Functional and Taxonomic Traits of the Gut Microbiota in Type 1 Diabetes Children at the Onset: A Metaproteomic Study

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune metabolic disorder with onset in pediatric/adolescent age, characterized by insufficient insulin production, due to a progressive destruction of pancreatic beta-cells. Evidence on the correlation between the human gut microbiota (GM) composition and T1D insurgence has been recently reported. In particular, 16S rRNA-based metagenomics has been intensively employed in the last decade in a number of investigations focused on GM representation in relation to a pre-disease state or to a response to clinical treatments. On the other hand, few works have been published using alternative functional omics, which is more suitable to provide a different interpretation of such a relationship. In this work, we pursued a comprehensive metaproteomic investigation on T1D children compared with a group of siblings (SIBL) and a reference control group (CTRL) composed of aged matched healthy subjects, with the aim of finding features in the T1D patients' GM to be related with the onset of the disease. Modulated metaproteins were found either by comparing T1D with CTRL and SIBL or by stratifying T1D by insulin need (IN), as a proxy of beta-cells damage, showing some functional and taxonomic traits of the GM, possibly related to the disease onset at different stages of severity

Gut Microbiota Functional Traits, Blood pH, and Anti-GAD Antibodies Concur in the Clinical Characterization of T1D at Onset

Alterations of gut microbiota have been identified before clinical manifestation of type 1 diabetes (T1D). To identify the associations amongst gut microbiome profile, metabolism and disease markers, the 16S rRNA-based microbiota profiling and H-1-NMR metabolomic analysis were performed on stool samples of 52 T1D patients at onset, 17 T1D siblings and 57 healthy subjects (CTRL). Univariate, multivariate analyses and classification models were applied to clinical and -omic integrated datasets. In T1D patients and their siblings, Clostridiales and Dorea were increased and Dialister and Akkermansia were decreased compared to CTRL, while in T1D, Lachnospiraceae were higher and Collinsella was lower, compared to siblings and CTRL. Higher levels of isobutyrate, malonate, Clostridium, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiales, Bacteroidales, were associated to T1D compared to CTRL. Patients with higher anti-GAD levels showed low abundances of Roseburia, Faecalibacterium and Alistipes and those with normal blood pH and low serum HbA(1c) levels showed high levels of purine and pyrimidine intermediates. We detected specific gut microbiota profiles linked to both T1D at the onset and to diabetes familiarity. The presence of specific microbial and metabolic profiles in gut linked to anti-GAD levels and to blood acidosis can be considered as predictive biomarker associated progression and severity of T1D

Current Knowledge on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) from Animal Biology to Humans, from Pregnancy to Adulthood: Highlights from a National Italian Meeting

Wildlife has often presented and suggested the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Animal studies have given us an important opportunity to understand the mechanisms of action of many chemicals on the endocrine system and on neurodevelopment and behaviour, and to evaluate the effects of doses, time and duration of exposure. Although results are sometimes conflicting because of confounding factors, epidemiological studies in humans suggest effects of EDCs on prenatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism and obesity, puberty, fertility, and on carcinogenesis mainly through epigenetic mechanisms. This manuscript reviews the reports of a multidisciplinary national meeting on this topic

SARS-CoV-2 infection as possible downstream disease precipitator in autoantibody-positive insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: a case report

Background: SARS-CoV-2 causes lesions, in addition to lung, in endocrine organs such as the pancreas through ACE2 receptor. Recently the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 exposition and the incidence or evolution of clinical autoimmune diabetes has attracted the attention of diabetologists. Case presentation: We report the analysis of the clinical history of a child diagnosed for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Type 1 diabetes) at the time a paucisymptomatic COVID-19 infection occurred, followed by well-controlled metabolic status. As opposite to previous findings SARS-CoV2 did not cause ketosis and ketoacidosis. Polydipsia was reported a few months and weight loss 4 weeks before SARS- CoV-2 infection suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 could not be the trigger of Type 1 diabetes in this patient. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 in this patient was an unexpected event in the course of disease. We advance the hypothesis that the SARS-CoV-2 infection, even if paucisymptomatic could have acted in the present case report as a hypothetical downstream precipitating factor; whilst the inciting triggering event of the autoimmune disease, as confirmed by the presence of circulating autoantibodies, could have occurred even before, as generally assumed for this category of disorders. The precipitating mechanism could have been the acute interaction between virus and the ACE receptor on the beta cells, at the time that hyperglycemia and glycosuria were ascertained, and HbA1c levels confirmed a metabolic dysregulation over the previous 3 months in absence of ketoacidosis

Phantom study on surgical performance in augmented reality laparoscopy

Purpose Only a few studies have evaluated Augmented Reality (AR) in in vivo simulations compared to traditional laparoscopy;further research is especially needed regarding the most effective AR visualization technique. This pilot study aims to determine, under controlled conditions on a 3D-printed phantom, whether an AR laparoscope improves surgical outcomes over conventional laparoscopy without augmentation. Methods We selected six surgical residents at a similar level of training and had them perform a laparoscopic task. The participants repeated the experiment three times, using different 3D phantoms and visualizations: Floating AR, Occlusion AR, and without any AR visualization (Control). Surgical performance was determined using objective measurements. Subjective measures, such as task load and potential application areas, were collected with questionnaires. Results Differences in operative time, total touching time, and SurgTLX scores showed no statistical significance (p > 0.05). However, when assessing the invasiveness of the simulated intervention, the comparison revealed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.009). Participants felt AR could be useful for various surgeries, especially for liver, sigmoid, and pancreatic resections (100%). Almost all participants agreed that AR could potentially lead to improved surgical parameters, such as operative time (83%), complication rate (83%), and identifying risk structures (83%). Conclusion According to our results, AR may have great potential in visceral surgery and based on the objective measures of the study, may improve surgeons' performance in terms of an atraumatic approach. In this pilot study, participants consistently took more time to complete the task, had more contact with the vascular tree, were significantly more invasive, and scored higher on the SurgTLX survey than with AR