Plos One
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Sepsis is a major clinical challenge and septic encephalopathy is its nasty complication. The pathogenesis and underlying mechanisms of septic encephalopathy are not well understood. This study sought to fully characterize sepsis-associated biochemical and histopathological changes in brains of mice after cecal ligation and puncture, regarded as a highly clinically relevant animal model of polymicrobial sepsis. ⋯ These histopathological changes were prevented by treatment with the free radical scavenger edaravone. Together, these results suggest that sepsis can lead to rapid neurodegenerative changes in brains via free radical species production and possibly subsequent injury to the BBB. We may also provide a potentially useful therapeutic tool for treating septic encephalopathy.
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This study analyzes the fluorimetric determination of alanyl- (Ala), glutamyl- (Glu), leucyl-cystinyl- (Cys) and aspartyl-aminopeptidase (AspAp) urinary enzymatic activities as early and predictive biomarkers of renal dysfunction in cisplatin-treated rats. Male Wistar rats (n = 8 each group) received a single subcutaneous injection of either saline or cisplatin 3.5 or 7 mg/kg, and urine samples were taken at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 14 days after treatment. In urine samples we determined Ala, Glu, Cys and AspAp activities, proteinuria, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), albumin, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL). ⋯ All aminopeptidase activities showed an AUC>0.633. We conclude that Ala, Cys, Glu and AspAp enzymatic activities are early and predictive urinary biomarkers of the renal dysfunction induced by cisplatin. These determinations can be very useful in the prognostic and diagnostic of renal dysfunction in preclinical research and clinical practice.
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Former studies have investigated the potential of serum biomarkers for diseases affecting the human brain. In particular the glial protein S100B, a neuro- and gliotrophin inducing plasticity, seems to be involved in the pathogenesis and treatment of psychiatric diseases such as major depression and schizophrenia. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a specific serum marker for neuronal damage. However, the specificity of these biomarkers for cell type and brain region has not been investigated in vivo until now. ⋯ Our data demonstrates a very high S100B expression in white matter tracts, in particular in human corpus callosum. Our study is the first in vivo study validating the specificity of the glial marker S100B for the human brain, and supporting the assumption that radial diffusivity represents a myelin marker. Our results open a new perspective for future studies investigating major neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Renal dysfunction is an established predictor of all-cause mortality in intensive care units. This study analyzed the outcomes of coronary care unit (CCU) patients and evaluated several biomarkers of acute kidney injury (AKI), including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin-18 (IL-18) and cystatin C (CysC) on the first day of CCU admission. ⋯ Our data showed that serum CysC has the best discriminative power for predicting AKI in CCU patients. However, urinary NGAL and serum IL-18 are associated with short-term mortality in these critically ill patients.
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Chronic hepatic inflammation from multiple etiologies leads to a fibrogenic response that can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure. Transplantation of human amniotic epithelial cells (hAEC) from term delivered placenta has been shown to decrease mild to moderate hepatic fibrosis in a murine model. To model advanced human liver disease and assess the efficacy of hAEC therapy, we transplanted hAEC in mice with advanced hepatic fibrosis. ⋯ Alternatively activated M2 macrophages are associated with fibrosis resolution. CCl(4) treated mice given hAEC showed increased expression of genes associated with M2 macrophages including YM-1, IL-10 and CD206. We provide novel data showing that hAEC transplantation induces a wound healing M2 macrophage phenotype associated with reduction of established hepatic fibrosis that justifies further investigation of this potential cell-based therapy for advanced hepatic fibrosis.