Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and cardiovascular risks in patients with pre-existing heart failure

The State of Use and Utility of Negative Controls in Pharmacoepidemiologic Studies

Uses of real-world data in drug safety and effectiveness studies are often challenged by various sources of bias. We undertook a systematic search of the published literature through September 2020 to evaluate the state of use and utility of negative controls to address bias in pharmacoepidemiologic studies. Two reviewers independently evaluated study eligibility and abstracted data. Our search identified 184 eligible studies for inclusion. Cohort studies (115, 63%) and administrative data (114, 62%) were, respectively, the most common study design and data type used. Most studies used negative control outcomes (91, 50%), and for most studies the target source of bias was unmeasured confounding (93, 51%). We identified 4 utility domains of negative controls: 1) bias detection (149, 81%), 2) bias correction (16, 9%), 3) P-value calibration (8, 4%), and 4) performance assessment of different methods used in drug safety studies (31, 17%). The most popular methodologies used were the 95% confidence interval and P-value calibration. In addition, we identified 2 reference sets with structured steps to check the causality assumption of the negative control. While negative controls are powerful tools in bias detection, we found many studies lacked checking the underlying assumptions. This article is part of a Special Collection on Pharmacoepidemiology.

Concurrent diabetes and heart failure: interplay and novel therapeutic approaches

Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of developing heart failure, and the co-existence of both diseases worsens cardiovascular outcomes, hospitalization and the progression of heart failure. Despite current advancements on therapeutic strategies to manage hyperglycemia, the likelihood of developing diabetes-induced heart failure is still significant, especially with the accelerating global prevalence of diabetes and an ageing population. This raises the likelihood of other contributing mechanisms beyond hyperglycemia in predisposing diabetic patients to cardiovascular disease risk. There has been considerable interest in understanding the alterations in cardiac structure and function in the diabetic patients, collectively termed as "diabetic cardiomyopathy". However, the factors that contribute to the development of diabetic cardiomyopathies is not fully understood. This review summarizes the main characteristics of diabetic cardiomyopathies, and the basic mechanisms that contribute to its occurrence. This includes perturbations in insulin resistance, fuel preference, reactive oxygen species generation, inflammation, cell death pathways, neurohormonal mechanisms, advanced glycated end-products accumulation, lipotoxicity, glucotoxicity, and posttranslational modifications in the heart of the diabetic. This review also discusses the impact of antihyperglycemic therapies on the development of heart failure, as well as how current heart failure therapies influence glycemic control in diabetic patients. We also highlight the current knowledge gaps in understanding how diabetes induces heart failure.

Changing Fields-Diabetes Medications Invading the Cardiovascular Space

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes, and treatment strategies that impact cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in this population is an area of growing interest. Pharmacologic agents that reduce CVD risk have been developed, and data supporting their use have grown extensively. Glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors when added to metformin therapy provide the most CV benefit and should be considered in most patients. Data available suggest that sulfonylureas should be avoided in patients at risk for CVD and if a thiazolidinedione is utilized, pioglitazone may be preferred. When selecting an agent, the potential benefit, risk, and cost of each agent should be considered prior to initiation. The purpose of this review is to summarize the literature surrounding the CV effects of antidiabetic agents and to provide practical guidance on their use in patients with type 2 diabetes and CVD.

Glucocorticoids mobilize macrophages by transcriptionally up-regulating the exopeptidase DPP4

