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Objectives
High-dose glucocorticoids are associated with improved recovery of deficits in primary autoimmune hypophysitis (PAH), but optimal dosing, route, and duration are unclear.
Design
We reviewed literature for first-line glucocorticoid treatment in PAH until December 2021 and performed an individual patient data meta-analysis to analyze clinical, hormonal, and radiological outcomes with respect to route, dose, and duration (<6.5 vs 6.5–12 vs >12 weeks) of glucocorticoid treatment according to disease severity.
Results
A total of 153 PAH patients from 83 publications were included. The median age at presentation was 41 (32.5–48) years with a female preponderance (70.3%). Visual field recovery was significantly better with i.v. (91.7%) as compared to oral (54.5%) route and high dose (100%) and very high dose (90.9%) as compared to medium dose (20%) of glucocorticoids. Corticotroph axis recovery was greater in i.v. (54.8% vs 28.1% oral, P = 0.033) route and increasing glucocorticoid dose group (0% vs 38.1% vs 57.1%), attaining statistical significance (P = 0.012) with very high-dose. A longer duration of treatment (>6.5 weeks) was associated with better corticotroph and thyrotroph recovery. The need for rescue therapy was lower with i.v. route (38% vs 17.5%, P = 0.012) and with increasing glucocorticoid doses (53.3% vs 34.3% vs 17.3%, P = 0.016). In severe disease, visual field and corticotroph axis recovery were significantly higher with i.v. route and very high-dose steroids. The adverse effects of glucocorticoids were independent of dose and duration of treatment.
Conclusions
Very high-dose glucocorticoids by i.v. route and cumulative longer duration (>6.5 weeks) lead to better outcomes and could be considered as first-line treatment of severe PAH cases.
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Department of Physiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Department of Physiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Stress is an important risk factors for human diseases. It activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and increases plasma glucocorticoids, which are powerful regulators of immune system. The response of the target cells to glucocorticoids depends not only on the plasma concentrations of cortisol and corticosterone but also on their local metabolism. This metabolism is catalyzed by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases type 1 and 2, which interconvert glucocorticoid hormones cortisol and corticosterone and their 11-oxo metabolites cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone. The goal of this study was to determine whether stress modulates glucocorticoid metabolism within lymphoid organs – the structures where immune cells undergo development and activation. Using the resident-intruder paradigm, we studied the effect of social stress on glucocorticoid metabolism in primary and secondary lymphoid organs of Fisher 344 (F344) and Lewis (LEW) rats, which exhibit marked differences in their HPA axis response to social stressors and inflammation. We show that repeated social defeat increased the regeneration of corticosterone from 11-dehydrocorticosterone in the thymus, spleen and mesenteric lymphatic nodes (MLN). Compared with the F344 strain, LEW rats showed higher corticosterone regeneration in splenocytes of unstressed rats and in thymic and MLN mobile cells after stress but corticosterone regeneration in the stroma of all lymphoid organs was similar in both strains. Inactivation of corticosterone to 11-dehydrocorticosterone was found only in the stroma of lymphoid organs but not in mobile lymphoid cells and was not upregulated by stress. Together, our findings demonstrate the tissue- and strain-dependent regeneration of glucocorticoids following social stress.
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Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France
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Aix-Marseille Université, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France
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Introduction
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules that exert post-transcriptional effects on gene expression by binding with cis-regulatory regions in target messenger RNA (mRNA). Polymorphisms in genes encoding miRNAs or in miRNA–mRNA binding sites confer deleterious epigenetic effects on cancer risk. miR-146a has a role in inflammation and may have a role as a tumour suppressor. The polymorphism rs2910164 in the MIR146A gene encoding pre-miR-146a has been implicated in several inflammatory pathologies, including cancers of the breast and thyroid, although evidence for the associations has been conflicting in different populations. We aimed to further investigate the association of this variant with these two cancers in an Irish cohort.
Methods
The study group comprised patients with breast cancer (BC), patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and unaffected controls. Germline DNA was extracted from blood or from saliva collected using the DNA Genotek Oragene 575 collection kit, using crystallisation precipitation, and genotyped using TaqMan-based PCR. Data were analysed using SPSS, v22.
