Heterogeneity of Diabetes: ß-Cells, Phenotypes, and Precision Medicine: Proceedings of an International Symposium of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

One hundred years have passed since the discovery of insulin-an achievement that transformed diabetes from a fatal illness into a manageable chronic condition. The decades since that momentous achievement have brought ever more rapid innovation and advancement in diabetes research and clinical care. To celebrate the important work of the past century and help to chart a course for its continuation into the next, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recently held a joint international symposium, bringing together a cohort of researchers with diverse interests and backgrounds from both countries and beyond to discuss their collective quest to better understand the heterogeneity of diabetes and thus gain insights to inform new directions in diabetes treatment and prevention. This article summarizes the proceedings of that symposium, which spanned cutting-edge research into various aspects of islet biology, the heterogeneity of diabetic phenotypes, and the current state of and future prospects for precision medicine in diabetes.

Auto-immunity and the gut microbiome in type 1 diabetes: Lessons from rodent and human studies.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an auto-immune disease that destructs insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells within the islets of Langerhans. The incidence of T1D has tripled over the last decades, while the pathophysiology of the disease is still largely unknown. Currently, there is no cure for T1D. The only treatment option consists of blood-glucose regulation with insulin injections and intensive monitoring of blood glucose levels. In recent years, perturbations in the ecosystem of the gut microbiome also referred to as dysbiosis, have gained interest as a possible contributing factor in the development of T1D. Changes in the microbiome seem to occur before the onset of T1D associated auto-antibodies. Furthermore, rodent studies demonstrate that administering antibiotics at a young age may accelerate the onset of T1D. This review provides an overview of the research performed on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, interventions, and possible treatment options in the field of the gut microbiome and T1D.

Selecting exercise regimens and strains to modify obesity and diabetes in rodents: an overview.

Exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle and frequently is an important component in combating chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Understanding the molecular events initiated by regular exercise is best studied in laboratory animals, with mice and rats being favoured for a number of reasons. However, the wide variety of rodent strains available for biomedical research often makes it challenging to select an animal strain suitable for studying specific disease outcomes. In the present review we focus on exercise as a management strategy for obesity and diabetes and we discuss: (i) exercise paradigms in humans shown to ameliorate signs and symptoms of obesity and diabetes; (ii) different rodent strains in terms of their advantages, disadvantages and limitations when using specific forms of exercise; (iii) the strengths and weaknesses of commonly used laboratory methods for rodent exercise; and (iv) the unintended consequences of exercise that are often manifested by increased hormonal and oxidative stress responses.