Malignant pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and paraganglioma (PGL) (PHEO and PGL: PPGL) are frequently associated with bone metastasis. Bone metastasis requires long-term management and may lead to skeletal-related events (SREs) that remarkably reduce patients’ quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to elucidate the risk factors for developing bone metastasis in patients with PPGL. The medical records of 40 consecutive adult patients with malignant PPGL at the National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center between 2006 and 2016 were reviewed. SREs were defined as pathologic fracture, spinal cord compression, and the need for bone irradiation and/or surgery. PHEO (20/40) and PGL (20/40) were each present in 50% of the patients. Bone was the most frequent site of metastasis, detected in 60% (24/40). Bone metastasis was more frequent in patients with PGL (16/20, 80%) than in patients with PHEO (8/20, 40%) (p = 0.02). Half (12/24) of the patients with bone metastasis had at least one SRE. Extra-skeletal invasion of the spine, defined as local infiltration to the surrounding tissue beyond the cortical bone, was more frequently observed in patients with bone metastasis associated with SREs than without them (p = 0.001). Careful follow-up and management are warranted especially in patients with PGL as a risk factor for bone metastasis and with extra-skeletal invasion of the spine as risk factor of SREs.

Correction and republication

An article entitled “Effect of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate on the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis in adolescent rat” (Volume 65 Issue 3 Pages 261–268, 2018) is corrected and republished in Volume 69 Issue 2 Pages 217–224, 2022), because of a number of typographical and grammatical errors.

Primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (PMAH), also known in the past as bilateral macronodular adrenalhyperplasia or adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia, is a rare type of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) and is associated with bilateralenlargement of the adrenal glands. It accounts for <1% of all endogenous cases of CS. In order toidentify the pathogenic mutations in the causative gene of (AIMAH pedigrees, Whole-genome sequencing of three patients in family I was used to retrieve candidate causative genes. Meanwhile, the causative gene was identified by Sanger sequencing from the two pedigrees. Sequencing of ARMC5 exons of three patients was carried out to identify somatic mutations. Moreover, haploid clone of one tumor DNA sample was conducted. ARMC5 was the causative gene of two pedigrees confirmed by whole-genome sequencing (WGA) and Sanger sequencing. The variant sites of the two families were c.C943T (p.R315W) and c.C1960T (p.R654X), respectively. Autosomal dominant inheritance of AIMAH was confirmed by genotypes of one family member. Several somatic mutations were discovered in tumor DNA samples. In addition, haploid clone of tumor DNA was confirmed by germline mutation and somaticmutation, which suggested the pathogenic mechanism of “two-hit-model.” ARMC5 was the causative gene of AIMAH pedigrees. This AIMAH in this study presented autosomal dominant inheritance, fitting to Mendelian inheritance law. However, the pathogenic mode of this disease showed as compound heterozygote.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common chronic microvascular complication and the major cause of death in diabetic patients. This study was conceived to explore the possible mechanisms of how hyperuricemia and obesity contribute to renal function impairment in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients. A cross-sectional study in 609 participants recruited from a T2DM population in North China was conducted. The multiplicative interaction between body mass index (BMI) and uric acid (UA) level was assessed using an interaction term in a logistic regression analysis. Our results indicate that male T2DM patients having higher BMI (OR 1.711, p = 0.038), blood urine nitrogen (BUN) (OR 1.100, p = 0.034), and 24-hour urinary micro-albumin levels (OR 1.004, p = 0.021) were much more likely to have high UA. Whereas, for female T2DM patients, the OR of BMI, BUN, and triglyceride were 1.169 (p = 0.001), 1.337 (p = 0.000), and 1.359 (p = 0.006), respectively. In this study population, obesity and elevated UA work together to increase the risk of renal injury. In vitro experiments indicate that reactive oxygen species (ROS) production increased with UA treatment in human renal glomerular endothelial cells (HRGECs), while endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) production level dropped. UA also increased monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) expression and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation. Taken together, our results indicate that high concentrations of UA lead to endothelial dysfunction through the activation of the inflammatory response and induction of oxidative stress, even in non-obese T2DM patients.

