Association of NFκβ, TNFα, IL-6, IL-1β, and LPL Polymorphisms with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Biochemical Parameters in a Mexican Population

Collinsella aerofaciens linked with increased ethanol production and liver inflammation contribute to the pathophysiology of NAFLD

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging global health problem and a potential risk factor for metabolic diseases. The bidirectional interactions between liver and gut made dysbiotic gut microbiome one of the key risk factors for NAFLD. In this study, we reported an increased abundance of Collinsella aerofaciens in the gut of obese and NASH patients living in India. We isolated C. aerofaciens from the fecal samples of biopsy-proven NASH patients and observed that their genome is enriched with carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and pro-inflammatory functions and have the potency to increase ethanol level in blood. An animal study indicated that mice supplemented with C. aerofaciens had increased levels of circulatory ethanol, high levels of hepatic hydroxyproline, triglyceride, and inflammation in the liver. The present findings indicate that perturbation in the gut microbiome composition is a key risk factor for NAFLD.

The potential protective effect of aqueous extract of Acanthophyllum glandulosum root on Streptozotocin-induced diabetes in mice

Purpose

Treatment of diabetes using traditional medicine has attracted attention in recent decades because of its unique benefits. Acanthophyllum glandulosum is known as an herb with therapeutic potential. This research explored the likely protective effects of Acanthophyllum Glandulosum Root (AGR) in mice with Streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to provide complementary therapy.

Methods

Diabetes was induced by a single injection of Streptozotocin (STZ) in mice. STZ-diabetic mice were treated with oral dosages of AGR (25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) on different experiment days. During the experiment, the effect of a topical extract of AGR on Glucose level, serum lipid profile, and liver and kidney biomarkers, with the histopathological assessment of heart, kidney, spleen, and liver, were investigated. The gene expression level of inflammation biomarkers (Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 (IL-1)), apoptosis factor (Caspase3), glucose regulatory genes (Glucose transporter (GLUT) 4 and 2), and lipid regulatory gene (Adenosine 50-monophosphate protein-kinase (AMPK)) were investigated.

Results

Administration of AGR to STZ-diabetic mice decreased blood glucose level (p < 0.01), normalized the lipid profile (p < 0.01), improved the serum level of kidney (p < 0.01) and liver biomarkers (p < 0.01), and normalized Kidney hypertrophy (p < 0.01), inflammation (p < 0.001), and apoptosis (p < 0.01). The AGR effect was better at 100 mg/kg than Metformin (100 mg/kg) on healing T2DM condition in mice.

Conclusion

AGR possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-hyperlipidemic, and anti-glycation activity, thus exhibiting a protective function in STZ-induced diabetic mice. Further in vitro and in vivo works are necessary, especially to elucidate the mechanism of action of AGR at the cellular and molecular levels.

Variants within the LPL gene confer susceptility to diabetic kidney disease and rapid decline in kidney function in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes

AIM

To examine the association between lipoprotein lipase (LPL) polymorphisms and susceptibility to diabetic kidney disease (DKD) and early renal function decline in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

The association of eight LPL single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with DKD was analysed in 2793 patients with T2D from the third China National Stroke Registry. DKD was defined as either an urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) of 30 mg/g or higher at baseline and 3 months, or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at baseline and 3 months. Rapid decline in kidney function (RDKF) was defined as a reduction in the eGFR of 3 mL/min/1.73 m2 or greater per year. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association of LPL SNP and DKD with an additive model.

RESULTS

The SNPs rs285 C>T (OR = 1.40, P = .0154), rs328 C>G (OR = 2.24, P = .0104) and rs3208305 A>T (OR = 1.85, P = .0015) were identified to be significantly associated with DKD defined by eGFR. Among 1241 participants with follow-up data, 441 (35.5%) showed RDKF over a mean follow-up period of 1 year, and the rs285 C allele was associated with higher odds of RDKF (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.04-1.66; P = .025) after adjustment for multiple variables.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that LPL-related SNPs are new candidate factors for conferring susceptibility to DKD and may promote rapid loss of renal function in Chinese patients with T2D.

Inflammatory Determinants and Associated Morbidity in Hemodialysis Patients

Hemodialysis deteriorates patients' physical, metabolic, and mental status. Clinical outcomes derived from inflammation determine a worse status but are less frequently identified. The objective of the study was to identify inflammatory determinants and the effect of SNP-related serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels on associated morbidity in hemodialysis. A sample of hemodialysis patients at IMSS Regional Hospital No.46 in Guadalajara (n = 85) were tested using the Malnutrition Inflammation Score (MIS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess the associated morbidity. Serum cytokine levels were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique was used for analysis of IL-6-572C/G and IL-10-1082A/G. Using data visualization methods, we identified relevant determinants of inflammation. A simple regression model was constructed between predictors and targets with genotypes as covariates. Results showed malnutrition in 85.9% of patients and depressive symptoms in 50.6%. IL-10 was the most relevant inflammatory determinant, with regression coefficients (R2) between 0.05 and 0.11. The GG genotype of IL-10-1082 A/G evinced small effect on both clinical outcomes (δ of 0.35 and 0.37, respectively). Hemodialysis increases the associated morbidity, cytokines act as inflammatory determinants, and genetic variability contributes to the severity of clinical outcomes. Further studies need to refine the causal relationship between inflammation and CKD.

