Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Odamaki, M.
Right arrow Articles by Hishida, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Odamaki, M.
Right arrow Articles by Hishida, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Nephrol Dial Transplant (2004) 19: 797-804
Nephrol Dial Transplant Vol. 19 No. 4 © ERA-EDTA 2004; all rights reserved

Original Article

Counter-regulatory effects of procalcitonin and indoxyl sulphate on net albumin secretion by cultured rat hepatocytes

Mari Odamaki1,3, Akihiko Kato2,3, Hiromichi Kumagai1 and Akira Hishida3

1Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, 2Division of Nephrology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shizuoka Cancer Center Hospital, Nagaizumi-cho and 3First Department of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

Correspondence and offprint requests to: Mari Odamaki, PhD, Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52–1 Yada, Shizuoka, 422-8526, Japan. Email: odamari{at}u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp

Background. Although hypoalbuminaemia is a significant predictor of mortality in haemodialysis (HD) patients, the pathophysiological mechanisms involved remain to be determined. Albumin is a negative acute-phase reactant and many proinflammatory substances are elevated in HD patients. We investigated factors that may affect liver albumin synthesis.

Methods. Hepatocytes were isolated from rat livers and were cultured with interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-{alpha}, procalcitonin (PCT), a sensitive marker of infection, and indoxyl sulphate (IS), a uraemic toxin. Albumin levels in the supernatant were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Albumin mRNA expression was determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Results. IL-6 and TNF-{alpha} significantly decreased albumin levels in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). In contrast, IL-4 and IL-12 did not modulate albumin production. PCT and IS significantly and dose-dependently increased albumin levels (both P<0.01). PCT increased albumin mRNA expression in the hepatocytes (P = 0.05) and dose-dependently abrogated IL-6-induced suppression of albumin synthesis (P<0.01). IS also blocked the IL-6-induced decrease in net albumin secretion (P<0.01).

Conclusion. Our findings indicate that PCT and IS protect against suppression of hepatic albumin synthesis caused by proinflammatory cytokines, suggesting their potential role in preventing hypoalbuminaemia in HD patients.

Keywords: albumin; haemodialysis; IL-6; indoxyl sulphate; procalcitonin


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.