@article{VignonZellwegerRahnenfuehrerTheuringetal.2012, author = {Vignon-Zellweger, Nicolas and Rahnenf{\"u}hrer, Jan and Theuring, Franz and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {Analysis of cardiac and renal endothelin receptors by in situ hybridization in mice}, series = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, volume = {58}, journal = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, number = {9-10}, publisher = {Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1433-6510}, doi = {10.7754/Clin.Lab.2012.120216}, pages = {939 -- 949}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a multifunctional peptide, which is implicated in the renal and cardiac physicology as well as in many pathologies of these systems. ET-1's actions take place after the activation of two receptors: ETA and ETB. The expression of these receptors may be modulated during the pathologic process. The analysis of the distribution and level of expression of the receptors in animal models is therefore crucial. Methods: We developed a protocol for non-radioactive in situ hybridization for the mRNA of the two endothelin receptors on paraffin-embedded tissue using digoxigenin-labeled RNA probes. Results: In heart and kidney, the staining was reliable and specific. In a mouse model for endothelin/nitric oxide imbalance, cardiac ETB expression was reduced. The distribution of the receptors was in accordance with the actual knowledge. Differences in cell specific expression are discussed. Conclusions: We developed a protocol for the in situ hybridization of the endothelin receptors in mice. Given that the endothelin system is implicated in the development of many diseases, we believe that this protocol may be useful for a number of future preclinical studies.}, language = {en} } @article{LiWangChenetal.2012, author = {Li, Jian and Wang, Zi-Neng and Chen, You-Peng and Dong, Yun-Peng and Mao, Xiao-Min and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {Association of fetal but not maternal P-glycoprotein C3435T polymorphism with fetal growth and birth weight, a possible risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in later life}, series = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, volume = {58}, journal = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, number = {9-10}, publisher = {Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1433-6510}, doi = {10.7754/Clin.Lab.2012.110920}, pages = {1085 -- 1089}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: The multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein (PGP) is expressed in the human placenta. In particular the C3435T ABCB1 polymorphism was associated with altered tissue expression of PGP in the human placenta. However, the potential functional impact of this polymorphism on the offspring is unknown so far. Methods: We analyzed the impact of the ABCB1/C3435T polymorphism on fetal growth in 262 mother/child pairs. Fetal growth was assessed by differential ultrasound examination of the fetal body prior to birth and by measuring birth weight. Results: The maternal ABCB1/C3435T polymorphism showed no trend for an association with birth weight or any ultrasound parameter describing late gestational fetal body shape. Genotyping the newborns, however, demonstrated that newborns carrying two copies of the T allele had a birth weight of 3176.39 g, whereas CT and CC newborns had a birth weight of 3345.04 g (p = 0.022). Adjusting for gestational age at delivery, child's gender, maternal BM1, maternal age and body weight at delivery confirmed this finding (p = 0.009). Considering gestational day of late ultrasound examination, gestational age at delivery, child's gender, maternal BMI, maternal age and maternal body weight at delivery, the fetal ABCB1/C3435T genotype revealed likewise a significant negative correlation with abdominal diameter and abdominal circumference (R-2 = 0.538, p = 0.010 and R-2 = 0.534, p = 0.005, respectively). Conclusions: Low birth weight may be a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in later life. The fetal ABCB1/C3435T gene polymorphism may contribute to this risk. Since PGP controls transport of various biological agents, we suggest that PGP is involved in the transport of biological agents to the fetus that are important for normal fetal growth.