@misc{HoffmannKretschmerLawrenzetal.2015,
  author    = {Hoffmann, Linda Sarah and Kretschmer, Axel and Lawrenz, Bettina and Hocher, Berthold and Stasch, Johannes-Peter},
  title     = {Chronic activation of heme free Guanylate Cyclase leads to renal protection in Dahl salt-sensitive rats},
  series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  journal   = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch naturwissenschaftliche Reihe},
  number    = {489},
  issn      = {1866-8372},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-408088},
  pages     = {17},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {The nitric oxide (NO)/soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)/cyclic guanosine monophasphate (cGMP)-signalling pathway is impaired under oxidative stress conditions due to oxidation and subsequent loss of the prosthetic sGC heme group as observed in particular in chronic renal failure. Thus, the pool of heme free sGC is increased under pathological conditions. sGC activators such as cinaciguat selectively activate the heme free form of sGC and target the disease associated enzyme. In this study, a therapeutic effect of long-term activation of heme free sGC by the sGC activator cinaciguat was investigated in an experimental model of salt-sensitive hypertension, a condition that is associated with increased oxidative stress, heme loss from sGC and development of chronic renal failure. For that purpose Dahl/ss rats, which develop severe hypertension upon high salt intake, were fed a high salt diet (8\% NaCl) containing either placebo or cinaciguat for 21 weeks. Cinaciguat markedly improved survival and ameliorated the salt-induced increase in blood pressure upon treatment with cinaciguat compared to placebo. Renal function was significantly improved in the cinaciguat group compared to the placebo group as indicated by a significantly improved glomerular filtration rate and reduced urinary protein excretion. This was due to anti-fibrotic and antiinflammatory effects of the cinaciguat treatment. Taken together, this is the first study showing that long-term activation of heme free sGC leads to renal protection in an experimental model of hypertension and chronic kidney disease. These results underline the promising potential of cinaciguat to treat renal diseases by targeting the disease associated heme free form of sGC.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{GroopCooperPerkovicetal.2015,
  author    = {Groop, Per-Henrik and Cooper, Mark E. and Perkovic, Vlado and Sharma, Kumar and Schernthaner, Guntram and Haneda, Masakazu and Hocher, Berthold and Gordat, Maud and Cescutti, Jessica and Woerle, Hans-Juergen and von Eynatten, Maximilian},
  title     = {Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition with linagliptin and effects on hyperglycaemia and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes and renal dysfunction},
  series = {Diabetes \& vascular disease research},
  journal   = {Diabetes \& vascular disease research},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-404460},
  pages     = {8},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Efficacy, Safety \& Modification of Albuminuria in Type 2 Diabetes Subjects with Renal Disease with LINAgliptin (MARLINA-T2D), a multicentre, multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, phase 3b clinical trial, aims to further define the potential renal effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition beyond glycaemic control. A total of 350 eligible individuals with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes and evidence of renal disease are planned to be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either linagliptin 5mg or placebo in addition to their stable glucose-lowering background therapy for 24weeks. Two predefined main endpoints will be tested in a hierarchical manner: (1) change from baseline in glycated haemoglobin and (2) time-weighted average of percentage change from baseline in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio. Both endpoints are sufficiently powered to test for superiority versus placebo after 24weeks with =0.05. MARLINA-T2D is the first of its class to prospectively explore both the glucose- and albuminuria-lowering potential of a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor in patients with type 2 diabetes and evidence of renal disease.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{DschietzigKrauseRelleHennequinetal.2015,
