Clinical trial simulation methods for estimating the impact of DPP-4 inhibitors on cardiovascular disease

Cost-Effectiveness of Ticagrelor for Acute Coronary Disease to Prevent Cardiovascular Events in Three Hospitals in Indonesia

Background: Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are life-threatening CVD associated with Indonesia's significant health and economic burdens. The study objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ticagrelor in reducing CV endpoint in the Indonesia setting. Methods: Markov model was used as a decision analysis to compare ticagrelor with clopidogrel. We constructed decision tree model included four health conditions (no additional events, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and any cause death), The probability of each state and quality-adjusted life years were derived from the PLATO trial and Indonesia life table. The outcome's resource consumption and associated costs were collected from three hospitals (public, national referral, and private hospitals) in Indonesia. The study used 5 years and lifetime horizon and discounting rate of 3%. Results: The incremental QALYs and life-year gained (LYG) of ticagrelor in five years was 0.0410 and 0.0462, respectively; in a lifetime was 0.0828, and 0.0947, respectively. The ICER per QALY of ticagrelor versus clopidogrel in private, national referral, and public hospitals was USD 2390.276, USD 3813.638, USD 1278.361, respectively for five years; and USD 2471.392, USD 5453.987, USD 2343.269, respectively for a lifetime. The probability of ticagrelor to be cost-effective was about 66.6% on a five-year and 99.7% on a lifetime with WTP USD 3634. Conclusion: Compared to the clopidogrel, QALYs and life-year gained of use ticagrelor higher. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio in five years and lifetime model showed under one-time GDP, it means the use of ticagrelor was vastly cost-effective and acceptable to apply in the Indonesian clinical setting.

The Roles of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP4) and DPP4 Inhibitors in Different Lung Diseases: New Evidence

CD26/Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein that is widely expressed in various organs and cells. It can also exist in body fluids in a soluble form. DPP4 participates in various physiological and pathological processes by regulating energy metabolism, inflammation, and immune function. DPP4 inhibitors have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. More evidence has shown the role of DPP4 in the pathogenesis of lung diseases, since it is highly expressed in the lung parenchyma and the surface of the epithelium, vascular endothelium, and fibroblasts of human bronchi. It is a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for various lung diseases. During the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) global pandemic, DPP4 was found to be an important marker that may play a significant role in disease progression. Some clinical trials on DPP4 inhibitors in COVID-19 are ongoing. DPP4 also affects other infectious respiratory diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome and non-infectious lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma. This review aims to summarize the roles of DPP4 and its inhibitors in infectious lung diseases and non-infectious diseases to provide new insights for clinical physicians.

Cut to the chase: a review of CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase-4's (DPP4) entanglement in the immune system

CD26/DPP4 (dipeptidyl peptidase 4/DP4/DPPIV) is a surface T cell activation antigen and has been shown to have DPP4 enzymatic activity, cleaving-off amino-terminal dipeptides with either L-proline or L-alanine at the penultimate position. It plays a major role in glucose metabolism by N-terminal truncation and inactivation of the incretins glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP) and gastric inhibitory protein (GIP). In 2006, DPP4 inhibitors have been introduced to clinics and have been demonstrated to efficiently enhance the endogenous insulin secretion via prolongation of the half-life of GLP-1 and GIP in patients. However, a large number of studies demonstrate clearly that CD26/DPP4 also plays an integral role in the immune system, particularly in T cell activation. Therefore, inhibition of DPP4 might represent a double-edged sword. Apart from the metabolic benefit, the associated immunological effects of long term DPP4 inhibition on regulatory processes such as T cell homeostasis, maturation and activation are not understood fully at this stage. The current data point to an important role for CD26/DPP4 in maintaining lymphocyte composition and function, T cell activation and co-stimulation, memory T cell generation and thymic emigration patterns during immune-senescence. In rodents, critical immune changes occur at baseline levels as well as after in-vitro and in-vivo challenge. In patients receiving DPP4 inhibitors, evidence of immunological side effects also became apparent. The scope of this review is to recapitulate the role of CD26/DPP4 in the immune system regarding its pharmacological inhibition and T cell-dependent immune regulation.