Renal effects of general anesthesia from old to recent studies

Various types of anesthesia are being utilized to maintain physiologically secured surgical conditions. Nearly all categories of general anesthesia are characterized by various perioperative and postoperative complications. These shortcomings are important aspects that need to be considered by the anesthesiologist and surgeon before administration of these compounds. The renal effects of anesthesia play an important role in understanding possible systemic changes due to the fact that the kidney has a direct or indirect impact on nearly all the systems of the body. Various studies have been conducted to find out changes in renal parameters and its systemic effects upon administration of the anesthesia and its postoperative repercussions. Besides that, the impaired renal function might have an impact on the excretion of anesthetic metabolites, which can lead to long-term dysfunction. Patients with a previous history of disease ought to be brought under consideration because these chemicals can ameliorate pre-existent symptoms. This review is intended to discuss the early and latest studies based on the effects of general anesthesia on the renal system.     

AT2R − 1332 G:A polymorphism and its interaction with AT1R 1166 A:C,ACE I/D and MMP-9 − 1562 C:T polymorphisms: Risk factors for susceptibility to preeclampsia

The possible association of angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2R) − 1332 G:A polymorphism with susceptibility to preeclampsia was studied in 252 women consisted of 155 women with preeclampsia and 97 healthy pregnant women. Also, the interaction of this polymorphism with angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) 1166 A:C, angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion (ACE I/D) and also with matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) − 1562 C:T polymorphism was investigated. The AT2R − 1332 G:A polymorphism was detected using PCR–RFLP method. Significantly higher frequencies of GG+GA genotype and G allele of AT2R were observed in mild (80.2%, p = 0.003 and 47.5%, p = 0.012, respectively) and severe (77.8%, p = 0.034 and 48.1%, p = 0.026, respectively) preeclampsia compared to controls (60.8% and 35.1%, respectively). The presence of G allele was associated with 1.69-fold increased risk of preeclampsia (p = 0.005). In severe preeclamptic women, systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the presence of GG+GA genotype were significantly higher compared to those in the presence of AA genotype. The concomitant presence of both alleles of AT2R G and AT1R C was associated with 1.3 times increased risk of mild preeclampsia (p = 0.03). There was an interaction between AT2R G and ACE D alleles that significantly increased the risk of mild and severe preeclampsia by 1.38- and 1.3-fold, respectively. Also, interaction between MMP-9 T and AT2R G alleles increased the risk of severe preeclampsia 1.39-fold (p = 0.028). Our study demonstrated that the G allele of AT2R − 1332 G:A polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia. Also, epistatic interaction of G allele and each allele of the AT1R C, ACE D and MMP-9 T was associated with the risk of preeclampsia. Our findings suggest that the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) variants and gene–gene interactions affect the risk of preeclampsia.     

SGLT2 inhibitors and AMPK: The road to cellular housekeeping?

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, known as Gliflozins, are a class of Glucose-lowering drugs in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) that induce glucosuria by blocking SGLT2 co-transporters in the proximal tubules. Several lines of evidence suggest that SGLT2 inhibitors regulate multiple mechanisms associated with the regulation of varying cellular pathways. The 5′-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway plays an important role in metabolic homeostasis by influencing cellular processes. Recently, it has been shown that SGLT2 inhibitors can affect the AMPK pathway in differing physiological and pathological ways, resulting in kidney, intestinal, cardiovascular, and liver protective effects. Additionally, they have therapeutic effects on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes mellitus-associated complications. In this review, we summarize the results of studies of AMPK-associated therapeutic effects of SGLT2 inhibitors in different organelle functions.     

Immune therapy of melanoma: Overview of therapeutic vaccines

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer which develops from the occurrence of genetic mutations in the melanocytes. Based on the features of melanoma tumors such as location, genetic profile and stage, there are several therapeutic strategies including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, because of the appearance resistance mechanisms, the efficiency of these treatments strategies may be reduced. It has been demonstrated that therapeutic monoclonal antibodies can improve the efficiency of melanoma therapies. Recently, several mAbs, such as nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and ipilimumab, were approved for the immunotherapy of melanoma. The antibodies inhibit immune checkpoint receptors such as CTL4 and pd-1. Another therapeutic strategy for the treatment of melanoma is cancer vaccines, which improve clinical outcomes in patients. The combination therapy using antibodies and gene vaccine give us a new perspective in the treatment of melanoma patients. Herein, we present the recent progressions in the melanoma immunotherapy, especially dendritic cells mRNA vaccines by reviewing recent literature.     

