¼ 0.22, P ¼ 0.04). In contrast, NGAL showed no significant correlation. Kidney injury molecule-1 and NAG were also predictors of all-cause mortality and the composite of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for heart failure (all P , 0.05). ConclusionsKidney injury molecule-1 and NAG are elevated in symptomatic heart failure. This finding may be present in patients with apparently normal kidney function and indicates tubular injury in chronic heart failure. Kidney injury molecule-1 and NAG are potential markers of CRS with additional prognostic value.--

A new algorithm for metal artifact reduction was successfully introduced into clinical routine. The algorithm led to a robust reduction of metal artifacts. The MAR algorithm may serve for an improvement in image quality in patients with metallic implants.