OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Bushen Huoxue Recipe (BSHXR, a Chinese medicine recipe for Shen reinforcing and blood circulation activating) on the levels of urinary albumin, interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in chronic nephritis patients of Shen-deficiency blood-stasis syndrome.

METHODSForty-five patients were blocking assigned randomly to two groups, fifteen patients in the control group and thirty in the treatment group. All orally took Monopril 10 mg, once daily. But BSHXR was given additionally to patients in the treatment group after decocting,one dose per day (taken in two times). The treatment course for both groups was eight weeks. Besides, a normal control group consisting of six healthy subjects from health examination of Shuguang Hospital was set up. The 24-h urinary albumin and contents of TGF-beta1, IL-6 and MCP-1 in urine of all subjects were observed.

RESULTSCompared with before treatment the 24-h urinary albumin was obviously reduced in the treatment group, showing significant difference (P<0.01). The urinary 24-h albumin decreased in the control group, with statistical significance (P<0.05). Statistical difference existed between the treatment group and the control group after treatment (P<0.01). Compared with before treatment, urinary levels of IL-6, TGF-beta1, and MCP-1 were all down-regulated in the treatment group and the control group after treatment (P<0.01), and the decreasing of IL-6 and TGF-beta1, levels was more significant in the treatment group statistically (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSBSHXR could attenuate the albuminuria in patients of chronic nephritis. Its mechanism might be possibly correlated with its down-regulation of IL-6, TGF-beta1, and MCP-1 levels.

Adult ; Albuminuria ; drug therapy ; urine ; Case-Control Studies ; Chemokine CCL2 ; urine ; Chronic Disease ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; urine ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Nephritis ; drug therapy ; urine ; Phytotherapy ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; urine

PURPOSE: Antenatal hydronephrosis (AH) is found in 0.5%-1% of neonates. The aim of the study was to assess the urinary concentrations of 3 biomarkers, endothelin-1 (ET-1), monocyte chemotactic peptide-1 (MCP-1), and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG) in severely hydronephrotic neonates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Neonates with a history of prenatal hydronephrosis were enrolled in the prospective study in 2 groups. Group 1 included neonates with severe forms of obstruction requiring surgical intervention and group 2 included neonates with milder forms of obstruction without any functional impairment. Fresh voided urinary levels of ET-1, MCP-1, and NAG were measured and their ratios to urinary Cr were calculated. RESULTS: Fourty-two neonates were enrolled into the 2 groups: group 1, 24 patients (21 male, 3 female); group 2, 18 neonates (16 male, 2 female). There were no statistically significant differences between urinary ET-1, NAG, MCP-1 values, and ET-1/Cr and NAG/Cr ratios in groups 1 and 2. The urinary MCP-1/Cr ratio was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2. For comparison of groups 1 and 2, the cut-off values were measured as 0.5709 ng/mg (sensitivity, 75%; specificity, 67%; positive predictive value [PPV], 71%; negative predictive value [NPV], 71%), 0.927 ng/mg (sensitivity, 77%; specificity, 72%; PPV, 77%; NPV, 72%), and 1.1913 IU/mg (sensitivity, 62%; specificity, 67%; PPV, 68%; NPV, 60%) for ET-1/Cr, MCP-1/Cr, and NAG/Cr ratios, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The urinary MCP-1/Cr ratio is significantly elevated in neonates with severe obstruction requiring surgical intervention. Based upon these results, urinary MCP-1/Cr may be useful in identification of severe obstructive hydronephrosis in neonates.
Acetylglucosaminidase/*urine ; Biological Markers/urine ; Chemokine CCL2/*urine ; Endothelin-1/*urine ; Female ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis/*congenital/etiology/surgery/ultrasonography ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ureteral Obstruction/complications/*diagnosis/surgery

