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Pukajło-Marczyk A, Zwolińska D. The Role of TNF-α in the Pathogenesis of Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome and Its Usefulness as a Marker of the Disease Course. J Clin Med 2024; 13:1888. [PMID: 38610653 PMCID: PMC11012282 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13071888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2024] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: The pathogenesis of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) has not been fully explained. Among the likely factors, tumor necrosis factor - alpha (TNF-α) is considered. We aimed to evaluate the TNF-α (sTNF-α, uTNF-α) levels in the serum and urine of INS children, with the aim of determining its association with proteinuria, and of determining its usefulness as a marker of the disease severity. Methods: Fifty-one examined patients were divided into subgroups depending on the number of relapses as follows: group IA-first episode; group IB-more than two relapses, and according to treatment modality; group IIA-glucocorticosteroids (GS) alone; and group IIB-GS with immunosuppressants. Healthy age-matched children served as the control group. Results: sTNF-α and uTNF-α levels were significantly increased in active phases in the whole INS group compared to the control group. They decreased in remission, but remained significantly higher when compared to the control group. During remission in the IB group, sTNF-α levels were significantly higher than in IA, whereas, in the relapse phase, these values were similar. In the IA group, a positive correlation between proteinuria and sTNF-α was demonstrated. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that TNF-α plays a role in the development of INS, and may be used as a prognostic marker, as well as an indicator for the continuation of therapy. Additional research is required to verify this statement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Pukajło-Marczyk
- Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 213, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland;
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Li T, Ma X, Wang T, Tian W, Liu J, Shen W, Liu Y, Li Y, Zhang X, Ma J, Zhang X, Ma J, Wang H. Clostridium butyricum inhibits the inflammation in children with primary nephrotic syndrome by regulating Th17/Tregs balance via gut-kidney axis. BMC Microbiol 2024; 24:97. [PMID: 38521894 PMCID: PMC10960420 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-024-03242-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) is a common glomerular disease in children. Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum), a probiotic producing butyric acid, exerts effective in regulating inflammation. This study was designed to elucidate the effect of C. butyricum on PNS inflammation through the gut-kidney axis. METHOD BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal control group (CON), C. butyricum control group (CON+C. butyricum), PNS model group (PNS), and PNS with C. butyricum group (PNS+C. butyricum). The PNS model was established by a single injection of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) through the tail vein. After 1 week of modeling, the mice were treated with C. butyricum for 6 weeks. At the end of the experiment, the mice were euthanized and associated indications were investigated. RESULTS Since the successful modeling of the PNS, the 24 h urine protein, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), urine urea nitrogen (UUN), urine creatinine (UCr), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17A were increased, the kidney pathological damage was aggravated, while a reduction of body weights of the mice and the anti-inflammatory IL-10 significantly reduced. However, these abnormalities could be dramatically reversed by C. butyricum treatment. The crucial Th17/Tregs axis in PNS inflammation also was proved to be effectively regulated by C. butyricum treatment. This probiotic intervention notably affected the expression levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein, and retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt). 16S rRNA sequencing showed that C. butyricum could regulate the composition of the intestinal microbial community and found Proteobacteria was more abundant in urine microorganisms in mice with PNS. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were measured and showed that C. butyricum treatment increased the contents of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid in feces, acetic acid, and valeric acid in urine. Correlation analysis showed that there was a closely complicated correlation among inflammatory indicators, metabolic indicators, microbiota, and associated metabolic SCFAs in the gut-kidney axis. CONCLUSION C. butyricum regulates Th17/Tregs balance via the gut-kidney axis to suppress the immune inflammatory response in mice with PNS, which may potentially contribute to a safe and inexpensive therapeutic agent for PNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Li
- Department of Pediatrics, The First Clinical College of Ningxia Medical University, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Xiaolong Ma
- Department of Pediatrics, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, China
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Wenyan Tian
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Clinical College of Ningxia Medical University, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Jian Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary, The First Clinical College of Ningxia Medical University, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Wenke Shen
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Medical Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Yuanyuan Liu
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Yiwei Li
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Xiaoxu Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Junbai Ma
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Medical Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Xiaoxia Zhang
- College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
| | - Jinhai Ma
- Department of Pediatrics, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, China.
