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OBJECTIVE-SUMO4 mRNA was recently found to be mainly expressed in the kidney, and the methionine-to-valine substitution at codon 55 (M55V) variant of SUMO4 may induce higher nuclear factor-B (NF-B) activity. Because NF-B is known to mediate the development of diabetic nephropathy, we examined the association between the SUMO4 M55V variant and the severity of diabetic nephropathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-We recruited a total of 430 patients with type 2 diabetes. The M55V (rs237025, 163A3 G) polymorphism of SUMO4 was genotyped by real-time PCR, and urine albumin concentration was measured by radioimmunoassay.RESULTS-The frequencies of SUMO4 AA, GA, and GG were 52.6, 40.7, and 6.7%, respectively, in the normoalbuminuric group; 45.5, 47.3, and 7.1% in the microalbuminuric group; and 36.9, 46.2, and 16.9% in the macroalbuminuric group. We detected a significant linear trend for SUMO4 genotype between the macroalbuminuric and normoalbuminuric groups. The mean urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (42.3 Ϯ 108.82 mg/mmol) in the GG group was significantly higher than in the AA (14.9 Ϯ 51.49 mg/mmol) and GA (17.0 Ϯ 43.74 mg/mmol) groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed the SUMO4 M55V variant to be independently associated with the severity of diabetic nephropathy.CONCLUSIONS-This study indicates that the SUMO4 gene M55V variant is associated with severity of diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Both eGFR and uric acid are significant determinants of serum RBP4, suggesting that the impaired renal clearance of early diabetic nephropathy affects RBP4 and indirectly supporting the hypothesized link among metabolic syndrome, uric acid and insulin resistance.

Purpose: This study investigated the association between professional quality of life, working context, and mental health outcomes among hospital personnel in Taiwan during the worldwide upsurge in COVID-19 cases. Patients and Methods:We recruited 503 hospital personnel to whom we administered online questionnaires containing items from the Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) scale, which covers compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO) and compassion fatigue (CF), the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and questions on work-related variables. Data were collected from 13 July to 19 August 2020. Results: The participants generally reported moderate CS and BO and low CF. Overall prevalence of mild-to-extremely-severe stress, anxiety and depression was 24.5%, 39.6% and 31.2%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression revealed that moderate-to-high BO and CF correlated with increased risks of mild-to-extremely-severe stress (OR = 4.17 and 2.23, respectively), anxiety (OR = 4.86 and 2.81, respectively) and depression (OR = 5.83 and 3.01, respectively), while moderate-to-high CS correlated with reduced risks of stress (OR = 0.53) and depression (OR = 0.45) only. There were CS and BO differences in groups categorized by marital status and profession. Anxiety increased linearly by seniority <10, 10-19 and ≥20 years (p for trend <0.05). Conclusion:In conclusion, the subscales of ProQOL, BO and CF appeared to be associated with increased risks of stress, anxiety and depression among hospital personnel during the COVID-19 epidemic. A long-term contingency program may be needed to adjust work context variables and support emotional well-being of these workers.