  author    = {Dschietzig, Thomas Bernd and Krause-Relle, Katharina and Hennequin, Maud and von Websky, Karoline and Rahnenfuhrer, Jan and Ruppert, Jana and Groena, Hans Juergen and Armbruster, Franz Paul and Bathgate, Ross A. D. and Aschenbach, Joerg R. and Forssmann, Wolf-Georg and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Relaxin-2 does not Ameliorate Nephropathy in an experimental model of Type-1 Diabetes},
  series = {Kidney \& blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Nephrologie},
  volume    = {40},
  journal   = {Kidney \& blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Nephrologie},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Karger},
  address   = {Basel},
  issn      = {1420-4096},
  doi       = {10.1159/000368484},
  pages     = {77 -- 88},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Background/Aims: In diabetic nephropathy (DN), the current angiotensin-II-blocking pharmacotherapy is frequently failing. For diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC), there is no specific remedy available. Relaxin-2 (Rlx) - an anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory, and vasoprotecting peptide - is a candidate drug for both. Methods: Low-dose (32 mu g/kg/day) and high-dose (320 mu g/kg/day) Rlx were tested against vehicle (n = 20 each) and non-diabetic controls (n = 14) for 12 weeks in a model of type-1 diabetes induced in endothelial nitric oxide synthase knock-out (eNOS-KO) mice by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Results: Diabetic animals showed normal plasma creatinine, markedly increased albuminuria and urinary malonyldialdehyde, elevated relative kidney weight, glomerulosclerosis, and increased glomerular size, but no relevant interstitial fibrosis. Neither dose of Rlx affected these changes although the drug was active and targeted plasma levels were achieved. Of note, we found no activation of the renal TGF-beta pathway in this model. In the hearts of diabetic animals, no fibrotic alterations indicative of DC could be determined which precluded testing of the initial hypothesis. Conclusions: We investigated a model showing early DN without overt tubulo-interstitial fibrosis and activation of the TGF-beta-Smad-2/3 pathway. In this model, Rlx proved ineffective; however, the same may not apply to other models and types of diabetes.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PengZhuDongetal.2015,
  author    = {Peng, Tao and Zhu, Ganghua and Dong, Yunpeng and Zeng, Junjie and Li, Wei and Guo, Weiwei and Chen, Yong and Duan, Maoli and Hocher, Berthold and Xie, Dinghua},
  title     = {BMP4: a possible key factor in differentiation of auditory neuron-like cells from bone-derived mesenchymal stromal cells},
  series = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion},
  volume    = {61},
  journal   = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion},
  number    = {9},
  publisher = {Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor},
  address   = {Heidelberg},
  issn      = {1433-6510},
  doi       = {10.7754/Clin.Lab.2015.150217},
  pages     = {1171 -- 1178},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Background: Previous studies have shown that BMP4 may play an important part in the development of auditory neurons (ANs), which are degenerated in sensorineural hearing loss. However, whether BMP4 can promote sensory fate specification from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) is unknown so far. Methods: MSCs isolated from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were confirmed by expression of MSC markers using flow cytometry and adipogenesis/osteogenesis using differentiation assays. MSCs treated with a complex of neurotrophic factors (BMP4 group and non-BMP4 group) were induced into auditory neuron-like cells, then the differences between the two groups were analyzed in morphological observation, cell growth curve, qRT-PCR, and immunofluorescence. Results: Flow cytometric analysis showed that the isolated cells expressed typical MSC surface markers. After adipogenic and osteogenic induction, the cells were stained by oil red O and Alizarin Red. The neuronal induced cells were in the growth plateau and had special forms of neurons. In the presence of BMP4, the inner ear genes NF-M, Neurog1, GluR4, NeuroD, Calretinin, NeuN, Tau, and GATA3 were up-regulated in MSCs. Conclusions: MSCs have the capacity to differentiate into auditory neuron-like cells in vitro. As an effective inducer, BMP4 may play a key role in transdifferentiation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{TsuprykovChaykovskaKretschmeretal.2015,