}, language = {en} } @article{TaalStPourcainThieringetal.2012, author = {Taal, H. Rob and St Pourcain, Beate and Thiering, Elisabeth and Das, Shikta and Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O. and Warrington, Nicole M. and Kaakinen, Marika and Kreiner-Moller, Eskil and Bradfield, Jonathan P. and Freathy, Rachel M. and Geller, Frank and Guxens, Monica and Cousminer, Diana L. and Kerkhof, Marjan and Timpson, Nicholas J. and Ikram, M. Arfan and Beilin, Lawrence J. and Bonnelykke, Klaus and Buxton, Jessica L. and Charoen, Pimphen and Chawes, Bo Lund Krogsgaard and Eriksson, Johan and Evans, David M. and Hofman, Albert and Kemp, John P. and Kim, Cecilia E. and Klopp, Norman and Lahti, Jari and Lye, Stephen J. and McMahon, George and Mentch, Frank D. and Mueller-Nurasyid, Martina and O'Reilly, Paul F. and Prokopenko, Inga and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Steegers, Eric A. P. and Sunyer, Jordi and Tiesler, Carla and Yaghootkar, Hanieh and Breteler, Monique M. B. and Debette, Stephanie and Fornage, Myriam and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Launer, Lenore J. and van der Lugt, Aad and Mosley, Thomas H. and Seshadri, Sudha and Smith, Albert V. and Vernooij, Meike W. and Blakemore, Alexandra I. F. and Chiavacci, Rosetta M. and Feenstra, Bjarke and Fernandez-Banet, Julio and Grant, Struan F. A. and Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa and van der Heijden, Albert J. and Iniguez, Carmen and Lathrop, Mark and McArdle, Wendy L. and Molgaard, Anne and Newnham, John P. and Palmer, Lyle J. and Palotie, Aarno and Pouta, Annneli and Ring, Susan M. and Sovio, Ulla and Standl, Marie and Uitterlinden, Andre G. and Wichmann, H-Erich and Vissing, Nadja Hawwa and DeCarli, Charles and van Duijn, Cornelia M. and McCarthy, Mark I. and Koppelman, Gerard H. and Estivill, Xavier and Hattersley, Andrew T. and Melbye, Mads and Bisgaard, Hans and Pennell, Craig E. and Widen, Elisabeth and Hakonarson, Hakon and Smith, George Davey and Heinrich, Joachim and Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. and Adair, Linda S. and Ang, Wei and Atalay, Mustafa and van Beijsterveldt, Toos and Bergen, Nienke and Benke, Kelly and Berry, Diane J. and Bradfield, Jonathan P. and Charoen, Pimphen and Coin, Lachlan and Cousminer, Diana L. and Das, Shikta and Davis, Oliver S. P. and Elliott, Paul and Evans, David M. and Feenstra, Bjarke and Flexeder, Claudia and Frayling, Tim and Freathy, Rachel M. and Gaillard, Romy and Geller, Frank and Groen-Blokhuis, Maria and Goh, Liang-Kee and Guxens, Monica and Haworth, Claire M. A. and Hadley, Dexter and Hebebrand, Johannes and Hinney, Anke and Hirschhorn, Joel N. and Holloway, John W. and Holst, Claus and Hottenga, Jouke Jan and Horikoshi, Momoko and Huikari, Ville and Hypponen, Elina and Iniguez, Carmen and Kaakinen, Marika and Kilpelainen, Tuomas O. and Kirin, Mirna and Kowgier, Matthew and Lakka, Hanna-Maaria and Lange, Leslie A. and Lawlor, Debbie A. and Lehtimaki, Terho and Lewin, Alex and Lindgren, Cecilia and Lindi, Virpi and Maggi, Reedik and Marsh, Julie and Middeldorp, Christel and Millwood, Iona and Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O. and Murray, Jeffrey C. and Nivard, Michel and Nohr, Ellen Aagaard and Ntalla, Ioanna and Oken, Emily and O'Reilly, Paul F. and Palmer, Lyle J. and Panoutsopoulou, Kalliope and Pararajasingham, Jennifer and Prokopenko, Inga and Rodriguez, Alina and Salem, Rany M. and Sebert, Sylvain and Siitonen, Niina and Sovio, Ulla and St Pourcain, Beate and Strachan, David P. and Sunyer, Jordi and Taal, H. Rob and Teo, Yik-Ying and Thiering, Elisabeth and Tiesler, Carla and Uitterlinden, Andre G. and Valcarcel, Beatriz and Warrington, Nicole