BackgroundType 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) worsens the outcome after myocardial infarction (MI). Here, we hypothesized that inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) improves survival after MI in T2DM by modifying autophagy in the non-infarcted region of the heart.Methods and resultsUnder baseline conditions, there was no significant difference between levels of myocardial autophagy marker proteins in OLETF, a rat model of T2DM, and in LETO, a non-diabetic control. However, in contrast to the response in LETO, LC3-II protein and LC3-positive autophagosomes in the non-infarcted region of the myocardium were not increased after MI in OLETF. The altered autophagic response in OLETF was associated with lack of AMPK/ULK-1 activation, attenuated response of Akt/mTOR/S6 signaling and increased Beclin-1–Bcl-2 interaction after MI. Treatment with vildagliptin (10 mg/kg/day s.c.), a DPP-4 inhibitor, suppressed Beclin-1–Bcl-2 interaction and increased both LC3-II protein level and autophagosomes in the non-infarcted region in OLETF, though it did not normalize AMPK/ULK-1 or mTOR/S6 signaling. Plasma insulin level, but not glucose level, was significantly reduced by vildagliptin at the dose used in this study. Survival rate at 48 h after MI was significantly lower in OLETF than in LETO (32 vs. 82%), despite similar infarct sizes. Vildagliptin improved the survival rate in OLETF to 80%, the benefit of which was abrogated by chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor.ConclusionsThe results indicate that vildagliptin reduces T2DM-induced increase in post-MI acute mortality possibly by restoring the autophagic response through attenuation of Bcl-2-Beclin-1 interaction.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12933-015-0264-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Although some studies have reported a relationship between several candidate polymorphic genes and bone mineral density (BMD), little is known concerning the genetic factors influencing BMD in children. This study examined this relationship in healthy Japanese girls (n=125; age, 13.4 +/- 0.89 years; range, 12-15 years). We investigated allelic variants of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, the estrogen receptor (ER) gene, the parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene, the Ca-sensing receptor (CaSR) gene, and the beta3-adrenergic receptor (beta3-AR) gene. The genotype of the VDR gene (Fok I) correlated with lumbar spine, and femoral neck BMD. The PTH polymorphisms (BstB I, Dra II) were also associated with lumbar spine BMD. No relationship was found between genotypes of the ER gene, CaSR gene, or beta3-AR gene and BMD. The age, height, weight, and body mass index did not differ significantly among girls with different VDR and PTH genotypes. These results suggest that the Fok I polymorphism of the VDR gene and the Dra II polymorphism of the PTH gene are risk factors for low bone density in Japanese girls.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) increases myocardial infarct size by an unknown mechanism. Here we examined the hypothesis that impairment of protective PI3K-PDK1-Akt and/or mTORC-Akt signaling upon reperfusion contributes to CKD-induced enlargement of infarct size. CKD was induced in rats by 5/6 nephrectomy (SNx group) 4 weeks before myocardial infarction experiments, and sham-operated rats served as controls (Sham group). Infarct size as a percentage of area at risk after ischemia/reperfusion was significantly larger in the SNx group than in the Sham group (56.3 ± 4.6 vs. 41.4 ± 2.0%). In SNx group, myocardial p-Akt-Thr308 level at baseline was elevated, and reperfusion-induced phosphorylation of p-Akt-Ser473, p-p70s6K and p-GSK-3β was significantly suppressed. Inhibition of Akt-Ser473 phosphorylation upon reperfusion by Ku-0063794 significantly increased infarct size in the Sham group but not in the SNx group. There was no difference between the two groups in activities of mTORC2 and PDK1 and protein level of PTEN. However, the PP2A regulatory subunit B55α, which specifically targets Akt-Thr308, was reduced by 24% in the SNx group. Knockdown of B55α by siRNA increased baseline p-Akt-Thr308 and blunted Akt-Ser473 phosphorylation in response to insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in H9c2 cells. A blunted response of Akt-Ser473 to IGF-1 was also observed in HEK293 cells transfected with a p-Thr308-mimetic Akt mutant (T308D). These results indicate that increased Akt-Thr308 phosphorylation by down-regulation of B55α inhibits Akt-Ser473 phosphorylation upon reperfusion in CKD and that the impaired Akt activation by insufficient Ser473 phosphorylation upon reperfusion contributes to infarct size enlargement by CKD.

