Association of IL-4 with pachychoroid neovasculopathy.

The purpose of this study was to identify the inflammatory cytokines that were associated with pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV). Seventy-five eyes of 75 patients with PNV, 145 eyes of 145 patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration without pachyvessels, and 150 eyes of 150 normal subjects were examined for the levels of intraocular cytokines. In eyes with PNV, the levels of IL-1α, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, and VEGF were significantly higher than that of the controls. Logistic regression analysis showed that the highest association with the pachyvessels was found for IL-4, IL-2, and IL-1α. In eyes with PNV, the levels of IL-4, IL-2, IL-5, IL-13, IL-1α, and IL-1ß were significantly higher in eyes with both increased choroidal thickness and choroidal vessel diameter. The strongest correlation with the choroidal thickness and vessel diameter was observed for IL-4. In PNV eyes with polypoidal lesions, the levels of IL-4, IL-17, and TNFß were significantly correlated with the number of polypoidal lesions. Of these cytokines, IL-4 was especially associated with the thickness of the choroidal vessels and the formation of polypoidal lesions. We conclude that IL-4 is most likely involved in establishing the clinical characteristics of PNV and polypoidal vascular remodeling.

Successful Control of Hypercalcemia with Sorafenib, Evocalcet, and Denosumab Combination Therapy for Recurrent Parathyroid Carcinoma.

Parathyroid carcinoma (PC) is a rare type of endocrine cancer. Recurrence and metastasis are common after surgery, and refractory hypercalcemia often leads to a poor prognosis. However, there are currently no specific strategies for PC recurrence. We herein report a 61-year-old Japanese man with metastatic PC who was treated with sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor. In this case, the serum calcium level was under control for 10 months after the initiation of sorafenib. This case suggests that combination therapy with sorafenib, evocalcet, and denosumab may be an alternative, stronger management option for refractory hypercalcemia in recurrent PC.

Determination of probability of causative pathogen in infectious keratitis using deep learning algorithm of slit-lamp images.

Corneal opacities are important causes of blindness, and their major etiology is infectious keratitis. Slit-lamp examinations are commonly used to determine the causative pathogen; however, their diagnostic accuracy is low even for experienced ophthalmologists. To characterize the "face" of an infected cornea, we have adapted a deep learning architecture used for facial recognition and applied it to determine a probability score for a specific pathogen causing keratitis. To record the diverse features and mitigate the uncertainty, batches of probability scores of 4 serial images taken from many angles or fluorescence staining were learned for score and decision level fusion using a gradient boosting decision tree. A total of 4306 slit-lamp images including 312 images obtained by internet publications on keratitis by bacteria, fungi, acanthamoeba, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) were studied. The created algorithm had a high overall accuracy of diagnosis, e.g., the accuracy/area under the curve for acanthamoeba was 97.9%/0.995, bacteria was 90.7%/0.963, fungi was 95.0%/0.975, and HSV was 92.3%/0.946, by group K-fold validation, and it was robust to even the low resolution web images. We suggest that our hybrid deep learning-based algorithm be used as a simple and accurate method for computer-assisted diagnosis of infectious keratitis.

Publisher Correction: Toxicities of and inflammatory responses to moxifloxacin, cefuroxime, and vancomycin on retinal vascular cells.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Role of IL-4 in bone marrow driven dysregulated angiogenesis and age-related macular degeneration.

Age-associated sterile inflammation can cause dysregulated choroidal neovascularization (CNV) as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Intraocular fluid screening of 234 AMD patients identified high levels of IL-4. The purpose of this study was to determine the functional role of IL-4 in CNV formation using murine CNV model. Our results indicate that the IL-4/IL-4 receptors (IL4Rs) controlled tube formation and global proangiogenic responses of bone marrow cells. CCR2+ bone marrow cells were recruited to form very early CNV lesions. IL-4 rapidly induces CCL2, which enhances recruitment of CCR2+ bone marrow cells. This in vivo communication, like quorum-sensing, was followed by the induction of IL-4 by the bone marrow cells during the formation of mature CNVs. For CNV development, IL-4 in bone marrow cells are critically required, and IL-4 directly promotes CNV formation mainly by IL-4R. The IL-4/IL-4Rα axis contributes to pathological angiogenesis through communications with bone marrow cells leading to retinal degeneration.

