This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of injuries among Chinese collegiate dragon boat athletes. A cross-sectional retrospective survey was conducted in 2024 using electronic questionnaires distributed to collegiate dragon boat athletes nationwide. A total of 443 athletes (277 males and 166 females) who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Results showed that 115 athletes (26.0%) reported at least one injury in the previous year, with a total of 172 detailed injury events recorded. The overall injury rate was 1.57 per 1,000 athlete-exposures (AE) (95% CI: 1.34-1.81) and 0.43 per 1,000 training hours (95% CI, 0.36-0.49). Female athletes had significantly higher injury rates than males (2.05 vs. 1.29 per 1,000 AE, 0.56 vs. 0.35 per 1,000 training hours). Chronic injuries (57.6%) were more common than acute injuries (42.4%), with a chronic-to-acute ratio of 1.36:1. The shoulder (29.7%) and waist (23.8%) were the most common injury sites. Water training accounted for 64.5% of all injuries, with the pull phase (58.6%) and catch phase (36.0%) being the most frequently injury-associated technical phases. Most injuries (87.2%) were incidental or mild. These findings provide an epidemiological basis for developing targeted injury prevention strategies for collegiate dragon boat athletes, with emphasis on shoulder and waist protection during the pull and catch phases of paddling.

Oxidized albumin has emerged as a promising biomarker in blood for assessing oxidative stress and multiple organ dysfunction. Recent advances suggest its potential detectability in urine, offering a noninvasive avenue for early diagnosis and monitoring of kidney disease. This review synthesizes current knowledge on oxidized albumin, its pathophysiological relevance, and the evolving methodologies for its detection, highlighting its translational potential in clinical nephrology.

To develop a prevention program for rowing-related injuries, it is crucial to study the epidemiological characteristics of injuries among Chinese rowing athletes. This study aimed to investigate the distribution and incidence of injuries among Chinese rowing athletes aged 12–24 years. A retrospective study was conducted in 2024 among 207 rowing athletes in China using a rowing-specific questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised two sections: the first section collected basic information, including gender, age, height, weight, years of training experience, daily training hours, weekly training days, and weekly training hours; the second section collected information on rowing-related injuries over the past year, including injury locations, mechanisms, and severity. An injury was defined as a physical complaint with time loss and/or medical care. Rowing-related injuries were normalized to rates per 1000 training hours and per 1000 training sessions, calculated using the Poisson distribution based on age and gender. A total of 131 injuries were reported, including 51 (38.9%) acute-onset and 80 gradual-onset (61.1%) injuries. The lower back was the most common site (39.7%, 52 cases), followed by the knee and shoulder. Over two-thirds of the injuries caused less than a week’s absence from rowing. The overall injury rate per 1000 training hours was 0.46 (95% CI: 0.38–0.54), and the overall injury rate per 1000 training sessions was 2.16 (95% CI: 1.79–2.53). Rowing-related injuries were significantly associated with gender (OR: 3.52, 95% CI: 1.37–9.02, p = 0.009) and BMI (OR: 3.63, 95% CI: 1.33–9.95, p = 0.012). Among Chinese rowing athletes, injuries frequently occurred, especially in female athletes. Lower back injuries were the most common, followed by knee and shoulder injuries. This study contributes to improving injury prevention and early detection in high-risk anatomical regions and vulnerable athletes among elite rowers.

Badminton-related injury is thought to happen with increasing incidence among badminton players. Literature shown injury incidence across age is scarce. The objective was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of badminton-related injuries among badminton players broken down by age and sex. This epidemiology study is a retrospective design in 7–22-year-old badminton players at a national competitive tournament with a questionnaire from 2018 to 2023. An injury was defined as somatic complaint with time loss and/or medical care. Badminton-related injuries were normalized to rate per 1000 training-hours calculated by Poisson distribution in the collected data according to age and gender. Among all the 711 badminton players, 60.3% (429 players) suffered from at least one badminton-related injury. Regardless of gender, the most frequently injured anatomical site was knee (male: 18.8%, female: 18.6%), followed by ankle (male: 13.4%, female: 13.4%) and lower back (male: 12.3%, female: 10.0%). In male badminton players, the shoulder (7.6%) ranked fourth as the plantar (6.7%) ranked fourth in female badminton players. The rate per 1000 training-hours of badminton-related injuries showed that male players peaked at age 15–16 years and female players peaked at age 17–18 years, with 3.24 injuries and 3.52 injuries per 1000 training-hours, respectively. In 7–22-year-old badminton players, knee, lower back, and shoulder injuries frequently occurred and were significantly associated with the incidence of badminton-related injuries. The peak incidence of badminton-related injuries was in 15–16-year-old male badminton players while the peak incidence was in 17–18-year-old female badminton players. These data have the potential to help target the most at-risk anatomical sites and the most at-risk badminton players precisely for injury prevention programs.