We recently found that insufficient activation of Akt-mediated signaling underlies aggravation of reperfusion injury, leading to enlarged infarct size. 6 In addition to modified signal transduction, alteration in metabolism is possibly involved in CKD-induced increase in myocardial sensitivity to ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury. Insulin resistance is a metabolic hallmark of uremia, 7,8 and Tamaki et al 9 showed that CKD induces substantial changes in metabolites and the number of mitochondria in skeletal muscle. However, to our knowledge, the effect of CKD on cardiac metabolomes has not been reported, and its relationship to modification of the cytoprotective signal pathway also remains unclear.Erythropoietin is produced in the adult kidney and plays a major role in promotion of erythropoiesis. However, erythropoietin protein is also expressed in nonrenal tissues, including the liver and central nervous system. 10 Erythropoietin receptors are also expressed not only in hematopoietic cells but also in other types of cells, such as endothelial cells, neurons, and cardiomyocytes. [11][12][13] A series of studies using a mutant mouse that expresses the erythropoietin receptor exclusively in hematopoietic cells (EpoR −/− rescued) showed that deletion of the erythropoietin receptor aggravates I/R injury and Abstract-Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is known to increase myocardial infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion. However, a strategy to prevent the CKD-induced myocardial susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion injury has not been developed. Here, we examined whether epoetin β pegol, a continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA), normalizes myocardial susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion injury by its effects on protective signaling and metabolomes in CKD. CKD was induced by 5/6 nephrectomy in rats (subtotal nephrectomy, SNx), whereas sham-operated rats served controls (Sham). Infarct size as percentage of area at risk after 20-minutes coronary occlusion/2-hour reperfusion was larger in SNx than in Sham: 60.0±4.0% versus 43.9±2.2%. Administration of CERA (0.6 μg/kg SC every 7 days) for 4 weeks reduced infarct size in SNx (infarct size as percentage of area at risk=36.9±3.9%), although a protective effect was not detected for the acute injection of CERA. Immunoblot analyses revealed that myocardial phospho-Akt-Ser473 levels under baseline conditions and on reperfusion were lower in SNx than in Sham, and CERA restored the Akt phosphorylation on reperfusion. Metabolomic analyses showed that glucose 6-phosphate and glucose 1-phosphate were reduced and malate:aspartate ratio was 1.6-fold higher in SNx than in Sham, suggesting disturbed flux of malate-aspartate shuttle by CKD. The CERA improved the malate:aspartate ratio in SNx to the control level. In H9c2 cells, mitochondrial Akt phosphorylation by insulin-like growth factor-1 was attenuated by malate-aspartate shuttle inhibition. In conclusion, the results suggest that a CERA prevents CKD-induced susceptibility of the myocardium to ischemia/reperfusion in...

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Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) may lead to membranous nephropathy (MN). Here, we report a case of MN complicated by ITP and validate the hypothesis that circulating antiplatelet antibodies cause MN using immunofluorescence analysis for immunoglobulin (Ig) G subclass and anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibodies. A 39-year-old Japanese man with ITP, who had been treated with prednisolone for 10 months, achieved a stable disease condition. However, 4 months after tapering the dose down to 10 mg prednisolone, he developed nephrotic syndrome, with a urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio (U-PCR) of 10.6 g/g Cr and was admitted to our hospital. His platelet count, at 89,000/μL, was lower than the normal range, indicating the recurrence of ITP. Renal biopsy revealed the thickening of the glomerular basement membrane with the deposition of IgG and complement component 3. Predominant deposition of IgG1 and negativity for anti-PLA2R staining indicated secondary MN; however, no typical conditions of secondary MN were evident. Although oral prednisolone and cyclosporine A were administered, he was refractory to treatment. A total of 12 sessions of low-density lipoprotein apheresis (LDL-A) decreased his U-PCR to < 3 g/g Cr. Seven months after discharge, his U-PCR further decreased to 0.54 g/g Cr and platelet count recovered to > 200,000/μL. Our literature review reveals that this condition is refractory to steroid therapy. LDL-A can be an effective treatment in drug-resistant MN complicated by ITP.

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BackgroundAlthough the prediction of renal prognosis in patients with IgA vasculitis with nephritis (IgAVN) is important, the association between gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) and its renal prognosis is unknown. This study investigated the effect of GIB on the progression to end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD) in patients with IgAVN.MethodsWe compared the clinicopathological findings at diagnosis, therapy, and clinical outcomes between 10 patients with GIB and 20 patients without GIB in 30 patients with IgAVN aged ≥18 years at the renal biopsy. The primary outcome was the incidence of ESKD. Secondary outcomes included clinical remission and all‐cause mortality. The outcomes and factors affecting the progression to ESKD were evaluated using the Kaplan‐Meier method with log‐rank test and Cox proportional hazards models.ResultsEnd‐stage kidney disease, clinical remission, and deaths from any related cause occurred in 6, 17, and 2 patients, respectively. In Kaplan‐Meier analyses, the GIB group showed a higher incidence of ESKD (50% vs 5%, P = .003) and a lower incidence of clinical remission (20% vs 75%, P = .003). Although the numbers were not statistically significant, this group tended to have a greater number of deaths than the non‐GIB group (7% vs 0%, P = .07). In a multivariable Cox model adjusted for hypertension and urinary proteinuria, GIB could not demonstrate a significant association with ESKD (hazard ratio, 4.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.39‐52.7; P = .23).ConclusionIgAVN with GIB has worse renal outcome, but GIB does not have a statistically significant association with progression to ESKD.