A case of insulin-like growth factor 2-producing gastrointestinal stromal tumor with severe hypoglycemia.

BACKGROUND: Non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia (NICTH) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome that secretes incompletely processed high molecular weight insulin growth factor 2 (big-IGF2), which results in stimulation of the insulin receptor and subsequently induces hypoglycemia. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a common intestinal mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract. The most frequent site of GIST is the stomach; NICTH induced by IGF2-producing stomach GISTs is rare. CASE PRESENTATION: An 84-year-old man was admitted to the hospital due to impaired consciousness (JCS II-10) in the morning. At the time of admission, his serum glucose was 44 mg/dL; his consciousness was restored with 20 ml of 50% glucose. To avoid hypoglycemia, a continuous intravenous infusion of glucose as well as dietary intervention was required. At the time of hypoglycemia, the levels of insulin and C-peptide were suppressed. Additionally, IGF1 levels were below the normal range. Abdominal computed tomography revealed that he had a large lobulated mass (116 × 70 × 72 mm) around the gastric corpus. Pathological analysis of biopsy specimens identified disarray of spindle cells and positivity for c-kit as well as strong positivity for DOG-1. Further analysis revealed high levels of Ki-67 (Mib-1 index: 15.5%) and mitotic index (7/50HPF); the tumor was diagnosed as high-risk GIST, and complete surgical resection was performed. Hypoglycemia resolved immediately after tumor resection. The resected tumor specimen was positive for IGF2 staining, and big-IGF2 (11-18 kDa) was detected in preoperative serum and tumor samples; the patient was diagnosed with NICTH due to an IGF2-producing tumor. CONCLUSIONS: NICTH is rare in GIST of the stomach; however, the large GIST could produce big-IGF2 and subsequently cause severe hypoglycemia, requiring prompt evaluation and complete tumor resection.

Toxicities of and inflammatory responses to moxifloxacin, cefuroxime, and vancomycin on retinal vascular cells.

Prophylactic intracameral injection of antibiotics is commonly used to prevent endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. However, devastating visual complications have been reported including hemorrhagic occlusive retinal vasculitis (HORV).To determine the toxic and inflammatory effects of moxifloxacin, cefuroxime, and vancomycin on human retinal vascular cells, human retinal vascular endothelial cells (RVEC) and pericytes were exposed to three antibiotics, and the adverse effects were assessed by membrane damage, loss of intrinsic esterase activity, kinetic cell viability, and inflammatory cytokine secretion. Their retinal toxicity was examined by live/dead assays after an intravitreal injection of the three antibiotics into mice eyes. In vascular cells in culture, membrane damage and loss of esterase activity were induced after exposure to the three antibiotics. The toxic effects were most obvious after moxifloxacin (RVEC, ≥125 µg/mL; pericytes, ≥1000 µg/mL) at 24 h. Cefuroxime also reduced esterase activity and the membrane integrity of vascular cells but were less toxic than moxifloxacin. Kinetic cell viability testing showed that 500 µg/mL of moxifloxacin exposure induced significant decrease (29%) in the viability as early as 1 h. When the inflammatory effects of the antibiotics were examined, a significant induction of IL-8 was observed especially by RVECs after exposure to cefuroxime or vancomycin which was exacerbated by L-alanyl-γ-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (Tri-DAP), a NOD1 ligand. Intravitreal injections in mice showed that cefuroxime and vancomycin caused retinal and vascular toxicity extending to the inner nuclear layers. Collectively, moxifloxacin causes immediate damage to retinal vascular cells in vitro, while cefuroxime and vancomycin induced significant inflammatory effects on vascular endothelial cells and caused retinal toxicity. Surgeons need to be cautious of the toxicity when antibiotics are used prophylactically especially by intravitreal administration.

