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Objective To investigate the protective effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) combined with alprostadil in treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods A total of 120 hospitalized patients with AKI (AKIN) who meet the diagnostic criteria and classification were enrolled in this study. The enrolled patients were randomly divided into 4 groups: control group, combination group, EPO group and Alprostadil group, with 30 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were only given routine hemodialysis treatment, patients in the EPO group were treated with rHuEPO subcutaneously injection of 3 000 U tiw for 14 days, patients in the Alprostadil group were treated with alprostadil intravenous infusion of 20 µg qd for 14 days, and patients in the combination group were given rHuEPO subcutaneously injection of 3 000 U tiw and alprostadil intravenous infusion of 20 µg qd for 14 days. The above four groups were observed for 28 days, the changes in urine volume in patients in each group were recorded, and the serum creatinine and urinary NGAL, IL-18 were detected on the 4th, 8th and 15th day. Results (l) The oliguria period in the combined treatment group was shorter than the control group (5 ± 0.8) days, vs (10 ± 2.3) days, with a significant difference (P < 0.05). The serum creatinine returned to normal time in the combined treatment group was shorter than the control group (10 ± 1.1) days, vs (16 ± 2.3) days, with a significant difference (P < 0.05). The urine NGAL and IL-18 had statistically significant difference between groups (P < 0.05). (2) Compared with the control group, the urine NGAL and IL-18 had statistically significant difference with the EPO group and Alprostadil group (P < 0.05), while the urine NGAL and IL-18 had no statistically significant difference between the EPO group an Alprostadil group. (3) The urine NGAL in combination group had statistically significant difference with the EPO group and Alprostadil group (P < 0.05), but the urine IL-18 had no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). Conclusions (l) For acute kidney injury patients, rHuEPO combined with prostaglandin in treatment of acute kidney injury can shorten oliguric stage, spend less time on renal function recovery, which can be recommended in clinical. (2) On the basis of hemodialysis (HD), single use of EPO or Alprostadil has better effects than single use of HD in treatment of AKI. (3) Combination of EPO and Alprostadil has better effects than single use of EPO or Alprostadil in treatment of AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monomeric flavan-3-ols and their oligomeric forms, proanthocyanidins (PAs), are closely related to the bitterness of tea beverages. Monomeric flavan-3-ols are characteristic flavor compounds in tea. Increasing the content of PAs and anthocyanins enhances the resistance of tea plants to pathogen invasion but decreases the quality of tea beverages. MATE family transporters play a critical role in transferring monomeric flavan-3-ols and anthocyanins into vacuoles for storage or subsequent condensation into PAs. Their activities modulate the ratio of monomeric flavan-3-ols to PAs and increase anthocyanin content in tea plants. In this study, it was observed that the gene expression and protein phosphorylation level of the MATE transporter CsTT12, a vacuole-localized flavonoid transporter, were notably upregulated following exogenous sucrose treatment, promoting PA synthesis in tea plants. Further analysis revealed that overexpression of CsTT12 and CsTT12 S17D significantly increased the content of anthocyanins and PAs in plants, whereas CsTT12 S17A did not. In CsTT12 knockdown plants, PA's accumulation decreased significantly, while monomeric catechin content increased. Moreover, phosphorylation modification enhanced the vacuolar membrane localization of CsTT12, whereas dephosphorylation weakened its vacuolar membrane localization. This study uncovers the crucial role of phosphorylation in flavonoid biosynthesis and provides insights into balancing quality improvements and resistance enhancement., (© 2024 Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

To investigate the association between preoperative HBsAg (hepatitis B surface antigen) level and risk of HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) recurrence following curative resection, we enrolled 826 HBV-related HCC patients who underwent curative resection and received long-term follow-up at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital (Shanghai, China). Multivariate analyses showed that serum HBsAg ≥ 2000 S/CO, seropositive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase > 61 U/L, prothrombin time > 13 s, multinodularity, lager tumor size, and major portal vein invasion were independently associated with a increased risk of HCC recurrence. Compared with HCC patients with HBsAg level < 2000 S/CO, HCC patients with HBsAg level ≥ 2000 S/CO had a higher prevalence of seropositive HBeAg, antiviral therapy, and cirrhosis; were younger; and had a higher levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and HBV viral load. Multivariable stratified analyses showed HCC patients with HBsAg level < 2000 S/CO tended to have a lower incidence of HCC recurrence in following subgroups of patients, including for noncirrhotic (HR, 0.561; 95% CI, 0.345-0.914), HBV DNA < 2000 IU/mL (HR, 0.604; 95% CI, 0.401-0.912), ALT ≤ 41 U/L (HR, 0.643; 95% CI, 0.440-0.942), AST ≤ 37 U/L (HR, 0.672; 95% CI, 0.459-0.983), and seronegative HBeAg (HR, 0.682; 95% CI, 0.486-0.958). When we evaluated HBeAg-negative patients with HBV DNA < 2000 IU/mL, HBsAg level still determined risk of HCC recurrence (p = 0.014), but not HBV DNA (p = 0.550) and ALT (p = 0.186). These results suggest high levels of HBsAg increase risk of HCC recurrence following curative resection. HBsAg level might serve as a new marker to complement HBV DNA level in predicting HCC recurrence, especially in HBeAg-negative patients with low viral load.