Engineered Whey Protein Nanoparticles for Intracellular Drug Delivery.

Protein-based nanoparticles, composed of water-soluble proteins, represent a promising platform for reducing side effects during drug delivery. They enhance the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of hydrophobic therapeutic agents while maintaining high biocompatibility and biodegradability in vivo. These nanoparticles are nontoxic and capable of encapsulating both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, making them highly versatile.

Potential targeting of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor-formyl peptide receptor signaling to prevent recurrence in posttransplant primary podocytopathies.

Primary podocytopathies are a group of disorders characterized by nephrotic syndrome and frequent progression to kidney failure, with high rates of posttransplant recurrence. Increased expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) has been associated with podocyte dysfunction in primary podocytopathies. uPAR can interact with formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) in podocytes, but the relevance of this signaling pathway in these diseases remains unclear.

Family History in the Context of CKD.

Key Points: Family history of kidney disease was not associated with kidney disease progression in the context of established CKD. Family history of diabetes was a risk factor of CKD progression independently of diabetes status, polygenic risk, and traditional risk factors.

Background: A family history of health conditions may reflect shared genetic and/or environmental risk.

LILRB3 genetic variation is associated with kidney transplant failure in African American recipients.

African American (AA) kidney transplant recipients exhibit a higher rate of graft loss compared with other racial and ethnic populations, highlighting the need to identify causative factors. Here, in the Genomics of Chronic Allograft Rejection cohort, pretransplant blood RNA sequencing revealed a cluster of four consecutive missense single-nucelotide polymorphisms (SNPs), within the leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B3 (LILRB3) gene, strongly associated with death-censored graft loss. This SNP cluster (named LILRB3-4SNPs) encodes missense mutations at amino acids 617-618 proximal to a SHP1/2 phosphatase-binding immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif.

Emerging role of genetics in kidney transplantation.

The advent of more affordable genomic analytical pipelines has facilitated the expansion of genetic studies in kidney transplantation. Advances in genetic sequencing have allowed for a greater understanding of the genetic basis of chronic kidney disease, which has helped to guide transplant management and address issues related to living donation in specific disease settings. Recent efforts have shown significant effects of genetic ancestry and donor APOL1 risk genotypes in determining worse allograft outcomes and increased donation risks.

Post-transplant glomerular diseases: update on pathophysiology, risk factors and management strategies.

In recent years, advancements in immunosuppressive medications and post-transplant management have led to a significant decrease in acute rejection rates in renal allografts and consequent improvement in short-term graft survival. In contrast, recent data have shown an increased incidence of post-transplant glomerular diseases, which currently represent a leading cause of allograft loss. Although pathogenesis is not fully understood, growing evidence supports the role of inherited and immunological factors and has identified potential pre- and post-transplant predictors.

Epitope Spreading in Immune-Mediated Glomerulonephritis: The Expanding Target.

Epitope spreading is a critical mechanism driving the progression of autoimmune glomerulonephritis. This phenomenon, where immune responses broaden from a single epitope to encompass additional targets, contributes to the complexity and severity of diseases such as membranous nephropathy (MN), lupus nephritis (LN), and ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). In MN, intramolecular spreading within the phospholipase A2 receptor correlates with a worse prognosis, while LN exemplifies both intra- and intermolecular spreading, exacerbating renal involvement.

Natural History and Clinicopathological Associations of TRPC6-Associated Podocytopathy.

Key Points: We conducted a clinical, genetic, and pathological analysis on 64 cases from 39 families with TRPC6-associated podocytopathy (TRPC6-AP). Analysis of 37,542 individuals excluded a major contribution of loss-of-function variants to TRPC6-AP, legitimating current drug discovery approaches. This study identifies key features of disease that can help intervention studies design and suggests similarities between TRPC6-AP and primary FSGS.

Increased risk of kidney failure in patients with genetic kidney disorders.

BACKGROUNDIt is unknown whether the risk of kidney disease progression and failure differs between patients with and without genetic kidney disorders.METHODSThree cohorts were evaluated: the prospective Cure Glomerulonephropathy Network (CureGN) and 2 retrospective cohorts from Columbia University, including 5,727 adults and children with kidney disease from any etiology who underwent whole-genome or exome sequencing. The effects of monogenic kidney disorders and APOL1 kidney-risk genotypes on the risk of kidney failure, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline, and disease remission rates were evaluated along with diagnostic yields and the impact of American College of Medical Genetics secondary findings (ACMG SFs).

Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with proteinuria according to a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Introduction And Aim: Hepatitis C virus infection and chronic kidney disease are major public health issues all over the world. It has been suggested a role of HCV as a risk factor for the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (defined by reduced glomerular filtration rate and/or detectable proteinuria) in the general population but conflicting findings have been given.

Material And Methods: A systematic review of the published medical literature was conducted to assess whether positive HCV serologic status is associated with greater rate of proteinuria in the adult general population.

Techno-economic evaluation of GHG emissions mitigation of biomethane upgrading technologies.

The current trend in the European biogas industry is to shift away from electricity production towards the production of biomethane for the need to replace natural gas. The upgrading of biogas to biomethane is normally performed by separating the biogas in a stream containing natural gas grid quality methane and a stream containing mostly CO. The CO stream is normally released into the atmosphere; however, part of the methane may still remain in it, and, if not oxidized, even a small fraction of methane released may jeopardise all the GHG emissions savings from producing the biomethane, being methane a powerful climate forcer.

Are Kidneys Affected by SARS-CoV-2 Infection? An Updated Review on COVID-19-Associated AKI.

Background: Human kidneys are an important target of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and many renal abnormalities have been found in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, including proteinuria, hematuria, and acute kidney injury. Acute kidney injury is now considered a common complication of COVID-19, and the epidemiology of AKI in SARS-CoV-2-infected patients continues to be controversial.

Aim And Methods: We have carried out a narrative review to evaluate the frequency and risk factors for AKI among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, and the latest surveys on this topic have been included.

Genetic versus self-reported African ancestry of the recipient and neighborhood predictors of kidney transplantation outcomes in 2 multiethnic urban cohorts.

African American (AA) kidney recipients have a higher risk of allograft rejection and failure compared to non-AAs, but to what extent these outcomes are due to genetic versus environmental effects is currently unknown. Herein, we tested the effects of recipient self-reported race versus genetic proportion of African ancestry (pAFR), and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on kidney allograft outcomes in multiethnic kidney transplant recipients from Columbia University (N = 1083) and the University of Pennsylvania (N = 738). All participants were genotyped with SNP arrays to estimate genetic admixture proportions.

Present and Future of IgA Nephropathy and Membranous Nephropathy Immune Monitoring: Insights from Molecular Studies.

IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) and Membranous Nephropathy (MN) are primary immune-mediated glomerular diseases with highly variable prognosis. Current guidelines recommend that greater immunologic activity and worse prognosis should guide towards the best treatment in an individualized approach. Nevertheless, proteinuria and glomerular filtration rate, the current gold standards for prognosis assessment and treatment guidance in primary glomerular diseases, may be altered with chronic damage and nephron scarring, conditions that are not related to immune activity.

Update on current and potential application of extracellular vesicles in kidney transplantation.

Kidney transplantation (KT) is the best treatment for end-stage kidney disease. However, early diagnosis of graft injury remains challenging, mainly because of the lack of accurate and noninvasive diagnostic techniques. Improving graft outcomes is equally demanding, as is the development of innovative therapies.

Multi-population genome-wide association study implicates immune and non-immune factors in pediatric steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome.

Pediatric steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (pSSNS) is the most common childhood glomerular disease. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified a risk locus in the HLA Class II region and three additional independent risk loci. But the genetic architecture of pSSNS, and its genetically driven pathobiology, is largely unknown.

Spray-drying Microencapsulation of an Extract from Tilia tomentosa Moench Flowers: Physicochemical Characterization and in Vitro Intestinal Activity.

Silver linden (Tilia tomentosa Moench, TtM) flowers possess several health-promoting properties, especially at the neurological level, such as intestinal relaxation activity associated with specific flavonols, particularly quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. However, such molecules are susceptible to degradation upon different triggers like heat, light and extreme pH values. To overcome the scarce stability of TtM flowers bioactive molecules and make them suitable for developing functional food and supplements, we applied microencapsulation.

Glomerular Diseases of the Kidney Allograft: Toward a Precision Medicine Approach.

The continual development of potent immunosuppressive regimens has led to a decreased incidence of acute rejection and improvement of short-term kidney allograft survival. In contrast to acute rejection, glomerular diseases of the kidney allograft are being encountered more frequently and are emerging as leading causes of late kidney allograft failure. Although data on the pathogeneses of glomerular diseases in the kidney allograft are sparse, cumulative evidence suggests that post-transplant glomerular diseases may be the result of inherited predispositions and immunologic triggers.