Projects of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry
Glycosylation of the complement component C3 in the development of type 1 diabetes and autoimmunity
| Status | In progress |
|---|---|
| Acronym | GlycoC3-Diab |
| Summary | Diabetes mellitus type 1 (DM1) is a major epidemiological problem because, apart from the fact that it mostly affects children and young people, despite all the efforts and advances in medicine and quality of life, its incidence is increasing. Also, today the component of autoimmunity, which is most often found in the background of the development of this disease, also occurs in adult subjects. Understanding the basis of development, discrimination of different subgroups of patients, and even correct diagnosis represent pressing clinical problems. In our previous work, we showed a high diagnostic potential of N-glycosylation of plasma proteins and immunoglobulin G, in differentiating children with newly discovered ŠBT1 from their healthy siblings (AUC>0.9). Also, a genome-wide association study identified a never-reported association between the C3 gene and glycosylation. Keeping in mind the increasingly common knowledge about the role of the complement system in the development of ŠBT1, we recently developed a method for analyzing the glycosylation of C3 glycoprotein from and demonstrated the altered glycosylation of this protein in ŠBT1. In order to examine the hypothesis that these changes play a role in the development of disease and autoimmunity, in this project we will analyze C3 glycosylation in a population of high-risk infants, which involves multiple sampling from the mother's pregnancy through early childhood, until the onset of autoimmunity. This approach could result in an extremely powerful tool for the prevention of SBT1 and advance the clinical field. Also, in order to examine the difference in immune processes in type 1 diabetes in children and adults from the aspect of glycosylation, glycosylation of C3 and IgG will be analyzed in 300 adult subjects with positive pancreatic autoimmunity depending on the level of C-peptide and the positivity of autoantibodies. |
| Line of financing |
Croatian Science Foundation |
| Duration | 16.12.2023. - 15.12.2027. |
| Budget amount | 187.935,50 EUR |
| Lead | - |
| Results |