Interleukin (IL)-20, a proinflammatory cytokine of the IL-10 family, is involved in acute and chronic renal failure. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of IL-20 during diabetic nephropathy development. We found that IL-20 and its receptor IL-20R1 were upregulated in the kidneys of mice and rats with STZ-induced diabetes. In vitro, IL-20 induced MMP-9, MCP-1, TGF-β1 and VEGF expression in podocytes. IL-20 was upregulated by hydrogen peroxide, high-dose glucose and TGF-β1. In addition, IL-20 induced apoptosis in podocytes by activating caspase-8. In STZ-induced early diabetic nephropathy, IL-20R1-deficient mice had lower blood glucose and serum BUN levels and a smaller glomerular area than did wild-type controls. Anti-IL-20 monoclonal antibody (7E) treatment reduced blood glucose and the glomerular area and improved renal functions in mice in the early stage of STZ-induced diabetic nephropathy. ELISA showed that the serum IL-20 level was higher in patients with diabetes mellitus than in healthy controls. The findings of this study suggest that IL-20 induces cell apoptosis of podocytes and plays a role in the pathogenesis of early diabetic nephropathy.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blood Glucose ; Caspase 8 ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Nephropathies* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; In Vitro Techniques ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukins ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Mice ; Podocytes* ; Rats ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

Objective: Anxious depression is a prevalent characteristic observed in Asian psychiatric patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aims to investigate the prevalence and clinical presentation of anxious depression in Taiwanese individuals diagnosed with MDD. Methods: We recruited psychiatric outpatients aged over 18 who had been diagnosed with MDD through clinical interviews. This recruitment took place at five hospitals located in northern Taiwan. We gathered baseline clinical and demographic information from the participants. Anxious depression was identified using a threshold of an anxiety/somatization factor score ≥7 on the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Results: In our study of 399 patients (84.21% female), 64.16% met the criteria for anxious depression. They tended to be older, married, less educated, with more children, and an older age of onset. Anxious depression patients had higher HAM-D and Clinical Global Impression–Severity scale score, more panic disorder (without agoraphobia), and exhibited symptoms like agitation, irritability, concentration difficulties, psychological and somatic anxiety, somatic complaints, hypochondriasis, weight loss, and increased insight. Surprisingly, their suicide rates did not significantly differ from non-anxious depression patients. This highlights the importance of recognizing and addressing these unique characteristics. Conclusion Our study findings unveiled that the prevalence of anxious depression among Taiwanese outpatients diagnosed with MDD was lower compared to inpatients but substantially higher than the reported rates in European countries and the United States. Furthermore, patients with anxious depression exhibited a greater occurrence of somatic symptoms.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is predominantly an inherited cardiomyopathy with typical histopathological characteristics of fibro-fatty infiltration mainly involving the right ventricular (RV) inflow tract, RV outflow tract, and RV apex in the majority of patients. The above pathologic evolution frequently brings patients with ARVD/C to medical attention owing to the manifestation of syncope, sudden cardiac death (SCD), ventricular arrhythmogenesis, or heart failure. To prevent future or recurrent SCD, an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) is highly desirable in patients with ARVD/C who had experienced unexplained syncope, hemodynamically intolerable ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation, and/or aborted SCD. Notably, the management of frequent ventricular tachyarrhythmias in ARVD/C is challenging, and the use of antiarrhythmic drugs could be unsatisfactory or limited by the unfavorable side effects. Therefore, radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) has been implemented to treat the drug-refractory VT in ARVD/C for decades. However, the initial understanding of the link between fibro-fatty pathogenesis and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in ARVD/C is scarce, the efficacy and prognosis of endocardial RFCA alone were limited and disappointing. The electrophysiologists had broken through this frontier after better illustration of epicardial substrates and broadly application of epicardial approaches in ARVD/C. In recent works of literature, the application of epicardial ablation also successfully results in higher procedural success and decreases VT recurrences in patients with ARVD/C who are refractory to the endocardial approach during long-term follow-up. In this article, we review the important evolution on the delineation of arrhythmogenic substrates, ablation strategies, and ablation outcome of VT in patients with ARVD/C.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is predominantly an inherited cardiomyopathy with typical histopathological characteristics of fibro-fatty infiltration mainly involving the right ventricular (RV) inflow tract, RV outflow tract, and RV apex in the majority of patients. The above pathologic evolution frequently brings patients with ARVD/C to medical attention owing to the manifestation of syncope, sudden cardiac death (SCD), ventricular arrhythmogenesis, or heart failure. To prevent future or recurrent SCD, an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) is highly desirable in patients with ARVD/C who had experienced unexplained syncope, hemodynamically intolerable ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation, and/or aborted SCD. Notably, the management of frequent ventricular tachyarrhythmias in ARVD/C is challenging, and the use of antiarrhythmic drugs could be unsatisfactory or limited by the unfavorable side effects. Therefore, radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) has been implemented to treat the drug-refractory VT in ARVD/C for decades. However, the initial understanding of the link between fibro-fatty pathogenesis and ventricular arrhythmogenesis in ARVD/C is scarce, the efficacy and prognosis of endocardial RFCA alone were limited and disappointing. The electrophysiologists had broken through this frontier after better illustration of epicardial substrates and broadly application of epicardial approaches in ARVD/C. In recent works of literature, the application of epicardial ablation also successfully results in higher procedural success and decreases VT recurrences in patients with ARVD/C who are refractory to the endocardial approach during long-term follow-up. In this article, we review the important evolution on the delineation of arrhythmogenic substrates, ablation strategies, and ablation outcome of VT in patients with ARVD/C.
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents ; Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia ; Cardiomyopathies ; Catheter Ablation ; Catheters ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Defibrillators ; Epicardial Mapping ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Syncope ; Tachycardia ; Tachycardia, Ventricular ; Ventricular Fibrillation