M. and White, Scott and Willemsen, Gonneke and Yaghootkar, Hanieh and Zeggini, Eleftheria and Boomsma, Dorret I. and Cooper, Cyrus and Estivill, Xavier and Gillman, Matthew and Grant, Struan F. A. and Hakonarson, Hakon and Hattersley, Andrew T. and Heinrich, Joachim and Hocher, Berthold and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. and Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta and Lakka, Timo A. and McCarthy, Mark I. and Melbye, Mads and Mohlke, Karen L. and Dedoussis, George V. and Ong, Ken K. and Pearson, Ewan R. and Pennell, Craig E. and Price, Thomas S. and Power, Chris and Raitakari, Olli T. and Saw, Seang-Mei and Scherag, Andre and Simell, Olli and Sorensen, Thorkild I. A. and Timpson, Nicholas J. and Widen, Elisabeth and Wilson, James F. and Ang, Wei and van Beijsterveldt, Toos and Bergen, Nienke and Benke, Kelly and Berry, Diane J. and Bradfield, Jonathan P. and Charoen, Pimphen and Coin, Lachlan and Cousminer, Diana L. and Das, Shikta and Elliott, Paul and Evans, David M. and Frayling, Tim and Freathy, Rachel M. and Gaillard, Romy and Groen-Blokhuis, Maria and Guxens, Monica and Hadley, Dexter and Hottenga, Jouke Jan and Huikari, Ville and Hypponen, Elina and Kaakinen, Marika and Kowgier, Matthew and Lawlor, Debbie A. and Lewin, Alex and Lindgren, Cecilia and Marsh, Julie and Middeldorp, Christel and Millwood, Iona and Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O. and Nivard, Michel and O'Reilly, Paul F. and Palmer, Lyle J. and Prokopenko, Inga and Rodriguez, Alina and Sebert, Sylvain and Sovio, Ulla and St Pourcain, Beate and Standl, Marie and Strachan, David P. and Sunyer, Jordi and Taal, H. Rob and Thiering, Elisabeth and Tiesler, Carla and Uitterlinden, Andre G. and Valcarcel, Beatriz and Warrington, Nicole M. and White, Scott and Willemsen, Gonneke and Yaghootkar, Hanieh and Boomsma, Dorret I. and Estivill, Xavier and Grant, Struan F. A. and Hakonarson, Hakon and Hattersley, Andrew T. and Heinrich, Joachim and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. and Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta and McCarthy, Mark I. and Pennell, Craig E. and Power, Chris and Timpson, Nicholas J. and Widen, Elisabeth and Ikram, M. Arfan and Fornage, Myriam and Smith, Albert V. and Seshadri, Sudha and Schmidt, Reinhold and Debette, Stephanie and Vrooman, Henri A. and Sigurdsson, Sigurdur and Ropele, Stefan and Coker, Laura H. and Longstreth, W. T. and Niessen, Wiro J. and DeStefano, Anita L. and Beiser, Alexa and Zijdenbos, Alex P. and Struchalin, Maksim and Jack, Clifford R. and Nalls, Mike A. and Au, Rhoda and Hofman, Albert and Gudnason, Haukur and van der Lugt, Aad and Harris, Tamara B. and Meeks, William M. and Vernooij, Meike W. and van Buchem, Mark A. and Catellier, Diane and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Windham, B. Gwen and Wolf, Philip A. and van Duijn, Cornelia M. and Mosley, Thomas H. and Schmidt, Helena and Launer, Lenore J. and Breteler, Monique M. B. and DeCarli, Charles}, title = {Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference}, series = {Nature genetics}, volume = {44}, journal = {Nature genetics}, number = {5}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {New York}, organization = {Cohorts Heart Aging Res Genetic Ep, Early Genetics Lifecourse Epidemio, Early Growth Genetics EGG Consorti}, issn = {1061-4036}, doi = {10.1038/ng.2238}, pages = {532 -- +}, year = {2012}, abstract = {To identify genetic variants associated with head circumference in infancy, we performed a meta-analysis of seven genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (N = 10,768 individuals of European ancestry enrolled in pregnancy and/or birth cohorts) and followed up three lead signals in six replication studies (combined N = 19,089). rs7980687 on chromosome 12q24 (P = 8.1 x 10(-9)) and rs1042725 on chromosome 12q15 (P = 2.8 x 10(-10)) were robustly associated with head circumference in infancy. Although these loci have previously been associated with adult height(1), their effects on infant head circumference were largely independent of height (P = 3.8 x 10(-7) for rs7980687 and P = 1.3 x 10(-7) for rs1042725 after adjustment for infant height). A third signal, rs11655470 on chromosome 17q21, showed suggestive evidence of association with head circumference (P = 3.9 x 10(-6)). SNPs correlated to the 17q21 signal have shown genome-wide association with adult intracranial volume(2), Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases(3-5), indicating that a common genetic variant in this region might link early brain growth with neurological disease in later life.