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Hyperglycemia-induced advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and receptor for AGEs (RAGEs) play major roles in diabetic nephropathy progression. In previous study, both glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors delta (PPARδ) agonists were shown to have anti-inflammatory effect on AGE-treated rat mesangial cells (RMCs). The interaction among PPARδ agonists, GLP-1, and AGE-RAGE axis is, however, still unclear.In this study, the individual and synergic effect of PPARδ agonist (L-165 041) and siRNA of GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) on the expression of GLP-1, GLP-1R, RAGE, and cell viability in AGE-treated RMCs were investigated.L-165 041 enhanced GLP-1R mRNA and protein expression only in the presence of AGE. The expression of RAGE mRNA and protein was enhanced by AGE, attenuated by L-165 041, and siRNA of GLP-1R reversed L-165 041-induced inhibition. Cell viability was also inhibited by AGE. L-165 041 attenuated AGE-induced inhibition and siRNA GLP-1R diminished L-165 041 effect.PPARδ agonists increase GLP-1R expression on RMC in the presence of AGE. PPARδ agonists also attenuate AGE-induced upregulated RAGE expression and downregulated cell viability. The effect of PPARδ agonists needs the cooperation of GLP-1R activation.

Introduction: The treatment of peritoneal dialysis in end-stage renal disease is increasing in clinical practice. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of far-infrared radiation therapy on inflammation and the cellular immunity of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Materials and Methods: We recruited 56 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, and we included 32 patients from the experimental group and 24 patients from the control group in the final analysis. The experimental evaluation in our study was as follows: (1) We used abdominal computed tomography to measure the diameter and degree of hardening of the abdominal veins and large blood vessels to explore the changes in abdominal blood vessels. (2) The study compared the effects of peritoneal dialysis using albumin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, white blood cell, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Hs-CRP clearance rate, and HBAlC. (3) We compared the cytokine concentration of blood between the two groups while controlling for GM-CSF, IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-18, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-12p70, TNF-α, and IL-1β. Results and Discussion: (1) There was no significant difference in the abdominal blood vessels of the experimental group relative to the control group according to abdominal CT measured over 6 months. (2) Our study demonstrates the statistically significant effect of FIR therapy on the following parameters: albumin (p = 0.048*), creatinine (p = 0.039*), and Hs-CRP (p < 0.001**) decreased significantly, and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, p = 0.043*) and glucose (p < 0.001**) increased significantly. Our study found that, in the experimental group, albumin and creatinine decreased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. However, our study also found that, in the experimental group, glucose (p < 0.001**) increased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. Peritoneal dialysis combined with FIR can reduce the side effects of glucose in dialysis buffer, which interferes with peritoneal inflammation and peritoneal mesothelial cell fibrosis. In addition, we also found that, in the experimental group, Hs-CRP (p < 0.001**) decreased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. (3) No statistical significance in the inflammatory cytokines related to FIR therapy differences was observed in our study. IFN-γ (p = 0.124), IL-12p70 (p = 0.093), IL-18 (p = 0.213), and TNF-α (p = 0.254) did not exhibit significant improvements in peritoneal dialysis with FIR treatment over 6 months. IFN-γ and IL-18 in the plasma of patients in the experimental group and the control group were higher in the third month than in the first month. Conclusion: We found that the effect of peritoneal dialysis improved significantly with FIR therapy, and significant improvements in the peritoneal permeability and inflammatory response were observed. end-stage renal disease; peritoneal dialysis; far-infrared therapy (FIR)