Glucocorticoids are potent endogenous anti-inflammatory molecules, and their cognate receptor, glucocorticoid receptor (GR), is expressed in nearly all immune cells. Macrophages are heterogeneous immune cells having a central role in both tissue homeostasis and inflammation and also play a role in the pathogenesis of some inflammatory diseases. Paradoxically, glucocorticoids have only a limited efficacy in controlling the resolution of these macrophage-related diseases. Here, we report that the transcriptomes of monocyte-like THP-1 cells and macrophage-like THP-1 cells (THP1-MΦ) have largely conserved gene expression patterns. In contrast, the differentiation to THP1-MΦ significantly altered the sensitivity of gene transcription to glucocorticoids. Among glucocorticoid-regulated genes, we identified the exopeptidase dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) as a critical glucocorticoid-responsive gene in THP1-MΦ. We found that GR directly induces DPP4 gene expression by binding to two glucocorticoid-responsive elements (GREs) within the DPP4 promoter. Additionally, we show that glucocorticoid-induced DPP4 expression is blocked by the GR antagonist RU-486 and by GR siRNA transfection and that DPP4 enzyme activity is reduced by DPP4 inhibitors. Of note, glucocorticoids highly stimulated macrophage mobility; unexpectedly, DPP4 mediated the glucocorticoid-induced macrophage migration, and siRNA-mediated knockdowns of GR and DPP4 blocked dexamethasone-induced THP1-MΦ migration. Moreover, glucocorticoid-induced DPP4 activation was also observed in proinflammatory M1-polarized murine macrophages, as well as peritoneal macrophages, and was associated with increased macrophage migration. Our results indicate that glucocorticoids directly up-regulate DPP4 expression and thereby induce migration in macrophages, potentially explaining why glucocorticoid therapy is less effective in controlling macrophage-dominated inflammatory disorders.

Nonglycemic Outcomes of Antidiabetic Medications

IN BRIEF The number of medications used to treat diabetes has increased dramatically in the past 15 years. With so many options that have shown significant A1C improvement, it is important to consider side effects, precautions, and additional benefits these agents may offer. This article is a review of some of the most compelling literature available on the nonglycemic benefits of sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, biguanides, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors. Other classes of antihyperglycemic agents, such as dopamine agonists, meglitinides, and amylin agonists, are not discussed in this article.

Improvement in Mortality and End-Stage Renal Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes After Acute Kidney Injury Who Are Prescribed Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors

OBJECTIVE

To focus on the potential beneficial effects of the pleiotropic effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4is) on attenuating progression of diabetic kidney disease in reducing the long-term effect of the acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD) transition.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Data from the National Health Insurance Research Database from January 1, 1999, to July 31, 2011, were analyzed, and patients with diabetes weaning from dialysis-requiring AKI were identified. Cox proportional hazards models and inverse-weighted estimates of the probability of treatment were used to adjust for treatment selection bias. The outcomes were incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events, and hospitalized heart failure.

RESULTS

Of a total of 6165 patients with diabetes weaning from dialysis-requiring AKI identified, 5635 (91.4%) patients were DPP4i nonusers and 530 (8.6%) patients were DPP4i users. Compared with DPP4i nonusers, DPP4i users had a lower risk of ESRD (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.70-0.94; P=.04) and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.23-0.34; P<.001) after adjustments for CKD, advanced CKD, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker use. In contrast, the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events and hospitalized heart failure did not differ significantly between groups.

CONCLUSION

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor users had a lower risk of ESRD and mortality than did nonusers among patients with diabetes after weaning from dialysis-requiring AKI. Therefore, a prospective study of AKI to CKD transitions after episodes of AKI is needed to optimally target DPP4i interventions.

The pleiotropic cardiovascular effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors

Patients with Type 2 diabetes have an excess risk for cardiovascular disease. One of the several approaches, included in the guidelines for the management of Type 2 diabetes, is based on dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4; also termed CD26) inhibitors, also called gliptins. Gliptins inhibit the degradation of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1): this effect is associated with increased circulating insulin-to-glucagon ratio, and a consequent reduction of HbA1c. In addition to incretin hormones, there are several proteins that may be affected by DPP-4 and its inhibition: among these some are relevant for the cardiovascular system homeostasis such as SDF-1α and its receptor CXCR4, brain natriuretic peptides, neuropeptide Y and peptide YY. In this review, we will discuss the pathophysiological relevance of gliptin pleiotropism and its translational potential.

