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Background.Elevated urinary angiotensinogen (UA) was identified as novel prognostic biomarker capable of predicting chronic kidney disease, and in the present study, we will investigate the diagnostic value of UA in the patients of nephrolithiasis.Methods.Urine angiotensinogen levels andα1-microglobulin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 60 patients presenting with nephrolithiasis and 50 sex- and age-matched healthy volunteers. Estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) was calculated and, by simple regression analysis, the correlation of UA/α1-microglobulin levels and the decline of eGFR were analyzed as well.Results.Median UA levels was significantly increased in the nephrolithiasis patients compared with normal control (1250.78±439.27 versus 219.34±45.27 pg/mL;P<0.01). The mean serum creatinine levels in patients with higher UA levels (>1250 pg/mL) was significantly higher than those with lower UA levels (<1250 pg/mL) [92.23±18.13 μmol/L versus 70.07±11.17 μmol/L;P<0.05]. According to the single variate analysis, UA levels were significantly and positively correlated with urinaryα1-microglobulin (r=0.733;P=1.33×10-15), while they were significantly and negatively correlated with eGFR (r=-0.343;P=1.03×10-4).Conclusion.Urinary UA is a novel biomarker for patients with nephrolithiasis, which indicates renal tubular injury. Further study on the molecular pathogenic mechanism of UA and larger scale of clinical trial is required.

Background.Both circulating and urinary miRNAs may represent a potential noninvasive molecular biomarker capable of predicting chronic kidney disease, and, in the present study, we will investigate the serum and urinary levels of miR-155 in patients with nephrolithiasis.Methods.Serum and urinary levels of miR-155 are quantified in 60 patients with nephrolithiasis; the result was compared to 50 healthy volunteers. Estimated glomerular filtration (eGFR) was calculated and, by simple regression analysis, the correlations of miR-155/eGFR and miR-155/CRP (C-reactive protein) levels were analyzed as well.Results.The median levels of serum and urinary levels of miR-155 are significantly higher in nephrolithiasis patients than in controls. eGFR inversely correlates with urinary level of miR-155; CRP positively correlates with urinary miR-155. Urinary level of miR-155 inversely correlates with urinary expression of interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-)αand positively correlates with urinary expression of regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed, and secreted (RANTES).Conclusion.Serum and urinary levels of miR-155 were significantly elevated in patients with nephrolithiasis, and the upregulation of miR-155 was correlated with decline of eGFR and elevation of CRP. Our results suggested that miR-155 might play important roles in the pathophysiology of nephrolithiasis via regulating inflammatory cytokines expression. Further study on the molecular pathogenic mechanism and larger scale of clinical trial are required.

This study investigated the function of HOTAIR in the growth and apoptosis of OS MG-63 cell linein vitroand further clarified its mechanism. The expression levels of HOTAIR in OS MG-63 cell line and normal osteoblast hFOB1.19 cell line were determined by RT-PCR, respectively. The growth and apoptosis of MG-63 cellsin vitrowere investigated by MTT assay and flow cytometry assay after HOTAIR was knocked down with retroviral vector construction. And the expression levels of cell growth and apoptosis related factors TGF-β, p53, Bcl-2, and TNF-αwere determined to clarify the mechanism. We found that HOTAIR was highly expressed in osteosarcoma MG-63 cell line compared with normal osteoblast hFOB1.19 cell line. The proliferation rate was lower and the apoptosis rate was higher significantly in shHOTAIR MG-63 cells than those in EV MG-63 cells. TGF-βand Bcl-2 were downregulated significantly when HOTAIR was knocked down. p53 and TNF-αwere upregulated significantly when HOTAIR was knocked down. These results indicated that HOTAIR functioned as a carcinogenic lncRNA, which could promote the proliferation and inhibit the apoptosis of MG-63 cellsin vitro. HOTAIR could be a potential target for the treatment of osteosarcoma.

Phyllanthus niruri L., a well-known medicinal plant, has been used as a folk antitumor remedy in the worldwide scale. However, the antitumor components in P. niruri have not been reported. In order to verify the antitumor components of P. niruri and the plants which have the high content of these components, we isolated the antitumor components with bioguided fraction and isolation, by different chromatographic methods from the ethyl acetate fraction of P. niruri., and identified them as ethyl brevifolincarboxylate and corilagin by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 2D-NMR, and mass spectrometric analyses. Cell cytotoxicity assays showed that corilagin has broad-spectrum antitumor activity, a better antitumor potential, and lower toxicity in normal cells. Besides, the coefficient of drug interaction (CDI) of 10 μM corilagin and 20 μM cDDP reached up to 0.77, which means corilagin can promote the antitumor activity of cDDP. Furthermore, by the extensive screening among 10 species of plants reported to contain corilagin, we found that Dimocarpus longan Lour. has the maximum content of corilagin. In conclusion, corilagin is the major active antitumor composition in P. niruri. L. on HCC cells and has high content in D. longan.

Calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis is the most common urological disease, but noninvasive and convenient methods of diagnosis are rarely available.Objective.The present study aimed to identify potential urine biomarkers for noninvasive diagnosis of CaOx nephrolithiasis.Methodology.Urine samples from 72 patients with CaOx nephrolithiasis and 30 healthy controls were collected and proteomics analysis was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS).Results.Thirteen proteins/peptides displayed statistically significant differences. The peptides of m/z 1207.23 and 2773.86 were selected by the genetic algorithm (GA) to build a possible diagnostic model. The area under the curve of m/z 1207.23 and 2773.86 was 0.936 and 0.987, respectively. The diagnostic model in distinguishing patients and healthy subjects showed 100% sensitivity and specificity. The peak at m/z 2773.86 was identified as fibrinogen alpha chain (FGA) with the sequence G.EGDFLAEGGGVR.G, and the peak at m/z 2773.86 was identified as apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) with the sequence L.PVLESFKVSFLSALEEYTKKLNTQ.Conclusion.The study results strongly suggested that urinary FGA and apoA-I are highly sensitive and specific biomarkers for noninvasive diagnosis of CaOx nephrolithiasis.