Research in pharmacological therapy has led to the availability of many antidiabetic agents. New recommendations for precision medicine and particularly precision nutrition may greatly contribute to the control and especially to the prevention of diabetes. This scenario greatly encourages the search for novel non-pharmaceutical molecules. In line with this, the daily and long-term consumption of diets rich in phenolic compounds, together with a healthy lifestyle, may have a protective role against the development of type 2 diabetes. In the framework of the described studies, there is clear evidence that the bio accessibility, bioavailability, and the gut microbiota are indeed affected by: the way phenolic compounds are consumed (acutely or chronically; as pure compounds, extracts, or in-side a whole meal) and the amount and the type of phenolic compounds (ex-tractable or non-extractable/macromolecular antioxidants, including non-bioavailable polyphenols and plant matrix complexed structures). In this review, we report possible effects of important, commonly consumed, phenolic-based nutraceuticals in pre-clinical and clinical diabetes studies. We highlight their mechanisms of action and their potential effects in health promotion. Translation of this nutraceutical-based approach still requires more and larger clinical trials for better elucidation of the mechanism of action toward clinical applications.

Low-grade inflammation is closely linked to obesity and obesity-related comorbidities; therefore, immune cells have become an important topic in obesity research. Here, we performed a deep phenotypic characterization of circulating T cells in people with obesity, using flow cytometry. Forty-one individuals with obesity (OB) and clinical criteria for bariatric surgery were enrolled in this study. We identified and quantified 44 different circulating T cell subsets and assessed their activation status and the expression of immune-checkpoint molecules, immediately before (T1) and 7–18 months after (T2) the bariatric surgery. Twelve age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (nOB) were also recruited. The OB participants showed higher leukocyte counts and a higher percentage of neutrophils. The percentage of circulating Th1 cells were negatively correlated to HbA1c and insulin levels. OB Th1 cells displayed a higher activation status and lower PD-1 expression. The percentage of Th17 and Th1/17 cells were increased in OB, whereas the CD4⁺ Tregs’ percentage was decreased. Interestingly, a higher proportion of OB CD4⁺ Tregs were polarized toward Th1- and Th1/17-like cells and expressed higher levels of CCR5. Bariatric surgery induced the recovery of CD4⁺ Treg cell levels and the expansion and activation of Tfh and B cells. Our results show alterations in the distribution and phenotype of circulating T cells from OB people, including activation markers and immune-checkpoint proteins, demonstrating that different metabolic profiles are associated to distinct immune profiles, and both are modulated by bariatric surgery.

Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne viral disease of great concern in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. One important cause of the increase in DF is rapid development and urbanization has led to proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector responsible for transmission of the illness. Surveillance of dengue virus (DENV) infection in Brazil shows the predominance of DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-3 until 2010. This study reports the reappearance of DENV-4 in Brazil for the first time in 30 years. Serum samples were collected from individuals (n = 214) exhibiting fever and muscular pain in Bahia, Brazil, during 2011-2012. These samples were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)/nested PCR, which revealed that 82% of samples were positive for DENV-4; most were older age groups and exhibited a serological pattern consistent with a primary infection. The cocirculation of multiple DENV serotypes within the same city places the population at risk for a fatal form of the disease. Therefore, with the increasing incidence of severe DF cases, early diagnosis will be a priority for public health efforts in Brazil.

Despite the known link between obesity and insulin resistance (IR) to chronic low-grade inflammation, new markers capable of early IR detection are needed. Immune cells are components of adipose tissue’s (AT) stromal vascular fraction (SVF) that regulate AT homeostasis. The altered phenotype and function of AT-infiltrating immune cells may contribute to the development and maintenance of local AT inflammation observed under obesity-induced IR conditions. Impaired AT-specific immunometabolic function may influence the whole organism. Therefore, AT-infiltrating immune cells may be important players in the development of obesity-related metabolic complications, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). B and T cells, particularly CD20⁺ T cells, play important roles in human pathology, such as autoimmune disease and cancer. However, the question remains as to whether CD20⁺ T cells have an important contribution to the development of obesity-related IR. While circulating CD20⁺ T cells are mostly of the central memory phenotype (i.e. antigen-experienced T cells with the ability to home to secondary lymphoid organs), tissues-infiltrated CD20⁺ T cells are predominantly of the effector memory phenotype (i.e. antigen-experienced T cells that preferentially infiltrate peripheral tissues). The latter produce pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-γ and IL-17, which play a role in obesity-related IR development. This review describes the CD20 molecule and its presence in both B and T cells, shedding light on its ontogeny and function, in health and disease, with emphasis on AT. The link between CD20⁺ T cell dysregulation, obesity, and IR development supports the role of CD20⁺ T cells as markers of adipose tissue dysmetabolism.

CD20⁺ T cells constitute a small subset of T cells. These are found among CD4⁺, CD8⁺, CD4⁺CD8⁺, CD4⁻CD8⁻ T, and TCRγδ⁺ T cells, and have been poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to characterize peripheral blood (PB) CD20⁺ T cells and compare them to their PB CD20⁻ T cell counterparts. PB from 17 healthy individuals was collected. The distribution of CD20⁺ T cells among maturation‐associated T cells compartments (naïve, central memory, transitional memory, effector memory, and effector T cells), their polarization, activation status, and expression of immune‐regulatory proteins were evaluated by flow cytometry. Their function was also assessed, by measuring IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, and IL‐17 production. Compared with CD20⁻ T cells, CD20⁺ T cells represent a higher proportion of transitional memory cells. Furthermore, CD20⁺ T cells display a proinflammatory phenotype, characterized by the expansion of Th1, Th1/17, and Tc1 cell subsets , associated to a high expression of activation (CD25) and exhaustion (PD‐1) markers. In addition, the simultaneous production of the proinflammatory cytokines IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, and IL‐17 was also detected in CD4⁺CD20⁺ T cells. Our results show that CD20⁺ T cells are phenotypically and functionally different from CD20⁻ T cells, suggesting that these cells are a distinct subset of T cells.