Department of Addiction Sciences, Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan.
Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2021 Oct;87:103714. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2021.103714. Epub 2021 Jul 22.
Persistent ketamine use causes susceptibility to addiction and bladder toxicity. We examined the association of lower urinary tract symptoms and levels of Nectin-4, a member of the cell adhesion molecules that is essential for maintaining the urothelium barrier in chronic ketamine abusers. We measured the plasma levels of Nectin-4 in 88 patients with ketamine dependence and 69 controls. Patients with ketamine dependence were assessed for ketamine use variables, psychological symptoms, and lower urinary tract symptoms. We found Nectin-4 levels were increased in ketamine-dependent patients compared to the controls (p < 0.0001). Patients with urinary tract symptoms exhibited lower Nectin-4 levels than those without (p = 0.021). Our results suggest an up-regulation of Nectin-4 following chronic and heavy ketamine use. Patients with ketamine dependence with a compromised upregulation of Nectin-4 are likely to have more severe urinary tract symptoms. The mechanisms underlying the involvement of Nectin-4 in ketamine addiction and bladder toxicity warrant future investigation.
持续使用氯胺酮会导致对成瘾和膀胱毒性的易感性。我们研究了下尿路症状与 Nectin-4 水平的相关性，Nectin-4 是细胞黏附分子家族的成员，对维持慢性氯胺酮滥用者的尿路上皮屏障至关重要。我们测量了 88 例氯胺酮依赖患者和 69 例对照者的血浆 Nectin-4 水平。对氯胺酮依赖患者进行了氯胺酮使用变量、心理症状和下尿路症状评估。与对照组相比，氯胺酮依赖患者的 Nectin-4 水平升高（p<0.0001）。有尿路症状的患者的 Nectin-4 水平低于无尿路症状的患者（p=0.021）。我们的结果表明，在慢性和大量使用氯胺酮后，Nectin-4 会被上调。Nectin-4 上调受损的氯胺酮依赖患者可能会出现更严重的尿路症状。Nectin-4 参与氯胺酮成瘾和膀胱毒性的机制值得进一步研究。
