Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0011881 (diabetic nephropathy)
 10,836 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Activated protein C (APC) acts as an anticoagulant by inhibiting coagulation factors Va and VIIIa. Although the liver appears to be the primary site of protein C (PC) synthesis, the demonstration that other components of this system are produced extrahepatically raises the possibility that PC itself is synthesized in other tissues. We therefore used quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry to screen various murine tissues for PC expression. Relatively high levels of PC mRNA were detected in the kidney (35% of liver) and testis (22% of liver). PC mRNA and antigen were demonstrated in tubular epithelial cells in the renal cortex, in spermatogenic cells in the testis, and in epithelial cells in the epididymis. Low but significant levels of PC mRNA were detected in the epididymis (1.7% of the level in liver), brain (1.1% of liver), and lung (0.8% of liver). PC antigen was demonstrated in bronchial epithelial cells in the lung, in pyramidal neurons in the cerebrum, and in Purkinje cells in the cerebellum. The extrahepatic expression of PC mRNA (ie, in the kidney) was significantly decreased in mice with renal disease (eg, in MRL lpr/lpr mice with autoimmune lupus nephritis, in db/db mice with diabetic nephropathy, and in endotoxin-treated mice with acute renal injury). The decreased renal expression of PC may contribute to the increased procoagulant potential of the kidney during septic and inflammatory processes and to the progression of kidney disease associated with these conditions.
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PMID:Extrahepatic expression and regulation of protein C in the mouse. 970 14

Consumption of relatively high amounts of processed food can result in abnormal nutritional status, such as zinc deficiency or phosphorus excess. Moreover, hyperphosphatemia and hypozincemia are found in some patients with diabetic nephropathy and metabolic syndrome. The present study investigated the effects of high-phosphorus/zinc-free diet on the reproductive function of spontaneously hypertensive rats/NDmcr-cp (SHR/cp), a model of the metabolic syndrome. We also investigated the effects of antioxidant, N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), on testicular dysfunction under such conditions. Male SHR/cp and control rats (Wistar Kyoto rats, WKY) were divided into three groups; rats fed control diet (P 0.3%, w/w; Zn 0.2%, w/w), high-phosphorus and zinc-deficient diet (P 1.2%, w/w; Zn 0.0%, w/w) with vehicle, or high-phosphorus and zinc-deficient diet with NAC (1.5mg/g/day) for 12 weeks (n=6 or 8 rats/group). The weights of testis and epididymis were significantly reduced by high-phosphate/zinc-free diet in both SHR/cp and WKY. The same diet significantly reduced caudal epididymal sperm count and motility and induced histopathological changes in the testis in both strains. Treatment with NAC provided significant protection against the toxic effects of the diet on testicular function in WKY, but not in SHR/cp. The lack of the protective effects of NAC on impaired spermatogenesis in SHR/cp could be due to the more pronounced state of oxidative stress observed in these rats compared with WKY.
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PMID:Rats with metabolic syndrome resist the protective effects of N-acetyl l-cystein against impaired spermatogenesis induced by high-phosphorus/zinc-free diet. 2381 Jul 84