Results
The total study group included 1516 participants. This comprised 1386 Irish participants; 724 unaffected individuals (controls), 523 patients with breast cancer (BC), 136 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and three patients with dual primary breast and thyroid cancer. An additional cohort of 130 patients with DTC from the South of France was also genotyped for the variant. The variant was detected with a minor allele frequency (MAF) of 0.19 in controls, 0.22 in BC and 0.27 and 0.26 in DTC cases from Ireland and France, respectively. The variant was not significantly associated with BC (per allele odds ratio = 1.20 (0.98–1.46), P = 0.07), but was associated with DTC in Irish patients (per allele OR = 1.59 (1.18–2.14), P = 0.002).
Conclusion
The rs2910164 variant in MIR146A is significantly associated with DTC, but is not significantly associated with BC in this cohort.
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Objective
The study aimed to assess the possible systemic effects of intratympanic dexamethasone (IT-Dex) on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, inflammation, and bone metabolism.
Design
A prospective cohort study including 30 adult patients of a tertiary referral ENT clinic treated with 9.6 mg IT-Dex over a period of 10 days was carried out.
Methods
Effects on plasma and salivary cortisol concentrations (basal and after low-dose (1 μg) ACTH stimulation), peripheral white blood cell count, and biomarkers for bone turnover were measured before (day 0) and after IT-Dex (day 16). Additional measurements for bone turnover were performed 5 months after therapy. Clinical information and medication with possible dexamethasone interaction were recorded.
Results
IT-Dex was well tolerated, and no effect was detected on the HPA axis (stimulated plasma and salivary cortisol concentration on day 0: 758±184 and 44.5±22.0 nmol/l; day 16: 718±154 and 39.8±12.4 nmol/l; P=0.58 and 0.24 respectively). Concentrations of osteocalcin (OC) and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP) did not differ after dexamethasone (OC on days 0 and 16 respectively: 24.1±10.5 and 23.6±8.8 μg/l; BSAP on day 0, 16, and after 5 months respectively: 11.5±4.2, 10.3±3.4, and 12.6±5.06 μg/l); similarly, there was no difference in the peripheral white blood cell count (5.7×1012/l and 6.1×1012/l on days 0 and 16 respectively).
Conclusions
IT-Dex therapy did not interfere with endogenous cortisol secretion or bone metabolism.
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Medical Research Laboratories, Departments of Clinical Biochemistry, Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Genetics, Department of Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Clinical Institute, Aarhus University Hospital, Nørrebrogade 44, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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Soluble CD163 (sCD163) is a novel marker linked to states of low-grade inflammation such as diabetes, obesity, liver disease, and atherosclerosis, all prevalent in subjects with Turner syndrome (TS) and Klinefelter syndrome (KS). We aimed to assess the levels of sCD163 and the regulation of sCD163 in regards to treatment with sex hormone therapy in males with and without KS and females with and without TS. Males with KS (n=70) and age-matched controls (n=71) participating in a cross-sectional study and 12 healthy males from an experimental hypogonadism study. Females with TS (n=8) and healthy age-matched controls (n=8) participating in a randomized crossover trial. The intervention comprised of treatment with sex steroids. Males with KS had higher levels of sCD163 compared with controls (1.75 (0.47–6.90) and 1.36 (0.77–3.11) respectively, P<0.001) and the levels correlated to plasma testosterone (r=−0.31, P<0.01), BMI (r=0.42, P<0.001), and homeostasis model of assessment insulin resistance (r=0.46, P<0.001). Treatment with testosterone did not significantly lower sCD163. Females with TS not receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT) had higher levels of sCD163 than those of their age-matched healthy controls (1.38±0.44 vs 0.91±0.40, P=0.04). HRT and oral contraceptive therapy decreased sCD163 in TS by 22% (1.07±0.30) and in controls by 39% (0.55±0.36), with significance in both groups (P=0.01 and P=0.04). We conclude that levels of sCD163 correlate with endogenous testosterone in KS and are higher in KS subjects compared with controls, but treatment did not significantly lower levels. Both endogenous and exogenous estradiol in TS was associated with lower levels of sCD163.