BackgroundImproving the understanding of shoulder function for badminton players would develop injury preventive programs. However, no studies on shoulder function reference parameters of badminton players when controlling for age and sex have been found.ObjectivesTo examine the differences in shoulder function between elementary school-age badminton players and university badminton players using shoulder range of motion.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingTesting at elementary school and university.Participants67 players (7-12 year-old players and 18-22 year-old players) without shoulder injury experience.Main outcome measuresShoulder range of motion (ROM) included internal rotation (IR), external rotation (ER), and total ROM (TROM).ResultsSignificant differences in shoulder IR of both sides (dominant: 97.67º vs 77.78º, p < 0.001; nondominant:104.70º vs 88.89º, p < 0.001), dominant ER (126.30º vs 115.98º, p = 0.013), TROM of both sides (dominant: 222.97º vs 193.76º, p < 0.001; nondominant: 222.90º vs 200.10º, p = 0.001), and TROM loss (-0.06º vs 6.34º, p = 0.047) existed between elementary school-age and university players. Significant differences in IR of both sides existed between male elementary school-age and university players (dominant: 98.38º vs 72.50º, p < 0.001; nondominant: 106.72º vs 83.99º, p < 0.001) as well as in female players (dominant: 95.25º vs 82.84º, p = 0.007; nondominant: 103.01º vs 93.57º, p = 0.035). Additionally, significant differences in IR of both sides (dominant: 72.50º vs 82.84º, p = 0.016; nondominant: 83.99º vs 93.57º, p = 0.012) and TROM of both sides (dominant: 188.24º vs 199.05º, p = 0.025; nondominant: 192.43º vs 207.44º, p = 0.002) existed between male and female university players.ConclusionsCompared with university badminton players, elementary school-age badminton players showed significantly greater shoulder IR and TROM of both sides and dominant ER while significantly smaller TROM loss. However, regardless of sex, no significant differences of bilateral deficit for glenohumeral rotation existed between elementary school-age and university badminton players.

Experiencing premenstrual symptoms is a major health concern for reproductive-age women. 75% of premenopausal women experienced at least one premenstrual symptom. Physical exercise has been suggested to be effective in reducing premenstrual symptoms. However, this recommendation is relatively little evidence, and the relationship between recreational physical exercise and premenstrual symptoms remains unclear, especially in female students. PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between recreational physical exercise and premenstrual symptoms by a prospective study in senior high school students. METHODS: 313 senior high school female students aged 14-17 years completed two questionnaires. One questionnaire collected information about demographic data and premenstrual symptoms. Premenstrual symptoms were recorded on Daily Record of Severity of Problems per day for 30 consecutive days. The other was a recreational physical exercise participation questionnaire, collecting exercise type, daily exercise minutes, and weekly exercise times. Multivariate logistic regression tests were used to assess the association between premenstrual symptoms and recreational physical exercise. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. RESULT: 313 participants (mean age: 15.2 years, mean height: 163.4 cm, mean weight: 56.8 kg, mean BMI: 21.3) were studied. 253 (80.8%) participants experienced at least one premenstrual symptom, and 60 (19.2%) of them didn’t experience premenstrual symptoms. The participants with recreational physical exercise 3 times per week showed lower depression than those without (OR = 0.333, 95%CI: 0.118-0.940, p = 0.038). The participants who were older showed 2.054 times more likely to sustain poor concentration than younger ones (OR = 2.504, 95%CI: 1.162-3.631, p = 0.013). Among all the participants, the participants with higher weights were more likely to show stronger bloating than those with lower weights (OR = 1.091, 95%CI: 1.003-1.188, p = 0.044). CONCLUSION: With increasing age and weight, the incidence of premenstrual symptoms including depression, poor concentration, and bloating would increase. This study suggested that senior high school female students should keep a reasonable weight and take more exercise, which might decrease those symptoms.

