[HTML][HTML] Long-term reduction in hyperglycemia in advanced type 1 diabetes: the value of induced aerobic glycolysis with BCG vaccinations

WM Kühtreiber, L Tran, T Kim, M Dybala, B Nguyen… - npj Vaccines, 2018 - nature.com
WM Kühtreiber, L Tran, T Kim, M Dybala, B Nguyen, S Plager, D Huang, S Janes, A Defusco…
npj Vaccines, 2018nature.com
Mycobacterium are among the oldest co-evolutionary partners of humans. The attenuated
Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) strain has been administered globally
for 100 years as a vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG also shows promise as treatment for
numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a randomized 8-year
long prospective examination of type 1 diabetic subjects with long-term disease who
received two doses of the BCG vaccine. After year 3, BCG lowered hemoglobin A1c to near …
Abstract
Mycobacterium are among the oldest co-evolutionary partners of humans. The attenuated Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) strain has been administered globally for 100 years as a vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG also shows promise as treatment for numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a randomized 8-year long prospective examination of type 1 diabetic subjects with long-term disease who received two doses of the BCG vaccine. After year 3, BCG lowered hemoglobin A1c to near normal levels for the next 5 years. The BCG impact on blood sugars appeared to be driven by a novel systemic and blood sugar lowering mechanism in diabetes. We observe a systemic shift in glucose metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, a state of high glucose utilization. Confirmation is gained by metabolomics, mRNAseq, and functional assays of cellular glucose uptake after BCG vaccinations. To prove BCG could induce a systemic change to promote accelerated glucose utilization and impact blood sugars, murine data demonstrated reduced blood sugars and aerobic induction in non-autoimmune mice made chemically diabetic. BCG via epigenetics also resets six central T-regulatory genes for genetic re-programming of tolerance. These findings set the stage for further testing of a known safe vaccine therapy for improved blood sugar control through changes in metabolism and durability with epigenetic changes even in advanced Type 1 diabetes.
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