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Background
Prolonged heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval may reflect poor prognosis of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels are related to hyperglycemia, insulin resistance (IR) and inflammation, which may participate in diabetic complications. We investigated the association of serum ADA levels with prolonged QTc interval in a large-scale sample of patients with T2D.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, a total of 492 patients with T2D were recruited. Serum ADA levels were determined by venous blood during fasting. QTc interval was estimated from resting 12-lead ECGs, and prolonged QTc interval was defined as QTc > 440 ms.
Results
In this study, the prevalence of prolonged QTc interval was 22.8%. Serum ADA levels were positively associated with QTc interval (r = 0.324, P < 0.0001). The proportion of participants with prolonged QTc interval increased significantly from 9.2% in the first tertile (T1) to 24.7% in the second tertile (T2) and 39.0% in the third tertile (T3) of ADA (P for trend < 0.001). After adjusting for other possible risk factors by multiple linear regression analysis, serum ADA level was still significantly associated with QTc interval (β = 0.217, t = 3.400, P < 0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that female (OR 5.084, CI 2.379–10.864, P < 0.001), insulin-sensitizers treatment (OR 4.229, CI 1.290–13.860, P = 0.017) and ADA (OR 1.212, CI 1.094–1.343, P < 0.001) were independent contributors to prolonged QTc interval.
Conclusions
Serum ADA levels were independently associated with prolonged QTc interval in patients with T2D.
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Chronic inflammation induces skeletal muscle wasting and cachexia. In arthritic rats, fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα (PPARA)) agonist, reduces wasting of gastrocnemius, a predominantly glycolytic muscle, by decreasing atrogenes and myostatin. Considering that fenofibrate increases fatty acid oxidation, the aim of this study was to elucidate whether fenofibrate is able to prevent the effect of arthritis on serum adipokines and on soleus, a type I muscle in which oxidative metabolism is the dominant source of energy. Arthritis was induced by injection of Freund's adjuvant. Four days after the injection, control and arthritic rats were gavaged daily with fenofibrate (300 mg/kg bw) or vehicle over 12 days. Arthritis decreased serum leptin, adiponectin, and insulin (P<0.01) but not resistin levels. In arthritic rats, fenofibrate administration increased serum concentrations of leptin and adiponectin. Arthritis decreased soleus weight, cross-sectional area, fiber size, and its Ppar α mRNA expression. In arthritic rats, fenofibrate increased soleus weight, fiber size, and Ppar α expression and prevented the increase in Murf1 mRNA. Fenofibrate decreased myostatin, whereas it increased MyoD (Myod1) and myogenin expressions in the soleus of control and arthritic rats. These data suggest that in oxidative muscle, fenofibrate treatment is able to prevent arthritis-induced muscle wasting by decreasing Murf1 and myostatin expression and also by increasing the myogenic regulatory factors, MyoD and myogenin. Taking into account the beneficial action of adiponectin on muscle wasting and the correlation between adiponectin and soleus mass, part of the anticachectic action of fenofibrate may be mediated through stimulation of adiponectin secretion.
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The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has increased dramatically worldwide and, subsequently, also the risk of developing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis and cancer. Today, weight loss is the only available treatment, but administration of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) analogues have, in addition to weight loss, shown improvements on liver metabolic health but the mechanisms behind are not entirely clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatic metabolic profile in response to FGF21 treatment. Diet-induced obese (DIO) mice were treated with s.c. administration of FGF21 or subjected to caloric restriction by switching from high fat diet (HFD) to chow to induce 20% weight loss and changes were compared to vehicle dosed DIO mice. Cumulative caloric intake was reduced by chow, while no differences were observed between FGF21 and vehicle dosed mice. The body weight loss in both treatment groups was associated with reduced body fat mass and hepatic triglycerides (TG), while hepatic cholesterol was slightly decreased by chow. Liver glycogen was decreased by FGF21 and increased by chow. The hepatic gene expression profiles suggest that FGF21 increased uptake of fatty acids and lipoproteins, channeled TGs toward the production of cholesterol and bile acid, reduced lipogenesis and increased hepatic glucose output. Furthermore, FGF21 appeared to reduce inflammation and regulate hepatic leptin receptor-a expression. In conclusion, FGF21 affected several metabolic pathways to reduce hepatic steatosis and improve hepatic health and markedly more genes than diet restriction (61 vs 16 out of 89 investigated genes).