PURPOSE: For developing prevention programs of badminton injuries, epidemiological data on incidence of badminton injuries and physical dysfunction which might cause badminton injuries among badminton athletes should be well investigated. The purposes were to investigate the characteristics of badminton injuries/pain, and then to examine the association between physical function and badminton injuries/pain in university badminton athletes at national tournament level using medical check-ups. METHODS: A questionnaire survey and physical fitness tests of medical check-ups were performed among 51 university badminton athletes (25 males and 26 females) aged 18-22 years. The questionnaire survey asked for basic parameters including gender, age, height, weight, badminton experience, training hours of per day, training days of per week, warm-up, cool-down, and injuries/pain related to badminton. The physical fitness tests comprising of handgrip strength, heel buttock distance, straight leg raising, single leg stance, shoulder internal rotation and external rotation, and trunk flection, extension and rotation, were performed to evaluate physical function. Traumatic injuries, gradual-onset injuries, and pain were defined and assessed. Independent-samples t-test, pair-samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test were used for data analysis. RESULTS: In total, 280 injuries and pain were reported including 29 traumatic injuries, 46 gradual-onset injuries, and 205 pain. Injury incidence rate was 2.14 per 1000 athlete-hours of exposures. Knee was the most common injury site (0.46 per 1000 athlete-hours of exposures), followed by ankle and lower back. Shoulder was the most common pain site (28 cases, 13.7%), followed by lower back and foot. Athletes with present shoulder pain showed significantly greater straight leg raising angles (dominant: 90.7° vs 82.4°, p < 0.05; nondominant: 89.6° vs 81.4°, p < 0.05) and time of nondominant single leg stance (25.6 seconds vs 45.9 seconds, p < 0.05) compared with pain free athletes. CONCLUSIONS: Among university badminton athletes, badminton-associated pain was common, and shoulder was the most common pain site. Greater straight leg raising angle and weak balance ability might be risk factors for shoulder pain.

Body pain, often considered as an early sign of injury in young players, warrants thorough study. This study aimed to examine the distribution of badminton-related pain and prevalence in pre-adolescent and adolescent badminton players. Profiles of badminton-related pain were surveyed using a questionnaire among 366 pre-adolescent and adolescent badminton players aged 7–12 years. The distribution of badminton-related pain was described, and the pain incidence was calculated. Proportions of pain per 1000-training-hour exposures were the main outcome measures. The analysis considered various age groups (7–8, 9–10, and 11–12 years) and years of badminton experience (≤2, 2–3, and > 3 years). In total, 554 cases of badminton-related pain were reported. The ankle was the most common site, followed by knee, plantar, shoulder, and lower back. The overall pain rate per 1000-training-hour exposure was 3.06. The 11–12-year-old group showed the highest pain rate, significantly greater than the 7–8-year-old group and the 9–10-year-old group. Additionally, the prevalence of pain exhibited an increasing trend with age. Finally, regardless of the age groups, participants with 2–3 years of badminton experience had the highest pain rate. These findings might help inform targeted interventions to reduce the high prevalence of pain in various body regions across pre-adolescent and adolescent badminton players.

Reproductive-aged women experience somatic and affective symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) which affect their daily life and work, but there are limited tracking data on senior high school-age female students. To investigate the characteristics and incidence of PMS, and to detect the relationship between physical exercise participation and PMS in female students of senior high school. A prospective study was conducted among senior high school female students aged 14–16 years. The participant was asked to finish two questionnaires. One questionnaire collected information about demographic data and PMS symptoms which were recorded on a daily calendar named Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) per day. Another questionnaire was physical exercises participation questionnaire, collecting times of physical education (PE) class participation, exercise times, exercise type participation in morning exercise and recess exercise, times of morning exercise, times of recess exercise per week, recess exercise time, and autonomous exercise participation of students. The data were prospectively recorded for three consecutive months. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was performed for results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis model. A total of 233 participants completed the prospective study, 78 (33.5%) participants experienced PMS. The incidence of the participants with mild PMS was 20.2% while moderate PMS was 11.6% and severe PMS was 1.7%. The most common somatic symptom was fatigue while the most common affective symptom was cannot concentrate. Participants with PE classes less than 2 times per week were 4.43 times (OR 4.43, 95% CI 1.18–16.6, p < 0.05) more possible to experience PMS than those with 2 times PE classes per week. PMS is a frequent phenomenon in senior high school female students. Female students with 2 times PE classes per week show a lower incidence of PMS. This study encouraged senior high school-age females to take more physical exercises per week and could be helpful to create a no-pharmacology coping strategy.

