Clinical Microbiology: Open Access

Insights into the possible role of viruses in type 1 Diabetes mellitus

3^rd International Conference on Clinical Microbiology & Microbial Genomics

September 24-26, 2014 Valencia Convention Centre, Spain

Antonio Toniolo

Accepted Abstracts: Clin Microbial

Abstract:

Type 1 diabetes is caused by the immune-mediated destruction of pancreatic islet cells leading to insufficient insulin production and consequent clinical manifestations of hyperglycaemia. The etiology of type 1 diabetes, like other autoimmune diseases, can be thought of as a complex interaction between genes and the environment. It is apparent that genes cannot be acting alone. However, it is still unclear how non-genetic events may lead to disease. Environmental factors could act by either triggering an already established degree of autoimmunity, directly causing the destructive inflammatory response, or both, which then sets off a chain of events culminating in clinical diabetes. Epidemiological, histological and immunological data indicate a role for viruses in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, although it has proven difficult to find a causal relationship. Current evidence strongly supports the association of the disease with infection by different enterovirus species. There is evidence that viral factors operate to influence the rate of disease progression in subjects with pancreatic autoantibodies and that persistent non-lytic enterovirus infections (not acute lytic infections) are associated with the disease. Novel methods to detect enteroviruses in samples from patients at different clinical stages of the disease (autoantibodies in the absence of hyperglycemia, clinical onset of diabetes, later clinical stages) will be presented. These include virus isolation in culture, gene amplification and sequencing, studies of tissue samples from autopsy materials and from organ donors with type 1 diabetes, specimens obtained from newly-diagnosed living patients (blood, pancreas biopsy). Identification of enterovirus types associated with diabetes in different cases and different geographic areas remains, however, highly controversial.

Biography :

Antonio Toniolo is Professor of Medical Microbiology and Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory at the University of Insubria Medical Center in Varese, Italy (half million accredited microbiology tests per year). Starting as Instructor in Medical Microbiology (1973) at the University of Pisa Medical School, was then promoted to Assistant and Associate Professor at the same University. After a 3-yrs position at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland), he served as Full Professor of Medical Microbiology with clinical responsibilities at four different University Medical Schools in Italy (Sassari, 1985-89; Pisa, 1989-91; Pavia, 1991-98; Insubria, 1998-present). He is Director of the Department of Experimental Medicine (University of Insubria Medical School from 2001 to 2010; Director of the Clinical Pathology Department, Ospedale di Circolo e Fondazione Macchi ? 8 yrs). Director, School of Microbiology and Virology, University of Insubria Medical School, Varese (1997-2012). HissScientific interests: contribution of virus infections to neurologic and endocrine conditions of unknown etiology.