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Aims/hypothesis
The macrophage-specific glycoprotein sCD163 has emerged as a biomarker of low-grade inflammation in the metabolic syndrome and related disorders. High sCD163 levels are seen in acute sepsis as a result of direct lipopolysaccharide-mediated shedding of the protein from macrophage surfaces including Kupffer cells. The aim of this study was to investigate if low-grade endotoxinemia in human subjects results in increasing levels of sCD163 in a cortisol-dependent manner.
Methods
We studied eight male hypopituitary patients and eight age- and gender-matched healthy controls during intravenous low-dose LPS or placebo infusion administered continuously over 360 min. Furthermore, we studied eight healthy volunteers with bilateral femoral vein and artery catheters during a 360-min infusion with saline and low-dose LPS in each leg respectively.
Results:
Systemic low-grade endotoxinemia resulted in a gradual increase in sCD163 from 1.65 ± 0.51 mg/L (placebo) to 1.92 ± 0.46 mg/L (LPS) at 220 min, P = 0.005 and from 1.66 ± 0.42 mg/L (placebo) to 2.19 ± 0.56 mg/L (LPS) at 340 min, P = 0.006. A very similar response was observed in hypopituitary patients: from 1.59 ± 0.53 mg/L (placebo) to 1.83 ± 0.45 mg/L (LPS) at 220 min, P = 0.021 and from 1.52 ± 0.53 mg/L (placebo) to 2.03 ± 0.44 mg/L (LPS) at 340 min, P < 0.001. As opposed to systemic treatment, continuous femoral artery infusion did not result in increased sCD163.
Conclusion:
Systemic low-grade endotoxinemia resulted in increased sCD163 to levels seen in the metabolic syndrome in both controls and hypopituitary patients. This suggests a direct and cortisol-independent effect of LPS on the shedding of sCD163. We observed no effect of local endotoxinemia on levels of serum sCD163.
Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité-University Medicine, Berlin, Germany
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Bone Research Program, ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Institute of Special Environmental Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Shaanxi, China
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Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia
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Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia
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Patients with chronic immune-mediated arthritis exhibit abnormal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. The basis for this abnormality is not known. Immune-mediated arthritis is associated with increased extra-adrenal synthesis of active glucocorticoids by the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) enzyme. 11β-HSD1 is expressed in the central nervous system, including regions involved in HPA axis regulation. We examined whether altered 11β-HSD1 expression within these regions contributes to HPA axis dysregulation during arthritis. The expression of 11β-HSD1, and other components of glucocorticoid signaling, were examined in various brain regions and the pituitary gland of mice with experimentally induced arthritis. Two arthritis protocols were employed: The K/BxN spontaneous arthritis model for chronic arthritis and the K/BxN serum transfer arthritis model for acute arthritis. 11β-HSD1 mRNA (Hsd11b1) was expressed in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, cortex, cerebellum and pituitary gland. Hypothalamic Hsd11b1 expression did not change in response to arthritis in either model. Pituitary Hsd11b1 expression was however significantly increased in both chronic and acute arthritis models. Hippocampal Hsd11b1 was decreased in acute but not chronic arthritis. Chronic, but not acute, arthritis was associated with a reduction in hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone and arginine vasopressin expression. In both models, serum adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone levels were no different from non-inflammatory controls. These findings demonstrate inflammation-dependent regulation of Hsd11b1 expression in the pituitary gland and hippocampus. The upregulation of 11β-HSD1 expression in the pituitary during both chronic and acute arthritis, and thus, an increase in glucocorticoid negative feedback, could contribute to the abnormalities in HPA axis activity seen in immune-mediated arthritis.