Background: In recent years, there has been a trend in badminton toward more specialized training at an earlier age. Accompanying this trend is the increased frequency of injuries in young players. Ankle injury is the most common injury in pediatric sports; however, its influence on subsequent injuries is rarely considered. Purposes: To evaluate the incidence of ankle, knee, and shoulder injuries in youth badminton and to investigate the influence of ankle injuries on subsequent ankle, knee, and shoulder injuries. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A custom-designed questionnaire was used to survey Japanese players 7 to 12 years of age who attended national elementary school–level badminton tournaments between May and September 2019. Information including the players’ characteristics, training history, injuries in the previous 12 months, and ankle injury histories were collected. Logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: A total of 478 players were included in the study, with 71 ankle injuries, 74 knee injuries, and 48 shoulder injuries reported. The injury incidence rates (per 1000 hours of play) were 0.23 (95% CI, 0.18-0.29) for the ankle, 0.24 (95% CI, 0.19-0.30) for the knee, and 0.16 (95% CI, 0.11-0.20) for the shoulder; 90.1% of ankle injuries, 25.7% of knee injuries, and 33.3% of shoulder injuries were acute. Previous ankle injury was significantly associated with subsequent ankle injury (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR), 3.05; 95% CI, 1.54-6.07; P < .05), knee injury (adjusted OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.12-3.69; P < .05), and shoulder injury (adjusted OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.26-4.83; P < .05). Conclusion: The study results indicated that previous injury to the ankle significantly increased the occurrence of subsequent ankle, knee, and shoulder injuries. Emphasizing protection and prevention of ankle injuries may help lower future injury risk in young badminton players.

Abstract Background Reproductive-aged women experience somatic and affective symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) which affect their daily life and work, but there are limited tracking data on senior high school-age female students. Purpose To investigate the characteristics and incidence of PMS, and to detect the relationship between physical exercise participation and PMS in female students of senior high school. Method A prospective study was conducted among senior high school female students aged 14–16 years. The participant was asked to finish two questionnaires. One questionnaire collected information about demographic data and PMS symptoms. PMS was recorded on a daily calendar named Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP) per day. Another questionnaire was the physical exercises participation questionnaire, collecting times of physical education (PE) class participation, exercise times, exercise type participation in morning exercise and recess exercise, times of morning exercise, times of recess exercise per week, recess exercise time, and autonomous exercise participation of students. The data were prospectively recorded for three consecutive months. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was performed for results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis model. Result 233 participants completed the prospective study. 78 (33.5%) participants of all the participants experienced PMS. The incidence of the participants with mild PMS was 20.2% while moderate PMS was 11.6% and severe PMS was 1.7%. The most common somatic symptom was fatigue while the most common affective symptom was can't concentrate. Participants with PE classes less than 2 times per week were 4.43 times (OR: 4.43, 95% CI: 1.18–16.6, p < 0.05) more possible to experience PMS than those with 2 times PE classes per week. Conclusions PMS is a frequent phenomenon in senior high school female students. Female students with 2 times PE classes per week show a lower incidence of PMS. This study encouraged senior high school-age females to take more physical exercises per week and could be helpful to create a no-pharmacology coping strategy.

Mechanism for shoulder pain and injury in elite badminton playersPurpose: to detect the mechanisms for shoulder pain and injury during forehand overhead stroke using the questionnaire and 2D video analysis.Methods and Materials: Participants were 48 university badminton players (aged 18-22) with national tournament level who had no current shoulder injuries.A questionnaire investigation and a forehand overhead clear test were performed.The angle of arm slot at the moment of hit was calculated from 2D videos analysis using Image J software.Data were compared between badminton players with shoulder problems and those without.Results: There were 6 badminton players reported a history of shoulder injury that all of them were offensive players.11 badminton players (8 offensive players and 3 defensive players) reported present shoulder pain that offensive players showed 7.33 times more likely to sustain present shoulder pain than defensive players (OR = 7.33, 95%CI: 1.55-34.70,p = 0.007; Fisher's Exact test: p = 0.012).Moreover, offensive players with present shoulder pain had significantly greater score of VAS (visual analog scale) than defensive players (74.0 mm ± 14.2 mm vs 44.6 mm ± 24.4 mm, p = 0.04).Significant differences of arm slot angle were found among badminton players with shoulder pain free, history of shoulder injury and present shoulder pain (35.74o ± 4.85 o vs 42.90 o ± 11.89 o vs 37.81 o ± 6.40 o , F = 3.27, p = 0.047).Conclusion: Offensive badminton players are more likely to suffer from shoulder injury and strong intensity of shoulder pain.Greater arm slot angle of hit phase might be the mechanism leading to shoulder problems in badminton players.For improving shoulder re-injury prevention and rehabilitation protocols, our findings should be taken into consideration by physiotherapists, physicians and coaches.

