Background: There are limited data on systemic delivery of metabolic substrates during citrate anticoagulation. The direct citrate measurements are usually not available. Methods: Patients on 2.2% acid-citrate-dextrose (ACD, n = 41) were compared to a control group on unfractionated heparin (n = 17). All were treated on 1.9-m(2) polysulfone filters. ...

Citrate anticoagulation has risen in interest so it is now a real alternative to heparin in the ICUs practice. Citrate provides a regional anticoagulation virtually restricted to extracorporeal circuit, where it acts by chelating ionized calcium. This issue is particularly true in patients ongoing CRRT, when the "continuous" systemic anticoagulation ...

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is a worldwide used analgesic and antipyretic drug. It is metabolised via several metabolic pathways, including glucuronidation, sulfation, oxidation, hydroxylation, and deacetylation: Hepatic and other organ damage may occur, especially in overdose, because of the accumulation of a toxic metabolite. Intersubject and ethnic differences have been reported in ...

Protists that live under low-oxygen conditions often lack conventional mitochondria and instead possess mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs) with distinct biochemical functions. Studies of mostly parasitic organisms have suggested that these organelles could be classified into two general types: hydrogenosomes and mitosomes. Hydrogenosomes, found in parabasalids, anaerobic chytrid fungi, and ciliates, metabolize ...

Pancreastatin is one of the regulatory peptides derived from intracellular and/or extracellular processing of chromogranin A, the soluble acidic protein present in the secretory granules of the neuroendocrine system. While the intracellular functions of chromogranin A include formation and maturation of the secretory granule, the major extracellular functions are generation ...

Cellular folates function as co-enzymes in one-carbon metabolism and are predominantly decorated with a polyglutamate tail that enhances co-enzyme affinity, subcellular compartmentation and stability. Polyglutamylation is catalysed by folylpolyglutamate synthetases (FPGSs) that are specified by three genes in Arabidopsis, FPGS1, 2 and 3, which reportedly encode plastidic, mitochondrial and cytosolic ...

If "bridging" to allo-transplantation (Tx) is to be achieved by a pig liver xenograft, adequate hepatic function needs to be assured. We have studied hepatic function in baboons after Tx of livers from alpha1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout (GTKO, n=1) or GTKO pigs transgenic for CD46 (GTKO/CD46, n=5). Monitoring was by liver function ...

Behavioral circadian rhythms disintegrate progressively in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD), recapitulating the sleep-wake disturbance seen in HD patients. Here we show that disturbances in circadian pacemaking are not restricted to the brain, but also encompass peripheral metabolic pathways in R6/2 mice. Notably, circadian rhythms of clock-driven ...

The effects of a hydroalcoholic extract of Agaricus brasiliensis (A. blazei) on functional parameters in the perfused rat liver were examined with emphasis on its content of nucleotides and nucleosides. Several nucleosides and nucleotides were identified in the A. brasiliensis extract, which was active on several liver functions. A significant ...

Ferulic acid (FA) is a phenolic compound whose neuroprotective activity was extensively studied in vitro. In this study, we provided functional in vivo evidence that FA limits noise-induced hearing loss. Guinea-pigs exposed to acoustic trauma for 1 h exhibited a significant impairment in auditory function; this injury was evident as ...

Previous studies on the change of cardiac autonomic function and insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome recruited subjects with cardiovascular-related disease and defined metabolic abnormality with a more severe cutoff. We explored the alteration of cardiac autonomic function and insulin resistance in predisease community dwellers with different numbers of metabolic abnormalities. ...

The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, harbours a relict plastid known as the 'apicoplast'. The discovery of the apicoplast ushered in an exciting new prospect for drug development against the parasite. The eubacterial ancestry of the organelle offers a wealth of opportunities for the development of therapeutic interventions. Morphological, biochemical and ...

Pancreastatin is one of the regulatory peptides derived from intracellular and/or extracellular processing of chromogranin A, the soluble acidic protein present in the secretory granules of the neuroendocrine system. While the intracellular functions of chromogranin A include formation and maturation of the secretory granule, the major extracellular functions are generation ...

Preoperative fasting induces metabolic stress and leads to reduced postoperative insulin sensitivity, changes attenuated by preoperative carbohydrate loading. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unknown. We investigated the dynamic changes in substrate metabolism and mononuclear cell mitochondrial function after fasting followed by refeeding with a drink [ONS (Fresenius Kabi, ...

The p53 protein functions to prevent tumour development by inhibiting the outgrowth of stressed or damaged cells. In addition to well established functions to block cell proliferation, recent studies have revealed a role for p53 in the regulation of pathways involved in glucose metabolism. The metabolic functions of p53 resist ...

Metabolic physiology and functional neuroimaging have played important and complementary roles over the past two decades. In particular, investigations of the mechanisms underlying functional neuroimaging signals have produced fundamental new insights into hemodynamic and metabolic regulation. However, controversies were also raised as regards the metabolic pathways (oxidative vs. non-oxidative) for ...