Previous studies showed that adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which plays as an intracellular energy sensor, promotes the differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts via enhancing expression of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, which is a potent inducer of osteoblastogenesis. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the roles of AMPK in BMP-2-induced osteoblastogenesis. We used a murine osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 and a murine marrow stromal cell line ST2. BMP-2 (50 and 100 ng/mL) stimulated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and enhanced mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, while the effects of BMP-2 were partly abolished by an inhibitor of AMPK, ara-A (0.1 mM). Real-time PCR showed that BMP-2 significantly increased the mRNA expressions of Alp, osteocalcin (Ocn), Runx2, Osterix and Dlx-5 in MC3T3-E1 cells, while co-incubation of ara-A significantly decreased the BMP-2-stimulated expression of Alp, Ocn, and Runx2. Moreover, co-incubation of ara-A suppressed the BMP-2-induced upregulation of Alp and Ocn in ST2 cells. Western blot analysis showed that BMP-2 phosphorylated Smad1/5 although it did not affect AMPK phosphorylation in MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, a BMP receptor inhibitor LDN-193189 inhibited the phosphorylation of Smad1/5, but did not affect AMPK. In addition, co-incubation of ara-A did not affect BMP-2-induced phosphorylation of Smad1/5. These findings suggest that the inhibition of AMPK activation reduces the osteo-inductive effects of BMP-2 by decreasing the expression of Alp, Ocn, and Runx2 through Smad-independent mechanisms in osteoblastic cells.

New insights in thyroid cancer biology propelled the development of targeted therapies as salvage treatment for radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RR-DTC), and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) lenvatinib has recently become available as a new line of therapy for RR-DTC. The aim of this study is to investigate clinical factors related to the efficacy of TKI therapy in recurrent RR-DTC patients and identify the optimal timing for the start of TKI therapy. The subjects consisted of 29 patients with progressive RR-DTC, 9 males and 20 females, median age 66 years. A univariate analysis was conducted in relation to progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by the Kaplan-Meier method for the following variables: age, sex, histology of the primary tumor, thyroglobulin doubling time before the start of lenvatinib therapy, site of the target lesions, presence of a tumor-mediated symptom at the start of lenvatinib therapy, and baseline tumor size of the target lesions. Median duration of lenvatinib therapy was 14.7 months and median drug intensity was 9.5 mg. At the time of the data cut-off for the analysis, 9 patients (31.0%) have died of their disease (DOD), and a PR (partial response), SD (stable disease), and PD (progressive disease) were observed in 20 patients (69%), 6 patients (20.7%), 3 patients (10.3%), respectively. Univariate analyses showed that the presence of a symptom was the only factor significantly related to poorer PFS and OS. Clinical benefit of TKI therapy will be possibly limited when the therapy starts after tumor-mediated symptoms appear.

Prolactinoma is a benign tumor of the pituitary gland that rarely occurs in children and adolescents; thus, the clinical spectrum and long-term prognosis in these patients remain unknown. This study was performed to investigate the long-term outcomes of medical treatment and the prognostic factors for remission and relapse in children and adolescents with prolactinoma. Three male subjects and four female subjects between the ages of 7- and 17-years-old were included in this study. The mean initial serum prolactin level was 443 ± 251.8 ng/mL (range, 152–946 ng/mL). During the follow-up period (range, 0.6–20 years), a dopamine agonist was administered, and surgery or radiotherapy was performed in cases of resistance to medical treatment or relapse. Unlike female subjects with macroadenoma who often exhibit a good clinical course, two male subjects with early onset macroadenoma presented with visual disturbances. These subjects showed resistance to medical therapy and relapsed, eventually requiring surgical removal and radiotherapy; one of the subjects manifested a metastatic thrombus in the internal jugular vein. In conclusion, pediatric prolactinoma exhibits a broad clinical spectrum, a relatively high incidence of macroadenoma, resistance to medical therapy, and frequent tumor relapses. In addition, a poor prognosis appears to be correlated with male sex, age at disease onset, and histopathological characteristics.

