Hyperuricemia (HUA) is induced by abnormal purine metabolism and elevated serum uric acid (UA) concentrations, and it is often accompanied by inflammatory responses and intestinal disorders. This study aims to...

BackgroundUrinary interleukin-18 and cystatin-C are suggested to be biomarkers for predicting acute kidney injury (AKI). The aims of this study are to examine whether the urinary concentrations of interleukin-18 and cystatin-C vary with gestational age and other factors in non-AKI control neonates, and to determine whether urinary interleukin-18 and cystatin-C can predict AKI development in non-septic critically ill neonates, independently of potential confounders.MethodsWe enrolled 62 non-septic critically ill neonates. Urine was collected every 48–72 h during the first 10 days of life.ResultsUrinary concentration of cystatin-C, but not interleukin-18, decreased with increasing gestational age and body weight, but not with increasing postnatal age in non-AKI control neonates. Both urinary interleukin-18 and cystatin-C were associated with AKI, even after controlling for gestational and postnatal age, birth weight, gender, Apgar score and the score for neonatal acute physiology in non-septic critically ill neonates. Urinary interleukin-18 and cystatin-C had odds ratios of 2.27 and 2.07, and achieved the area under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.72 and 0.92, respectively, for predicting AKI.ConclusionsThe urinary concentration of cystatin-C, but not interleukin-18, may decrease with increasing renal maturity. Both urinary interleukin-18 and cystatin-C are independently predictive of AKI in non-septic critically ill neonates.

Sepsis has an impact on the level of uIL-18, but not on the uCysC in non-AKI neonates, suggesting systemic infection might influence the diagnostic value of uIL-18 to detect AKI in the general population.

Hyperuricemia is an independent hazard factor of renal injury and can induce renal fibrosis, promoting the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aimed to explore the probability of chlorogenic acid (CGA) as a potential substance for preventing hyperuricemia nephropathy (HN). Pretreatment with CGA downregulated SUA, BUN, and CR levels, relieved oxidative stress and inflammatory response, alleviated kidney fibrosis, and contributed to the prevention of HN. In the gut microbiota, Blautia, Enterococcus, and Faecalibaculum related to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) synthesis were significantly increased in HN rats. In addition, it showed a significant increase in serum TMAO content in HN rats. However, CGA regulated the cascade response of the microbiota-TMAO signaling to reverse the increase of serum TMAO. CGA also decreased the protein expression of protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation, phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) by reducing the production of TMAO. CGA delayed kidney fibrosis in HN rats as evidenced by regulating the cascade response of the microbiota-TMAO-PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In summary, CGA can be an excellent candidate for HN prevention.

Thermal treatment of lipids rich in fatty acids contributes to the formation of lipid oxidation products (LOPs), which have potentially harmful effects on human health. This study included soybean oil (SO), palm oil (PO), olive oil (OO), and lard oil (LO) as the research objects, with an aim to investigate the impact of heating temperature and fatty acid type on the generation of LOPs (α-dicarbonyl compounds, malondialdehyde (MDA), α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, and 16 volatile aldehydes). Results showed that LOPs increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the increase in temperature (100 ~ 200°C). Furthermore, the amount of 2,3-butanedione (159.53 μg/g), MDA (3.15 μg/g), 4-hydroxy-hexenal (3.03 μg/g), 2-butenal (292.18%), 2-pentenal (102.26%), hexanal (898.72%), and 2,4-heptadienal (E, E) (2182.05%) were more at 200°C in SO rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) than other oils. Results from heat map analysis indicated that the 2, 4-heptadienal, and glyoxal related to the myristic acid of oil. Moreover, the MDA was in close association with PUFAs. Based on the effect of temperature and fatty acid type on the generation of LOPs, this study could serve as a control method to reduce harmful LOPs.