Background: Shoulder pain which affects sports performance and activities of daily life, is a common musculoskeletal problem experienced by badminton players. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the association of shoulder pain with physical fitness in elite university badminton players participating in the national tournament via medical check-ups. Methods: Physical fitness evaluations were performed among fifty-two 18 - 22 years old university badminton players participating in the national tournament. Handgrip strength, heel buttock distance, angle of straight leg raise, single leg stance, shoulder range of motion, and trunk range of motion were assessed. The prevalence of present shoulder pain was described. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the association of present shoulder pain with physical fitness. Results: Sixteen badminton players (30.8%) sustained present shoulder pain related to badminton. Dominant trunk rotation (adjusted OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.84 - 0.99, P-value = 0.028) and single leg stance of the nondominant leg (adjusted OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94 - 1.00, P-value = 0.048) were significantly associated with the presence of present shoulder pain. Conclusions: Decreased trunk rotation and deficit in single-leg stance balance might be potential risk factors associated with physical fitness for shoulder pain in university badminton players at national tournament level. These findings can help draw the attention of badminton coaches, players, and team members to facilitate physical fitness promotion for badminton pain/injury prevention.

Through the course of our bio-analytical chemistry studies, we developed a novel proteomics analysis method, FD-LC-MS/MS (fluorogenic derivatization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry). This method consists of fluorogenic derivatization (FD), LC separation, and detection/quantification of the derivatized proteins, followed by isolation, tryptic digestion of the isolated proteins, and final identification of the isolated proteins using electrospray ionization nano-LC-MS/MS of the generated peptide mixtures with a probability-based protein identification algorithm. In this review, we will present various examples where this method has been used successfully to identify expressed proteins in individual human cells. FD-LC-MS/MS is also suitable for differential proteomics analysis. Here, two biological samples are treated by the same steps mentioned above, and the two chromatograms obtained are compared to identify peaks with different intensities (variation in protein levels). Associated peak fractions are then isolated, and the differentially expressed proteins between the two samples are identified by LC-MS/MS. Several biomarkers for cancers have been identified by FD-LC-MS/MS. For more efficient separation, nano-flow LC with a phenyl-bonded monolithic silica-based capillary column was adopted for cell-expressed intact protein analysis. The derivatized human cell proteins (K562) and yeast cell ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) proteins as model intact cell proteins were analyzed by nano-flow LC with fluorescence detection. More than 1,300 protein peaks were separated/detected from both cells. For straightforward comparison of multiple peak separation profiles, a novel type of chromatogram display, termed the “spiderweb” chromatogram, was developed. A nano-LC-FD-LC-mass spectrometry trial for molecular weight estimation of FD proteins has also been conducted.

Pain is common in athletes which should be well managed. To identify risk factors for shoulder pain, and the association between shoulder pain, lower back pain and knee pain among elementary school-aged badminton players, we conducted a cross-sectional study to collect data of the past year among 611 elementary school age (7–12 years old) badminton players belonging to the Japan Schoolchildren Badminton Federation using a questionnaire. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The overall incidence rate of shoulder injuries, lower back injuries and knee injuries was 0.38 injuries per 1000 h of badminton training. Players with training time per day > 2.5 h were 2.64 times (95% CI 1.03–6.78, p = 0.043) more likely to sustain shoulder pain than those with training time per day ≤ 2.5 h. A significant association was revealed between shoulder pain and knee pain as well as between lower back pain and knee pain as training hours per day > 2.5 h. Moreover, lower back pain was significantly associated with shoulder pain independent of training hours per day (≤ 2.5 h: p = 0.001; > 2.5 h: p < 0.001). These findings indicate that training time per day is risk factor, and shoulder pain, lower back pain and knee pain were associated with each other in elementary school-aged badminton players.

