Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation contributes to aldosterone-induced renal tubular cells injury

The extent of coronary collateral formation is a primary determinant of the severity of myocardial damage and mortality after coronary artery occlusion. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) represents an important risk factor for impaired collateral vessel growth. However, the mechanism of reduced coronary collateralization in type 2 diabetic patients remains unclear. With the reference to the recent researches, this review article describes the pathogenic effects of T2DM on collateral development and outlines possible clinical and biochemical markers associated with reduced coronary collateralization in type 2 diabetic patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO). Diffuse coronary atherosclerosis in T2DM reduces pressure gradient between collateral donor artery and collateral recipient one, limiting collateral vessel growth and function. An interaction between advanced glycation end-products and their receptor activates several intracellular signaling pathways, enhances oxidative stress and aggravates inflammatory process. Diabetic condition decreases pro-angiogenic factors especially vascular endothelial growth factor and other collateral vessel growth related parameters. Numerous clinical and biochemical factors that could possibly attenuate the development of coronary collaterals have been reported. Increased serum levels of glycated albumin, cystatin C, and adipokine C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 1 were associated with poor coronary collateralization in type 2 diabetic patients with stable coronary artery disease and CTO. Diastolic blood pressure and stenosis severity of the predominant collateral donor artery also play a role in coronary collateral formation. T2DM impairs collateral vessel growth through multiple mechanisms involving arteriogenesis and angiogenesis, and coronary collateral formation in patients with T2DM and CTO is influenced by various clinical, biochemical and angiographic factors. This information provides insights into the understanding of coronary pathophysiology and searching for potential new therapeutic targets in T2DM.

Background: Animal and human studies suggest that inflammation and malnutrition are common in acute kidney injury (AKI) patients. However, only a few studies reported CRP, a marker of inflammation, albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol, markers of nutritional status were associated with the prognosis of AKI patients. No study examined whether the combination of inflammatory and nutritional markers could predict the mortality of AKI patients. Methods: 155 patients with hospital-acquired AKI were recruited to this prospective cohort study according to RIFLE (Risk, Injury, Failure, Lost or End Stage Kidney) criteria. C-reactive protein (CRP), and the nutritional markers (albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol) measured at nephrology consultation were analyzed in relation to all cause mortality of these patients. In addition, CRP and prealbumin were also measured in healthy controls (n = 45), maintenance hemodialysis (n = 70) and peritoneal dialysis patients (n = 50) and then compared with AKI patients. Results: Compared with healthy controls and end-stage renal disease patients on maintenance hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, patients with AKI had significantly higher levels of CRP/prealbumin (p < 0.001). Higher level of serum CRP and lower levels of albumin, prealbumin and cholesterol were found to be significant in the patients with AKI who died within 28 days than those who survived >28 days. Similarly, the combined factors including the ratio of CRP to albumin (CRP/albumin), CRP/prealbumin and CRP/cholesterol were also significantly higher in the former group (p < 0.001 for all). Multivariate analysis (Cox regression) revealed that CRP/prealbumin was independently associated with mortality after adjustment for age, gender, sepsis and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA, p = 0.027) while the others (CRP, albumin, prealbumin, cholesterol, CRP/albumin and CRP/cholesterol) became non-significantly associated. The hazard ratio was 1.00 (reference), 1.85, 2.25 and 3.89 for CRP/prealbumin increasing according to quartiles (p = 0.01 for the trend). Conclusions: Inflammation and malnutrition were common in patients with AKI. Higher level of the ratio of CRP to prealbumin was associated with mortality of AKI patients independent of the severity of illness and it may be a valuable addition to SOFA score to independent of the severity of illness and it may be a valuable addition to SOFA score to predict the prognosis of AKI patients.

Background: We investigated whether glycemic control affects the relation between endothelial dysfunction and coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: In 102 type 2 diabetic patients with stable angina, endothelial function was evaluated using brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) with high-resolution ultrasound, and significant stenosis of major epicardial coronary arteries (≥ 50% diameter narrowing) and degree of coronary atherosclerosis (Gensini score and SYNTAX score) were determined. The status of glycemic control was assessed by blood concentration of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Results: The prevalence of significant coronary artery stenosis (67.9% vs. 37.0%, P = 0.002) and degree of coronary atherosclerosis (Gensini score: 48.99 ± 48.88 vs. 15.07 ± 21.03, P < 0.001; SYNTAX score: 15.88 ± 16.36 vs. 7.28 ± 10.54, P = 0.003) were higher and FMD was lower (6.03 ± 2.08% vs. 6.94 ± 2.20%, P = 0.036) in diabetic patients with poor glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 7.0%; n = 56) compared to those with good glycemic control (HbA1c < 7.0%; n = 46). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that tertile of FMD was an independent determinant of presence of significant coronary artery stenosis (OR = 0.227 95% CI 0.056–0.915, P = 0.037), Gensini score (β = − 0.470, P < 0.001) and SYNTAX score (β = − 0.349, P = 0.004) in diabetic patients with poor glycemic control but not for those with good glycemic control (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Poor glycemic control negatively influences the association of endothelial dysfunction and coronary artery disease in T2DM patients.

To investigate whether apolipoprotein A (apoA)-I glycation and paraoxonase (PON) activities are associated with the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Relative intensity of apoA-I glycation and activities of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated PON1 and PON3 were determined in 205 consecutive T2DM patients with stable angina with (n = 144) or without (n = 61) significant CAD (luminal diameter stenosis ≥ 70 %). The severity of CAD was expressed by number of diseased coronary arteries, extent index, and cumulative coronary stenosis score (CCSS). The relative intensity of apoA-I glycation was higher but the activities of HDL-associated PON1 and PON3 were lower in diabetic patients with significant CAD than in those without. The relative intensity of apoA-I glycation increased but the activities of HDL-associated PON1 and PON3 decreased stepwise from 1 - to 3 - vessel disease patients (P for trend < 0.001). After adjusting for possible confounding variables, the relative intensity of apoA-I glycation correlated positively, while the activities of HDL-associated PON1 and PON3 negatively, with extent index and CCSS, respectively. At high level of apoA-I glycation (8.70 ~ 12.50 %), low tertile of HDL-associated PON1 (7.03 ~ 38.97U/mL) and PON3 activities (7.11 ~ 22.30U/mL) was associated with a 1.97− and 2.49− fold increase of extent index and 1.73− and 2.68− fold increase of CCSS compared with high tertile of HDL-associated PON1 (57.85 ~ 154.82U/mL) and PON3 activities (39.63 ~ 124.10U/mL), respectively (all P < 0.01). Elevated apoA-I glycation and decreased activities of HDL-associated PON1 and PON3, and their interaction are associated with the presence and severity of CAD in patients with T2DM.