Obesity-related sub-acute chronic inflammation has been associated with incident type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Inflammation is increasingly considered to be a pathologic ...mediator of these commonly co-occurring diseases. A growing number of preclinical and clinical studies support the inflammatory hypothesis, but clinical trials to confirm the therapeutic potential to target inflammation to treat or prevent cardiometabolic conditions are still ongoing. There are multiple inflammatory signaling pathways. Regulation is complex, with substantial crosstalk across these multiple pathways. The activity of select pathways may be differentially regulated in different tissues. Pharmacologic approaches to diabetes management may have direct or indirect antiinflammatory effects, the latter potentially attributable to an improved metabolic state. Conversely, some antiinflammatory approaches may affect glucose metabolism and cardiovascular health. To date, clinical trials suggest that targeting one portion of the inflammatory cascade may differentially affect dysglycemia and atherothrombosis. Understanding the underlying biological processes may contribute to the development of safe and effective therapies, although a single approach may not be sufficient for optimal management of both metabolic and athrothrombotic disease states.
Cardiovascular disease remains the principal cause of death and disability among patients with diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus exacerbates mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis and heart ...failure. Unfortunately, these mechanisms are not adequately modulated by therapeutic strategies focusing solely on optimal glycemic control with currently available drugs or approaches. In the setting of multifactorial risk reduction with statins and other lipid-lowering agents, antihypertensive therapies, and antihyperglycemic treatment strategies, cardiovascular complication rates are falling, yet remain higher for patients with diabetes mellitus than for those without. This review considers the mechanisms, history, controversies, new pharmacological agents, and recent evidence for current guidelines for cardiovascular management in the patient with diabetes mellitus to support evidence-based care in the patient with diabetes mellitus and heart disease outside of the acute care setting.
Wound healing is impaired in diabetes, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Neutrophils are the main leukocytes involved in the early phase of healing. As part of their anti-microbial ...defense, neutrophils form extracellular traps (NETs) by releasing decondensed chromatin lined with cytotoxic proteins. NETs, however, can also induce tissue damage. Here we show that neutrophils isolated from type 1 and type 2 diabetic humans and mice were primed to produce NETs (a process termed NETosis). Expression of peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4, encoded by Padi4 in mice), an enzyme important in chromatin decondensation, was elevated in neutrophils from individuals with diabetes. When subjected to excisional skin wounds, wild-type (WT) mice produced large quantities of NETs in wounds, but this was not observed in Padi4(-/-) mice. In diabetic mice, higher levels of citrullinated histone H3 (H3Cit, a NET marker) were found in their wounds than in normoglycemic mice and healing was delayed. Wound healing was accelerated in Padi4(-/-) mice as compared to WT mice, and it was not compromised by diabetes. DNase 1, which disrupts NETs, accelerated wound healing in diabetic and normoglycemic WT mice. Thus, NETs impair wound healing, particularly in diabetes, in which neutrophils are more susceptible to NETosis. Inhibiting NETosis or cleaving NETs may improve wound healing and reduce NET-driven chronic inflammation in diabetes.
To compare the effect of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery versus intensive medical diabetes and weight management (IMWM) on clinical and patient-reported outcomes in obese patients with type 2 ...diabetes.
We prospectively randomized 38 obese patients with type 2 diabetes (15 male and 23 female, with mean ± SD weight 104 ± 16 kg, BMI 36.3 ± 3.4 kg/m
, age 52 ± 6 years, and HbA
8.5 ± 1.3% 69 ± 14 mmol/mol) to laparoscopic RYGB (
= 19) or IMWM (
= 19). Changes in weight, HbA
, cardiovascular risk factors (UKPDS risk engine), and self-reported health status (the 36-Item Short-Form SF-36 survey, Impact of Weight on Quality of Life IWQOL instrument, and Problem Areas in Diabetes Survey PAID) were assessed.