}, language = {en} } @article{IkramFornageSmithetal.2012, author = {Ikram, M. Arfan and Fornage, Myriam and Smith, Albert V. and Seshadri, Sudha and Schmidt, Reinhold and Debette, Stephanie and Vrooman, Henri A. and Sigurdsson, Sigurdur and Ropele, Stefan and Taal, H. Rob and Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O. and Coker, Laura H. and Longstreth, W. T. and Niessen, Wiro J. and DeStefano, Anita L. and Beiser, Alexa and Zijdenbos, Alex P. and Struchalin, Maksim and Jack, Clifford R. and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Uitterlinden, Andre G. and Knopman, David S. and Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa and Pennell, Craig E. and Thiering, Elisabeth and Steegers, Eric A. P. and Hakonarson, Hakon and Heinrich, Joachim and Palmer, Lyle J. and Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta and McCarthy, Mark I. and Grant, Struan F. A. and St Pourcain, Beate and Timpson, Nicholas J. and Smith, George Davey and Sovio, Ulla and Nalls, Mike A. and Au, Rhoda and Hofman, Albert and Gudnason, Haukur and van der Lugt, Aad and Harris, Tamara B. and Meeks, William M. and Vernooij, Meike W. and van Buchem, Mark A. and Catellier, Diane and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Windham, B. Gwen and Wolf, Philip A. and van Duijn, Cornelia M. and Mosley, Thomas H. and Schmidt, Helena and Launer, Lenore J. and Breteler, Monique M. B. and DeCarli, Charles and Adair, Linda S. and Ang, Wei and Atalay, Mustafa and vanBeijsterveldt, Toos and Bergen, Nienke and Benke, Kelly and Berry, Diane J. and Coin, Lachlan and Davis, Oliver S. P. and Elliott, Paul and Flexeder, Claudia and Frayling, Tim and Gaillard, Romy and Groen-Blokhuis, Maria and Goh, Liang-Kee and Haworth, Claire M. A. and Hadley, Dexter and Hebebrand, Johannes and Hinney, Anke and Hirschhorn, Joel N. and Holloway, John W. and Holst, Claus and Hottenga, Jouke Jan and Horikoshi, Momoko and Huikari, Ville and Hypponen, Elina and Kilpelainen, Tuomas O. and Kirin, Mirna and Kowgier, Matthew and Lakka, Hanna-Maaria and Lange, Leslie A. and Lawlor, Debbie A. and Lehtimaki, Terho and Lewin, Alex and Lindgren, Cecilia and Lindi, Virpi and Maggi, Reedik and Marsh, Julie and Middeldorp, Christel and Millwood, Iona and Murray, Jeffrey C. and Nivard, Michel and Nohr, Ellen Aagaard and Ntalla, Ioanna and Oken, Emily and Panoutsopoulou, Kalliope and Pararajasingham, Jennifer and Rodriguez, Alina and Salem, Rany M. and Sebert, Sylvain and Siitonen, Niina and Strachan, David P. and Teo, Yik-Ying and Valcarcel, Beatriz and Willemsen, Gonneke and Zeggini, Eleftheria and Boomsma, Dorret I. and Cooper, Cyrus and Gillman, Matthew and Hocher, Berthold and Lakka, Timo A. and Mohlke, Karen L. and Dedoussis, George V. and Ong, Ken K. and Pearson, Ewan R. and Price, Thomas S. and Power, Chris and Raitakari, Olli T. and Saw, Seang-Mei and Scherag, Andre and Simell, Olli and Sorensen, Thorkild I. A. and Wilson, James F.