Thyroid hormones play a vital role in the human body for growth and differentiation, regulation of energy metabolism, and physiological function. Hypothyroidism is a common endocrine disorder, which generally results from diminished normal circulating concentrations of serum thyroxine (fT4) and triiodothyronine (fT3). The primary choice in hypothyroidism treatment is oral administration of levothyroxine (L-T4), a synthetic T4 hormone, as approximately 100–125 μg/day. Generally, dose adjustment is made by trial and error approach. However, there are several factors which might influence bioavailability of L-T4 treatment. Genetic background could be an important factor in hypothyroid patients as well as age, gender, concurrent medications and patient compliance. The concentration of thyroid hormones in tissue is regulated by both deiodinases enzyme and thyroid hormone transporters. In the present study, it was aimed to evaluate the effects of genetic differences in the proteins and enzymes (DIO1, DIO2, TSHR, THR and UGT) which are efficient in thyroid hormone metabolism and bioavailability of L-T4 in Turkish population. According to our findings, rs225014 and rs225015 variants in DIO2, which catalyses the conversion of thyroxine (pro-hormone) to the active thyroid hormone, were associated with TSH levels. It should be given lower dose to the patients with rs225014 TT and rs225015 GG genotypes in order to provide proper treatment with higher effectivity and lower toxicity.

The molecular mechanism involved in the exocytosis of arginine vasopressin (AVP) is not fully known. Rabphilin-3A has been suggested as a novel autoantigen in infundibulo-neurohypophysitis (LINH), which leads to central diabetes insipidus through insufficient secretion of AVP. However, the role of rabphilin-3A in the pathogenesis of LINH remains unclear. Thus, the aim of the present study was to identify proteins binding rabphilin-3A in the posterior pituitary. Using glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pulldown assays and proteomic analyses, cullin-associated NEDD8-dissociated protein 1 (CAND1) was identified as a rabphilin-3A-binding protein in the posterior pituitary. Co-immunoprecipitation assays indicated that CAND1 interacted endogenously with rabphilin-3A. In addition, immunohistochemistry experiments showed that CAND1 immunoreactivity was detected mainly in the posterior pituitary, intermediate lobe, and the supraoptic nucleus in the hypothalamus, and less in the anterior lobe, partially co-localizing with rabphilin-3A. Overexpression of CAND1 resulted in deubiquitylation of rabphilin-3A in PC12 cells. Moreover, overexpression of CAND1 in PC12 cells co-transfected with AVP enhanced both basal and KCl-stimulated AVP secretion. The findings indicate that CAND1 inhibits the ubiquitylation of rabphilin-3A and positively regulates AVP secretion. These data shed light on a novel potential mechanism involving rabphilin-3A in AVP secretion, and suggest a new role of CAND1 as a regulator of hormone or neurotransmitter secretion.

This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors as add-on to metformin and sulfonylurea treatment for type 2 diabetes management. The literature search was conducted in electronic databases and meta-analyses of mean differences in the changes from baseline in selected disease endpoints (efficacy endpoints) or odds ratios (for safety endpoints) were performed to compare outcomes between SGLT2 inhibitor- and placebo-/comparator-treatments. Seven studies (5,143 patients; age 56.75 years [95% CI: 56.19, 57.37]; body mass index 29.53 kg/m² [28.23, 30.83]; and 51.87% [50.46, 53.57] males) were included. Compared to placebo, SGLT2 inhibitors significantly (p < 0.00001) reduced glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c; –0.79% [95% CI: –0.90, –0.68]), fasting plasma glucose (FPG; –1.73 mmol/L [–1.86, –1.60]) and body weight (–1.85 kg [–2.11, –1.59]) after 52–78 weeks of treatment. There were no significant differences in reduction of either HbA1c, FPG or body weight between 18–24 weeks and after 52–76 weeks of treatment. Treatment with SGLT2 inhibitors as add-on to metformin and sulfonylurea was also associated with significant reductions in blood pressure and triglycerides and increase in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Incidence of hypoglycemia was significantly higher, but incidence of hyperglycemia was significantly lower in SGLT2 inhibitor group. Overall, drug-related adverse events were more common in SGLT2 group mainly due to higher incidence of genital tract infections.