After 3 years, the RYGB group had greater weight loss (mean -24.9 kg 95% CI -29.5, -20.4 vs. -5.2 -10.3, -0.2;
< 0.001) and lowering of HbA
(-1.79% -2.38, -1.20 vs. -0.39% -1.06, 0.28 -19.6 mmol/mol {95% CI -26.0, -13.1} vs. -4.3 {-11.6, 3.1};
< 0.001) compared with the IMWM group. Changes in cardiometabolic risk for coronary heart disease and stroke were all more favorable in RYGB versus IMWM (
< 0.05 to
< 0.01). IWQOL improved more after RYGB (
< 0.001), primarily due to subscales of physical function, self-esteem, and work performance. SF-36 and PAID scores improved in both groups, with no difference between treatments. A structural equation model demonstrated that improvement in overall quality of life was more strongly associated with weight loss than with improved HbA
and was manifest by greater improvements in IWQOL than with either SF-36 or PAID.
Three years after randomization to RYGB versus IMWM, surgery produced greater weight loss, lower HbA
, reduced cardiovascular risk, and improvements in obesity-related quality of life in obese patients with type 2 diabetes.
OBJECTIVE:--Sedentary lifestyle and a western diet promote subacute-chronic inflammation, obesity, and subsequently dysglycemia. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of the ...anti-inflammatory drug salsalate to improve glycemia by reducing systemic inflammation in obese adults at risk for the development of type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--In a double-masked, placebo controlled trial, we evaluated 20 obese nondiabetic adults at baseline and after 1 month of salsalate or placebo. RESULTS:--Compared with placebo, salsalate reduced fasting glucose 13% (P < 0.002), glycemic response after an oral glucose challenge 20% (P < 0.004), and glycated albumin 17% (P < 0.0003). Although insulin levels were unchanged, fasting and oral glucose tolerance test C-peptide levels decreased in the salsalate-treated subjects compared with placebo (P < 0.03), consistent with improved insulin sensitivity and a known effect of salicylates to inhibit insulin clearance. Adiponectin increased 57% after salsalate compared with placebo (P < 0.003). Additionally, within the group of salsalate-treated subjects, circulating levels of C-reactive protein were reduced by 34% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:--This proof-of-principle study demonstrates that salsalate reduces glycemia and may improve inflammatory cardiovascular risk indexes in overweight individuals. These data support the hypothesis that subacute-chronic inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity-related dysglycemia and that targeting inflammation may provide a therapeutic route for diabetes prevention.
Obesity is accompanied by chronic, low-grade inflammation of adipose tissue, which promotes insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. These findings raise the question of how fat inflammation can ...escape the powerful armamentarium of cells and molecules normally responsible for guarding against a runaway immune response. CD4(+) Foxp3(+) T regulatory (T(reg)) cells with a unique phenotype were highly enriched in the abdominal fat of normal mice, but their numbers were strikingly and specifically reduced at this site in insulin-resistant models of obesity. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function experiments revealed that these T(reg) cells influenced the inflammatory state of adipose tissue and, thus, insulin resistance. Cytokines differentially synthesized by fat-resident regulatory and conventional T cells directly affected the synthesis of inflammatory mediators and glucose uptake by cultured adipocytes. These observations suggest that harnessing the anti-inflammatory properties of T(reg) cells to inhibit elements of the metabolic syndrome may have therapeutic potential.
Higher serum urate levels are associated with an increased risk of diabetic kidney disease. Lowering of the serum urate level with allopurinol may slow the decrease in the glomerular filtration rate ...(GFR) in persons with type 1 diabetes and early-to-moderate diabetic kidney disease.
In a double-blind trial, we randomly assigned participants with type 1 diabetes, a serum urate level of at least 4.5 mg per deciliter, an estimated GFR of 40.0 to 99.9 ml per minute per 1.73 m
of body-surface area, and evidence of diabetic kidney disease to receive allopurinol or placebo. The primary outcome was the baseline-adjusted GFR, as measured with iohexol, after 3 years plus a 2-month washout period. Secondary outcomes included the decrease in the iohexol-based GFR per year and the urinary albumin excretion rate after washout. Safety was also assessed.