}, title = {Common variants at 6q22 and 17q21 are associated with intracranial volume}, series = {Nature genetics}, volume = {44}, journal = {Nature genetics}, number = {5}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {New York}, organization = {Early Growth Genetics EGG Consorti, Cohorts Heart Aging Res Genomic Ep}, issn = {1061-4036}, doi = {10.1038/ng.2245}, pages = {539 -- +}, year = {2012}, abstract = {During aging, intracranial volume remains unchanged and represents maximally attained brain size, while various interacting biological phenomena lead to brain volume loss. Consequently, intracranial volume and brain volume in late life reflect different genetic influences. Our genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 8,175 community-dwelling elderly persons did not reveal any associations at genome-wide significance (P < 5 x 10(-8)) for brain volume. In contrast, intracranial volume was significantly associated with two loci: rs4273712 (P = 3.4 x 10(-11)), a known height-associated locus on chromosome 6q22, and rs9915547 (P = 1.5 x 10(-12)), localized to the inversion on chromosome 17q21. We replicated the associations of these loci with intracranial volume in a separate sample of 1,752 elderly persons (P = 1.1 x 10(-3) for 6q22 and 1.2 x 10(-3) for 17q21). Furthermore, we also found suggestive associations of the 17q21 locus with head circumference in 10,768 children (mean age of 14.5 months). Our data identify two loci associated with head size, with the inversion at 17q21 also likely to be involved in attaining maximal brain size.}, language = {en} } @article{AlterOttvonWebskyetal.2012, author = {Alter, Markus L. and Ott, Ina M. and von Websky, Karoline and Tsuprykov, Oleg and Sharkovska, Yuliya and Krause-Relle, Katharina and Raila, Jens and Henze, Andrea and Klein, Thomas and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {DPP-4 Inhibition on top of angiotensin receptor blockade offers a new therapeutic approach for diabetic nephropathy}, series = {Kidney \& blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Nephrologie}, volume = {36}, journal = {Kidney \& blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Nephrologie}, number = {1}, publisher = {Karger}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1420-4096}, doi = {10.1159/000341487}, pages = {119 -- 130}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: The need for an improved treatment for diabetic nephropathy is greatest in patients who do not adequately respond to angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). This study investigated the effect of the novel dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor linagliptin alone and in combination with the ARB telmisartan on the progression of diabetic nephropathy in diabetic endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) knockout mice. Methods: Sixty male eNOS knockout C57BL/6J mice were divided into four groups after receiving intraperitoneal high-dose streptozotocin: telmisartan (1 mg/kg), linagliptin (3 mg/kg), linagliptin + telmisartan (3 mg/kg + 1 mg/kg) and vehicle. Fourteen mice were used as non-diabetic controls. Results: After 12 weeks, urine and blood were obtained and blood pressure measured. Glucose concentrations were increased and similar in all diabetic groups. Telmisartan alone reduced systolic blood pressure by 5.9 mmHg versus diabetic controls (111.2 +/- 2.3 mmHg vs 117.1 +/- 2.2 mmHg; mean +/- SEM; P = 0.071). Combined treatment significantly reduced albuminuria compared with diabetic controls (71.7 +/- 15.3 mu g/24 h vs 170.8 +/- 34.2 mu g/24 h; P = 0.017), whereas the effects of single treatment with either telmisartan (97.8 +/- 26.4 mu g/24 h) or linagliptin (120.8 +/- 37.7 mu g/24 h) were not statistically significant. DPP-4 inhibition, alone and in combination, led to significantly lower plasma osteopontin levels compared with telmisartan alone. Histological analysis revealed reduced glomerulosclerosis after Linagliptin alone and in combination with telmisartan in comparison to non treated diabetic animals (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). Kidney malonaldehyde immune-reactivity, a marker of oxidative stress, was significantly lower in animals treated with linagliptin. Conclusions: DPP-4 inhibition on top of ARB treatment significantly reduced urinary albumin excretion and oxidative stress in diabetic eNOS knockout mice. Linagliptin on top of an angiotensin II receptor blocker may offer a new therapeutic approach for patients with diabetic nephropathy.