Oct-1 is a member of the POU domain transcription factor family. The protein in this family typically contains a bipartite DNA binding domain, in which two sub-domains, covalently connected by a flexible linker, normally recognize DNA through major groove interaction on the opposite sides of the helix. The classical recognition ...

Apicomplexa are unicellular eukaryotic pathogens that carry a vestigial algal endosymbiont, the apicoplast. The physiological function of the apicoplast and its integration into parasite metabolism remain poorly understood and at times controversial. We establish that the Toxoplasma apicoplast membrane-localized phosphate translocator (TgAPT) is an essential metabolic link between the endosymbiont ...

Circadian rhythms govern a remarkable variety of metabolic and physiological functions. Accumulating epidemiological and genetic evidence indicates that the disruption of circadian rhythms might be directly linked to cancer. Intriguingly, several molecular gears constituting the clock machinery have been found to establish functional interplays with regulators of the cell cycle, ...

A patient with valproate-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy presented with altered mental status and hyperammonemia in the context of normal liver functions. Fortunately, altered mental status and elevated plasma ammonia level normalized 1 day after discontinuation of divalproex sodium (Depakote). The case analysis suggests a possible synergistic interaction of valproic acid and ...

Decrease in gray matter metabolism following cranial irradiation has been documented, but the functional relevance of this finding has not been documented. This case of "function-metabolism" mismatch in the striatum following radiation for a grade III frontoparietal glioma demonstrates that the down-regulation of glucose metabolism as demonstrated by F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose ...

Sirtuins are a family of protein deacetylases that catalyze the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))-dependent removal of acetyl groups from modified lysine side chains in various proteins. Sirtuins act as metabolic sensors and influence metabolic adaptation but also many other processes such as stress response mechanisms, gene expression, and organismal aging. ...

Polyamines are ubiquitous small basic molecules that play multiple essential roles in mammalian physiology. Their cellular content is highly regulated and there is convincing evidence that altered metabolism is involvement in many disease states. Drugs altering polyamine levels may therefore have a variety of important targets. This review will summarize ...

l-carnitine is present in mammalian cells as free carnitine and acylcarnitines. The acylcarnitine profile has been shown to be useful in identifying inborn errors of metabolism and to be altered under different metabolic conditions. While carnitine's most widely known function is its involvement in beta-oxidation of fatty acids, it may ...

The epithelial lining of the gastrointestinal tract is the major interface between the external world (e.g., the gut lumen) and the body, and as such the proper maintenance and regulation of epithelial barrier function is a key determinant of digestive health and host well-being. Many enteropathies are associated with increased ...

Contents Puberty is the result of a dynamic interaction between genetic factors and environmental cues, all of which lead to the attainment of reproductive capacity. Thus, significant changes in hormone secretion occur from the pre-pubertal to the pubertal stage. The objective of this review is to provide an update of ...

Metabolic liver function is significantly decreased in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF). The purpose of the study was to evaluate correlation of NT-proBNP with metabolic liver function as assessed with (13)C-methacetin breath test in patients with acute decompensation of chronic heart failure (ADHF). NT-proBNP, (13)C-methacetin breath test and ...

Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) is a highly conserved protein kinase that functions as part of two distinct multiprotein complexes to regulate growth and metabolism. This review describes the most important recent advances in the mTOR signaling field. In addition, we provide an overview on the functions of mTOR in ...

Methylene blue (MB) is a diaminophenothiazine with potent antioxidant and unique redox properties that prevent morphologic degenerative changes in the mouse retina induced by rotenone, a specific mitochondrial complex I inhibitor. This study evaluated pigmented rats to determine whether MB's neuroprotective effects against rotenone-mediated retinal neurotoxicity have functional relevance and ...

Recent body composition analyses, together with assessments of insulin resistance, aerobic fitness, and intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery, have shown that metabolically-benign obese subjects have a similar BMI, waist circumference, and subcutaneous abdominal fat compared with non-metabolically-benign obese subjects. Research has suggested that 25-30% of the obese population ...

The first-degree power-law polynomial function is frequently used to describe activity metabolism for steady swimming animals. This function has been used in hydrodynamics-based metabolic studies to evaluate important parameters of energetic costs, such as the standard metabolic rate and the drag power indices. In theory, however, the power-law polynomial function ...

BACKGROUND: The liver is the central organ for xenobiotic metabolism (XM) and is regulated by nuclear receptors such as CAR and PXR, which control the metabolism of drugs. Here we report that gut microbiota influences liver gene expression and alters xenobiotic metabolism in animals exposed to barbiturates. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By ...

Methylmalonic acidemia is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by defective activity of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MUT) that exhibits multiorgan system pathology. To examine whether mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of this organic acidemia, a background-modified Mut-knockout mouse model was constructed and used to examine mitochondrial ultrastructure and respiratory ...

The applications derived from the concept of tissue engineering have spurred significant interest in the field of regenerative medicine as novel, next generation therapies. Due to a lack of treatment modalities for patients suffering from many forms of liver diseases, recent studies have touted that engineering hepatic tissues de novo ...

