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Topic Review
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are among the leading nosocomial infections in the world and have led to the extensive study of various strategies to prevent infection. However, despite an abundance of anti-infection materials having been studied over the last forty-five years, only a few types have come into clinical use, providing an insignificant reduction in CAUTIs. Marine resources have emerged as an unexplored area of opportunity offering huge potential in discovering novel bioactive materials to combat human diseases. To date, some marine microbial-derived materials have exhibited potent antimicrobial, antiadhesive and antibiofilm activity against a broad spectrum of uropathogens (including multidrug-resistant pathogens) that could be potentially used in urinary catheters to eradicate CAUTIs.
  • 956
  • 14 May 2021
Topic Review
Vitamin C and Kidney Injury
Vitamin C is an important micronutrient and antioxidant for the human body.  In animal experiments, it can protect the kidneys from injury caused by nephrotoxic drugs.  A major feature of COVID-19 and similar viral infection is the cytokine storm, which causes a rise of multiple cytokines in the blood. Those cytokines result in the oxidative stress in cells, which leads to damage to organs and tissues, including the kidneys.  Here, we reviewed the current literature on kidney damage in COVID-19 patients and analyzed the possible etiology and mechanisms.  In addition, we summarized the potential use of vitamin C in preventing kidney damage in experimental animal models and the underlying mechanisms.  Vitamin C appears to protect and facilitate recovery of kidneys from injuries derived from excessive of oxidative stress, a feature of cytokines storm in people with COVID-19.  Finally, we would like to argue that vitamin C may be protective of the renal functions in COVID-19 patients with pre-existing kidney diseases. 
  • 911
  • 26 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is characterized by a high rate of cure, but also by a non-negligible probability of recurrence and risk progression to muscle-invasive disease. NMIBC management requires a proper local resection and staging, followed by a risk-based treatment with intravesical agents. For many years, the current gold standard treatment for patients with intermediate or high-risk disease is transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) followed by intravesical bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) instillations. Unfortunately, in about half of high-risk patients, intravesical BCG treatment fails and NMIBC persists or recurs early. While radical cystectomy remains the gold standard for these patients, new therapeutic targets are being individuated and studied. Radical cystectomy in fact can provide an excellent long-term disease control, but can deeply interfere with quality of life. In particular, the enhanced immune checkpoints expression shown in BCG-unresponsive patients and the activity of immune checkpoints inhibitors (ICIs) in advanced bladder cancer provided the rationale for testing ICIs in NMIBC. Recently, pembrolizumab has shown promising activity in BCG-unresponsive NMIBC patients, obtaining FDA approval. Meanwhile multiple novel drugs with alternative mechanisms of action have proven to be safe and effective in NMIBC treatment and others are under investigation.
  • 876
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Innate Immunity in CKD
Emerging studies suggest that unsolved inflammation will progressively transit into kidney fibrosis that finally results in an irreversible end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Increasing studies have suggested pathogenic roles of innate immunity in the kidney diseases. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms may uncover a novel therapeutic strategy for ESRD.
  • 861
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Urine Biomarkers of Lupus Nephritis
The kidney is one of the main organs affected by the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Lupus nephritis (LN) concerns 30–60% of adult SLE patients and it is significantly associated with an increase in the morbidity and mortality. The definitive diagnosis of LN can only be achieved by histological analysis of renal biopsies, but the invasiveness of this technique is an obstacle for early diagnosis of renal involvement and a proper follow-up of LN patients under treatment. The use of urine for the discovery of non-invasive biomarkers for renal disease in SLE patients is an attractive alternative to repeated renal biopsies, as several studies have described surrogate urinary cells or analytes reflecting the inflammatory state of the kidney, and/or the severity of the disease.
  • 856
  • 13 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Retard Progression of CKD
Chronic kidney disease (CKD), defined as the presence of irreversible structural or functional kidney damages, increases the risk of poor outcomes due to its association with multiple complications, including altered mineral metabolism, anemia, metabolic acidosis, and increased cardiovascular events. The mainstay of treatments for CKD lies in the prevention of the development and progression of CKD as well as its complications.
  • 852
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease
Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a rare disorder and one of the most severe forms of polycystic kidney disease, leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in childhood. PKHD1 is the gene that is responsible for the vast majority of ARPKD. However, some cases have been related to a new gene that was recently identified (DZIP1L gene), as well as several ciliary genes that can mimic a ARPKD-like phenotypic spectrum. In addition, a number of molecular pathways involved in the ARPKD pathogenesis and progression were elucidated using cellular and animal models. However, the function of the ARPKD proteins and the molecular mechanism of the disease currently remain incompletely understood. 
  • 800
  • 25 Jun 2021
Topic Review
RNA-Binding Proteins in Bladder Cancer
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are key regulators of transcription and translation, with highly dynamic spatio-temporal regulation. They are usually involved in the regulation of RNA splicing, polyadenylation, and mRNA stability and mediate processes such as mRNA localization and translation, thereby affecting the RNA life cycle and causing the production of abnormal protein phenotypes that lead to tumorigenesis and development. Accumulating evidence supports that RBPs play critical roles in vital life processes, such as bladder cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance.
  • 779
  • 23 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Anti-Inflammatory Agents in Prostate Cancer
Chronic inflammation is a major cause of human cancers. The environmental factors, such as microbiome, dietary components, and obesity, provoke chronic inflammation in the prostate, which promotes cancer development and progression. Crosstalk between immune cells and cancer cells enhances the secretion of intercellular signaling molecules, such as cytokines and chemokines, thereby orchestrating the generation of inflammatory microenvironment. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play pivotal roles in inflammation-associated cancer by inhibiting effective anti-tumor immunity. Anti-inflammatory agents, such as aspirin, metformin, and statins, have potential application in chemoprevention of prostate cancer. Furthermore, pro-inflammatory immunity-targeted therapies may provide novel strategies to treat patients with cancer. Thus, anti-inflammatory agents are expected to suppress the “vicious cycle” created by immune and cancer cells and inhibit cancer progression. This review has explored the immune cells that facilitate prostate cancer development and progression, with particular focus on the application of anti-inflammatory agents for both chemoprevention and therapeutic approach in prostate cancer.
  • 757
  • 30 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Fabry Nephropathy
Fabry disease (FD; OMIM#301500) is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder associated with inherited or de novo disease causing variants in the α-galactosidase A gene (GLA; OMIM*300644). Reduced or even absent α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A; EC 3.2.1.22) activity leads to accumulation of glycosphingolipids with terminal α-D-galactosyl residues, especially globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and globotriaosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb3) in plasma, urine and different organ systems, mainly cardiac, renal, endothelial and neuronal. The major physiological source of Gb3 is globoside, a glycolipid of erythrocytes and cells membranes found in different tissues. Kidneys are very frequently affected in patients with Fabry disease regardless of gender. Most important manifestations of Fabry nephropathy are proteinuria and slowly progressive chronic kidney disease, which can in some cases lead to end stage renal disease.
  • 755
  • 27 Sep 2020
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