β-Cell Function Derived From Routine Clinical Measures Reports and Predicts Treatment Response to Immunotherapy in Recent-Onset Type 1 Diabetes.

Objective: Baricitinib preserves β-cell function in people with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes. We aimed to determine whether simple routine clinical measures could be used to assess β-cell preservation and predict treatment response.

Research Designs And Method: Measures of β-cell function derived from clinical and biochemical measures were calculated using data from the BAricitinib in Newly DIagnosed Type 1 diabetes (BANDIT) randomized trial of baricitinib in recent-onset type 1 diabetes.

Attenuated IL-2 muteins leverage the TCR signal to enhance regulatory T cell homeostasis and response .

Interleukin-2 (IL-2), along with T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling, are required to control regulatory T cell (Treg) homeostasis and function . Due to the heightened sensitivity to IL-2, Tregs retain the ability to respond to low-dose or attenuated forms of IL-2, as currently being developed for clinical use to treat inflammatory diseases. While attenuated IL-2 increases Treg selectivity, the question remains as to whether a weakened IL-2 signal sufficiently enhances Treg suppressive function(s) toward disease modification.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring-Based Composite Metrics: A Review and Assessment of Performance in Recent-Onset and Long-Duration Type 1 Diabetes.

This study examined correlations between continuous glucose monitoring (CGM)-based composite metrics and standard glucose metrics within CGM data sets from individuals with recent-onset and long-duration type 1 diabetes. First, a literature review and critique of published CGM-based composite metrics was undertaken. Second, composite metric results were calculated for the two CGM data sets and correlations with six standard glucose metrics were examined.

Characterising the age-dependent effects of risk factors on type 1 diabetes progression.

Aims/hypothesis: Age is known to be one of the most important stratifiers of disease progression in type 1 diabetes. However, what drives the difference in rate of progression between adults and children is poorly understood. Evidence suggests that many type 1 diabetes disease predictors do not have the same effect across the age spectrum.

Advances in Type 1 Diabetes Prediction Using Islet Autoantibodies: Beyond a Simple Count.

Islet autoantibodies are key markers for the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Since their discovery, they have also been recognized for their potential to identify at-risk individuals prior to symptoms. To date, risk prediction using autoantibodies has been based on autoantibody number; it has been robustly shown that nearly all multiple-autoantibody-positive individuals will progress to clinical disease.

Combination product of dermal matrix, human mesenchymal stem cells, and timolol promotes diabetic wound healing in mice.

Diabetic foot ulcers are a major health care concern with limited effective therapies. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies are promising treatment options due to their beneficial effects of immunomodulation, angiogenesis, and other paracrine effects. We investigated whether a bioengineered scaffold device containing hypoxia-preconditioned, allogeneic human MSCs combined with the beta-adrenergic antagonist timolol could improve impaired wound healing in diabetic mice.

Autoantibody Reversion: Changing Risk Categories in Multiple-Autoantibody-Positive Individuals.

Objective: Most individuals with two or more islet autoantibodies progress to clinical type 1 diabetes. However, in some individuals, autoantibodies are subsequently lost. Here, our objectives were to determine the frequency of autoantibody loss (reversion) in multiple-autoantibody-positive individuals and to determine the association between reversion and progression to clinical disease.

Quantification of Proliferating Human Antigen-specific CD4+ T Cells using Carboxyfluorescein Succinimidyl Ester.

Described is a simple, in vitro, dye dilution-based method for measuring antigen-specific CD4 T cell proliferation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The development of stable, non-toxic, fluorescent dyes such as carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) allows for rare, antigen-specific T cells to be distinguished from bystanders by diminution in fluorescent staining, as detected by flow cytometry. This method has the following advantages over alternative approaches: (i) it is very sensitive to low-frequency T cells, (ii) no knowledge of the antigen or epitope is required, (iii) the phenotype of the responding cells can be analyzed, and (iv) viable, responding cells can be sorted and used for further analysis, such as T cell cloning.

Proinsulin C-peptide is an autoantigen in people with type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which insulin-producing beta cells, found within the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, are destroyed by islet-infiltrating T cells. Identifying the antigenic targets of beta-cell reactive T cells is critical to gain insight into the pathogenesis of T1D and develop antigen-specific immunotherapies. Several lines of evidence indicate that insulin is an important target of T cells in T1D.

Shuffling peptides to create T-cell epitopes: does the immune system play cards?

For a long time, immunologists have believed that classical CD4 and CD8 T cells recognize peptides (referred to as epitopes), derived from protein antigens presented by MHC/HLA class I or II. Over the past 10-15 years, it has become clear that epitopes recognized by CD8, and more recently CD4 T cells, can be formed by protein splicing. Here, we review the discovery of spliced epitopes recognized by tumor-specific human CD8 T cells.

Inosculation of blood vessels allows early perfusion and vitality of bladder grafts--implications for bioengineered bladder wall.

Bioengineered bladder tissue is needed for patients with neurogenic bladder disease as well as for cancer. Current technologies in bladder tissue engineering have been hampered by an inability to efficiently initiate blood supply to the graft, ultimately leading to complications that include graft contraction, ischemia, and perforation. To date, the biological mechanisms of vascularization on transplant have not been suitably investigated for urologic tissues.

Synchronization modulation increases transepithelial potentials in MDCK monolayers through Na/K pumps.

Transepithelial potential (TEP) is the voltage across a polarized epithelium. In epithelia that have active transport functions, the force for transmembrane flux of an ion is dictated by the electrochemical gradient in which TEP plays an essential role. In epithelial injury, disruption of the epithelial barrier collapses the TEP at the wound edge, resulting in the establishment of an endogenous wound electric field (∼100 mV/mm) that is directed towards the center of the wound.

Hypothyroidism.

Background: Hypothyroidism is a common endocrine disorder that mainly affects women and the elderly.

Objective: This article outlines the aetiology, clinical features, investigation and management of hypothyroidism.

Discussion: In the Western world, hypothyroidism is most commonly caused by autoimmune chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis.