Parthenolide Attenuates Sepsis-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Rats by Reducing Inflammation

Metabolic reprogramming in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury: insights from lipopolysaccharide-induced oxidative stress and amino acid dysregulation

BACKGROUND

Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) stands out as a critical health issue due to its high mortality and morbidity rates. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the biochemical and metabolic alterations induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293) using an in vitro model.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The study investigated the impact of LPS on HEK-293 cells by evaluating cytotoxicity using the MTT assay, analyzing apoptosis, cell cycle progression, and oxidative stress via flow cytometry, measuring TNF-α levels through ELISA, and assessing amino acid metabolism with LC-MS/MS. The findings demonstrated that LPS significantly reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, increased apoptotic cell populations, induced DNA damage by arresting the cell cycle in the Sub-G1 phase, and activated oxidative stress pathways. Notably, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and increased secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α highlighted LPS's inflammatory and cytotoxic effects. Furthermore, systematic analysis revealed LPS-induced disruptions in amino acid metabolism, including marked reductions in alanine, arginine, and aspartic acid levels. KEGG pathway analysis identified significant metabolic alterations in pathways such as the urea cycle, TCA cycle, and glutathione metabolism. Interestingly, elevated citrulline levels suggested a potential adaptive mechanism to counteract LPS-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. Additionally, ROC analysis identified cystine as a highly reliable biomarker, with an AUC value of 1.00, emphasizing its critical role in metabolic reprogramming associated with SA-AKI.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides critical insights into the molecular pathophysiology of SA-AKI and emphasizes the promise of metabolomic approaches in the early diagnosis of sepsis-related complications and the development of targeted therapies.

Identification of TACSTD2 as novel therapeutic targets for cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury by multi-omics data integration

Cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (CP-AKI) is a common complication in cancer patients. Although ferroptosis is believed to contribute to the progression of CP-AKI, its mechanisms remain incompletely understood. In this study, after initially processed individual omics datasets, we integrated multi-omics data to construct a ferroptosis network in the kidney, resulting in the identification of the key driver TACSTD2. In vitro and in vivo results showed that TACSTD2 was notably upregulated in cisplatin-treated kidneys and BUMPT cells. Overexpression of TACSTD2 accelerated ferroptosis, while its gene disruption decelerated ferroptosis, likely mediated by its potential downstream targets HMGB1, IRF6, and LCN2. Drug prediction and molecular docking were further used to propose that drugs targeting TACSTD2 may have therapeutic potential in CP-AKI, such as parthenolide, progesterone, premarin, estradiol and rosiglitazone. Our findings suggest a significant association between ferroptosis and the development of CP-AKI, with TACSTD2 playing a crucial role in modulating ferroptosis, which provides novel perspectives on the pathogenesis and treatment of CP-AKI.

A Comparison between Bulgarian Tanacetum parthenium Essential Oil from Two Different Locations

Tanacetum parthenium L. (Asteraceae) is a perennial herbaceous plant with a long-standing historical use in traditional medicine. Recently Tanacetum parthenium L. essential oil has been associated with a promising potential for future applications in the pharmaceutical industry, in the cosmetics industry, and in agriculture. Investigations on the essential oil (EO) have indicated antimicrobial, antioxidant, and repellent activity. The present study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition of Bulgarian T. parthenium essential oil from two different regions, to compare the results to those reported previously in the literature, and to point out some of its future applications. The essential oils of the air-dried flowering aerial parts were obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The chemical composition was evaluated using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was established that the oxygenated monoterpenes were the predominant terpene class, followed by the monoterpene hydrocarbons. Significant qualitative and quantitative differences between both samples were revealed. Camphor (50.90%), camphene (16.12%), and bornyl acetate (6.05%) were the major constituents in the feverfew EO from the western Rhodope Mountains, while in the EO from the central Balkan mountains camphor (45.54%), trans-chrysanthenyl acetate (13.87%), and camphene (13.03%) were the most abundant components.

Bioinformatics analysis highlights CCNB1 as a potential prognostic biomarker and an anti-kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma drug target

Kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP) is a common urinary tumor that causes lymph node invasion. Once metastatic, the prognosis is poor and there is a lack of effective early diagnostic markers for this tumor. The expression of CCNB1 in KIRP tumor tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues in The Cancer Genome Atlas database with or without the genotype-tissue expression database, and a consistent result was obtained in 32 paired tissues. In addition, CCNB1 expression increased remarkably with the progression of the T and M stages. Moreover, using the online HPA database, we verified that the immunohistochemical scores of CCNB1 in KIRP were higher than those in the normal kidney tissues. The higher expression group of CCNB1 showed a worse prognosis in KIRP. Moreover, the receiver operating characteristic curve, univariate and multivariate analyses, and construction of the column diagram further illustrated that CCNB1 was an independent prognostic factor for KIRP. Meanwhile, CCNB1 could better predict the 1- and 3-year survival rates of KIRP. Six genes were significantly and positively co-expressed with CCNB1. We also found that the CCNB1 high-expression group was enriched in the ECM_RECEPTOR_INTERACTION and FOCAL_ADHESION pathways. Finally, drug sensitivity analysis combined with molecular docking identified 5 targeting drugs with the strongest binding activity to CCNB1. CCNB1 is a potential and reliable biomarker for KIRP diagnosis and can be used to predict the survival of patients with KIRP. The 5 selected drugs targeting CCNB1 may provide new hopes for patients with KIRP metastasis.