Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, have been shown to display a complex spectrum of roles that span from neurotrophic to neurotoxic depending on their activation status. Microglia can be classified into four stages of activation, M1, which most closely matches the classical (pro-inflammatory) activation stage, and the alternative activation stages M2a, M2b, and M2c. The alternative activation stages have not yet been comprehensively analyzed through unbiased, global-scale protein expression profiling. In this study, BV2 mouse immortalized microglial cells were stimulated with agonists specific for each of the four stages and total protein expression for 4644 protein groups was quantified using SILAC-based proteomic analysis. After validating induction of the various stages through a targeted cytokine assay and Western blotting of activation states, the data revealed novel insights into the similarities and differences between the various states. The data identify several protein groups whose expression in the anti-inflammatory, pro-healing activation states are altered presumably to curtail inflammatory activation through differential protein expression, in the M2a state including CD74, LYN, SQST1, TLR2, and CD14. The differential expression of these proteins promotes healing, limits phagocytosis, and limits activation of reactive nitrogen species through toll-like receptor cascades. The M2c state appears to center around the down-regulation of a key member in the formation of actin-rich phagosomes, SLP-76. In addition, the proteomic data identified a novel activation marker, DAB2, which is involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis and is significantly different between M2a and either M1 or M2b states. Western blot analysis of mouse primary microglia stimulated with the various agonists of the classical and alternative activation states revealed a similar trend of DAB2 expression compared with BV2 cells.

PANcreatic-DERived factor (PANDER, FAM3B) is a novel protein that is highly expressed within the endocrine pancreas and to a lesser degree in other tissues. Under glucose stimulation, PANDER is co-secreted with insulin from the b-cell. Despite prior creation and characterization of acute hepatic PANDER animal models, the physiologic function remains to be elucidated from pancreas-secreted PANDER. To determine this, in this study, a transgenic mouse exclusively overexpressing PANDER from the endocrine pancreas was generated. PANDER was selectively expressed by the pancreatic-duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX1) promoter. The PANDER transgenic (PANTG) mice were metabolically and proteomically characterized to evaluate effects on glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and lipid metabolism. Fasting glucose, insulin and C-peptide levels were elevated in the PANTG compared with matched WT mice. Younger PANTG mice also displayed glucose intolerance in the absence of peripheral insulin sensitivity. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies revealed that hepatic glucose production and insulin resistance were significantly increased in the PANTG with no difference in either glucose infusion rate or rate of disappearance. Fasting glucagon, corticosterones, resistin and leptin levels were also similar between PANTG and WT. Stable isotope labeling of amino acids in cell culture revealed increased gluconeogenic and lipogenic proteomic profiles within the liver of the PANTG with phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxykinase demonstrating a 3.5-fold increase in expression. This was matched with increased hepatic triglyceride content and decreased p-AMPK and p-acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase-1 signaling in the PANTG. Overall, our findings support a role of pancreatic b-cell-secreted PANDER in the regulation of hepatic insulin and lipogenenic signaling with subsequent impact on overall glycemia.

Saliva has immense potential as a diagnostic fluid for identification and monitoring of several systemic diseases. Composition of the microbiome and inflammation has been associated and reflective of oral and overall health. In addition, the relative ease of collection of saliva further strengthens large-scale diagnostic purposes. However, the future clinical utility of saliva cannot be fully determined without a detailed examination of daily fluctuations that may occur within the oral microbiome and inflammation due to circadian rhythm. In this study, we explored the association between the salivary microbiome and the concentration of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 in the saliva of 12 healthy adults over a period of 24 h by studying the 16S rRNA gene followed by negative binomial mixed model regression analysis. To determine the periodicity and oscillation patterns of both the oral microbiome and inflammation (represented by the cytokine levels), two of the twelve subjects were studied for three consecutive days. Our results indicate that the Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to Prevotella, SR1 and Ruminococcaceae are significantly associated to IL-1β while Prevotella and Granulicatella were associated with IL-8. Our findings have also revealed a periodicity of both the oral microbiome (OTUs) and inflammation (cytokine levels) with identifiable patterns between IL-1β and Prevotella, and IL-6 with Prevotella, Neisseria and Porphyromonas. We believe that this study represents the first measure and demonstration of simultaneous periodic fluctuations of cytokine levels and specific populations of the oral microbiome.

Pancreatic-derived factor (PANDER; also known as FAM3B) is a uniquely structured protein strongly expressed within and secreted from the endocrine pancreas. PANDER has been hypothesized to regulate fasting and fed glucose homeostasis, hepatic lipogenesis and insulin signaling, and to serve a potential role in the onset or progression of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Despite having potentially pivotal pleiotropic roles in glycemic regulation and T2D, there has been limited generation of stable animal models for the investigation of PANDER function, and there are no models on well-established genetic murine backgrounds for T2D. Our aim was to generate an enhanced murine model to further elucidate the biological function of PANDER. Therefore, a pure-bred PANDER knockout C57BL/6 (PANKO-C57) model was created and phenotypically characterized with respect to glycemic regulation and hepatic insulin signaling. The PANKO-C57 model exhibited an enhanced metabolic phenotype, particularly with regard to enhanced glucose tolerance. Male PANKO-C57 mice displayed decreased fasting plasma insulin and C-peptide levels, whereas leptin levels were increased as compared with matched C57BL/6J wild-type mice. Despite similar peripheral insulin sensitivity between both groups, hepatic insulin signaling was significantly increased during fasting conditions, as demonstrated by increased phosphorylation of hepatic PKB/Akt and AMPK, along with mature SREBP-1 expression. Insulin stimulation of PANKO-C57 mice resulted in increased hepatic triglyceride and glycogen content as compared with wild-type C57BL/6 mice. In summary, the PANKO-C57 mouse represents a suitable model for the investigation of PANDER in multiple metabolic states and provides an additional tool to elucidate the biological function and potential role in T2D.

BackgroundType 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease resulting in the targeted destruction of pancreatic β-cells and permanent loss of insulin production. Proper glucose management results in better clinical outcomes for T1D and provides a strong rationale to identify non-invasive biomarkers indicative or predictive of glycemic control. Therefore, we investigated the association of salivary inflammation with HbA1c in a T1D cohort.MethodsUnstimulated saliva was collected from 144 subjects with T1D at the USF Diabetes Center. BMI, duration of diabetes, and HbA1c were recorded during clinical visit. Levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, -6, -8, -10, IFN-γ, TNF-α, MMP-3, -8, and -9 were measured using multiplexing immunoassay analysis. To account for smoking status, salivary cotinine levels were also determined.ResultsMultiple linear (HbA1c) and logistic (self-reported gingival condition) regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) components and HbA1c and gingival condition (adjusted for age, duration of diabetes, BMI, and sex; model for HbA1c also adjusted for gingival condition and model for gingival condition also adjusted for HbA1c). PCA components 1 (MMP-8 and MMP-9) and 3 (TNF-α) were significantly associated with HbA1c (β = 0.28 ±0.14, p = 0.045; β = 0.31 ±0.14, p = 0.029), while PCA component 2 (IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-8) was significantly associated with gingival condition (OR 1.60 95% CI 1.09–2.34, p = 0.016). In general, increased salivary inflammatory burden is associated with decreased glycemic control and self-reported gingival condition.ConclusionsThe saliva may represent a useful reservoir of novel noninvasive inflammatory biomarkers predictive of the progression and control of T1D.