Interleukin-38 increases the insulin sensitivity in children with the type 2 diabetes

Ying Liu; Tao Chen; Fangli Zhou; Dezhi Mu; Shanling Liu

doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106264

Interleukin-38 increases the insulin sensitivity in children with the type 2 diabetes

Int Immunopharmacol. 2020 Feb 19:82:106264. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106264. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ying Liu¹, Tao Chen², Fangli Zhou², Dezhi Mu³, Shanling Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
² Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China.
³ Department of Pediatrics, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: DezhiMusucc@163.com.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China; Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children(Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: shanling_liu82succ@163.com.

PMID: 32087495
DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2020.106264

Abstract

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is increasing in the children population. It is well known that inflammation contributes to the type 2 DM pathogenesis. Interleukin 38 (IL-38) is one newly identified anti-inflammatory factor. Therefore, we investigated whether the expression level of IL-38 is associated with type 2 DM in the children and the underlying mechanism. Children with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited and studied. The healthy subjects without glucose metabolism abnormalities were used as controls. The IL-38 expression level was determined by quantitative PCR and ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunoassay). Statistic analysis showed that the IL-38 level was significantly associated with type 2 DM and insulin resistance in the children. The patients were then divided into two groups, one group sensitive to insulin therapy while the other resistant to insulin therapy. Data showed that the IL-38 was highly expressed in the group sensitive to insulin therapy. In the mice model, overexpressing the IL-38 could suppress the expression of IL-36, a pro-inflammatory factor, and also the diabetes development. Thus our results showed that higher IL-38 was associated with the increased insulin sensitive in children with type 2 DM and inhibited T2DM development in the mouse model through suppressing the function of IL-36.

Keywords: IL-36; Insulin therapy; Interleukin-38; Pediatric diabetes; Type 2 diabetes in children.