Cardiovascular Effects of New Oral Glucose-Lowering Agents: DPP-4 and SGLT-2 Inhibitors

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major challenge in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Glucose-lowering agents that reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events would be considered a major advance, as recently reported with liraglutide and semaglutide, 2 glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, and with empagliflozin and canagliflozin, 2 SGLT-2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2) inhibitors, but not with DPP-4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4) inhibitors. The present review is devoted to CV effects of new oral glucose-lowering agents. DPP-4 inhibitors (gliptins) showed some positive cardiac and vascular effects in preliminary studies, and initial data from phase 2 to 3 clinical trials suggested a reduction in major cardiovascular events. However, subsequent CV outcome trials with alogliptin, saxagliptin, and sitagliptin showed noninferiority but failed to demonstrate any superiority compared with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and high CV risk. An unexpected higher risk of hospitalization for heart failure was reported with saxagliptin. SGLT-2 inhibitors (gliflozins) promote glucosuria, thus reducing glucose toxicity and body weight, and enhance natriuresis, thus lowering blood pressure. Two CV outcome trials in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients mainly in secondary prevention showed remarkable positive results. Empagliflozin in EMPA-REG-OUTCOME (EMPAgliflozin Cardiovascular OUTCOME Events in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients) reduced major cardiovascular events, CV mortality, all-cause mortality, and hospitalization for heart failure. In CANVAS (Canagliflozin Cardiovascular Assessment Study), the reduction in CV mortality with canagliflozin failed to reach statistical significance despite a similar reduction in major cardiovascular events. The underlying protective mechanisms of SGLT-2 inhibitors remain unknown and both hemodynamic and metabolic explanations have been proposed. CVD-REAL studies (Comparative Effectiveness of Cardiovascular Outcomes in New Users of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors; with the limitation of an observational approach) suggested that these favorable results may be considered as a class effect shared by all SGLT-2 inhibitors (including dapagliflozin) and be extrapolated to a larger population of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in primary prevention. Ongoing CV outcome trials with other DPP-4 (linagliptin) and SGLT-2 (dapagliflozin, ertugliflozin) inhibitors should provide additional information about CV effects of both pharmacological classes.

The safety of gliptins : updated data in 2018

INTRODUCTION

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) are generally considered as glucose-lowering agents with a safe profile in type 2 diabetes.

AREAS COVERED

An updated review of recent safety data from randomised controlled trials, observational studies, meta-analyses, pharmacovigilance reports regarding alogliptin, linagliptin, saxagliptin, sitagliptin, and vildagliptin, with a special focus on risks of hypoglycemia, pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, major cardiovascular events, hospitalisation for heart failure and other new safety issues, such as bone fractures and arthralgia. The safety of DPP-4i use in special populations, elderly patients, patients with renal impairment, liver disease or heart failure, will also be discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

The good tolerance/safety profile of DPP-4is has been largely confirmed, including in more fragile populations, with no gastrointestinal adverse effects and a minimal risk of hypoglycemia. DPP-4is appear to be associated with a small increased incidence of acute pancreatitis in placebo-controlled trials, although most observational studies are reassuring. Most recent studies with DPP-4is do not confirm the increased risk of hospitalisation for heart failure reported with saxagliptin in SAVOR-TIMI 53, but further post-marketing surveillance is still recommended. New adverse events have been reported such as arthralgia, yet a causal relationship remains unclear.

Synthesis, secretion, function, metabolism and application of natriuretic peptides in heart failure