Low skeletal muscle mass is associated with the risk of all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have an increased risk of muscle mass reduction. However, the association between muscle mass and mortality in T2DM remains unknown. METHODS: This was a historical cohort study with the endpoint of all-cause mortality. This study included 163 Japanese men and 141 postmenopausal women with T2DM whose body compositions were evaluated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Low muscle mass was defined as a skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) of <7.0 kg/m2 for men and <5.4 kg/m2 for women. RESULTS: During the 6-year follow-up period, 32 men and 14 women died. In a Cox regression analysis adjusted for age, T2DM duration, glycated hemoglobin, serum creatinine, fasting C-peptide, body mass index, and lean body mass were associated with the risk of mortality in men [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.00-3.28 per standard deviation (SD) decrease, p = 0.049] and women (HR = 4.53, 95% CI = 1.14-17.96 per SD decrease, p = 0.032). Neither fat mass nor bone mineral content was associated with mortality. Low SMI was associated with increased mortality in women (HR = 5.97, 95% CI = 1.04-34.37, p = 0.045), while the association between low SMI and mortality was marginal in men (HR = 2.38, 95% CI = 0.92-6.14, p = 0.074). CONCLUSIONS: Low muscle mass was independently associated with all-cause mortality in patients with T2DM. The preservation of skeletal muscle mass is important to protect patients with T2DM from increased mortality risk.

A scoring assessment tool for the risk of vertebral fractures in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Development of assessment tool for fracture risk is an urgent task, because bone mineral density (BMD) is less useful for evaluating fracture risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In total, 808 T2DM patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. To develop a scoring assessment tool using clinical risks for vertebral fracture (VF), we evaluated which variables were associated with VF by logistic regression analysis, and categorized these variables based on cut-off values obtained by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. For calculation of the score, the relative weight of the factors was determined, and a tentative score was assigned. Then, cut-off point of the score was examined to predict VF. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses showed that age, diabetes duration, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, and T score at femoral neck (FN-T score) were associated with VF risk. Parameter estimates for each risk factor obtained by logistic analyses were converted to risk scores (maximum score 23). ROC analysis showed that 8.5 was the cut-off value for detecting VF. Multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors showed that score ≥9 was significantly associated with an increased risk of prevalent VF (odds ratio 1.99, 95% confidence interval 1.22-3.24, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to show that a scoring assessment tool using age, duration of diabetes, BMI, serum albumin, and FN-T score is useful to estimate VF risk in patients with T2DM, being more sensitive than BMD alone in detecting bone fragility.

High interleukin-8 level in aqueous humor is associated with poor prognosis in eyes with open angle glaucoma and neovascular glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Purpose of this study was to identify molecular markers that were significantly correlated with presence of glaucoma and outcome of glaucoma surgery. To accomplish this, we determined the profiles of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the aqueous humor of 101 glaucoma patients; 31 primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), 38 pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PEG), and 32 neovascular glaucoma (NVG). We also studied 100 normal subjects as controls. In eyes with POAG or PEG, the level of interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-23, and CCL2 were significantly elevated. In the NVG eyes, many inflammatory cytokines were also highly elevated. IL-8 had the highest odds ratio, and levels of IL-8 and CCL2 were significantly correlated with preoperative IOP or visual field defects in PEG eyes. Principal component analysis showed that IL-8 had the highest association to the IOP-cytokine component, and Cox proportional hazard model indicated that an elevation of IL-8 was a significant risk of filtering surgery failure. Together with modeling of their interactions and prognosis, IL-8 elevation is a significant risk factor both for detecting and managing glaucoma and may serve as a therapeutic target candidate to improve the prognosis of glaucoma surgery.

Albuminuria Increases All-Cause Mortality in Japanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Previous studies have reported that diabetic kidney disease is associated with cardiovascular events and death. Little is known about the independent association of albuminuria and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), with mortality in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without renal failure. We conducted a historical cohort study to clarify this issue in Japanese patients with T2DM. In this study, we recruited 385 patients with T2DM, who never had chronic renal failure (eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m² at baseline) and malignant diseases. With the end point of all-cause mortality, Cox regression analysis was performed. During the observational period of 7 years, 54 patients died. Cox regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors such as age, duration of diabetes, body mass index, and HbA1c, and showed that urinary albumin level was significantly associated with the mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03⁻1.70 per standard deviation (SD) increase, p = 0.031]. After additional adjustment for eGFR, the association remained significant (HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.02⁻1.70 per SD increase, p = 0.033). On the other hand, eGFR was not associated with the mortality. The present study showed that higher urinary albumin was associated with increased all-cause mortality in T2DM, independently of eGFR. These findings suggest that, regardless of eGFR, albuminuria is important for the increased risk of mortality in Japanese T2DM patients without chronic renal failure (eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m²). However, because of several limitations, further large-scale longitudinal studies are necessary to confirm the present study.