FAM3D inhibits gluconeogenesis in high glucose environment via DUSP1/ZFP36/SIK1 axis

Hyperglycemia is the most important factor leading to the complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The primary condition for the treatment of T2DM is to change the glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in the liver and other insulin-sensitive tissues. The current study aims to unearth the potential molecular mechanism of inhibiting liver gluconeogenesis to provide a new theoretical basis for the treatment of T2DM. High glucose (HG) induction of HepG2 cells followed by treatment with sequence-similar family 3 member D (FAM3D). Dual specificity phosphatases 1 (DUSP1), zinc finger protein 36 (ZFP36), salt-induced kinase 1 (SIK1), p-SIK1, posphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) gene and protein expression level were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. The PEPCK and G6Pase activities were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Glucose production assay to determine glucose content. The RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation assay was used to detect the binding of ZFP36 to SIK1. FAM3D facilitated the expression of DUSP1 but suppressed the expression of gluconeogenesis-related factors in an HG environment. The expression of ZFP36 was up-regulated in an HG environment. ZFP36 could reverse the inhibition of gluconeogenesis caused by FAM3D. HG-induced upregulation of ZFP36 was downregulated by overexpression of DUSP1. ZFP36 bound to SIK1, and downregulation of ZFP36 promoted SIK1 expression and inhibits gluconeogenesis. Our study demonstrated FAM3D inhibited gluconeogenesis through the DUSP1/ZFP36/SIK1 axis in an HG environment, which provided a new theoretical basis for exploring the pathogenesis and treatment strategy of T2DM.

Expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in Peripheral Blood of Patients with T2DM Retinopathy

Aims

The expression and clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor-α (INF-α) and interleukin 1-β (IL-1β) in retinal cells of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) retinopathy were detected by flow cytometry.

Materials and Methods

Fifty patients with T2DM who attended our ophthalmology clinic between May 2021 and May 2022 were selected as the observation group. Another 50 healthy individuals who were examined at our hospital during the same period were selected as the comparison group. Tear film rupture time (BUT), fluorescein staining (FL), basal tear secretion (Schirmer I) test, and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC) were detected in both groups, and the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in retinal cells was observed by immunohistochemical staining.

Results

The levels of IL13 and TNF-α in the two groups were not exactly the same. The serum levels of IL13 and TNF-α in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, and there was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). TNF-α and IL-1B expressions in the observation group were positively correlated with the fluorescence staining, and the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in the observation group was significantly negatively correlated with the BUT test and Schirmer I test.

Conclusion

Serums TNF-α and IL-1β are significantly elevated in patients with T2DM retinopathy and gradually increase with disease progression. Combined detection of serums TNF-α and IL-1β can help determine the severity of the disease and assess the prognosis.

IL-6 gene rs1800795 polymorphism and diabetes mellitus: a comprehensive analysis involving 42,150 participants from a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Over the past two decades, several studies have focused on the association between a common polymorphism (rs1800795) from interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) risk. However, the results remain ambiguous and indefinite.

METHODS

A comprehensive analysis was performed to explore this relationship. A search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Chinese (CNKI and Wanfang), and GWAS Catalog databases, covering all publications until February 10, 2022. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to evaluate the strength of the association. Publication bias was assessed using both Begg and Egger tests.

RESULTS

Overall, 34 case-control studies with 7257 T2DM patients and 15,598 controls, and 12 case-control studies (10,264 T1DM patients and 9031 health controls) were included in the analysis. A significantly lower association was observed between the rs1800795 polymorphism and T2DM risk in Asians, mixed population, and hospital-based (HB) subgroups (C-allele vs. G-allele: OR = 0.76, 95% CI  0.58-0.99, P = 0.039 for Asians; CG vs. GG: OR = 0.74, 95% CI  0.58-0.94, P = 0.014 for mixed population; CC vs. GG: OR = 0.61, 95% CI  0.41-0.90, P = 0.014 for HB). However, increased associations were found from total, mixed population, and HB subgroups between rs1800795 polymorphism and T1DM susceptibility (CG vs. GG: OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.01-1.74, P = 0.043 for total population, CC vs. GG: OR = 2.45, 95% CI 1.18-5.07, P = 0.016 for mixed individuals; C-allele vs. G-allele: OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.07-1.56, P = 0.0009 for HB subgroup).

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, there is definite evidence to confirm that IL-6 rs1800795 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to decreased T2DM and increased T1DM.

Association of IL-6 and TGF-β Gene Polymorphisms with the Risk of Thoracolumbar Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures

Purpose

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is a common disease in the elderly, and genetic factors play a key role in its occurrence. The present study was conducted to investigate the association between interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the transforming growth factor (TGF-β) gene polymorphisms and the occurrence of thoracolumbar OVCF.

Patients and Methods

This case–control study recruited 146 patients with OVCF and 144 osteoporosis patients as the control group. Genotypes of the IL-6 rs1800796 and TGF-β rs1982073 were analyzed by sequencing. Genotype distribution and allelic frequencies were investigated by the χ² test. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) evaluated the relationship of IL-6 or TGF-β polymorphism and OVCF susceptibility.

Results

Allele G and genotype GG of IL-6 rs1800796 was more frequent in patients with OVCF (40.07% vs.28.47%; 19.18% vs.7.64%) compared with controls. GG genotype (OR=3.394, 95% CI=1.560–7.385, P < 0.001) and G allele (OR=1.680, 95% CI=1.187–2.376, P < 0.001) of IL-6 rs1800796 was significantly associated with increased risk of OVCF. What is more, CT and TT genotypes (41.78 vs.51.39; 19.86 vs.26.39) and allele T (40.75 vs 52.08) of TGF-β rs1982073 were less frequent in OVCFs, more common in controls and protective against OVCF risk (OR=0.436, 95% CI=0.228–0.835, P = 0.012; OR=0.615, 95% CI=0.443–0.855, P = 0.004).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that the G allele and GG genotype of IL-6 rs1800796 may contribute to increased susceptibility to OVCF in elderly Chinese. In contrast, CT and TT genotypes and the T allele of TGF-β rs1982073 may contribute to lower susceptibility of OVCF.