Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34220546›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in physiology2021

Trimethylamine N-Oxide Exacerbates Renal Inflammation and Fibrosis in Rats With Diabetic Kidney Disease.

Qing Fang, Binjie Zheng, Na Liu, Jinfeng Liu, Wenhui Liu, Xinyi Huang, Xiangchang Zeng, Lulu Chen, Zhenyu Li, Dongsheng Ouyang

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
80citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

80 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 105 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Trimethylamine-N-oxide: the microbial cue in immune-mediated disorders.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026
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  12. Role of Gut Microbiota in Diabetic HFpEF: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2026
    Review
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20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Qing FangDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Binjie ZhengDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Na LiuDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Jinfeng LiuDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Wenhui LiuDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xinyi HuangDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Xiangchang ZengDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Lulu ChenHunan Key Laboratory for Bioanalysis of Complex Matrix Samples, Changsha Duxact Biotech Co., Ltd., Changsha, China.
Zhenyu LiDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Dongsheng OuyangDepartment of Clinical Pharmacology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Central South University · CNPharmacoGenetics (China) · CNNational Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases · CNXiangya Hospital Central South University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the onset and development of diabetes and its complications. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-dependent metabolite of certain nutrients, is associated with type 2 diabetes and its complications. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most serious microvascular complications. However, whether TMAO accelerates the development of DKD remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that TMAO accelerates the development of DKD. A high-fat diet/low-dose streptozotocin-induced diabetes rat model was established, with or without TMAO in the rats' drinking water. Compared to the normal rats, the DKD rats showed significantly higher plasma TMAO levels at the end of the study. TMAO treatment not only exacerbated the kidney dysfunction of the DKD rats, but also renal fibrosis. Furthermore, TMAO treatment activated the nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-containing family, pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome and resulted in the release of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 to accelerate renal inflammation. These results suggested that TMAO aggravated renal inflammation and fibrosis in the DKD rats, which provides a new perspective to understand the pathogenesis of DKD and a potential novel target for preventing the progression of DKD.

Indexed as

diabetic kidney diseasefibrosisinflammationNLRP3trimethylamine N-oxide

Identifiers

PMID34220546
PMCPMC8243655
OpenAlexW3166074664

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.