Association of Bone Mineral Density, Bone Turnover Markers, and Vertebral Fractures with All-Cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have an increased risk of fragility fracture. However, the association between diabetes-related osteoporosis and mortality in T2DM remains unknown. This historical cohort study assessed the endpoint of all-cause mortality in patients with T2DM. According to our hospital record, bone parameters were examined in 797 patients from 1997 to 2009. We excluded 78 because of diseases affecting bone metabolism and could not follow-up 308 patients. Finally, in 411 patients, the associations of bone turnover markers, bone mineral density (BMD), and the prevalence of vertebral fractures with mortality were investigated by Cox regression analyses adjusted for confounding factors. Of 411 patients, 56 died during the follow-up period of almost 7 years. Cox regression analyses showed that reduced BMD at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) (T-score ≤ -2.5) and severe vertebral fractures were associated with higher mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 3.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.48-7.16, p = 0.003 for LS-T score ≤ -2.5; HR 5.19, 95% CI 1.83-14.75, p = 0.002 for FN-T score ≤ -2.5; HR 2.93, 95% CI 1.42-6.02, p = 0.004 for multiple vertebral fractures; HR 7.64, 95% CI 2.13-27.42, p = 0.002 for grade 3 vertebral fracture). Separate analysis in men and women showed that decreased serum osteocalcin was associated with mortality in women (HR 3.82, 95% CI 1.01-14.46 per SD decrease, p = 0.048). The present study is the first to show the association of reduced BMD and severe vertebral fractures with increased all-cause mortality in patients with T2DM. Moreover, higher serum osteocalcin was significantly associated with decreased mortality in women with T2DM.

A case report of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus associated with drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome in an elderly patient with coxsackie B4 virus infection and human leukocyte antigen-A24 haplotype.

Drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS) is a severe systemic adverse drug reaction. Previous studies showed that DIHS is associated with the onset of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus (FT1D). Although genetic background and abnormalities in immune response or viral infection are considered to be associated with pathogenesis of FT1D, it remains unclear whether virus infection and specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing are involved in DIHS-associated FT1D. Here, we report a case of a 78-year-old female patient with FT1D after DIHS treatment. She was diagnosed as DIHS caused by carbamazepine, and treatment with predonisolone was initiated. After 46 days from the occurrence of DIHS, she was admitted to our hospital because of type 1 diabetes mellitus and diabetic ketoacidosis. Although her Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was elevated by predonisolone treatment (HbA1c: 9.2%), we diagnosed her as fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus considering the abrupt onset of the ketoacidosis. Her general condition was improved by treatment with fluid infusion and insulin administration. During her clinical course, the infection of coxsackie B4 virus was observed. In addition, the examination of HLA typing showed HLA-A24 haplotype. These findings suggest that the coxsackie B4 virus infection may be involved in the pathogenesis of DIHS-induced FT1D, and that HLA-A24 haplotype might relate to DIHS-associated FT1D.

Decreased Serum Insulin-like Growth Factor-I is a Risk Factor for Non-vertebral Fractures in Diabetic Postmenopausal Women.

