Project description:<p>The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) was a multicenter controlled clinical trial examining the efficacy of an intensive lifestyle intervention or metformin to prevent or delay the development of diabetes in a population selected to be at high risk due to the presence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and obesity. Development of diabetes, defined by 1997 American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria, was the primary outcome while cardiovascular disease and its risk factors were important secondary outcomes. The pharmacological intervention was double blinded and placebo controlled. After randomization, participants had quarterly clinical evaluations and had, in addition, a fasting plasma glucose at semi-annual visits and a 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test at annual visits. Volunteers were recruited from populations known to be at particularly high risk for impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes including the following: persons with a family history of NIDDM, the elderly, overweight individuals, women with a history of diabetes during pregnancy ("gestational diabetes"), and minority populations including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian and Pacific Island Americans, and Native Americans.</p> <p>The primary focus of the genetic investigations have been on candidate genes, including candidates derived from GWAS of diabetes, lipid and glycemia-related phenotypes. </p> <p><b>Please note</b> more phenotype data for the DPPG cohort is available through the NIDDK Data Repository. Information on obtaining this phenotype data can be found by going to <a href="https://www.niddkrepository.org/studies/dppos/?query=DPP">https://www.niddkrepository.org/studies/dppos/?query=DPP</a> and <a href="https://www.niddkrepository.org/studies/dpp/?query=DPP">https://www.niddkrepository.org/studies/dpp/?query=DPP</a>. Data will need to be requested from both data sets. A linking file will be available to the NIDDK Data Repository.</p>
Project description:Analysis of microRNA expression in vastus lateralis muscle biopsies from 11 genetically identical twin pairs discordant for type 2 diabetes. This eliminates the influence of genotype and leads to the identification of microRNAs that are exclusively influenced by environmental (non-genetic) factors. Total RNA containing microRNAs were obtained from muscle biopsies (vastus lateralis) from genetically identical twin pairs (n=11 pairs). All twin pairs were discordant in respect to their glucose tolerance; thus, one twin has diabetes whereas the co-twin has either normal or impaired glucose tolerance.
Project description:Global microRNA (miRNA) profiling was performed in 18 human islet donors using Exiqon’s LNA (locked nucleic acid)-based array platform. Donors were divided into three groups according to their HbA1c levels and type-2 diabetes diagnosis (normal glucose tolerance - NGT, impaired glucose tolerance - IGT, diagnosed with type-2 diabetes-T2D). To identify miRNAs with altered expression due to glyceamic status, donors were matched for age, gender and BMI and differential expression analysis was performed in 7 NGT vs 7 IGT/T2D donors using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) based on False Discovery Rate (FDR) statistics.
Project description:The increased usage of alternative Ayurvedic treatments as potential health-beneficial therapies emphasizes the importance of studying its efficacy in sound placebo-controlled intervention trials. An example of such a traditional Ayurvedic herbal preparation is Mohana Choorna, a mixture composed of 20 different herbs and used to prevent and treat type 2-diabetes (T2D). We studied the efficacy of “Mohana Choorna” on T2D-related parameters in subjects with impaired glucose tol-erance. In a double blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial, 19 overweight (BMI > 27 kg/m2) subjects aged 50–70 years with an impaired glucose tolerance received two four-week interven-tions, i.e., herbal or placebo with a four-week wash-out between interventions. HbA1c, glucose, insulin, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure and augmentation index were measured before and after both interventions at fasting and during a glucose tolerance test. After both interventions, urine was collected to measure treatment exposure using LCMS-based metabolomics and whole genome gene-expression in adipose tissue of 13 subjects. The herbal intervention did not affect plasma glucose triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure or the augmentation index but showed a trend towards an increased insulin, HOMA-IR and postprandial insulin levels (p = 0.054, p = 0.056 and p = 0.095 respectively). An increase in expression of inflammation-related gene sets in adipose tissue was observed after the herbal intervention compared to placebo. Urine metabolomic analysis did not reveal a correlation of the presence of specific plant metabolites with “health markers”. Our findings suggest that there is no substantiating evidence to claim that four weeks’ use of the Ayurvedic herbal supplement Mohana Choorna beneficially affects glucose homeo-stasis.
Project description:Bezafibrate (BEZ), a pan activator of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), is generally used to treat hyperlipidemia. Clinical trials on patients suffering from type 2 diabetes indicated that BEZ also has beneficial effects on glucose metabolism, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Much less is known about the function of BEZ in type 1 diabetes. Here, we show that BEZ treatment markedly improves hyperglycemia, glucose and insulin tolerance in streptozotocin (STZ)-treated mice, an insulin-deficient mouse model of type 1 diabetes presenting with very high blood glucose levels. Furthermore, BEZ-treated mice also exhibited improved metabolic flexibility as well as an enhanced mitochondrial mass and function in the liver. Our data demonstrate a beneficial effect of BEZ treatment on STZ mice reducing diabetes and suggest that BEZ ameliorates impaired glucose metabolism possibly via augmented hepatic mitochondrial performance, improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility. We performed gene expression microarray analysis on liver tissue derived from streptozotocin-treated mice treated with bezafibrate in addition.