It is not well described the pathophysiology of renal injuries caused by a high salt intake in humans. The authors analyzed the relationship between the 24-hr urine sodium-to-creatinine ratio (24HUna/cr) and renal injury parameters such as urine angiotensinogen (uAGT/cr), monocyte chemoattractant peptide-1 (uMCP1/cr), and malondialdehyde-to-creatinine ratio (uMDA/cr) by using the data derived from 226 hypertensive chronic kidney disease patients. At baseline, the 24HUna/cr group or levels had a positive correlation with uAGT/cr and uMDA/cr adjusted for related factors (P<0.001 for each analysis). When we estimated uAGT/cr in the 24HUna/cr groups by ANCOVA, the uAGT/cr in patients with > or =200 mEq/g cr was higher than in patients with <100 mEq/g cr (708 [95% CI, 448-967] vs. 334 [95% CI, 184-483] pg/mg cr, P=0.014). Similarly, uMDA/cr was estimated as 0.17 (95% CI, 0.14-0.21) pM/mg cr in patients with <100 mEq/g cr and 0.27 (95% CI, 0.20-0.33) pM/mg cr in patients with > or =200 mEq/g cr (P=0.016). During the 16-week follow-up period, an increase in urinary sodium excretion predicted an increase in urinary angiotensinogen excretion. In conclusion, high salt intake increases renal renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) activation, primarily, and directly or indirectly affects the production of reactive oxygen species through renal RAS activation.
Adult ; Aged ; Angiotensinogen/urine ; Chemokine CCL2/urine ; Creatine/urine ; Demography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications ; Male ; Malondialdehyde/urine ; Middle Aged ; Reactive Oxygen Species/*metabolism ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/complications/*pathology ; Renin-Angiotensin System/*physiology ; Sodium, Dietary/*urine ; Urine Specimen Collection

OBJECTIVETo observe the change of urinary monocyte chemottractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN), and to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of triptolide (TL) in treating DN.

METHODSThirty-five patients in the treated group were treated with TL plus benazepril and thirty two patients in the control group were treated with benazepril alone for six months. The change of urinary MCP-1 was measured before and after treatment.

RESULTSLevel of urinary MCP-1 in DN patients was significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (P < 0.01), but it could be significantly decreased after TL treatment, showing significant difference as compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDetermination of urinary MCP-1 level is beneficial to know the degree of kidney inflammation in DN patients. TL can inhibit inflammatory reaction to decrease the level of urinary MCP-1, and thus improve the renal function.

Adult ; Aged ; Chemokine CCL2 ; urine ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; drug therapy ; urine ; Diterpenes ; therapeutic use ; Epoxy Compounds ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenanthrenes ; therapeutic use ; Phytotherapy ; Prospective Studies

Diabetic nephropathy is the most serious complication in diabetes mellitus. It is known that oxidative stress and inflammation play a central role in the development of diabetic nephropathy. In this study, we investigated that ferulic acid (FA) known as anti-oxidative agent could effect on diabetic nephropathy by anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanism. We examined the effects of FA in obese diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats and non-diabetic control Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats. We treated FA to experimental rats from 26 to 45 weeks of age. We evaluated ACR, MDA and MCP-1 in 24 h urine and examined renal histopathology and morphologic change in extracted kidneys from rats. Also, we evaluated the ROS production and MCP-1 levels in cultured podocyte after FA treatment. In the FA-treated OLETF rats, blood glucose was significantly decreased and serum adiponectin levels were increased. Urinary ACR was significantly reduced in FA-treated OLETF rats compared with diabetic OLETF rats. In renal histopathology, FA-treated OLETF rats showed decreased glomerular basement membrane thickness, glomerular volume, and mesangial matrix expansion. FA treatment decreased oxidative stress markers and MCP-1 levels in 24 h urine of rats and supernatants of cultured podocyte. In conclusion, it was suggested that FA have protective and therapeutic effects on diabetic nephropathy by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/*therapeutic use ; Antioxidants/*therapeutic use ; Cells, Cultured ; Chemokine CCL2/genetics/urine ; Collagen/analysis ; Coumaric Acids/*therapeutic use ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/*complications ; Diabetic Nephropathies/*complications/*drug therapy/pathology ; Gene Expression/drug effects ; Kidney/drug effects/pathology ; Malondialdehyde/urine ; Podocytes/drug effects/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred OLETF ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/analysis