The use of peritoneal dialysis in end-stage renal disease is increasing in clinical practice. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of far-infrared radiation therapy on inflammation and the cellular immunity of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. We recruited 56 patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, and we included 32 patients for the experimental group and 24 patients from the control group in the final analysis. The experimental evaluation in our study was as follows: (1) We used abdominal computed tomography to explore the changes in abdominal blood vessels. (2) We compared the effects of peritoneal dialysis using blood glucose, HbAlC, albumin, urea nitrogen, creatinine, white blood cells, hs-CRP; peritoneal Kt/V of peritoneal function, and eGFR. (3) We compared the cytokines’ concentrations in the two groups while controlling for the other cytokines. Results and Discussion: (1) There was no significant difference in the abdominal blood vessels of the experimental group relative to the control group according to abdominal CT over the 6 months. (2) Our study demonstrates statistically significant effects of FIR therapy on the following parameters: creatinine (p = 0.039 *) and hs-CRP (p < 0.001 **) levels decreased significantly, and eGFR (p = 0.043 *), glucose (p < 0.001 **), and albumin (p = 0.048 *) levels increased significantly. Our study found that in the experimental group, creatinine and hs-CRP levels decreased significantly due to FIR therapy for 6 months. However, our study also found that the glucose level was significantly different after FIR therapy for 6 months. Peritoneal dialysis combined with FIR can reduce the side effects of the glucose in the dialysis buffer, which interferes with peritoneal inflammation and peritoneal mesothelial cell fibrosis. (3) In addition, we also found that no statistically significant difference in any inflammatory cytokine after FIR therapy. IFN-γ (p = 0.124), IL-12p70 (p = 0.093), IL-18 (p = 0.213), and TNF-α (p = 0.254) did not exhibit significant improvements after peritoneal dialysis with FIR treatment over 6 months. Conclusions: We found that the effectiveness of peritoneal dialysis was improved significantly with FIR therapy, and significant improvements in the peritoneal permeability and inflammatory response were observed.

Protein-energy wasting is prevalent in peritoneal dialysis patients, which causes a heavy burden for individuals and healthcare systems. We aimed to investigate the effect of nutritional education, and/or protein supplementation on nutritional biomarkers in hypoalbuminemic peritoneal dialysis patients. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in two dialysis centers at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital and Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital. Patients were allocated in three groups including control (n = 12), milk protein (n = 21) and soy protein (n = 20). All patients received dietary guidelines from dietitians and completed 3-day dietary records during monthly visits for consecutive three months. Nutrients were analyzed using Nutritionist Professional software. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, albumin, total protein, hemoglobin, serum calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium were assessed monthly. Total cholesterol and triglycerides were measured every three months. After three-month intervention, protein intake (percent of total calories), and serum albumin were significantly increased in three groups. Protein, phosphorus intake, and BUN were increased in two intervention groups. Total serum protein increased in control and milk protein groups, and creatinine increased the control group. Serum phosphorus was not significantly changed. Nutritional education alone, or combined with protein supplementation, significantly improve protein intake, and nutritional status by increasing serum albumin, but not serum phosphorus in hypoalbuminemic peritoneal dialysis patients.

Background Hyperglycemia-induced advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and receptor for AGEs (RAGE) production play major roles in progression of diabetic nephropathy. Anti-RAGE effect of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta (PPARδ) agonists was shown in previous studies. PPARδ agonists also stimulate glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion from human intestinal cells. Methods In this study, the individual and synergic anti-inflammatory effects of GLP-1 receptor (exendin-4) and PPARδ (L-165,041) agonists in AGE-treated rat mesangial cells (RMC) were investigated. Results The results showed both exendin-4 and L-165,041 significantly attenuated AGE-induced IL-6 and TNF-α production, RAGE expression, and cell death in RMC. Similar anti-inflammatory potency was seen between 0.3 nM exendin-4 and 1 μM L-165,041. Synergic effect of exendin-4 and L-165,041 was shown in inhibiting cytokines production, but not in inhibiting RAGE expression or cell death. Conclusions These results suggest that both GLP-1 receptor and PPARδ agonists have anti-inflammatory effect on AGE-treated rat mesangial cells.