  author    = {Tsuprykov, Oleg and Chaykovska, Lyubov and Kretschmer, Axel and Stasch, Johannes-Peter and Pfab, Thiemo and Krause-Relle, Katharina and Reichetzeder, Christoph and Kalk, Philipp and Adamski, Jerzy and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Endothelin-1 overexpression improves renal function in eNOS knockout mice},
  series = {Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology},
  volume    = {37},
  journal   = {Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {Karger},
  address   = {Basel},
  issn      = {1015-8987},
  doi       = {10.1159/000438516},
  pages     = {1474 -- 1490},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Background/Aims: To investigate the renal phenotype under conditions of an activated renal ET-1 system in the status of nitric oxide deficiency, we compared kidney function and morphology in wild-type, ET-1 transgenic (ET+/+), endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout (eNOS-/-) and ET+/+eNOS-/- mice. Methods: We assessed blood pressure, parameters of renal morphology, plasma cystatin C, urinary protein excretion, expression of genes associated with glomerular filtration barrier and tissue remodeling, and plasma metabolites using metabolomics. Results: eNOS-/- and ET+/+eNOS-/- mice developed hypertension. Osteopontin, albumin and protein excretion were increased in eNOS-/- and restored in ET+/+eNOS-/- animals. All genetically modified mice developed renal interstitial fibrosis and glomerulosclerosis. Genes involved in tissue remodeling (serpinel, TIMP1, Collal, CCL2) were up-regulated in eNOS-/-, but not in ET+/+eNOS-/- mice. Plasma levels of free carnitine and acylcarnitines, amino acids, diacyl phosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylcholines and hexoses were descreased in eNOS-/- and were in the normal range in ET+/+eNOS-/- mice. Conclusion: eNOS-/- mice developed renal dysfunction, which was partially rescued by ET-1 overexpression in eNOS-/- mice. The metabolomics results suggest that ET-1 overexpression on top of eNOS knockout is associated with a functional recovery of mitochondria (rescue effect in 13-oxidation of fatty acids) and an increase in antioxidative properties (normalization of monounsaturated fatty acids levels). (C) 2015 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{vanderValkKreinerMollerKooijmanetal.2015,
  author    = {van der Valk, Ralf J. P. and Kreiner-Moller, Eskil and Kooijman, Marjolein N. and Guxens, Monica and Stergiakouli, Evangelia and Saaf, Annika and Bradfield, Jonathan P. and Geller, Frank and Hayes, M. Geoffrey and Cousminer, Diana L. and Koerner, Antje and Thiering, Elisabeth and Curtin, John A. and Myhre, Ronny and Huikari, Ville and Joro, Raimo and Kerkhof, Marjan and Warrington, Nicole M. and Pitkanen, Niina and Ntalla, Ioanna and Horikoshi, Momoko and Veijola, Riitta and Freathy, Rachel M. and Teo, Yik-Ying and Barton, Sheila J. and Evans, David M. and Kemp, John P. and St Pourcain, Beate and Ring, Susan M. and Smith, George Davey and Bergstrom, Anna and Kull, Inger and Hakonarson, Hakon and Mentch, Frank D. and Bisgaard, Hans and Chawes, Bo Lund Krogsgaard and Stokholm, Jakob and Waage, Johannes and Eriksen, Patrick and Sevelsted, Astrid and Melbye, Mads and van Duijn, Cornelia M. and Medina-Gomez, Carolina and Hofman, Albert and de Jongste, Johan C. and Taal, H. Rob and Uitterlinden, Andre G. and Armstrong, Loren L. and Eriksson, Johan and Palotie, Aarno and Bustamante, Mariona and Estivill, Xavier and Gonzalez, Juan R. and Llop, Sabrina and Kiess, Wieland and Mahajan, Anubha and Flexeder, Claudia and Tiesler, Carla M. T. and Murray, Clare S. and Simpson, Angela and Magnus, Per and Sengpiel, Verena and Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa and Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka and Lewin, Alexandra and Alves, Alexessander Da Silva Couto and Blakemore, Alexandra I. F. and Buxton, Jessica L. and Kaakinen, Marika and Rodriguez, Alina and Sebert, Sylvain and Vaarasmaki, Marja and Lakka, Timo and Lindi, Virpi and Gehring, Ulrike and Postma, Dirkje S. and Ang, Wei and Newnham, John P. and Lyytikainen, Leo-Pekka and Pahkala, Katja and Raitakari, Olli T. and Panoutsopoulou, Kalliope and Zeggini, Eleftheria and Boomsma, Dorret I. and Groen-Blokhuis, Maria and Ilonen, Jorma and Franke, Lude and Hirschhorn, Joel N. and Pers, Tune H. and Liang, Liming and Huang, Jinyan and Hocher, Berthold and Knip, Mikael and Saw, Seang-Mei and Holloway, John W. and Melen, Erik and Grant, Struan F. A. and Feenstra, Bjarke and Lowe, William L. and Widen, Elisabeth and Sergeyev, Elena and Grallert, Harald and Custovic, Adnan and Jacobsson, Bo and Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta and Atalay, Mustafa and Koppelman, Gerard H. and Pennell, Craig E. and Niinikoski, Harri and Dedoussis, George V. and Mccarthy, Mark I. and Frayling, Timothy M. and Sunyer, Jordi and Timpson, Nicholas J. and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Bonnelykke, Klaus and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V.},