Objective: aaWilson’s disease (WD) is a rare genetic disorder of copper metabolism, and longitudinal follow-up studies are limited. We performed a retrospective analysis to determine the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes in a large WD cohort. Methods: aaMedical records of WD patients diagnosed from 2006–2021 at National Taiwan University Hospital were retrospectively evaluated for clinical presentations, neuroimages, genetic information, and follow-up outcomes. Results: aaThe present study enrolled 123 WD patients (mean follow-up: 11.12 ± 7.41 years), including 74 patients (60.2%) with hepatic features and 49 patients (39.8%) with predominantly neuropsychiatric symptoms. Compared to the hepatic group, the neuropsychiatric group exhibited more Kayser-Fleischer rings (77.6% vs. 41.9%, p < 0.01), lower serum ceruloplasmin levels (4.9 ± 3.9 vs. 6.3 ± 3.9 mg/dL, p < 0.01), smaller total brain and subcortical gray matter volumes (p < 0.0001), and worse functional outcomes during follow-up (p = 0.0003). Among patients with available DNA samples (n = 59), the most common mutations were p.R778L (allelic frequency of 22.03%) followed by p.P992L (11.86%) and p.T935M (9.32%). Patients with at least one allele of p.R778L had a younger onset age (p = 0.04), lower ceruloplasmin levels (p < 0.01), lower serum copper levels (p = 0.03), higher percentage of the hepatic form (p = 0.03), and a better functional outcome during follow-up (p = 0.0012) compared to patients with other genetic variations. Conclusion aaThe distinct clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients in our cohort support the ethnic differences regarding the mutational spectrum and clinical presentations in WD.