Chronic exposure to aristolochic acid (AA) leads to renal interstitial fibrosis and nephropathy. In this study, we aimed to investigate the renoprotective effects of Panax ginseng extract (GE) and ginsenoside saponin (GS) on AA-induced nephropathy (AAN) in mice. Eighty female C3H/He mice were randomly divided into eight groups, including normal; AA (3 μg/mL for 56 days); AA with GE (125, 250, or 500 mg/kg/d for 14 days); and AA with important GE ingredients, Rg1, Rb1, or Rd (5 mg/kg/d for 14 days). Compared with the AA group, renal injuries were significantly decreased in the GE (250 mg/kg/d), Rb1, and Rg1 treatment groups. Rg1 exhibited the best renoprotection among all GS-treated groups. There were 24 peaks significantly altered among normal, AA, and AA + Rg1 groups, and four mitochondrial proteins were identified, including acyl-CoA synthetase medium-chain family member 2, upregulated during skeletal muscle growth 5 (Usmg5), mitochondrial aconitase 2 (ACO2), and cytochrome c oxidase subunit Va preprotein (COX5a). We demonstrated for the first time that the AAN mechanism and renoprotective effects of Rg1 are associated with expression of mitochondrial proteins, especially ACO2, Usmg5, and COX5a.

Prior to the identification of proteins for proteomics analysis in human cells, separation of fluorogenic derivatized proteins with a fluorogenic reagent, 7-chloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulfonamide, has typically been performed by using a conventional reversed-phase HPLC column. However, the number of proteins in human cells (HepaRG) that are separated by this conventional approach is limited to approximately 500. In this study, a nanoflow liquid chromatography system with an evaluated phenyl-bonded monolithic silica capillary column (0.1 mm i.d., 700 mm length) was used to increase the number of separated fluorogenic derivatized proteins. This system was used to separate derivatized human cell proteins (K562) and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) proteins as model cell proteomes. More than 1,300 protein peaks were separated/detected from both cell proteomes. We present a straightforward comparison of multiple separation profiles using a novel chromatogram display approach, termed the "spiderweb" chromatogram. In addition, to validate that the detected peaks are derived from proteins, a mass spectrometer was connected to the capillary column and deconvolution of the obtained mass spectra was performed. Furthermore, different molecular weight distribution profiles of the expressed proteins were observed between the two cell proteomes.

In chemiluminescence (CL) the energy for excitation of compounds to a light-emitting excited state is produced by chemical reactions, which means in principle that no light other than the emitted light exists and that the light emerges from a black background. This chapter focuses on the description of CL reactions and/or CL reagents for detection in liquid chromatography (LC). Two types of CL reactions can be distinguished. In the first one an energy-rich intermediate, produced by the CL reaction, emits light. In the second type of CL reaction the energy-rich intermediate which is produced in the early stages of the reaction excites other substances, which in turn emit light. In peroxyoxalate CL reactions aryloxalate and hydrogen peroxide react in the presence of a fluorescent compound. Fluorescent compounds or fluorescence-labeled compounds are separated on a column, the mixture of the aryl oxalate and hydrogen peroxide is added to the effluent, and generated CL is detected by a photomultiplier or photon counter.

Prednisolone is involved in glucose homeostasis and has been used for treatment for aristolochic acid (AA) nephropathy (AAN), but its effect on glycolysis in kidney has not yet been clarified. This study aims to investigate the effect in terms of altered proteins after prednisolone treatment in a mice model of AAN using a proteomics technique. The six-week C3H/He female mice were administrated AA (0.5 mg/kg/day) for 56 days. AA+P group mice were then given prednisolone (2 mg/kg/day) via oral gavage for the next 14 days, and AA group mice were fed water instead. The tubulointerstitial damage was improved after prednisolone treatment comparing to that of AA group. Kidney homogenates were harvested to perform the proteomics analysis with fluorogenic derivatization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method (FD-LC-MS/MS). On the other hand, urinary methylglyoxal and D-lactate levels were determined by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. There were 47 altered peaks and 39 corresponding proteins on day 14 among the groups, and the glycolysis-related proteins, especially glyoxalase 1 (GLO1), fructose-bisphosphate aldolase B (aldolase B), and triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), decreased in the AA+P group. Meanwhile, prednisolone decreased the urinary amount of methylglyoxal (AA+P: 2.004 ± 0.301 μg vs. AA: 2.741 ± 0.630 μg, p < 0.05), which was accompanied with decrease in urinary amount of D-lactate (AA+P: 54.07 ± 5.45 μmol vs. AA: 86.09 ± 8.44 μmol, p < 0.05). Prednisolone thus alleviated inflammation and interstitial renal fibrosis. The renal protective mechanism might be associated with down-regulation of GLO1 via reducing the contents of methylglyoxal derived from glycolysis. With the aid of proteomics analysis and the determination of methylglyoxal and its metabolite-D-lactate, we have demonstrated for the first time the biochemical efficacy of prednisolone, and urinary methylglyoxal and its metabolite-D-lactate might be potential biomarkers for AAN.