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SharkovskaAlterReichetzederetal.2012, author = {Sharkovska, Y. and Alter, Markus L. and Reichetzeder, Christoph and Tsuprykov, Oleg and Klein, T. and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {DPP-4 inhibition with linagliptin delays the progression of diabetic nephropathy in db/db mice}, series = {Diabetologia : journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)}, volume = {55}, booktitle = {Diabetologia : journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)}, number = {5}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {0012-186X}, pages = {S20 -- S20}, year = {2012}, language = {en} } @article{AlterKretschmerVonWebskyetal.2012, author = {Alter, Markus L. and Kretschmer, Axel and Von Websky, Karoline and Tsuprykov, Oleg and Reichetzeder, Christoph and Simon, Alexandra and Stasch, Johannes-Peter and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {Early urinary and plasma biomarkers for experimental diabetic Nephropathy}, series = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, volume = {58}, journal = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, number = {7-8}, publisher = {Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1433-6510}, doi = {10.7754/Clin.Lab.2011.111010}, pages = {659 -- 671}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: As the prevalence of diabetes rises, its complications such as diabetic nephropathy affect an increaseing number of patients. Consequently, the need for biomarkers in rodent models which reflect the stage and course of diabetic nephropathy is high. This article focuses on Heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP), osteopontin (OPN), nephrin, and Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in urine, and kidney injury molecule (KIM)-1, clusterin, and tissue inhibitior of metalloproteinases (TIMP) 1 in plasma in uni-nephrectomized rats with streptocotozin-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus, a common animal model to explore renal impairment in the setting of diabetes mellitus. Methods: 23 male Wistar rats were uni-nephrectomized and subsequently divided into two study groups. The diabetic group received streptozotocin (STZ) via tail-vein injection, the non-diabetic group received citrate buffer without STZ. Subsequently, blood glucose, body weight, and blood pressure were checked regularly. After 18 weeks, animals were placed in metabolic cages, blood and urine obtained and subsequently organs were harvested after sacrifice. Results: Blood glucose levels were highly increased in diabetic animals throughout the experiment, whereas systolic blood pressure did not differ between the study groups. At study end, classical biomarkers such as urinary albumin and protein and plasma cystatin c were only slightly but not significantly different between groups indicating a very early disease state. In contrast, urinary excretion of H-FABP, OPN, nephrin, and NGAL were highly increased in diabetic animals with a highly significant p-value (p<0.01 each) compared to non-diabetic animals. In plasma, differences were found for calbindin, KIM-1, clusterin, TIMP-1, and OPN. These findings were confirmed by means of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) analysis. Conclusions: In summary, our study revealed elevated levels of new plasma and urinary biomarkers (urinary osteopontin, urinary nephrin, urinary NGAL, urinary H-FABP, plasma KIM-1, plasma TIMP-1) in uni-nephrectomized diabetic rats, an established rat model of diabetic nephropathy. These biomarkers appeared even before the classical biomarkers of diabetic nephropathy such as albuminuria and urinary protein excretion. The new biomarkers might offer advantage to urinary albumin and plasma cystatin c with respect to early detection.