Clinical Features and HLA Genetics Differ in Children at Type 1 Diabetes Onset by Hispanic Ethnicity.

CONTEXT: Type 1 diabetes incidence continues to increase in children, especially among Hispanic Whites (HW). OBJECTIVE: We investigated the clinical, immunologic, and genetic characteristics of HW and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) children that presented at type 1 diabetes diagnosis. METHODS: In this single-center, observational study, children who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (<20 years old) and tested for islet autoantibodies within 1 year of diagnosis were included in the study and divided into two groups by Hispanic ethnicity. RESULTS: Of 1297 children, 398 HW children presented with a younger age at diabetes onset (10.2 ± 3.9 vs. 11.1 ± 4.1 years, p<0.001) and more diabetic ketoacidosis (62.4% vs. 51.9%, p<0.001) compared to NHW children (n=899). There was no difference in sex, A1c levels, or the number and prevalence of islet autoantibodies between the two cohorts. A subset of our cohort was HLA typed as specific alleles confer strong genetic risk for type 1 diabetes (e.g., HLA-DR4 and DQ8). Among 637 HLA-typed children, HW children had a significantly higher prevalence of the DR4-DQ8 haplotype compared to NHW children (79.1% vs. 60.1%, p<0.001), and this frequency was much higher than a reference Hispanic population (OR = 6.5, 95% CI 4.6-9.3). CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic White children developing type 1 diabetes have a high prevalence of HLA DR4-DQ8, which can be utilized to select individuals for immune monitoring with islet autoantibodies to lessen diabetic ketoacidosis and potentially prevent diabetes onset.

Tracking DNA-based antigen-specific T cell receptors during progression to type 1 diabetes.

T cells targeting self-proteins are important mediators in autoimmune diseases. T cells express unique cell-surface receptors (TCRs) that recognize peptides presented by major histocompatibility molecules. TCRs have been identified from blood and pancreatic islets of individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Here, we tracked ~1700 known antigen-specific TCR sequences, islet antigen or viral reactive, in bulk TCRß sequencing from longitudinal blood DNA samples in at-risk cases who progressed to T1D, age/sex/human leukocyte antigen-matched controls, and a new-onset T1D cohort. Shared and frequent antigen-specific TCRß sequences were identified in all three cohorts, and viral sequences were present across all ages. Islet sequences had different patterns of accumulation based upon antigen specificity in the at-risk cases. Furthermore, 73 islet-antigen TCRß sequences were present in higher frequencies and numbers in T1D samples relative to controls. The total number of these disease-associated TCRß sequences inversely correlated with age at clinical diagnosis, indicating the potential to use disease-relevant TCR sequences as biomarkers in autoimmune disorders.

Novel color stability and colorimetry-enhanced intelligent CO2 indicators by metal complexation of anthocyanins for monitoring chicken freshness.

This study aims to improve the color stability of anthocyanins and develop a CO2-sensitive indicator based on black goji anthocyanin (BGA) extract. Although the BGA extracts showed distinct color changes, such as red-purple-blue, their intrinsic color diminished after 24 h. A metal complexation method was used for the high color stability of BGA. BGA extracts were chelated with various concentrations of Al3+ [0 - 20% (w/w)]. It showed high color stability and strong intensity in a dose-dependent manner. A CO2-sensitive indicator sachet was developed using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose hydrogel, based on 5% (w/w) Al3+-BGA complexes. The indicator was applied to the chicken breast and detected its spoilage after 3 days with its changing color to greyish blue, due to the microbial growth to 7.00 log CFU/g. These results demonstrated the possibility of chelated anthocyanin complexes as indicating dyes and the ability to monitor the food quality changes through noticeable color changes.