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Synthetic glucocorticoids are commonly given to pregnant women when premature delivery threatens. Antenatal administration of clinically relevant doses of betamethasone to pregnant sheep causes sex-specific compromises of renal function and increases in blood pressure in adult offspring. However, it is unclear whether such effects are present in immature lambs. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to determine whether antenatal betamethasone at 80-81 days of gestation increases blood pressure and adversely impacts renal function in adolescent ewes and rams. Prenatal steroid exposure increased blood pressure significantly in the young male (84- 2 vs. 74 - 3 mmHg) and female sheep (88 - 5 vs. 79- 4), but it did not alter basal glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow (RBF), or sodium excretion in either sex. However, antenatal betamethasone exposure blocked increases in RBF (P = 0.001), and enhanced excretion of an acute Na load (P < 0.05) in response to systemic infusions of angiotensin (ANG)-(1-7) at 10 pmol x [kg.sup.-l] x [min.sup.-1] in males. In females, the natriuretic response to combined ANG-(1-7), and Na load was significantly altered by prenatal betamethasone exposure. These findings indicate that blood pressure is increased in immature animals in response to antenatal steroid exposure and that sex-specific effects on renal function also exist. These changes may reflect greater risk for further loss of renal function with age. prenatal steroid exposure; Na load; glomerular filtration rate; Na excretion; angiotensin-(1-7) doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00590.2009.

Contag SA, Bi J, Chappell MC, Rose JC. Developmental effect of antenatal exposure to betamethasone on renal angiotensin H activity in the young adult sheep. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 298: F847-F856, 2010. First published January 13, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00497.2009.--Antenatal corticosteroids may have long-term effects on renal development which have not been clearly defined. Our objective was to compare the responses to intrarenal infusions of ANG II in two groups of year-old, male sheep: one group exposed to a clinically relevant dose of betamethasone before birth and one not exposed. We wished to test the hypothesis that antenatal steroid exposure would enhance renal responses to ANG II in adult life. Six pairs of male sheep underwent unilateral nephrectomy and renal artery catheter placement. The sheep were infused for 24 h with ANG II or with ANG II accompanied by blockade of the angiotensin type 1 (A[T.sub.1]) or type 2 (AT2) receptor. Baseline mean arterial blood pressure among betamethasone-exposed sheep was higher than in control animals (85.8 [+ or -] 2.2 and 78.3 [+ or -] 1.0 mmHg, respectively, P = 0.003). Intrarenal infusion of ANG II did not increase systemic blood pressure (P [greater than or equal to] 0.05) but significantly decreased effective renal plasma flow and increased renal artery resistance (P < 0.05). The decrease in flow and increase in resistance were significantly greater in betamethasone- compared with vehicleexposed sheep (betamethasone P < 0.05, vehicle P [greater than or equal to] 0.05). This effect appeared to be mediated by a heightened sensitivity to the A[T.sub.1] receptor among betamethasone-exposed sheep. Sodium excretion initially decreased in both groups during ANG II infusion; however, a rebound was observed after 24 h. A[T.sub.1] blockade was followed by a significant rebound after 24 h in both groups. A[T.sub.2] blockade blunted the 24-h rebound effect among the vehicle-exposed sheep compared with the betamethasone-exposed sheep. In conclusion, antenatal corticosteroid exposure appears to modify renal responsiveness to ANG II by increasing A[T.sub.1]- and decreasing A[T.sub.2] receptor-mediated actions particularly as related to renal blood flow and sodium excretion. angiotensin receptor; renal plasma flow; glomerular filtration rate; corticosteroids doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00497.2009.

