The celiac disease is an autoimmune gastrointestinal disorder caused by gluten from wheat, rye or barley. In genetically predisposed persons, gluten induces the immune-mediated inflammation of small intestinal mucosa. Histological lesions include intraepithelial lymphocytosis, crypt hypertrophy and villous atrophy, resulting in malabsorption of micro- and macronutrients. The only treatment for celiac patients is a permanent gluten-free diet (GFD). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress are strongly associated with the celiac disease. Glutathione (GSH) is a main detoxifier of endogenous and exogenous ROS in the intestine. In order to explain the role of glutathione redox cycle in celiac patients, we examined the activities of GSH-related antioxidant (AO) enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR), as well as the concentration of GSH in small intestinal biopsies and peripheral blood of children affected by the celiac disease. The concentration of lipid hydroperoxides (LOOH) as markers of oxidative damage was measured in the same samples. The results clearly demonstrate a significant malfunction of GSH redox cycle with a concomitant decrease in the capacity to regenerate GSH and detoxify LOOH in celiac patients, even after several years of GFD. The oral administration of GSH and a diet rich in natural antioxidants, as well as appropriate dietary supplements, could be of great benefit to the patients.

The study aimed to test the hypothesis that homeostatic microbiome (HM) disorders lead to the increased indirect influence of certain microorganisms (MO) in the gastrointestinal tract, causing a disorder of insulin secretion, insulin resistance, and diabetes. We highlighted Candida and certain types of bacteria since previous in vitro research showed they significantly affect insulin secretion and can cause insulin resistance in obese patients with metabolic syndrome. After determining the type of MO present in the throat swab and the stool, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) test, and analysis of glucose and insulin secretion were performed in patients (n = 38) who were positive for certain types of MO compared to negative patients. Finally, all patients were divided into two groups: overweight patients (body mass index [BMI] < 30) and obese patients (BMI > 30). These two groups were compared for the percentage of certain types of MO to determine which MO can affect an increase in obesity and BMI. The presence of Diphtheroids in the throat (60.5%) reduces insulin secretion in patients compared with the negative group (194.5: 332.4) and the difference was statistically significant (P = .030). The presence of Candida in the throat (10%) increases insulin secretion, but the difference was statistically insignificant. The presence of Candida in the stool (28.9%) also increases insulin secretion and the difference was statistically significant (P = .038). Cumulative results (throat + stool) were similar (180: 332, P = .022). Analysis of BMI showed that the percentage of Diphtheroids in the throat decreases with increased body weight (53.8: 75%) while the percentage of Candida (38.5: 8.3%) and Enterobacter (61.5: 25%) increases, but these differences were statistically insignificant (P > .05). Diphtheroids in the throat can reduce insulin secretion by synthesizing their metabolites. Candida albicans is a conditional pathogen and as a significant indirect factor induces increased insulin secretion and insulin resistance. There are indications that elevated levels of Candida in the intestinal system can cause increased body weight of patients. C albicans should be considered a new factor in the pathogenesis of diabetes.

This study aims to determine the origin of bacterial contamination of pancreatic tissue cultures, as well as its influence on insulin secretory activity (expressed as stimulation index [SI]) of the pancreatic islets. Pancreatic tissue was obtained after pancreatectomy in patients who had chronic pancreatitis or benign tumours. Islets were isolated under aseptic conditions by a manual method. Microbiological analyses were performed by standard procedures and the SI was determined on the first and seventh day of cultivation. In cultures contamminated by Pseudomonas, SI was 1.58±1.16 on day 1 and 0.22±0.14 on day 7 (P<<0.01). Cultures contaminated by Enterobacter showed an SI of 0.21±0.1 on day 1, which increased to 1.19±0.66 on day 7 (P<0.01). In cases of Staphylococcus contamination, SI was 0.07±0.05 on day 1 and 0.33±0.21 on day 7 (P<<0.01). The study shows that cell culture contamination originates from an original pancreatic tissue infection. The presence of bacteria may reduce or increase insulin secretion in cell culture, depending on the type of microorganism, and this can provoke reduced or elevated levels of insulin secretion in recipients, thus increasing the chances for the onset of diabetes.

(1) Background: Physical activity may cause an imbalance in the major functions of the human body. This study aimed to investigate the effects of endurance running training on the parameters of the antioxidant defense system (SOD, CAT, GPx, GR, GSH), LPO (malondialdehyde, MDA), and stress hormones (A, NA) in young healthy, previously untrained men. (2) Methods: The training program was as follows: 8 weeks of running, three times per week; the duration of a single session was 30–70 min, the intensity was twice a week in the so-called extensive endurance zone, and once a week in the anaerobic threshold zone. Blood samples were collected from the subjects, before and after the running program. (3) Results: The training program resulted in a significant increase in maximal oxygen consumption (p < 0.001). The activities of SOD, GPx, and GR also increased significantly (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively), while CAT activity and GSH and MDA concentrations remained unchanged. The concentration of A decreased (p < 0.05), while the NA concentration increased significantly (p < 0.05). SOD, GPx, GR, and NA positively correlated with VO₂max (p < 0.05, p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, respectively), while a negative correlation was detected between A and VO₂max (p < 0.05). (4) Conclusions: These results indicate that there is no persistent oxidative stress in response to the applied 8-week running program, probably due to exercise-induced protective alterations in the antioxidant defense system. Furthermore, adaptations occurred at the hormonal level, making the organism more ready for a new challenge.

Alterations of the von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene can cause different hereditary tumors associated with VHL syndrome, but the potential role of the VHL gene in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not been characterized. This study set out to investigate the relationship of VHL expression level with clinicopathological features of PTC in an ethnically and geographically homogenous group of 264 patients from Serbia, for the first time. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a strong correlation between low level of VHL expression and advanced clinical stage (OR = 5.78, 95% CI 3.17–10.53, P<0.0001), classical papillary morphology of the tumor (OR = 2.92, 95% CI 1.33–6.44, P = 0.008) and multifocality (OR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.06–3.62, P = 0.031). In disease-free survival analysis, low VHL expression had marginal significance (P = 0.0502 by the log-rank test) but did not appear to be an independent predictor of the risk for chance of faster recurrence in a proportion hazards model. No somatic mutations or evidence of VHL downregulation via promoter hypermethylation in PTC were found. The results indicate that the decrease of VHL expression associates with tumor progression but the mechanism of downregulation remains to be elucidated.

This study aims to determine the origin of Candida contamination of pancreatic tissue cultures, as well as its influence on insulin secretory activity of the pancreatic islets. Pancreatic tissue was obtained after pancreatectomy in patients who had chronic pancreatitis or benign tumours. Islets were isolated under aseptic conditions by a manual method. Microbiological analysis was performed by standard procedures and secretory activity was determined on the first, third and seventh day of cultivation. Insulin stimulation index (SI) on the first day of incubation was 0.665±0.082 and 0.982±0.167 for sterile and infected cultures, respectively (expressed as means±SE). On the third day of cultivation, the SI for sterile cultures was 0.645±0.071 while these value were higher in contaminated cultures (1.252±0.413). On the seventh day, SI was 0.853±0.032 and 1.239±0.169 for sterile and infected cultures, respectively (P=0.05). Analysis of results for the first, third and seventh day of incubation and comparison of both groups showed that SI was 0.721±0.041 for sterile cultures, while for contaminated cultures it was higher by 37.68% (SI =1.157±0.154; P=0.01). The results show that cell culture contamination originates from an original pancreatic tissue infection, and that Candida can provoke an elevated level of insulin secretion in such patients, thus increasing chances for the onset of diabetes.