}, language = {en} } @article{OttAltervonWebskyetal.2012, author = {Ott, Ina M. and Alter, Markus L. and von Websky, Karoline and Kretschmer, Axel and Tsuprykov, Oleg and Sharkovska, Yuliya and Krause-Relle, Katharina and Raila, Jens and Henze, Andrea and Stasch, Johannes-Peter and Hocher, Berthold}, title = {Effects of Stimulation of Soluble Guanylate Cyclase on Diabetic Nephropathy in Diabetic eNOS Knockout Mice on Top of Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade}, series = {PLOS ONE}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLOS ONE}, number = {8}, publisher = {PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE}, address = {SAN FRANCISCO}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0042623}, pages = {9}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its complications, such as diabetic nephropathy (DN), is rising worldwide and prevention and treatment are therefore becoming increasingly important. Therapy of DN is particularly important for patients who do not adequately respond to angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) treatment. Novel approaches include the stimulation of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) as it is reported to have beneficial effects on cardiac and renal damage. We aimed to investigate the effects of the sGC stimulator riociguat and ARB telmisartan on kidney function and structure in a hypertensive model of diabetic nephropathy. Seventy-six diabetic male eNOS knockout C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided after having received streptozotocin: telmisartan (1 mg/kg/d), riociguat (3 mg/kg/d), riociguat+telmisartan (3+1 mg/kg/d), and vehicle. Fourteen mice were used as non-diabetic controls. Treatment duration was 11 weeks. Glucose concentrations were increased and similar in all diabetic groups. Telmisartan insignificantly reduced blood pressure by 5.9 mmHg compared with diabetic controls (111.2 +/- 2.3 mmHg vs. 117.1 +/- 2.2 mmHg; p = 0.071). Treatment with riociguat both alone and in combination with telmisartan led to a significant reduction of blood pressure towards diabetic vehicle (105.2 +/- 2.5 mmHg and 105.0 +/- 3.2 mmHg, respectively, vs. 117.1 +/- 2.2 mmHg). Combined treatment also significantly decreased albuminuria compared with diabetic controls (47.3 +/- 9.6 mu g/24 h vs. 170.8 +/- 34.2 mu g/24 h; p = 0.002) reaching levels similar to those of non-diabetic controls (34.4 +/- 10.6 mu g/24 h), whereas the reduction by single treatment with either telmisartan (97.8 +/- 26.4 mu g/24 h) or riociguat (97.1 +/- 15.7 mu g/24 h) was not statistically significant. The combination treatment led to a significant (p < 0.01) decrease of tissue immunoreactivity of malondialdehyde, as consequence of reduced oxidative stress. In conclusion, stimulation of sGC significantly reduced urinary albumin excretion in diabetic eNOS knockout mice treated already with ARB. Thus, this new drug class on top of standard ARBs administration may offer a new therapeutic approach for patients resistant to ARB treatment.}, language = {en} } @article{VickersCheethamBirminghametal.2012, author = {Vickers, Steven P. and Cheetham, Sharon C. and Birmingham, Gareth D. and Rowley, Helen L. and Headland, Katie R. and Dickinson, Keith and Grempler, Rolf and Hocher, Berthold and Mark, Michael and Klein, Thomas}, title = {Effects of the DPP-4 Inhibitor, Linagliptin, in Diet-Induced obese rats a comparison in Naive and Exenatide-Treated Animals}, series = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, volume = {58}, journal = {Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion}, number = {7-8}, publisher = {Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor}, address = {Heidelberg}, issn = {1433-6510}, doi = {10.7754/Clin.Lab.2011.110919}, pages = {787 -- 799}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: To assess the chronic effect of the DPP-4 inhibitor, linagliptin, alone, in combination with exenatide, and during exenatide withdrawal, in diet-induced obese (DIO) rats. Methods: Female Wistar rats were exposed to a cafeteria diet to induce obesity. Animals were then dosed with vehicle or linagliptin (3 mg/kg PO) orally once-daily