Exposure to clinically relevant doses of glucocorticoids during fetal life increases blood pressure in adult male and female sheep. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of prenatal exposure to betamethasone at 80-81 days of gestation on renal function in ewes and rams at 1.5 yr of age. In prenatal betamethasone-exposed males, compared with the vehicle-exposed animals, basal glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (1.93 [+ or -] 0.08 vs. 2.27 [+ or -] 0.10 ml * [min.sup.-1] * kg body [wt.sup. 1]) and the ability to excrete an acute [Na.sup.+] load (37.1 [+ or -] 4.4 vs. 53.7 [+ or -] 9.7%) were reduced. (P < 0.03 and P = 0.03, respectively). In contrast, prenatal betamethasone exposure had no effect on basal GFR, [Na.sup.+] excretion, or the percentage of the [Na.sup.+] load excreted during the experiment in females. Systemic infusions of ANG-(1-7) at 9 ng * [min.sup.-1] * [kg.sup.-1] for 2 h had minimal effects on basal GFR, renal plasma flow, and [Na.sup.+] excretion in males but increased [Na.sup.+] excretion in females. However, the percentage of [Na.sup.+] load excreted during ANG-(1-7) infusion did not change in prenatal betamethasone-exposed females (113.1 [+ or -] 14.2 vs. 98.1 [+ or -] 12.2%) compared with the significant increase in vehicle females (139.2 [+ or -] 22.3 vs. 92.2 [+ or -] 7.5%) (P = 0.01). The data indicate that antenatal betamethasone exposure produces gender-specific alternations in renal function and thus suggest that different mechanisms underlie the antenatal steroid-induced elevations in blood pressure in male and female offspring. prenatal steroid exposure; sodium load; glomerular filtration rate; sodium excretion; angiotensin-(1-7)

BACKGROUND Polygonatum sibiricum Liliaceae perennial herb, as a commonly used medicine and food homologous plant, has been widely used in clinical practice of Chinese medicine since ancient times, with a history of 2000 years. As the main active ingredient, P. sibiricum polysaccharides have important pharmacological effects in blood sugar reduction and antitumor, antioxidant and liver protection. RESULTS: Mouse models of P. sibiricum polysaccharides were used in combination with 1H NMR to investigate the metabolic regulation mechanism in mouse tissue and blood. The metabolite maps of the control group and the drug group in the liver had significant changes. The main differential metabolites were glucose 6‐phosphate, inositol, lactose, glutamylglycine, galactose, rhamnose, cis‐aconitic acid and histidine, indicating that there was definite correlation between the metabolic detection based on 1H NMR and the metabolic characteristics of P. sibiricum. The common differential metabolites obtained by overall metabolism analysis were 3‐hydroxybutyric acid, d‐ribose, adenosine phosphate, inositol, fructose 6‐phosphate, histidine, aspartic acid and cis‐aconitic acid. CONCLUSIONS: This work forms the basis for identification of metabolic states combined with metabolic pathways, which could be used as diagnostic and prognostic indicators, providing therapeutic targets for new diseases. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soluble Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells-1(TREM) and Presepsin(PSP) have been shown to differentiate sepsis from inflammation in non-MCS patients. B Introduction: b Infection occurs in up to 32% of children receiving mechanical circulatory support(MCS) with associated increased mortality and is challenging to identify as MCS masks signs of infection and induces an inflammatory response. B Methods: b Prospectively collected plasma samples obtained prior to, and daily for the initial 7 days of MCS from 18 patients with new CX+ infection following initiation of MCS were analyzed to determine levels of TREM, PSP and C-Reactive Protein(CRP). [Extracted from the article]

Antenatal corticosteroid exposure reduces renal function and alters the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system to favor angiotensin activation of angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) mediated responses in ovine offspring. This study aimed to assess whether antenatal steroid exposure would affect renal responses to the direct intrarenal infusion of angiotensin-(1-7) in rams and the angiotensin receptors involved in mediating responses to the peptide. Adult, uninephrectomized rams exposed to either betamethasone or vehicle before birth received intrarenal angiotensin-(1-7) infusions (1 ng/kg/min) alone or in combination with antagonists to angiotensin receptors for 3 h. Basal sodium excretion (UNa) was significantly lower and mean arterial pressure was significantly higher in betamethasone- compared to the vehicle-treated sheep. Angiotensin-(1-7) decreased UNa more in betamethasone- than in vehicle-treated sheep. Candesartan reversed the response to angiotensin-(1-7) but D-Ala(7)-angiotensin-(1-7) did not. Angiotensin-(1-7) infusion decreased effective renal plasma flow in both groups to a similar extent and the response was reversed by candesartan, but was not blocked by D-Ala(7)-angiotensin-(1-7). Glomerular filtration rate increased significantly in both groups after 3 h infusion of angiotensin-(1-7) plus candesartan. These results suggest that antenatal exposure to a clinically relevant dose of betamethasone impairs renal function in rams. Moreover, angiotensin-(1-7) appears capable of activating the AT1R in uninephrectomized rams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]