Influence of anodic metabolic function viz., aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic on bioelectricity generation was evaluated in single chamber mediatorless microbial fuel cells (non-catalyzed graphite electrodes; open-air cathode) during wastewater treatment under similar operating conditions (pH 7; ambient temperature/pressure). Despite the fluctuations observed, aerobic metabolic function (379 mV; 538 mA/m2) documented ...

Apicomplexans form a large group of obligate intracellular parasites that occupy diverse environmental niches. To adapt to their hosts, these parasites have evolved sophisticated strategies to access host-cell nutrients and minimize exposure to the host's defence mechanisms. Concomitantly, they have drastically reshaped their own metabolic functions by retaining, losing or ...

Efficient in silico screening approaches may provide valuable hints on biological functions of the compound-candidates, which could help to screen functional compounds either in basic researches on metabolic pathways or drug discovery. Here, we introduce a machine learning method (Nearest Neighbor Algorithm) based on functional group composition of compounds to ...

Mutants of Salmonella enterica lacking apbC have nutritional and biochemical properties indicative of defects in [Fe-S] cluster metabolism. Here we show that apbC is required for S. enterica to use tricarballylate as a carbon and energy source. Tricarballylate catabolism requires three gene products, TcuA, TcuB, and TcuC. Of relevance to ...

Microbial activities shape the biogeochemistry of the planet and macroorganism health. Determining the metabolic processes performed by microbes is important both for understanding and for manipulating ecosystems (for example, disruption of key processes that lead to disease, conservation of environmental services, and so on). Describing microbial function is hampered by ...

Hepatocytes, which constitute about 70% of the liver cell population, perform complex metabolic functions such as plasma protein synthesis and transport, xenobiotic metabolism, glucose homeostasis, urea synthesis, and ketogenesis. The process of liver development is marked by distinct changes in mitochondrial mass, activity, and function, especially during the transition from ...

The plasma membrane of cells functions as a barrier to the environment. Caveolae are minute invaginations of the membrane that selectively carry out the exchange of information and materials with the environment, by functioning as organizers of signal transduction and through endocytosis. Recent findings of uptake of different metabolites and ...

Desloratadine, a nonsedating histamine H(1)-receptor antagonist, is metabolized to 3-hydroxy (3-OH) desloratadine. Impaired hepatic function could result in increased exposure to desloratadine. This study assessed possible differences in the pharmacokinetics and safety of desloratadine and 3-OH desloratadine in subjects (N = 21) with moderate hepatic dysfunction or normal liver function. ...

Artificial and bioartificial liver devices aim at replacing some or all liver functions in the cases of end stage or fulminant disorders. Among all of its function, liver plays a key role in detoxification of substances that are hydrosoluble or bound to albumin. In this paper, the authors first reviewed ...

Understanding three-dimensional (3D) hepatobiliary architecture is fundamental to elucidating structure/function relationships relevant to hepatobiliary metabolism, transport, and toxicity. To date, factual information on vertebrate liver architecture in 3 dimensions has remained limited. Applying noninvasive in vivo imaging to a living small fish animal model we elucidated, and present here, the ...

Intuitively, paralogues created by gene duplication should retain related functions. However, a study of the two lactose metabolic operons of Streptococcus pyogenes, reported in this issue of Molecular Microbiology, indicates that paralogues might evolve very different functions, in this case changing from a metabolic enzyme to a regulator of virulence. ...

A bioartificial liver (BAL) will bridge patients with acute liver failure (ALF) to either spontaneous regeneration or liver transplantation. The nitrogen metabolism is important in ALF, and the metabolism of nonparenchymal liver cells (NPCs) is poorly understood. The scope of this study was to investigate whether cocultivation of hepatocytes with ...

Chlamydomonas has traditionally been exploited as an organism that is associated with sophisticated physiological, genetic and molecular analyses, all of which have been used to elucidate several biological processes, especially photosynthesis and flagella function and assembly. Recently, the genomics of Chlamydomonas has been combined with other technologies to unveil new ...

Relations between AI outcome and some metabolic parameters (Urea, Ammonia, Glucose, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, NEFA, -OHT and Progesterone) were assessed in dairy cows. Significant differences were present most of all in the 35-140 days postpartum period. The concentration of haematic Ammonia seem to be a very important factor conditioning AI outcome; ...

Sphingolipid metabolites, ceramide, sphingosine, and sphingosine 1-phosphate, have emerged as a new class of lipid biomodulators of various cell functions. These metabolites are known to function not only as intracellular second messengers, but also in the extracellular space. Sphingosine 1-phosphate especially has numerous functions as an important extracellular mediator that ...

Peroxisomes perform a range of metabolic functions which require the movement of substrates, co-substrates, cofactors and metabolites across the peroxisomal membrane. In this review, we discuss the evidence for and against specific transport systems involved in peroxisomal metabolism and how these operate to co-ordinate biochemical reactions within the peroxisome with ...