As a family of hormones with pleiotropic effects, natriuretic peptide (NP) system includes atrial NP (ANP), B-type NP (BNP), C-type NP (CNP), dendroaspis NP and urodilatin, with NP receptor-A (guanylate cyclase-A), NP receptor-B (guanylate cyclase-B) and NP receptor-C (clearance receptor). These peptides are genetically distinct, but structurally and functionally related for regulating circulatory homeostasis in vertebrates. In humans, ANP and BNP are encoded by NP precursor A (NPPA) and NPPB genes on chromosome 1, whereas CNP is encoded by NPPC on chromosome 2. NPs are synthesized and secreted through certain mechanisms by cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, endotheliocytes, immune cells (neutrophils, T-cells and macrophages) and immature cells (embryonic stem cells, muscle satellite cells and cardiac precursor cells). They are mainly produced by cardiovascular, brain and renal tissues in response to wall stretch and other causes. NPs provide natriuresis, diuresis, vasodilation, antiproliferation, antihypertrophy, antifibrosis and other cardiometabolic protection. NPs represent body's own antihypertensive system, and provide compensatory protection to counterbalance vasoconstrictor-mitogenic-sodium retaining hormones, released by renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS). NPs play central roles in regulation of heart failure (HF), and are inactivated through not only NP receptor-C, but also neutral endopeptidase (NEP), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and insulin degrading enzyme. Both BNP and N-terminal proBNP are useful biomarkers to not only make the diagnosis and assess the severity of HF, but also guide the therapy and predict the prognosis in patients with HF. Current NP-augmenting strategies include the synthesis of NPs or agonists to increase NP bioactivity and inhibition of NEP to reduce NP breakdown. Nesiritide has been established as an available therapy, and angiotensin receptor blocker NEP inhibitor (ARNI, LCZ696) has obtained extremely encouraging results with decreased morbidity and mortality. Novel pharmacological approaches based on NPs may promote a therapeutic shift from suppressing the RAAS and SNS to re-balancing neuroendocrine dysregulation in patients with HF. The current review discussed the synthesis, secretion, function and metabolism of NPs, and their diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic values in HF.

Glucagon-like receptor 1 agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors: Anti-diabetic drugs with anti-stroke potential

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and serious disability in Westernized societies. The risk of stroke approximately doubles with each decade after the age of 55. Therefore, even though the incidence of stroke is declining, mostly because of the efforts to lower blood pressure and reduce smoking, the overall number of strokes is increasing due to the aging of the population. While stroke prevention by healthy lifestyle is effective in decreasing the risk of stroke, post stroke pharmacological strategies aimed at minimizing stroke-induced brain damage and promoting recovery are highly needed. Unfortunately, several candidate drugs that have shown significant neuroprotective efficacy in experimental models have failed in clinical trials and no treatment for stroke based on pharmacological neuroprotection is available today. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) are clinically used against type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, these drugs have also shown promising effects in decreasing stroke incidence and increasing neuroprotection in clinical and preclinical studies, respectively. However, the mode of action of these drugs in the brain is largely unknown. Moreover, while it was previously thought that GLP-1R agonists and DPP-4i act via similar mechanisms of action, recent data argue against this hypothesis. Herein, we review this promising research area and highlight the main questions in the field whose answers could reveal important aiming to developing effective anti-stroke therapies. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'Metabolic Impairment as Risk Factors for Neurodegenerative Disorders.'

The impact of DPP-4 inhibitors on long-term survival among diabetic patients after first acute myocardial infarction

Background

Previous studies regarding the cardioprotective effects of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors have not provided sufficient evidence of a relationship between DPP-4 inhibition and actual cardiovascular outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of DPP-4 inhibitors on the survival of diabetic patients after first acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods

This was a nationwide, propensity score-matched, case–control study of 186,112 first AMI patients, 72,924 of whom had diabetes. A propensity score, one-to-one matching technique was used to match 2672 controls to 2672 patients in the DPP-4 inhibitor group for analysis. Controls were matched based on gender, age, and a history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, heart failure, cerebrovascular accident, end-stage renal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and percutaneous coronary intervention.

Results

DPP-4 inhibitors improve the overall 3-year survival rate (log rank P < 0.0001), whether male or female. Cox proportional hazard regression showed DPP-4 inhibitor is beneficial in diabetes patients after AMI (HR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.78–0.95), especially in those patients with hypertension (HR = 0.87; 95% CI 0.78–0.97; P = 0.0103) and cerebrovascular disease (HR = 0.83; 95% CI 0.72–0.97; P = 0.018), but without dyslipidemia (HR = 0.78; 95% CI 0.67–0.92; P = 0.0029), without peripheral vascular disease (HR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.78–0.96; P = 0.0047), without heart failure (HR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.73–0.96; P = 0.0106), without end stage renal disease (HR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.77–0.95; P = 0.0035), and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR = 0.87; 95% CI 0.78–0.97; P = 0.0096).

Conclusions

DPP-4 inhibitor therapy improved long-term survival in diabetic patients after first AMI, regardless of gender.