| | - Hao Wang
- Department of Pathogenic Biology and Medical Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
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袁 文, 程 巾, 刘 春, 刘 君, 石 梦, 陆 书, 关 凤. [Distribution of memory B cell subsets in peripheral blood of children with frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome]. ZHONGGUO DANG DAI ER KE ZA ZHI = CHINESE JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY PEDIATRICS 2023; 25:172-178. [PMID: 36854694 PMCID: PMC9979389 DOI: 10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2209128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the change in the distribution of memory B cell subsets in children with frequently relapsing nephrotic syndrome (FRNS) during the course of the disease. METHODS A total of 35 children with primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) who attended the Department of Pediatrics of the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from October 2020 to October 2021 were enrolled as subjects in this prospective study. According to the response to glucocorticoid (GC) therapy and frequency of recurrence, the children were divided into two groups: FRNS (n=20) and non-FRNS (NFRNS; n=15). Fifteen children who underwent physical examination were enrolled as the control group. The change in memory B cells after GC therapy was compared between groups, and its correlation with clinical indicators was analyzed. RESULTS Before treatment, the FRNS and NFRNS groups had significantly increased percentages of total B cells, total memory B cells, IgD+ memory B cells, and IgE+ memory B cells compared with the control group, and the FRNS group had significantly greater increases than the NFRNS group (P<0.05); the FRNS group had a significantly lower percentage of class-switched memory B cells than the NFRNS and control groups (P<0.05). After treatment, the FRNS and NFRNS groups had significant reductions in the percentages of total B cells, total memory B cells, IgM+IgD+ memory B cells, IgM+ memory B cells, IgE+ memory B cells, IgD+ memory B cells, and IgG+ memory B cells (P<0.05) and a significant increase in the percentage of class-switched memory B cells (P<0.05). The FRNS group had a significantly higher urinary protein quantification than the NFRNS and control groups (P<0.05) and a significantly lower level of albumin than the control group (P<0.05). In the FRNS group, urinary protein quantification was negatively correlated with the percentage of class-switched memory B cells and was positively correlated with the percentage of IgE+ memory B cells (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Abnormal distribution of memory B cell subsets may be observed in children with FRNS, and the percentages of IgE+ memory B cells and class-switched memory B cells can be used as positive and negative correlation factors for predicting recurrence after GC therapy in these children.
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Metabolomic Analysis of Stephania tetrandra- Astragalus membranaceus Herbal Pair-Improving Nephrotic Syndrome Identifies Activation of IL-13/STAT6 Signaling Pathway. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:ph16010088. [PMID: 36678585 PMCID: PMC9863900 DOI: 10.3390/ph16010088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The Stephania tetrandra−Astragalus membranaceus herbal pair (FH) is a classic herbal pair widely used in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome (NS). The effects of Stephania tetrandra (FJ) and Astragalus membranaceus (HQ) on NS have been reported, but the mechanism of their combination on the improvement of NS are still unclear. The NS model was established by injecting adriamycin into the tail vein. FH intervention reduced the levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, interleukin-6 (IL-6), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urinary protein, and the gene expression levels of aquaporin 2 (AQP2) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in NS rats. In addition, FH improved kidney injury in NS rats by inhibiting the expression of interleukin 13 (IL-13), phospho-signal transducers, and activators of transcription 6 (p-STAT6), Bax, cleaved-caspase3, while promoting the expression of Bcl-2. By comprehensive comparison of multiple indexes, the effects of FH on lipid metabolism, glomerular filtration rate, and inflammation were superior to that of FJ and HQ. Metabonomic studies showed that, compared with FJ and HQ, FH intervention significantly regulated tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, cysteine and methionine metabolism, and alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid metabolism. Pearson correlation analysis showed that succinic acid and L-aspartic acid were negatively correlated with urinary protein, cystatin C (Cys C) and BUN (p < 0.05). In summary, FH could reduce renal injury and improve NS through inhibiting the IL-13/STAT6 signal pathway, regulating endogenous metabolic pathways, such as TCA cycle, and inhibiting the expression of AQP2 and AVP genes. This study provides a comprehensive strategy to reveal the mechanism of FH on the treatment of NS, and also provides a reasonable way to clarify the compatibility of traditional Chinese medicine.
