BACKGROUND There is no consensus regarding the optimal dialysate calcium concentration (DCa) during haemodialysis (HD). Low DCa may predispose to acute arrhythmias, whereas high DCa increases the long-term risk of soft tissue calcifications. METHODS Twenty-two HD patients treated in four dialysis centres underwent two HD sessions, respectively, with 1.5 and 1.25 mmol/L total DCa. Calcium mass...

Dichloroacetic acid (DCA), a minor metabolite of trichloroethylene (TCE) and water disinfection byproduct, remains an important risk assessment issue because of its carcinogenic potency. DCA has been shown to inhibit its own metabolism by irreversibly inactivating glutathione transferase zeta (GSTzeta). To better predict internal dosimetry of DCA, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) ...

Dichloroacetate (DCA) is an investigational drug for certain metabolic disorders, a by-product of water chlorination and a metabolite of certain industrial solvents and drugs. DCA is biotransformed to glyoxylate by glutathione S-transferase zeta (GSTz1-1), which is identical to maleylacetoacetate isomerase, an enzyme of tyrosine catabolism. Clinically relevant doses of DCA (mg/kg/day) decrease ...

Dichloroacetate (DCA) is beneficial in cancer therapy because it induces apoptosis and decreases cancer growth in vitro and in vivo without affecting non-cancer cells. DCA stimulates the activity of the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase by inhibiting pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase. Consequently, DCA promotes oxidative phosphorylation after glycolysis. Therefore, DCA produces changes in energy metabo...

Glutathione transferase zeta (GSTZ1-1) catalyzes the isomerization of maleylacetoacetate (MAA) to fumarylacetoacetate, the penultimate step in the tyrosine degradation pathway. GSTZ1-1 is inactivated by dichloroacetic acid (DCA), which is used for the clinical management of congenital lactic acidosis and is a drinking-water contaminant. Metabolic changes associated with chemically induced GSTZ1...

Dehalobacter and "Dehalococcoides" spp. were previously shown to be involved in the biotransformation of 1,1,2-trichloroethane (1,1,2-TCA) and 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) to ethene in a mixed anaerobic enrichment culture. Here we report the further enrichment and characterization of a Dehalobacter sp. from this mixed culture in coculture with an Acetobacterium sp. Through a series of serial tr...

Obesity is increasingly becoming associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis. Serum levels of the bile acid deoxycholic acid (DCA) are elevated in mice with obesity induced by a high-fat (HF) diet. Therefore, we investigated the influence of DCA on the functions of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) because the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis are associated with VSMC proli...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are key regulators of liver metabolism, while toxic bile acids participate in the development of several liver diseases. We previously demonstrated that deoxycholic acid (DCA), a cytotoxic bile acid implicated in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, inhibits miR-21 expression in hepatocytes. Here, we investigated the mechanisms by which DCA modulates mi...

BACKGROUND The Afinion HbA1c (Axis-Shield) is a newer point-of-care device for measurement of hemoglobin A1c (A1C) using a boronate affinity method unlike the more commonly used DCA immunoassay method (Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics). The Afinion's accuracy and precision, when compared with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and DCA methods, have not been established in pediat...

PURPOSE Evidence that indicates bile acid is a promoter of colon cancer exists. Deoxycholic acid (DCA) modifies apoptosis or proliferation by affecting intracellular signaling and gene expression. However, because previous studies have been based on studies on colon cancer cell lines, the effect of DCA on normal colonocytes is unknown. METHODS Normal colonocytes and Caco-2 and HCT116 cells we...