Evaluation of glycaemic profile variability as a basis for insulin therapy strategy in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Patients with any form of diabetes during pregnancy should achieve the target (close to physiological) values of glycaemia, the main condition for a safe course and outcomes of pregnancy. To accomplish this task, effective and safe methods of insulin therapy should be selected. AIM: To determine the glycaemic profile and pregnancy outcomes in women with type 1 diabetes treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and multiple insulin injections (MII). METHODS: A continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) of 100 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes treated with CSII and 100 women treated with MII was conducted to assess the effectiveness of these insulin therapy regimens in achieving target blood glucose values. RESULTS: HbA1c levels were significantly lower during the first, second, and third trimesters in patients treated with CSII than those treated with MII. Glucose variability has already improved since the second trimester of pregnancy in women treated with CSII, which was not observed in those treated with MII. The period of hyperglycaemia according to the results in pregnant women treated with CSII was 25 [13; 38] %, which was lower than those treated with MII, 41 [18; 54] %. No risk of obstetric and perinatal complications was observed with the duration of the hyperglycaemic state of <25% of the CGM time, whereas the risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia appeared with the duration of the hypoglycaemic state of a mother with type 1 diabetes of >0.2%. The relationship between glucose variability in terms of MAGE and MODD and the risk of developing macrosomia has been observed, and the dependence of glucose variability (MODD and CONGA) and the risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia and preeclampsia have also been confirmed. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive assessment of the glycaemic profile when using CSII, confirmed the advantages of using CSII in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes to achieve the target glycaemia values, to reduce glucose variability and duration of hypoglycaemic episodes, which led to decreased frequency of obstetric and perinatal complications

Natural Killer Cell Derived Microvesicles Affect the Function of Trophoblast Cells

The interaction of natural killer (NK) and trophoblast cells underlies the formation of immune tolerance in the mother–fetus system and the maintenance of the physiological course of pregnancy. In addition, NK cells affect the function of trophoblast cells, interacting with them via the receptor apparatus and through the production of cytokines. Microvesicles (MVs) derived from NK cells are able to change the function of target cells. However, in the overall pattern of interactions between NK cells and trophoblasts, the possibility that both can transmit signals to each other via MVs has not been taken into account. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of NK cell-derived MVs on the phenotype, proliferation, and migration of trophoblast cells and their expression of intracellular messengers. We carried out assays for the detection of content transferred from MV to trophoblasts. We found that NK cell-derived MVs did not affect the expression of CD54, CD105, CD126, CD130, CD181, CD119, and CD120a receptors in trophoblast cells or lead to the appearance of CD45 and CD56 receptors in the trophoblast membrane. Further, the MVs reduced the proliferation but increased the migration of trophoblasts with no changes to their viability. Incubation of trophoblast cells in the presence of MVs resulted in the activation of STAT3 via pSTAT3(Ser727) but not via pSTAT3(Tyr705). The treatment of trophoblasts with MVs did not result in the phosphorylation of STAT1 and ERK1/2. The obtained data indicate that NK cell-derived MVs influence the function of trophoblast cells, which is accompanied by the activation of STAT3 signaling

Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the “copper moss” Mielichhoferia elongata reveals independent nad7 gene functionality loss

The mitochondrial genome of moss Mielichhoferia elongata has been sequenced and assembled with Spades genome assembler. It consists of 100,342 base pairs and has practically the same gene set and order as in other known bryophyte chondriomes. The genome contains 66 genes including three rRNAs, 24 tRNAs, and 40 conserved mitochondrial proteins genes. Unlike the majority of previously sequenced bryophyte mitogenomes, it lacks the functional nad7 gene. The phylogenetic reconstruction and scrutiny analysis of the primary structure of nad7 gene carried out in this study suggest its independent pseudogenization in different bryophyte lineages. Evaluation of the microsatellite (simple sequence repeat) content of the M. elongata mitochondrial genome indicates that it could be used as a tool in further studies as a phylogenetic marker. The strongly supported phylogenetic tree presented here, derived from 33 protein coding sequences of 40 bryophyte species, is consistent with other reconstructions based on a number of different data sets

The Mitochondrial Genome of Nematodontous Moss Polytrichum commune and Analysis of Intergenic Repeats Distribution Among Bryophyta

An early-branched moss Polytrichum commune is a widely accepted model object for ecological, environmental, physiological, and genetic studies. Its mitochondrial genome has been sequenced and annotated. The genome contains 67 genes in total and has a length equal to 114,831 bp, which exceeds the length of most known mitochondrial genomes for mosses. A phylogenetic tree based on 33 coding sequences of mitochondrial genome was constructed, and the pairwise identity of whole mitogenome sequences was estimated for 44 Bryophyta species. Based on the analysis of pairwise identity, it was shown that mitogenomes of Tetraphis pellucida and Buxbaumia aphylla sufficiently differ from those of other Bryophyta species. The first known Bryophyta mitogenome rearrangement was identified in Pogonatum inflexum within Polytrichopsida. Based on the intergenic repeats occurrence in 44 bryophyte mitochondrial genomes and available data on repetitive elements content in other Viridiplantae groups, it was noted for the first time that greater stability of the moss’s mitogenomes is probably associated mainly with the absence of long (>1 kb) repeats. The phenomenon of absence of the intergenic repetitive elements in the terminal clades species was discovered