B cell-response key to fighting diabetes and gum disease

Modulation of one of the most important blood cells involved in the human immune response may effectively treat and prevent the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and periodontitis simultaneously, scientists say.
Researchers have found that B cells, blood cells involved in the human immune response, promote inflammation and bone loss in type 2 diabetes-associated periodontal disease.
These findings support the idea that treatments that manipulate the responses of B cells may treat or prevent this complication.
"Our study identified common inflammatory mechanisms shared by type 2 diabetes and periodontal disease. It paves the way for the development of novel therapeutics which aim to simultaneously treat both type 2 diabetes and its complications," said Min Zhu, a researcher involved in the work from the department of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts.

To make this discovery, scientists used an experimental model (mouse model) of periodontal disease and applied it to two groups.
The first group had a genetic alteration that knocked out all B cells. The second group had normal B cell levels. When fed a low-fat diet, without development of obesity and type 2 diabetes, both groups demonstrated a similar extent of oral bone loss and inflammation.

However, when they were fed a high-fat diet, became obese and developed type 2 diabetes, oral bone loss and inflammation occurred in the normal group with B cells, but did not develop in the group with the altered gene to knock out the B cells.

This suggests that the B cell-response might be a viable target for pharmacological intervention in both type 2 diabetes and periodontal disease, as well as potentially in other type 2 diabetes complications.
The research was published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.