Project description:Background: Pre-diabetes condition precedes the Diabetes Mellitus (DM) disease and is a critical period for hyperglycemia treatment, especially for menopausal women, considering all metabolic alterations due to hormonal changes. Recently, the literature has demonstrated the role of physical exercise in epigenetic reprogramming to modulate the gene expression patterns of metabolic conditions, such as hyperglycemia, preventing DM development. In the present study, we hypothesized that physical exercise training could modify the epigenetic patterns of women with poor glycemic control. Methods: 48 post-menopause women aged 60.3±4.5 years were divided according to the fasting blood glucose levels into two groups: Prediabetes Group, PG (n=24) and Normal Glucose Group, NGG (n=24). All participants performed 14 weeks of physical exercise three times a week. The Infinium Methylation EPIC BeadChip measured the participants’ Different Methylated Regions (DMRs). Results: Before the intervention, the PG group had 12 DMRs compared to NGG. After the intervention, five DMRs remained different. Interestingly, when comparing the PG group before and after training, 118 DMRs were found. The enrichment analysis revealed that the genes were related to different biological functions such as energy metabolism, cell differentiation, and tumor suppression. Conclusion: Physical exercise is a relevant alternative in treating hyperglycemia and preventing DM in post-menopause women with poor glycemic control.
Project description:<p>An initial observation in the 1970s that Starr County, Texas, had the highest diabetes-specific mortality of any of the 254 Texas counties led to the establishment of a field office in Rio Grande City, Texas (the county seat of Starr County) and the initiation of a series of studies to understand the epidemiology and genetics of type 2 diabetes, its complications and related conditions in this predominantly (97%) Mexican American population. The field office opened in February 1981 and has operated continuously since then. During this time, three systematic surveys of the population have been conducted as well as family and longitudinal studies. Culturally sensitive diabetes education programs have been developed and implemented and also a weight loss intervention. In total, more than 23,000 Mexican American individuals have been examined with more than 200,000 aliquots of biological specimens stored. Collectively, these studies are known as the Starr County Health Studies.</p> <p>The present Genetics of Diabetes Study has the goal of identifying loci/alleles that underlie susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in this high risk population using genome wide markers and association testing. The study makes use of two primary resources that have been developed in order to identify 1,000 type 2 diabetes cases and 1,000 disease free controls. In the first instance we have identified a subset of unrelated cases from the total cases that we have identified. Where multiply affected sibships were available, the youngest onset case with detailed phenotyping (including assessment of diabetic retinopathy) was selected. Controls came from a recent survey to establish a representative sample of the Starr County population. Blocks were randomly selected, households on selected blocks enumerated and one individual randomly selected from each household for a detailed examination. The examination included an oral glucose tolerance test. Those included as controls are those with no prior diagnosis of diabetes and a negative oral glucose tolerance test.</p> <p>This collection of cases and controls provides the opportunity to identify susceptibility loci for type 2 diabetes and its complications, specifically diabetic retinopathy and albuminuria. The data set also allows the examination of impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. The samples are split between those born in the United States and those born in Mexico and this gives a natural contrast for examining genotype and environmental interactions. It is anticipated that the understanding that will come will lead to strategies for delaying and preventing the onset of diabetes and its complications.</p>
Project description:Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified Dusp8, a dual-specificity phosphatase targeting MAP kinases, as type 2 diabetes risk gene. Here, we unravel Dusp8 as gatekeeper in the hypothalamic control of glucose homeostasis in mice and humans. Male but not female Dusp8 loss-of-function mice, either with global or CRH neuron-specific deletion, had impaired systemic glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity when exposed to high-fat diet (HFD). Mechanistically, we found impaired hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis feedback, blunted sympathetic responsiveness, and chronically elevated corticosterone levels driven by hypothalamic hyperactivation of Jnk signaling. Accordingly, global Jnk1 ablation, AAV-mediated Dusp8 overexpression in the mediobasal hypothalamus, or metyrapone-induced chemical adrenalectomy rescued the impaired glucose homeostasis of male Dusp8 KO mice, respectively. This sex-specific and rheostatic role of murine Dusp8 in governing hypothalamic Jnk signaling, insulin sensitivity and systemic glucose tolerance was consistent with fMRI data in human volunteers that revealed an association of the DUSP8 rs2334499 risk variant with hypothalamic insulin resistance in men. In summary, our findings suggest GWAS-identified gene Dusp8 as novel hypothalamic factor that plays a functional role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes.