Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0020672 (hypothermia)
 17,327 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cold preservation of kidneys is commonly used in human transplantation and in vitro studies. However, although disruption of the cytoskeleton by cold has been demonstrated in cultured cells, the effect of cold treatment on intact kidney is poorly understood. In this study, specific antibodies were used to examine the effect of hypothermia on the cytoskeletal network and the trafficking of some membrane proteins in the urinary tubule. Rat kidneys were cut into thin slices (approximately 0.5 mm) that were divided into several groups: (1) some were immediately fixed in paraformaldehyde, sodium periodate, and lysine (PLP); (2) some were stored at 4 degrees C for 15 min or 4 h before being fixed in cold PLP; or (3) after 4 h cold treatment, some slices were rewarmed to 37 degrees C for 15, 30, and 60 min in a physiologic solution, pH 7.4, and were then fixed in warm PLP. Immunofluorescence staining revealed an almost complete disruption of the microtubule network in proximal tubules after 15 min cold treatment, whereas microtubules in other segments were affected after 4 h. A partial recovery of the microtubule network was observed after 60 min rewarming. In contrast, actin filaments seemed to be resistant to cold treatment. gp330, aquaporin-2, H+ ATPase, and the AE1 anion exchanger were all relocated into numerous vesicles that were distributed throughout the cytoplasm after hypothermia followed by rewarming, whereas Na-K-ATPase retained its basolateral localization. The vasopressin-stimulated insertion of aquaporin-2 water channels into the apical membrane was inhibited during the initial rewarming period after cold exposure. Thus, cold preservation of tissues might impair, at least transiently, the polarized membrane expression and function of some transport proteins in renal epithelial cells.
 ...
PMID:Cold-induced microtubule disruption and relocalization of membrane proteins in kidney epithelial cells. 952 91

Cerebral edema and hepatic encephalopathy are major complications of acute liver failure. Brain herniation caused by increased intracranial pressure as a result of cell swelling is the major cause of death in this condition. Evidence available currently suggests that the rapid accumulation of ammonia by the brain is the major cause of the central nervous system complications of acute liver failure. Increased brain ammonia may cause cell swelling via the osmotic effects of an increase in astrocytic glutamine concentrations or by inhibition of glutamate removal from brain extracellular space. Acute liver failure results in altered expression of several genes in brain, some of which code for important proteins involved in CNS function such as the glucose (GLUT-1) and glutamate (GLT-1) transporters, the astrocytic structural protein glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) the "peripheral-type" benzodiazepine receptor (PTBR) and the water channel protein, aquaporin IV. Loss of expression of GLT-1 results in increased extracellular brain glutamate in acute liver failure. Experimental acute liver failure also results in post-translational modifications of the serotonin and noradrenaline transporters resulting in increased extracellular concentrations of these monoamines. Therapeutic measures currently used to prevent and treat brain edema and encephalopathy in patients with acute liver failure include mild hypothermia and the ammonia-lowering agent L-ornithine-L-aspartate.
 ...
PMID:Alterations in expression of genes coding for key astrocytic proteins in acute liver failure. 1174 25

Acute liver failure results in encephalopathy and brain edema that is characterized by astrocytic cell swelling. Molecular biological techniques have led to the identification of alterations in expression of several genes coding for key astrocytic proteins in acute liver failure. Such proteins include amino acid transporters, structural proteins, the endothelial cell glucose transporter GLUT-1, the mitochondrial "peripheral-type" benzodiazepine receptor, and the water channel protein aquaporin IV. Magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies reveal increased brain lactate concentrations that are positively correlated with severity of encephalopathy and brain edema in acute liver failure, suggesting a deficit of cellular oxidative capacity and impending brain energy failure. Mild hypothermia prevents brain edema in acute liver failure, and mechanisms responsible for this beneficial effect include reduced blood-brain ammonia transfer as well as normalization of astrocytic amino acid transport and brain energy metabolism. Further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms responsible for brain edema and encephalopathy in acute liver failure will undoubtedly lead to novel treatment strategies for these complications.
 ...
PMID:Molecular neurobiology of acute liver failure. 1452 78

Brain edema and consequent increase in intracranial pressure is a major complication of acute liver failure (ALF) and is a major cause of death in this condition. Rapid accumulation of ammonia in brain has been implicated in the pathogenesis of brain edema in ALF. Increased brain ammonia may cause brain swelling via the osmotic effects of an increase in astrocytic glutamine concentration or by inhibition of glutamate removal from brain extracellular space. Acute liver failure results in altered expression of several genes in the brain, some of which code for proteins involved in central nervous system function such as the glutamate transporter GLT-1, the astrocytic structural protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and the water channel protein, aquaporin IV. Loss of expression of GLT-1 results in increased extracellular brain glutamate. Therapeutic measures currently used to prevent and treat brain edema in acute liver failure include mannitol; strategies aimed at lowering of gut ammonia production are generally ineffective. Studies in experimental animals suggest that mild hypothermia or the use of L-ornithine-L-aspartate may be useful in the prevention of brain edema in these patients.
 ...
PMID:Brain edema in acute liver failure. 1502 58