The lack of isolation ward throughout Japan has long been limiting the ¹³¹I radioactive iodine (RAI) ablation for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) cases. The 30 mCi RAI ablation was only recently permitted for outpatient basis. However, no patient selection tool nor response predictor has been proposed. This study evaluated factors to find response predictor and determinant for the suitable patients. The retrospective study reviewed 47 eligible non-metastatic papillary DTC patients whose had first 30 mCi RAI ablation after total thyroidectomy. Age, gender, clinical stage, risk category, and pre-ablation serum thyroglobulin (Tg) level were among covariates analyzed to determine the patient selection factors; while the thyroid bed uptake on initial whole body scan (WBS) was later also included in determining RAI ablation response. Thirteen (28%) patients had a low risk (T1-2) while 23 (49%) and 11 (23%) had an intermediate (T3) or high risk (T4), respectively. Twenty-five patients were responders, and 22 were non-responders. All factors were similar between responders and non-responders except pre-ablation serum Tg level (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, pre-ablation serum Tg level was the only significant factor for both patient selection (odd ratio (OR) = 1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.13–2.06) and response predictor (OR = 1.48; 95% CI = 1.12–1.95). With the cut-off of 5.4 ng/mL, pre-ablation serum Tg level predicts RAI ablation response with 92% specificity and 73% sensitivity. Pre-ablation serum Tg level may help patient selection and predict the response to outpatient 30 mCi RAI ablation among post total thyroidectomy non-metastatic DTC patients.

To assess the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of metyrosine (an inhibitor of catecholamine synthesis) in patients with pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PPGL), we conducted a prospective, multi-center, open-label study at 11 sites in Japan. We recruited PPGL patients aged ≥12 years requiring preoperative or chronic treatment, receiving α-blocker treatment, having baseline urinary metanephrine (uMN) or normetanephrine (uNMN) levels ≥3 times the upper limit of normal values, and having symptoms associated with excess catecholamine. Metyrosine treatment was started at 500 mg/day and modified according to dose-adjustment criteria up to 4,000 mg/day. The main outcome measure was the proportion of patients who achieved at least 50% reduction in uMN or uNMN levels from baseline. Sixteen patients (11 males/5 females) aged 12–86 years participated. After 12 weeks of treatment and at the last evaluation of efficacy, the primary endpoint was achieved in 31.3% of all patients, including 66.7% of those under preoperative treatment and 23.1% of those under chronic treatment. Sedation, anemia, and death were reported in 1 patient each as serious adverse drug reactions during the 24-week treatment. Metyrosine was shown to be tolerated and to relieve symptoms by reducing excess catecholamine in PPGL patients under both preoperative and chronic treatment.

Various noninvasive algorithms have been developed for predicting the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The evaluation of the indexes’ diagnostic performance has been reported in Europe and Asia over the past decade; however, external validation of them in China is rare. This study was aimed to evaluate various indexes for NAFLD in western China. It was a retrospective cross-sectional study, using data from a large-scale health check-up project at Sichuan provincial hospital. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of eight indexes, including the fatty liver index (FLI), the hepatic steatosis index, lipid accumulation product and etc., were developed to predict ultrasonographic NAFLD. There were 13,122 subjects in this study (2,692 NAFLD patients and 10,430 non-NAFLD participants). The area under ROC curve of FLI for predicting NAFLD was 0.880 (95% confidence interval, 0.874–0.886), which was significantly higher than other seven indexes. Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of FLI for NAFLD were good (cut-off value = 30, 0.782, 0.832, 0.770 and cut-off value = 60, 0.838, 0.443, 0.940, respectively). Furthermore, FLI also presented advantages in expenditure and accessibility, compared with other indexes. It supports FLI as an easily accessible index for physicians and a reliable predictor for NAFLD screening in western China.