Objective Previous studies have shown that serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is involved in diabetes-related bone fragility. Although lower serum levels of IGF-I are reported to be associated with a higher risk of vertebral fractures in patients with type 2 diabetes, it is unknown whether or not the serum level of IGF-I is associated with the incidence of non-vertebral fractures. Methods We investigated the relationships between the serum levels of IGF-I and the incidence of non-vertebral osteoporotic fractures in 188 men and 168 postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes. Results A multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, duration of diabetes, observation period, body mass index, HbA1c, serum creatinine, and the bone mineral density at the lumbar spine showed that the serum IGF-I level was significantly and inversely associated with the incidence of non-vertebral osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women (odds ratio =0.48, 95% confidential interval [CI] 0.23-0.99 per SD increase; p=0.047), but not in men. Moreover, the inverse association between the serum IGF-I level and the incidence of non-vertebral fractures remained significant after additional adjustment for insulin use, and the serum calcium and phosphate levels (odds ratio =0.48, 95% CI 0.23-0.99 per SD increase; p=0.046). Conclusion This is the first study to show that decreased serum IGF-I levels are associated with a higher risk of non-vertebral osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes. Serum IGF-I could be a useful marker for assessing the incidence of osteoporotic fractures.

Vitamin D-mediated hypercalcemia in multicentric Castleman's disease.

Multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder, which represents various symptoms caused by the hyperproduction of interleukin-6 (IL-6). However, case studies of MCD accompanied by hypercalcemia have rarely been reported thus far. A 78-year-old male had generalized fatigue, and his laboratory data revealed elevated serum calcium (Ca) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] levels (11.5 mg/dl and 80 pg/ml, respectively), while the serum intact parathyroid hormone level was low (4 pg/ml). Computed tomography showed multicentric lymphadenopathy. The serum IL-6 level was elevated (20.7 pg/ml), and pathological examination of a supraclavicular lymph node specimen led us to diagnose MCD. Moreover, immunostaining analysis showed that vitamin D-activating enzyme 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1-alpha-hydroxylase was expressed in lymph node macrophages. Prednisolone treatment improved the hypercalcemia and decreased the levels of 1,25(OH)2D and IL-6. We first reported a case of vitamin D-mediated hypercalcemia in MCD.

Decreased serum insulin-like growth factor-I level is associated with the increased mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Mortality is increased in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Although previous studies showed that decreased serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels are associated with diabetic complications, little is known about the association between serum IGF-I level and the mortality in patients with T2DM. This is a historical cohort study with end-point of all-cause mortality in 234 men and 191 women with T2DM. Standard deviation of serum IGF-I [IGF-I (SD)] was calculated by adjusting for age and gender. Of 234 male and 191 female, 46 and 25 patients died, respectively, for the follow-up period of almost 7 years. Unadjusted survival analyses showed that lower IGF-I was associated with higher mortality in men and women (p<0.001 and p=0.004, respectively). In Cox regression analyses adjusted for age, duration of diabetes, body mass index, HbA1c, and serum creatinine, serum IGF-I was inversely associated with the mortality [men, hazard ratio (HR)=0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.25-0.64 per SD increase, p<0.001; women, HR=0.28, 95%CI 0.08-0.96, p=0.043]. When IGF-I was replaced to IGF-I (SD), the relationships are still significant. After additional adjustments for serum albumin, systolic blood pressure, ALT, LDL-cholesterol, smoking, and past history of cardiovascular disease, the association between serum IGF-I and the mortality in men remained significant (HR=0.31, 95%CI 0.15-0.65, p=0.002), but not in women. The present study showed that lower serum IGF-I levels were associated with the increased all-cause mortality in patients with T2DM, suggesting that serum IGF-I could be clinically useful for assessing the risk of mortality in the population.

UBXD1 is a VCP-interacting protein that is involved in ER-associated degradation.

AAA ATPase VCP and its yeast ortholog Cdc48, in a complex with the Ufd1-Npl4 heterodimer as an adaptor, play an essential role in endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD). Several UBX domain-containing proteins function to recruit ubiquitylated substrates to VCP/Cdc48 by binding both VCP/Cdc48 and other ERAD components such as ubiquitin ligases. Here we show that mammalian UBXD1 is an additional UBX domain-containing protein involved in the ERAD process. UBXD1 is a cytosolic protein that interacts with VCP and Derlin-1. Overexpression of UBXD1 in cells causes selective dissociation of Ufd1 from VCP, resulting in inhibition of mutant cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) degradation by ERAD. Additionally, depletion of endogenous UBXD1 protein by RNA interference also results in a defect in CFTR degradation. Collectively, these findings suggest that UBXD1 is a regulatory component of ERAD that may modulate the adaptor binding to VCP.