  title     = {A novel common variant in DCST2 is associated with length in early life and height in adulthood},
  series = {Human molecular genetics},
  volume    = {24},
  journal   = {Human molecular genetics},
  number    = {4},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  organization    = {Early Genetics Lifecourse, Genetic Invest ANthropometric, Early Growth Genetics EGG},
  issn      = {0964-6906},
  doi       = {10.1093/hmg/ddu510},
  pages     = {1155 -- 1168},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Common genetic variants have been identified for adult height, but not much is known about the genetics of skeletal growth in early life. To identify common genetic variants that influence fetal skeletal growth, we meta-analyzed 22 genome-wide association studies (Stage 1; N = 28 459). We identified seven independent top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (P < 1 x 10(-6)) for birth length, of which three were novel and four were in or near loci known to be associated with adult height (LCORL, PTCH1, GPR126 and HMGA2). The three novel SNPs were followed-up in nine replication studies (Stage 2; N = 11 995), with rs905938 in DC-STAMP domain containing 2 (DCST2) genome-wide significantly associated with birth length in a joint analysis (Stages 1 + 2; beta = 0.046, SE = 0.008, P = 2.46 x 10(-8), explained variance = 0.05\%). Rs905938 was also associated with infant length (N = 28 228; P = 5.54 x 10(-4)) and adult height (N = 127 513; P = 1.45 x 10(-5)). DCST2 is a DC-STAMP-like protein family member and DC-STAMP is an osteoclast cell-fusion regulator. Polygenic scores based on 180 SNPs previously associated with human adult stature explained 0.13\% of variance in birth length. The same SNPs explained 2.95\% of the variance of infant length. Of the 180 known adult height loci, 11 were genome-wide significantly associated with infant length (SF3B4, LCORL, SPAG17, C6orf173, PTCH1, GDF5, ZNFX1, HHIP, ACAN, HLA locus and HMGA2). This study highlights that common variation in DCST2 influences variation in early growth and adult height.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{OngvonWebskyHocher2015,
  author    = {Ong, Albert C. M. and von Websky, Karoline and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Endothelin and Tubulointerstitial Renal Disease},
  series = {Seminars in nephrology},
  volume    = {35},
  journal   = {Seminars in nephrology},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Philadelphia},
  issn      = {0270-9295},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.semnephrol.2015.03.004},
  pages     = {197 -- 207},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {All components of the endothelin (ET) system are present in renal tubular cells. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about ET and the most common tubular diseases: acute kidney injury (AKI) and polycystic kidney disease. AKI originally was called acute tubular necrosis, pointing to the most prominent morphologic findings. Similarly, cysts in polycystic kidney disease, and especially in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease, are of tubular origin. Preclinical studies have indicated that the ET system and particularly ETA receptors are involved in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion injury, although these findings have not been translated to clinical studies. The ET system also has been implicated in radiocontrast-dye-induced AKI, however, ET-receptor blockade in a large human study was not successful. The ET system is activated in sepsis models of AKI; the effectiveness of ET blocking agents in preclinical studies is variable depending on the model and the ET-receptor antagonist used. Numerous studies have shown that the ET system plays an important role in the complex pathophysiology associated with cyst formation and disease progression in polycystic kidney disease. However, results from selective targeting of ET-receptor subtypes in animal models of polycystic kidney disease have proved disappointing and do not support clinical trials. These studies have shown that a critical balance between ETA and ETB receptor action is necessary to maintain structure and function in the cystic kidney. In summary, ETs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several renal tubulointerstitial diseases, however, experimental animal findings have not yet led to use of ET blockers in human beings. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.},
