Vadadustat for anemia in chronic kidney disease patients on peritoneal dialysis: A phase 3 open-label study in Japan.

Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor for the treatment of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This phase 3, open-label, 24-week single-arm study evaluated the efficacy and safety of vadadustat in 42 Japanese CKD patients with anemia undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Patients received oral vadadustat for 24 weeks, initiated at 300 mg/day and doses were adjusted to achieve the target hemoglobin (Hb) range of 11.0-13.0 g/dL. Least squares mean of average Hb at weeks 20 and 24 was 11.35 g/dL, which was within the target range. The most frequent adverse events were catheter site infections (23.8%), which were not related to vadadustat treatment. Vadadustat was generally well tolerated and effective in controlling Hb levels within the target range, indicating the usefulness of vadadustat for treating anemia in Japanese CKD patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis.

Efficacy and safety of canagliflozin as add-on therapy to a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A 52-week, open-label, phase IV study.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are antihyperglycaemic agents with weight-lowering effects. The efficacy and safety of the SGLT2 inhibitor canagliflozin as add-on therapy in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and inadequate glycaemic control with a GLP-1RA (≥12 weeks) were evaluated in this phase IV study. Patients received canagliflozin 100 mg once daily for 52 weeks. Efficacy endpoints included change in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), body weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and HDL cholesterol from baseline to week 52. Safety endpoints included adverse events (AEs), hypoglycaemia and laboratory tests. Of the 71 patients treated with canagliflozin, 63 completed the study. At 52 weeks, HbA1c was significantly reduced from baseline (-0.70%; paired t test, P < .001). Significant changes were also observed in FPG (-34.7 mg/dL), body weight (-4.46%), SBP (-7.90 mm Hg), and HDL cholesterol (7.60%; all P < .001). The incidence of AEs, adverse drug reactions and hypoglycaemia was 71.8%, 32.4% and 9.9%, respectively. All hypoglycaemic events were mild. These findings suggest that the long-term combination of canagliflozin with a GLP-1RA is effective and well tolerated in Japanese patients with T2DM.

Long-term efficacy and safety of canagliflozin in combination with insulin in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy and safety of canagliflozin as add-on therapy in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had inadequate glycaemic control with insulin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised a 16-week, double-blind period in which patients were randomized to either placebo (P; N = 70) or canagliflozin (100 mg, CAN; N = 76), followed by a 36-week open-label period in which all patients received canagliflozin. The efficacy endpoints included the change in HbA1c from baseline to end of treatment. The safety endpoints were adverse events, hypoglycaemic events, and laboratory test values. RESULTS: The changes from baseline (mean ± standard deviation, last observation carried forward) in the P/CAN and CAN/CAN groups, respectively, were -1.09% ± 0.85% and -0.88% ± 0.86% for HbA1c, -1.40% ± 2.54% and -2.14% ± 2.75% for body weight, and 7.84% ± 14.37% and 8.91% ± 10.80% for HOMA2-%B (all, P < .001). Adverse events occurred in 85.1% of the P/CAN group and 92.0% of the CAN/CAN group. Hypoglycaemic events occurred in 43.3% and 54.7%, respectively. All hypoglycaemic events were mild in severity and insulin dose reduction decreased the incidence rate of hypoglycaemic events. Post-hoc ordinal logistic modelling/logistic modelling showed that lower serum C-peptide at Week 0 was a risk factor for hypoglycaemia in both the P and CAN groups in the double-blind period as well as in the canagliflozin all-treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the long-term efficacy and safety of canagliflozin combined with insulin in Japanese patients.

Time-restricted feeding of rapidly digested starches causes stronger entrainment of the liver clock in PER2::LUCIFERASE knock-in mice.

Restricting feeding to daytime can entrain circadian clocks in peripheral organs of rodents, and nutrients that rapidly increase the blood glucose level are suitable for inducing entrainment. However, dietetic issues, for example, whether or not the diet comprises heated food, have not been fully explored. We therefore hypothesized that rapidly digested starch causes stronger entrainment than slowly digested starch. The entrainment ability of the liver clock in PER2::LUCIFERASE knock-in mice, blood glucose levels, insulin levels, and acute changes in liver clock gene expression were compared between a ß-starch (native)-substituted AIN-93M standard diet and an α-starch (gelatinized)-substituted diet. ß-Corn and ß-rice starch induced larger phase delays of the liver clock, larger blood glucose increases, and higher Per2 gene expression in the liver compared with ß-potato starch. Starch granule size, as examined by electron microscopy, was larger for ß-potato starch than for ß-corn or ß-rice starch. After heating, we obtained gelatinized α-potato, α-corn, and α-rice starch, which showed destruction of the crystal structure and a high level of gelatinization. No difference in the increase of blood glucose or insulin levels was observed between ß-corn and α-corn starch, or between ß-rice and α-rice starch. In contrast, α-potato starch caused higher levels of glucose and insulin compared with ß-potato starch. An α-potato starch-substituted diet induced larger phase delays of the liver clock than did ß-potato starch. Therefore, rapidly digested starch is appropriate for peripheral clock entrainment. Dietetic issues (heated vs unheated) are important when applying basic mouse data to humans.