A novel 16{31GHz quadruple subharmonic monolithic passive mixer with a chip dimension of 0:82 £ 0:7mm 2 is designed and fabricated using the 0.15"m GaAs pHEMT process. The novel conflguration of the quadruple subharmonic mixer consists of a lumped frequency diplexer and a low-pass fllter utilizing a pair of anti-parallel Schottky barrier diode to achieve quadruple subharmonic mixing mechanism. The lumped frequency diplexer formed with a low-pass network and a high-pass network is used to reduce the chip dimension while operating at low frequency band and to improve the isolation between the RF and LO ports with a broadband operation. The low- pass fllter supports an IF frequency range from DC to 2.5GHz. From the measured results, the mixer exhibits a 12.5{16.5dB conversion loss, a LO-to-RF isolation better than 15dB, a 50{59dB high 4LO- to-RF isolation over 16{31GHz RF bandwidth, and an input 1dB compression power of 2dBm.

The employment of laparoscopy in the treatment of locally advanced colorectal cancer is still questioned by many surgeons, mainly due to the fear of spreading tumors by the laparoscopic procedure. However, it is still unknown whether laparoscopy is actually associated with increased tumor dissemination, especially for those with tumor invasion through the serosa. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of pneumoperitoneum on the intra-abdominal tumor growth and spreading of colon cancer cells by an animal study of murine model.Under anesthesia, 10(6) tumor cells (CT26) were inoculated into the lower abdominal cavity of BALB/c mice by a mini-laparotomy. The mice were randomized to undergo pneumoperitoneum with CO2 (n=10), helium (n=10), or to act as controls (n=10). Pneumoperitoneum was established over 20 min at a pressure of 10cm H2O. The distribution pattern and the weight of peritoneal tumor growth of each mouse were recorded and analyzed at 15 days after surgery.The mean ratios of the tumor mass over the total body weight of the mice were 0.77+/-1.13% (control group), 4.30+/-0.86% (CO2 pneumoperitoneum), and 2.17+/-0.88% (helium pneumoperi-toneum). The mean tumor weight ratio (3.23+/-1.38%) of the pneumoperitoneal group was 4 times larger than that of the control group (p0.001). Regarding the use of different insufflation gases over tumor growth, CO2 accelerates tumor growth more significantly than helium (p0.001). Intraabdominal distribution (p=0.047) and diaphragm spreading (p0.001) were significantly greater in the pneumoperitoneum group than the control group.The results of this animal study imply that presence of a pneumoperitoneum enhances the implantation and growth of free intraperitoneal malignant colon cancer cells in this in vivo mouse model. The results of the current study suggest that insufflation during pneumoperitoneum may play an important role in the development of peritoneal dissemination when there are free tumor cells in the intra-abdominal cavity, and the effect of using CO2 might be greater than that of using helium.

We optimized a rapid and efficient tissue lysis method using the MagNA Lyser (Roche, Germany). Using this novel method combined with immunoblot analysis, we investigated the correlation between abnormal Bcl-X(L) expression and clinicopathological characteristics in colorectal cancer.Tissue samples from Sprague-Dawley rats were tested to determine optimal lysis conditions for use with MagNA Lyser. We next used the new method to extract tissue proteins from the tumor tissue of a colorectal cancer patient. The availability of extractable tissue proteins for proteomic study was demonstrated by two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis and subsequent matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. In addition, we prepared tissue lysates from paired tumor tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues of 50 colorectal carcinoma patients. Ensuing immunoblot analyses were performed to detect the level of Bcl-X(L) expression.The optimal sample sizes processed were found to be around 200 mg, with oscillation frequency of 6500 r/min for 80 s. Test of the first human tissue lysate confirmed that the MagNA Lyser method was adequate for protein extraction and subsequent identification by current proteomic protocols. The method was also applicable to immunoblot analysis. Thirty of 50 (60%) colorectal patients exhibited higher level of Bcl-X(L) expression in their tumor tissues. Raised level of Bcl-X(L) expression correlated with patients' gender and tumor cell proliferation index (P = 0.037 and P0.001, respectively), but was independent of clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival.We report a novel tissue lysis method applicable to proteomic and immunoblot analyses, which can facilitate the discovery and detection of cancer protein alterations.