Prognostic value of plasma DPP4 activity in ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Background

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) regulates blood glucose levels and inflammation, and it is also implicated in the pathophysiological process of myocardial infarction (MI). Plasma DPP4 activity (DPP4a) may provide prognostic information regarding outcomes for ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) patients.

Methods

Blood samples were obtained from 625 consecutively admitted, percutaneous coronary intervention-treated STEMI patients with a mean age of 57 years old. DPP4a was quantified using enzymatic assays.

Results

The median follow-up period was 30 months. Multivariate Cox-regression analyses (adjusted for confounding variables) showed that a 1 U/L increase of DPP4a did not associate with risks of major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE), cardiovascular mortality, MI, heart failure readmission, stroke, non-cardiovascular mortality and repeated revascularization. However, in a subset of 149 diabetic STEMI patients, DPP4a associated with an increased risk of MACCE (HR 1.16; 95% CI 1.04–1.30; p = 0.01).

Conclusions

DPP4a did not associate with cardiovascular events and non-cardiovascular mortality in non-diabetic STEMI patients. However, DPP4a may be associated with future MACCE in diabetic STEMI patients.

Trial registration NCT03046576, registered on 5 February, 2017, retrospectively registered

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12933-017-0553-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparative safety for cardiovascular outcomes of DPP-4 inhibitors versus glimepiride in patients with type 2 diabetes: A retrospective cohort study

Concerns about the cardiovascular safety of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors persist. This study sought to determine whether there is a differential risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) between DPP-4 inhibitors and glimepiride.We conducted this retrospective cohort study by using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database from December 1, 2008, to December 31, 2013. The study subjects were new users of DPP-4 inhibitors or glimepiride for type 2 diabetes. Outcome was defined as hospitalization for CVDs, including angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, transient cerebral ischemic attack, heart failure, or cerebrovascular disease or any procedure involving coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention. We used a Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), to assess the risk of CVDs associated with the use of DPP-4 inhibitors compared with glimepiride.The cohort consisted of 1,045,975 patients, with 6504 in the DPP-4 inhibitors group and 13,447 in the glimepiride group. No significant increased risk of total CVDs was found (aHR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.75-1.01) in the DPP-4 inhibitors versus glimepiride group. A decreased risk of hospitalization for CVDs was found among patients with a history of visit for CVDs (aHR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.56-0.97) or with >2.5 years' duration of type 2 diabetes (aHR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66-0.91) in the DPP-4 inhibitors versus glimepiride group.DPP-4 inhibitors did not increase cardiovascular risk compared with glimepiride regardless of CVD history and diabetes duration.

DPP-4 inhibition has no acute effect on BNP and its N-terminal pro-hormone measured by commercial immune-assays. A randomized cross-over trial in patients with type 2 diabetes

Background

Use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4-i) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been associated with a possible increase in the risk for heart failure (HF). B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), which is both a biomarker of HF and a hemodynamically active hormone, is a substrate of DPP-4. We herein tested the acute effects of the DPP-4i linagliptin on BNP and NT-proBNP in a cross-over placebo-controlled trial in patients with T2D with and without chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods

B-type natriuretic peptide and NT-proBNP were measured using commercially available clinical-grade immune-assays at baseline and at the end of a 4-day treatment with placebo and linagliptin. Changes from baseline during each treatment arm, as well as placebo-subtracted effects of linagliptin on BNP and NT-proBNP were calculated.

Results

46 patients completed the study, 18 of whom were affected by CKD. Baseline BNP and NT-proBNP levels increased with age, were elevated in CKD patients, and inversely correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate. No significant change was detected in BNP and NT-proBNP levels after treatment with linagliptin or placebo in patients with or without CKD. Only in CKD patients the placebo-subtracted effect of linagliptin indicated a significant reduction in NT-proBNP levels, but this finding was not statistically robust.

Conclusions

Acute treatment with a DPP-4i exerts no clinically-meaningful effects on BNP and NT-proBNP. As routinely used immunoassays do not discriminate between intact/active and cleaved BNP, these data cannot rule out an effect of DPP-4i on HF pathophysiology.

Trial registration NCT01617824