Objective To investigate the influence of thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) with two different dosages on the expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in rats with renal tubular interstitial fibrosis,and to further estimate the changes of renal tubular interstitial lesions.Methods Rat models of renal tubular interstitial fibrosis were established by unilateral ureteral occlusion (UUO).The male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and 15 rats in each group:sham group,model group,treatment group with 1 mg/L Tβ4 and treatment group with 5 mg/L T34.Rats in sham group and model group were poured into the same amount of saline.The renal function and renal pathological changes were observed after the second week.The mRNA and protein expression of TGF-β and CTGF in renal tissues was tested by in-situ hybridization and Western blotting.Results Compared with that in sham group,the expression of TGF-β mRNA and its protein,CTGF mRNA and its protein was significantly higher in model group (all P ＜ 0.01).Compared with rats of model group,Tβ4 treatment rats had lower mRNA and protein expression of TGF-β and CTGF (all P ＜ 0.01),and the expression in treatment group with 5 mg/L Tβ4 was lower than that in treatment group with 1 mg/L Tβ4 (P ＜ 0.05).And the expression of TGF-β mRNA was positively correlated with CTGF mRNA expression (r=0.697,P ＜ 0.01).The 24 h total urinary protein and the area of renal tubular interstitial lesion in model group were significantly more than those in sham group,and also more than those in Tβ4 treatment group (all P ＜ 0.05).Tβ4 treatment attenuated kidney damage,and the effects in treatment group with 5 mg/L Tβ4 were better than those in treatment group with 1 mg/L Tβ4.No difference in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen was observed among 4 groups (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Tβ4 treatment can inhibit the renal TGF-β and CTGF expression of rats with tubular interstitial fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner,and play a protective role in kidney.

Objective To investigate the association of serum magnesium (Mg) level with all-cause mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Methods A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted in seven hemodialysis centers of Guizhou province. The adult outpatients who underwent hemodialysis for more than 3 months were included from June 2015 to June 2016. Demographics, baseline clinical and laboratory test results were collected. All patients were followed up until June 30, 2018. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to their baseline serum Mg levels (interquartile range). Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the survival rates of the four group. Cox regression model was used to analyze the association of Mg with all-cause mortality. Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of low Mg level. Results A total of 868 hemodialysis dialysis patients with baseline Mg data were enrolled in this study, with age of (55.47± 16.17) years old, among whom 59.4% were male. There were 11 (1.3%) patients with hypomagnesemia (Mg＜0.7 mmol/L), 432(49.8% ) patients with hypermagnesemia (Mg＞1.05 mmol/L), and 16(1.8% ) patients with Mg＞2.0 mmol/L. Median Mg was 1.05 mmol/L and interquartile range was 0.95-1.24 mmol/L. The comparison between Mg quartile groups showed that the difference in age, hemoglobin, serum albumin, serum calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum creatinine, uric acid and urea nitrogen was statistically significant (all P＜0.05). After a median follow-up of 24 months, 207 patients died. Kaplan-Meier curves showed higher all-cause mortality in patients with Mg≤0.95 mmol/L (Q1 group) (Log - rank test χ2=15.11, P=0.002). However, after adjusting for age, comorbidities and biochemical indicators(especially albumin), there was no statistically significant difference in the hazard ratio for all-cause death among the four groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis results showed that low serum albumin (OR=0.946, 95%CI 0.913-0.979, P=0.002) and low serum uric acid (OR=0.994, 95% CI 0.992-0.997, P＜0.001) were the risk factors for baseline Mg≤0.95 mmol/L. Conclusions Hypomagnesemia is rare in MHD patients, while hypermagnesemia is more common. Baseline serum Mg≤0.95 mmol/L in MHD patients is correlated with increased risk of all-cause death, but it may be not an independent risk factor. Baseline serum Mg≤0.95 mmol/L that occurred is associated with low levels of albumin and serum uric acid.

The clinical data of maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients from twenty hemodialysis centers in Guizhou province from June to September 2020 were collected by cross-sectional study. The patients were divided into AFD group and non-AFD group according to whether AFD had occurred. LTI was measured by body composition monitor. The results showed that the incidence of AFD in 2 781 MHD patients was 30.0% (835/2 781). Median LTI level was 15.2 (13.2, 17.5) kg/m². The LTI level in the AFD group was higher than that in the non-AFD group (P < 0.05). According to the tertiles of LTI, low LTI group (LTI ≤ 13.9 kg/m²) had the highest incidence of AFD (35.5%, 334/940), and the high LTI group had the lowest incidence of AFD (26.3%, 241/916), and the difference among the three groups was statistically significant (χ²=20.182,P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low LTI group as the reference, the risk of AFD in moderate LTI group (13.9 kg/m² < LTI ≤ 16.6 kg/m²) and high LTI group were associated with the 20.0% (OR=0.800, 95% CI 0.650-0.986, P=0.036) and 22.8% (OR=0.772, 95% CI 0.616-0.966, P=0.024) decrease, respectively. These results suggest that low LTI level is independently associated with an increased risk of AFD in MHD patients.
Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Renal Dialysis/adverse effects* ; Body Composition