Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products attenuates sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

Background: Receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous inflammatory conditions including sepsis. We investigated the possible therapeutic role of soluble RAGE (sRAGE) in septic acute kidney injury (AKI) models.

Methods: sRAGE level was measured in healthy controls and patients with septic AKI.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus modifies the relationship between coronary artery calcification and adverse kidney outcome in patients with chronic kidney disease: the findings from KNOW-CKD.

Background: Kidney function declines faster in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than in those without, and coronary artery calcification is a risk factor for adverse kidney outcomes. Thus, we examined whether T2DM modified the relationship between coronary artery calcification and chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression.

Methods: Among 2067 participants from the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With CKD, the main exposures analyzed were T2DM and coronary artery calcification.

Association of accelerometer-measured physical activity with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with or without chronic kidney diseases: the UK biobank study.

Background: Physical activity is important for health and longevity, but little is known on patients living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). In fact, most studies in patients with CKD have relied on self-reported data, highlighting an unmet need for studies using objective measurements. We investigated the association between device-measured physical activity and adverse outcomes by CKD status.

Pyruvate kinase M2 activation maintains mitochondrial metabolism by regulating the interaction between HIF-1α and PGC-1α in diabetic kidney disease.

Background: Pyruvate kinase isoform M2 (PKM2) activation has been suggested as a potential protective mechanism against kidney injury by improving mitochondrial dysfunction and anaerobic glycolysis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Herein, we have demonstrated that PKM2 activation alleviates HIF-1α-mediated suppression of PGC-1α in diabetic kidney disease (DKD) models.

Plasma Levels of Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 and Adverse Kidney Outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the association between fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and adverse kidney outcomes.

Methods: From the prospective observational cohort study using data from the UK Biobank between March 13, 2006, and August 31, 2017, a total of 32,281 individuals with estimated glomerular filtration rate of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m and higher and urine albumin to creatinine ratio below 30 mg/g (cohort 1) and 3339 individuals with estimated glomerular filtration rate below 60 mL/min per 1.

Association between polygenic risk scores for hypertension and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with incident chronic kidney disease.

Background: The clinical implications of genetic risk for hypertension (HTN) and high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) are unknown. This study aimed to examine whether polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for these two factors can predict the development of CKD.

Methods: We included 245,893 participants enrolled in UK Biobank during 2006-2010 and followed up until 2022.

Chronic Kidney Disease Increases Risk of Delayed Post-Polypectomy Bleeding: A Large-Scale Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Background: The association between delayed post-polypectomy bleeding and chronic kidney disease remains unclear.

Objective: This study investigated whether patients with chronic kidney disease are at an increased risk of delayed post-polypectomy bleeding.

Methods: This cohort study included patients who underwent colonoscopy and polypectomy in Korea between 2005 and 2022.

Kidney function and bone mineral density in chronic kidney disease patients.

Background: Bone mineral density (BMD) predicts fracture risk in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and in the general population. However, few studies have investigated risk factors for bone loss in patients with CKD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether renal function is associated with the rate of BMD decline.

Performance of New Race-Free eGFR Equations for Predicting Complications in Chronic Kidney Disease: From the KNOW-CKD Study.

Introduction: The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) developed new race-free eGFR equations and recommended using these new equations in 2021. However, clinical implication of these new equations is not determined in Korean adults. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate performances of these new race-free eGFR equations in predicting complications in Korean chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

Medication Burden and Adverse Cardiovascular Events and Death in Patients Treated with Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

Key Points: A higher medication burden was associated with a higher risk of adverse events in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis. Medication burden can serve as a clinically relevant risk indicator for cardiovascular events and all-cause death in patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

Background: A high medication burden is associated with adverse outcomes.

Circulating osteoprotegerin and progression of coronary artery calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease: the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease (KNOW-CKD).

Background: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a surrogate of cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). To establish the role of circulating osteoprotegerin (OPG) as a cardiovascular biomarker in patients with CKD, we investigated whether an increase in serum OPG levels is associated with the risk of CAC progression.

Methods: A total of 1,130 patients with CKD stage 1 to predialysis 5 were divided into quartiles according to serum OPG levels (Q1 to Q4).

Impact of Serum Creatinine- and Cystatin C-Based Sarcopenia Index on Renal Outcomes in Non-Dialysis-Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: Results From the KNOW-CKD Study.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the serum creatinine- and cystatin C-based new sarcopenia index (SI) on renal outcomes in non-dialysis-dependent patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: In this observational Korean Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With CKD (KNOW-CKD), 1957 patients with CKD stage 1 to stage 4 were analyzed from 2011 to 2019. Men and women were separately assigned to quartile groups according to their SI.

Uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate induces trained immunity via the AhR-dependent arachidonic acid pathway in end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Trained immunity is the long-term functional reprogramming of innate immune cells, which results in altered responses toward a secondary challenge. Despite indoxyl sulfate (IS) being a potent stimulus associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related inflammation, its impact on trained immunity has not been explored. Here, we demonstrate that IS induces trained immunity in monocytes via epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming, resulting in augmented cytokine production.