Meal frequency patterns determine the phase of mouse peripheral circadian clocks.

Peripheral circadian clocks in mammals are strongly entrained by light-dark and eating cycles. Their physiological functions are maintained by the synchronization of the phase of organs via clock gene expression patterns. However, little is known about the adaptation of peripheral clocks to the timing of multiple daily meals. Here, we investigated the effect of irregular eating patterns, in terms of timing and volume, on their peripheral clocks in vivo. We found that the phase of the peripheral clocks was altered by the amount of food and the interval between feeding time points but was unaffected by the frequency of feeding, as long as the interval remained fixed. Moreover, our results suggest that a late dinner should be separated into 2 half-dinners in order to alleviate the effect of irregular phases of peripheral clocks.

Differential roles of breakfast only (one meal per day) and a bigger breakfast with a small dinner (two meals per day) in mice fed a high-fat diet with regard to induced obesity and lipid metabolism.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies on humans and rodents have suggested that the timing of food intake plays an important role in circadian regulation and metabolic health. Consumption of high-fat foods during the inactive period or at the end of the awake period results in weight gain and metabolic syndrome in rodents. However, the distinct effects of breakfast size and the breakfast/dinner size ratio on metabolic health have not yet been fully examined in mice. METHODS: We examined whether the parameters of metabolic syndrome were differentially affected in mice that consumed a large meal at the beginning of the awake period (breakfast; one meal group) and a relatively smaller meal at end of the awake period (dinner; two meals group). The mice of each group were provided equal food volume per day. RESULTS: Mice on one meal exhibited an increase in body weight gain, hyperinsulinemia, hyperleptinemia, and a decrease of gene expression associated with ß-oxidation in adipose tissue and liver compared with those on two meals. The circadian expression pattern of the Clock gene in mice on one meal was disturbed compared with those on two meals. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, a bigger breakfast with a smaller dinner (two meals per day) but not breakfast only (one meal per day) helps control body weight and fat accumulation in mice on a high-fat meals schedule. The findings of this study suggest that dietary recommendations for weight reduction and/or maintenance should include information on the timing and quantity of dietary intake.

In vivo monitoring of peripheral circadian clocks in the mouse.

The mammalian circadian system is comprised of a central clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and a network of peripheral oscillators located in all of the major organ systems. The SCN is traditionally thought to be positioned at the top of the hierarchy, with SCN lesions resulting in an arrhythmic organism. However, recent work has demonstrated that the SCN and peripheral tissues generate independent circadian oscillations in Per1 clock gene expression in vitro. In the present study, we sought to clarify the role of the SCN in the intact system by recording rhythms in clock gene expression in vivo. A practical imaging protocol was developed that enables us to measure circadian rhythms easily, noninvasively, and longitudinally in individual mice. Circadian oscillations were detected in the kidney, liver, and submandibular gland studied in about half of the SCN-lesioned, behaviorally arrhythmic mice. However, their amplitude was decreased in these organs. Free-running periods of peripheral clocks were identical to those of activity rhythms recorded before the SCN lesion. Thus, we can report for the first time that many of the fundamental properties of circadian oscillations in peripheral clocks in vivo are maintained in the absence of SCN control.

Refeeding after fasting elicits insulin-dependent regulation of Per2 and Rev-erbα with shifts in the liver clock.

The mammalian circadian clock is known to be entrained by both a daily light-dark cycle and daily feeding cycle. However, the mechanisms of feeding-induced entrainment are not as fully understood as those of light entrainment. To elucidate the first step of entrainment of the liver clock, we identified the circadian clock gene(s) that show both phase advance and acute change of gene expression during the early term of the daytime refeeding schedule in mice. The expressions of liver Per2 and Rev-erbα genes were phase-advanced within 1 day of refeeding. Additionally, the upregulation of Per2 mRNA and down-regulation of Rev-erbα mRNA were induced within 2 hours, not only by food intake but also by insulin injection in intact mice. These expression changes by food intake were not revealed in streptozotocin-treated insulin-deficient mice, but insulin injection was able to recover the impairment of Per2 and Rev-erbα gene expression. Furthermore, we demonstrated using an ex vivo luciferase monitoring system that insulin injection during the daytime causes a phase advance of liver Per2 expression rhythm in Per2::luciferase knock-in mice. In embryonic fibroblasts from Per2::luciferase knock-in mice, insulin infusion caused an acute increase of Per2 gene expression and a similar phase advance of Per2 expression rhythm. Our results indicate that an acute change of Per2 and Rev-erbα gene expression mediated by refeeding-induced insulin secretion is a critical step mediating the early phase of feeding-induced entrainment of the liver clock.