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Liu J, Guan F. B cell phenotype, activity, and function in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr Res 2022:10.1038/s41390-022-02336-w. [PMID: 36316536 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-022-02336-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) is the most frequent glomerular disease in childhood. However, its underlying etiology mechanism lacks thorough understanding. Previous studies have described INS as a T cell functional disorder resulting in increased plasma lymphocyte-derived permeability factors. In children with frequent relapses of nephrotic syndrome, the mechanism underlying the therapeutic efficacy of CD20 monoclonal antibodies in depleting B cells may provide additional evidence in exploring the critical role of B lymphocytes in INS pathogenesis. Previous studies have proposed that RTX bound to CD20 through antibody-dependent and complement-dependent cytotoxicity and led to lytic clearance of B cells. Additionally, RTX exerted an effect by blocking the interaction between B and T cells or regulating homeostasis and functions of T cell subsets. Recent studies on the development, differentiation, and activation of B-lymphocytes in glomerular diseases have suggested that the B-lymphocytes participate in the INS pathogenesis through interaction with T cells, secretion of antibodies, or production of cytokines. In this study, we aimed to provide a detailed description of the current knowledge on the development, differentiation, activity, functions, and related regulating factors of B cells involved in INS. Thus, further understanding of the immunopathogenesis of INS may offer some opportunities in precisely targeting B cells during therapeutic interventions. IMPACT: The topic "B cells play a role in glomerular disease" is a novel point, which is not completely described previously. We described interactions between T and B cells and immunoglobulin, IgG, IgM, IgE, etc. as well in glomerular disease. The research of regulatory factors associated with B cell's function, like BAFF, is a hot topic in other diseases; however, it is rare in glomerular disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junhan Liu
- Department of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, 221002, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fengjun Guan
- Department of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, 221002, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China.
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Yang YQ, Chen H, Qiu LR, Zhu RF. Case Report: The Application of Dupilumab in Atopic Dermatitis Children Complicated With Nephrotic Syndrome. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:813313. [PMID: 35573014 PMCID: PMC9099359 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.813313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Nephrotic syndrome (NS) tends to be more common in patients with history of allergies. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common allergic diseases in children. Dupilumab, a dual IL-4 and IL-13 inhibitor, has been widely used to treat AD patients. However, the efficacy and safety of Dupilumab in NS is unclear. We reported two AD patients with NS comorbidities treated with Dupilumab. The outcomes showed the good control of NS and less systemic steroids and/or immunosuppressive agents use during the Dupilumab treatment period, accompanied by significant relief of AD symptoms. We suggest prospective pilot studies and randomized controlled trials could be carried out to validate the efficacy and safety of Dupilumab in the treatment of NS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Qi Yang
- Department of Allergy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Allergy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Li-Ru Qiu
- Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Li-Ru Qiu
| | - Rong-Fei Zhu
- Department of Allergy, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Rong-Fei Zhu
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Horinouchi T, Nozu K, Iijima K. An updated view of the pathogenesis of steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol 2022; 37:1957-1965. [PMID: 35006356 PMCID: PMC9307535 DOI: 10.1007/s00467-021-05401-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome is the most common childhood glomerular disease. Most forms of this syndrome respond to corticosteroids at standard doses and are, therefore, defined as steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS). Immunological mechanisms and subsequent podocyte disorders play a pivotal role in SSNS and have been studied for years; however, the precise pathogenesis remains unclear. With recent advances in genetic techniques, an exhaustive hypothesis-free approach called a genome-wide association study (GWAS) has been conducted in various populations. GWASs in pediatric SSNS peaked in the human leukocyte antigen class II region in various populations. Additionally, an association of immune-related CALHM6/FAM26F, PARM1, BTNL2, and TNFSF15 genes, as well as NPHS1, which encodes nephrin expressed in podocytes, has been identified as a locus that achieves genome-wide significance in pediatric SSNS. However, the specific mechanism of SSNS development requires elucidation. This review describes an updated view of SSNS pathogenesis from immunological and genetic aspects, including interactions with infections or allergies, production of circulating factors, and an autoantibody hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Horinouchi
- grid.31432.370000 0001 1092 3077Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Kandai Nozu
- grid.31432.370000 0001 1092 3077Department of Pediatrics, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Kazumoto Iijima
- Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children's Hospital, Kobe, Japan. .,Department of Advanced Pediatric Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Minatojimaminami-machi 1-6-7, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan.
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