  language  = {en}
}
@inproceedings{ChenReichetzederFoelleretal.2015,
  author    = {Chen, Hong and Reichetzeder, Christoph and F{\"o}ller, Michael and Slowinski, Torsten and Li, Jian and Chen, You-Peng and Lang, Florian and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Maternal vitamin D deficiency and fetal programming},
  series = {Acta physiologica : official journal of the Federation of European Physiological Societies},
  volume    = {213},
  booktitle = {Acta physiologica : official journal of the Federation of European Physiological Societies},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {1748-1708},
  pages     = {155 -- 156},
  year      = {2015},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{StaschSchlossmannHocher2015,
  author    = {Stasch, Johannes-Peter and Schlossmann, Jens and Hocher, Berthold},
  title     = {Renal effects of soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators and activators: A review of the preclinical evidence},
  series = {Current opinion in pharmacology},
  volume    = {21},
  journal   = {Current opinion in pharmacology},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {1471-4892},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.coph.2014.12.014},
  pages     = {95 -- 104},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Direct stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is emerging as a potential new approach for the treatment of renal disorders. sGC catalyzes the formation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), deficiency of which is implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, new classes of drugs sGC stimulators and activators are being investigated in preclinical models under conditions where nitric oxide is deficient. In preclinical models with different etiologies of CKD, the sGC stimulators BAY 41-2272, BAY 41-8543, BAY 60-4552, riociguat and vericiguat and the sGC activators cinaciguat, ataciguat, BI 703704 and GSK2181236A have shown consistently renoprotective effects. Clinical trials are required to confirm these findings in humans, and to ascertain whether these agents could provide a future alternative to guideline-recommended treatments.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{ZirafiKimStaendkeretal.2015,
  author    = {Zirafi, Onofrio and Kim, Kyeong-Ae and St{\"a}ndker, Ludger and Mohr, Katharina B. and Sauter, Daniel and Heigele, Anke and Kluge, Silvia F. and Wiercinska, Eliza and Chudziak, Doreen and Richter, Rudolf and M{\"o}pps, Barbara and Gierschik, Peter and Vas, Virag and Geiger, Hartmut and Lamla, Markus and Weil, Tanja and Burster, Timo and Zgraja, Andreas and Daubeuf, Francois and Frossard, Nelly and Hachet-Haas, Muriel and Heunisch, Fabian and Reichetzeder, Christoph and Galzi, Jean-Luc and Perez-Castells, Javier and Canales-Mayordomo, Angeles and Jimenez-Barbero, Jesus and Gimenez-Gallego, Guillermo and Schneider, Marion and Shorter, James and Telenti, Amalio and Hocher, Berthold and Forssmann, Wolf-Georg and Bonig, Halvard and Kirchhoff, Frank and M{\"u}nch, Jan},
  title     = {Discovery and Characterization of an Endogenous CXCR4 Antagonist},
  series = {Cell reports},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {Cell reports},
  number    = {5},
  publisher = {Cell Press},
  address   = {Cambridge},
  issn      = {2211-1247},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.celrep.2015.03.061},
  pages     = {737 -- 747},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling controls multiple physiological processes and its dysregulation is associated with cancers and inflammatory diseases. To discover as-yet-unknown endogenous ligands of CXCR4, we screened a blood-derived peptide library for inhibitors of CXCR4-tropic HIV-1 strains. This approach identified a 16 amino acid fragment of serum albumin as an effective and highly specific CXCR4 antagonist. The endogenous peptide, termed EPI-X4, is evolutionarily conserved and generated from the highly abundant albumin precursor by pH-regulated proteases. EPI-X4 forms an unusual lasso-like structure and antagonizes CXCL12-induced tumor cell migration, mobilizes stem cells, and suppresses inflammatory responses in mice. Furthermore, the peptide is abundant in the urine of patients with inflammatory kidney diseases and may serve as a biomarker. Our results identify EPI-X4 as a key regulator of CXCR4 signaling and introduce proteolysis of an abundant precursor protein as an alternative concept for chemokine receptor regulation.},
  language  = {en}
}