Circular RNA-associated ceRNA network involved in HIF-1 signalling in triple-negative breast cancer: circ_0047303 as a potential key regulator

The aggressive and highly metastatic nature of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) causes patients to suffer from the poor outcome. HIF-1 signalling pathway is a prominent pathway that contributes to angiogenesis and metastasis progression in tumours. On the contrary, the undeniable importance of circular RNAs (circRNAs) as multifunctional non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been identified in breast cancer. These ncRNAs owing to their high stability and specificity have been becoming a hotspot in cancer researches. circRNAs act as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and compete with mRNAs for shared miRNAs, thus modulate gene expression. Since the most dysregulated biological functions in TNBC are associated with cellular invasion, understanding the molecular pathogenesis of these processes is a crucial step towards the development of new treatment approaches. The purpose of this study is to undermine the circRNA-associated ceRNA network involved in HIF-1 signalling in TNBC using an integrative bioinformatics approach. In the next step, the novel circ_0047303-mediated ceRNA regulatory axes have been extracted and validated across TNBC samples. We show that circ_0047303 has the highest degree in the circRNA-associated ceRNA network and shows a significant up-expression in TNBC. Moreover, our results suggest that circ_0047303 could mediate the upregulation of key angiogenesis-related genes, including HIF-1, EIF4E2 and VEGFA in TNBC through sponging the tumour-suppressive miRNAs. The circ_0047303 could be a promising molecular biomarker and/or therapeutic target for TNBC.     

Associations of Socio-demographic and Behavioral Variables with Hair Zinc of Vancouver Preschoolers

Marginal zinc deficiency (MZD) exists in children of industrialized societies and impairs growth and development. MZD is believed to be one of the most common deficiencies, even though there is no data available on its global prevalence. This is partly because of the lack of sensitivity and specificity of serum zinc, the most commonly used biomarker of zinc status, to detect MZD. In children, MZD is always accompanied by a decrease in hair zinc. This cross-sectional study was designed to explore if there are any associations between some socio-demographic and behavioral variables with hair zinc status in an attempt to understand the social determinants of MZD and the profile of at risk children. Our citywide survey (n = 719) indicated a mean hair zinc of 116 ± 43 μg/g with 17% below the cutoff. Logistic regression analysis indicated that age, maternal education, number of adults at home, being described as “eating unhealthy”, and Child Behavior Questionnaire scores of “activity level” as the significant predictors of hair zinc status. Our study provides important information on the hair zinc status of Vancouver preschoolers and some factors in children and their environment associated with hair zinc, which may help in better understanding of hair zinc as a biomarker of MZD.     

Maternal Exposure to Cadmium and Fetal Growth: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Biological Trace Element Research - This study aims to review the epidemiological studies on the association between cadmium (Cd) exposure during pregnancy and neonatal anthropometric measures....     

Stem Cell Therapy: A New Therapeutic Option for Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are known as one of major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite the many advancement in therapies are associated with cardiovascular diseases, it seems that finding of new therapeutic option is necessary. Cell therapy is one of attractive therapeutic platforms for treatment of a variety of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. Among of various types of cell therapy, stem cell therapy has been emerged as an effective therapeutic approach in this area. Stem cells divided into multipotent stem cells and pluripotent stem cells. A large number studies indicated that utilization of each of them are associated with a variety of advantages and disadvantages. Multiple lines evidence indicated that stem cell therapy could be used as suitable therapeutic approach for treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Many clinical trials have been performed for assessing efficiency of stem cell therapies in human. However, stem cell therapy are associated with some challenges, but, it seems resolving of them could contribute to using of them as effective therapeutic approach for patients who suffering from cardiovascular diseases. In the current review, we summarized current therapeutic strategies based on stem cells for cardiovascular diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. 119: 95–104, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.