A total of 267 patients were assigned to receive allopurinol and 263 to receive placebo. The mean age was 51.1 years, the mean duration of diabetes 34.6 years, and the mean glycated hemoglobin level 8.2%. The mean baseline iohexol-based GFR was 68.7 ml per minute per 1.73 m
in the allopurinol group and 67.3 ml per minute per 1.73 m
in the placebo group. During the intervention period, the mean serum urate level decreased from 6.1 to 3.9 mg per deciliter with allopurinol and remained at 6.1 mg per deciliter with placebo. After washout, the between-group difference in the mean iohexol-based GFR was 0.001 ml per minute per 1.73 m
(95% confidence interval CI, -1.9 to 1.9; P = 0.99). The mean decrease in the iohexol-based GFR was -3.0 ml per minute per 1.73 m
per year with allopurinol and -2.5 ml per minute per 1.73 m
per year with placebo (between-group difference, -0.6 ml per minute per 1.73 m
per year; 95% CI, -1.5 to 0.4). The mean urinary albumin excretion rate after washout was 40% (95% CI, 0 to 80) higher with allopurinol than with placebo. The frequency of serious adverse events was similar in the two groups.
We found no evidence of clinically meaningful benefits of serum urate reduction with allopurinol on kidney outcomes among patients with type 1 diabetes and early-to-moderate diabetic kidney disease. (Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and others; PERL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02017171.).
Although compensatory islet hyperplasia in response to insulin resistance is a recognized feature in diabetes, the factor(s) that promote β cell proliferation have been elusive. We previously ...reported that the liver is a source for such factors in the liver insulin receptor knockout (LIRKO) mouse, an insulin resistance model that manifests islet hyperplasia. Using proteomics we show that serpinB1, a protease inhibitor, which is abundant in the hepatocyte secretome and sera derived from LIRKO mice, is the liver-derived secretory protein that regulates β cell proliferation in humans, mice, and zebrafish. Small-molecule compounds, that partially mimic serpinB1 effects of inhibiting elastase activity, enhanced proliferation of β cells, and mice lacking serpinB1 exhibit attenuated β cell compensation in response to insulin resistance. Finally, SerpinB1 treatment of islets modulated proteins in growth/survival pathways. Together, these data implicate serpinB1 as an endogenous protein that can potentially be harnessed to enhance functional β cell mass in patients with diabetes.
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•Elevated serpinB1 correlates with β cell proliferation in insulin resistance•SerpinB1 promotes β cell proliferation in multiple species•SerpinB1 deficiency leads to maladaptive β cell proliferation in insulin resistance•SerpinB1 inhibits elastase and activates growth/survival factor signaling pathways
Factors that promote compensatory β cell response to insulin resistance, a common feature in mammals, have been elusive. El Ouaamari et al. identify SerpinB1 as a hepatocyte-secretory protease inhibitor regulating β cell proliferation in humans, mice, and zebrafish. SerpinB1 acts by modulating canonical growth and survival signaling pathways.
Obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. In rodents and newborn humans, brown adipose tissue helps regulate energy expenditure by thermogenesis mediated by the ...expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), but brown adipose tissue has been considered to have no physiologic relevance in adult humans.
We analyzed 3640 consecutive (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron-emission tomographic and computed tomographic (PET-CT) scans performed for various diagnostic reasons in 1972 patients for the presence of substantial depots of putative brown adipose tissue. Such depots were defined as collections of tissue that were more than 4 mm in diameter, had the density of adipose tissue according to CT, and had maximal standardized uptake values of (18)F-FDG of at least 2.0 g per milliliter, indicating high metabolic activity. Clinical indexes were recorded and compared with those of date-matched controls. Immunostaining for UCP1 was performed on biopsy specimens from the neck and supraclavicular regions in patients undergoing surgery.
Substantial depots of brown adipose tissue were identified by PET-CT in a region extending from the anterior neck to the thorax. Tissue from this region had UCP1-immunopositive, multilocular adipocytes indicating brown adipose tissue. Positive scans were seen in 76 of 1013 women (7.5%) and 30 of 959 men (3.1%), corresponding to a female:male ratio greater than 2:1 (P<0.001). Women also had a greater mass of brown adipose tissue and higher (18)F-FDG uptake activity. The probability of the detection of brown adipose tissue was inversely correlated with years of age (P<0.001), outdoor temperature at the time of the scan (P=0.02), beta-blocker use (P<0.001), and among older patients, body-mass index (P=0.007).
Defined regions of functionally active brown adipose tissue are present in adult humans, are more frequent in women than in men, and may be quantified noninvasively with the use of (18)F-FDG PET-CT. Most important, the amount of brown adipose tissue is inversely correlated with body-mass index, especially in older people, suggesting a potential role of brown adipose tissue in adult human metabolism.