for a 28 day period. In a subsequent study, rats received exenatide (either 3 or 30 mu g/kg/day) or vehicle by osmotic mini-pump for 28 days. In addition, groups of animals were dosed orally with linagliptin either alone or in combination with a 3 mu g/kg/day exenatide dose for the study duration. In a final study, rats were administered exenatide (30 mu g/kg/day) or vehicle by osmotic mini-pump for eleven days. Subsequently, exenatide-treated animals were transferred to vehicle or continued exenatide infusion for a further ten days. Animals transferred from exenatide to vehicle were also dosed orally with either vehicle or linagliptin. In all studies, body weight, food and water intake were recorded daily and relevant plasma parameters and carcass composition were determined. Results: In contrast to exenatide, linagliptin did not significantly reduce body weight or carcass fat in DIO rats versus controls. Linagliptin augmented the effect of exenatide to reduce body fat when given in combination but did not affect the body weight response. In rats withdrawn from exenatide, weight regain was observed such that body weight was not significantly different to controls. Linagliptin reduced weight regain after withdrawal of exenatide such that a significant difference from controls was evident. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that linagliptin does not significantly alter body weight in either untreated or exenatide-treated DIO rats, although it delays weight gain after exenatide withdrawal. This finding may suggest the utility of DPP-4 inhibitors in reducing body weight during periods of weight gain.}, language = {en} } @article{RokutanSuckowvonHaehlingetal.2012, author = {Rokutan, Hirofumi and Suckow, Christian and von H{\"a}hling, Stephan and Strassburg, Sabine and Bockmeyer, Barbara and D{\"o}hner, Wolfram and Waller, Christiane and Bauersachs, Johann and von Websky, Karoline and Hocher, Berthold and Anker, Stefan D. and Springer, Jochen}, title = {Furosemide induces mortality in a rat model of chronic heart failure}, series = {International journal of cardiology}, volume = {160}, journal = {International journal of cardiology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Clare}, issn = {0167-5273}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijcard.2011.03.005}, pages = {20 -- 25}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Objectives: In an experimental heart failure model, we tested the hypothesis that furosemide causes excess mortality. Background: Post-hoc analysis of large clinical heart failure trails revealed that furosemide treatment might be associated with worsening of morbidity and even mortality in heart failure patients. Methods and results: Myocardial infarction was induced in 7 +/- 1 week old male Wistar rats by ligation of the left coronary artery. In study 1, animals were randomly assigned to treatment with furosemide (10 mg/kg/d via drinking water, n = 33) or placebo (n = 33) starting 18 days after surgery. In study 2, animals received furosemide from day 18 and were then randomized to ongoing treatment with either furosemide only (n = 38) or furosemide plus ACE-inhibitor Ramipril (1 mg/kg/d, n = 38) starting on day 42. In study 1 survival rate in the furosemide group was lower than in the placebo group (hazard ratio {HR} 3.39, 95\% confidence interval {CI} 1.14 to 10.09, p = 0.028). The furosemide group had a lower body weight (-6\%, p = 0.028) at the end of the study and a higher sclerosis index of the glomeruli (+9\%, p=0.026) than the placebo group. Wet lung weight, infarct size, and cardiac function were similar between the groups. In study 2, the furosemide group had a higher mortality rate than the furosemide + ramipril group (HR 4.55, 95\% CI 2.0 to 10.0, p = 0.0003). Conclusion: In our rat model of heart failure furosemide, provided at a standard dose, was associated with increased mortality. This increased mortality could be prevented by additional administration of an ACE-inhibitor.}, language = {en} }