OBJECTIVE: To study the metabolic characteristics of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in vitro and compare the differences between rats and human,and for the purpose of providing data for poison effect research and extrapolating poison effect of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile from animals to human being. METHODS: Equilibrium dialysis method was used to analyze the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the plasma of rats and humans in the groups of low dose,medium dose and high dose which were treated with mass concentration of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile at 500,5 000 and 50 000 μg / L respectively. Metabolic incubation systems of SD rat microsomes and human liver microsomes were established in vitro. When the mass concentration of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the systems was 800 μg / L,the concentration of liver microsome was 0. 5 g / L; after being incubated for 0,10,30,60 and 90 min with the involvement of the regeneration system of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate in the incubation systems,the metabolic reaction was stoped. The residual amounts of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile were analyzed and metabolic half-life of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile incubating with liver microsomes in vitro was figured out. RESULTS: Protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the groups of low dose,medium dose and high dose were( 83. 5 ± 0. 9) %,( 88. 8 ± 0. 3) % and( 88. 6 ± 0. 3) % in rats plasma,and( 85. 2 ± 0. 1) %,( 89. 0 ± 0. 1) % and( 91. 1 ± 0. 4) % in human plasma. Both in rat plasma and human plasma,the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the groups of medium dose and high dose were significantly increased than that in the low-dose group( P < 0. 01). In human plasma,the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the high-dose group significantly increased than that in the medium-dose group( P < 0. 01). In the groups of low dose and high dose,the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in human plasma significantly increased than that in rats plasma( P < 0. 01). Absolute differences in protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile between the rat plasma and the human plasma were no more than 2. 5% in the same dose groups. Metabolic half-life of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile incubating with rats and human liver microsomes and control solution in vitro were respectively( 58. 6 ± 1. 6),( 59. 2 ± 1. 5) and( 65. 0 ± 6. 3) min,which shows no significant differences( P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: The potein binding ratio and metabolism of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in liver microsomes in rat plasma is similar to those in human plasma. Both in the plasmas of rats and humans,5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile has high protein binding ratio,and 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile is not metabolized in liver microsomes of either rats or humans.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Zehneria japonica belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family which is one of the most important plant families. It is commonly known as "Pipinong-gubat," widely distributed in Central Luzon regions and in areas along streams and clearings at low and medium altitudes in the Philippines. This study aimed to evaluate the potential cytotoxic and angiosuppressive properties of Zehneria japonica (Thunb. ex Murray) S.K. Chen (Cucurbitaceae) leaf extracts.

METHODOLOGY: The Z japonica semi-crude extracts were obtained by sequential extraction using hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. A modified duck egg chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay was aided by AngioQuant, a digital imaging software used to evaluate angiogenic activity. Inhibition of angiogenesis was evaluated by percent increase or decrease in mean length of blood vessels, mean size of blood vessels, and total number of blood vessel junctions. Moreover, the cytotoxic effects of the extracts were determined through MTT Assay. Osteosarcoma (U20s) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells were used as cancer representatives while human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were used as the normal cell control.

RESULTS: Analysis with AngioQuant revealed that treatment of the duck egg CAM with Z. japonica semi-crude extracts suppressed angiogenesis with ICso values of 1,810.00 ug/mL, 192.50 ug/ml, and 147.70 ug/mL for hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol, respectively, with Celecoxib (20 ug/mL) as the positive control. For MTT assay, Z. japonica extracts exhibited strong cytotoxic effect against U2Os with an ICso values of 19.65 ug/mL, 9.89 ug/ml, and 31.04 ve/mL for the hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol extracts, and no cytotoxic effects against HepG2 with IC50 values of 770.90 ug/mL, 130.10 ug/mL and 231.60 ug/mL for the hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol extracts. Doxorubicin (0.544 ug/mL) was used as the positive control. The extracts also inhibited the growth of the normal cells, with IC50 values of 69.46 ng/mL, 42.23 ug/mL and 63.44 ug/mL for the hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol extracts. There were no mortality and toxic symptoms observed for 14 days after the administration of the crude butanolic extract of Z. japonica in six female Sprague Dawley rats.

CONCLUSION: Z. japonica crude leaf extracts exhibited angio-suppressive activity through CAM assay. In MTT assay, the extracts exhibited strong cytotoxicity in U20s (IC50 S20 ug/mL), no cytotoxic effect in HepG2 (ICso >100 ug/mL) cells, and mild cytotoxic effect in HUVEC (IC50 40-60 ug/mL). Phytochemical screening through TLC revealed that the extracts contain alkaloids, anthrones, flavonoids, and sterols.