Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in an Italian Cohort of Type 1 Diabetes Pediatric Patients

• Published in: Clinical & developmental immunology Vol. 2012; no. 2012; pp. 1 - 5
• Main Authors: Manca Bitti, Maria Luisa, Masala, Speranza, Capasso, Francesca, Rapini, Novella, Piccinini, Simona, Angelini, Federica, Pierantozzi, Andrea, Lidano, Roberta, Pietrosanti, Silvia, Paccagnini, Daniela, Sechi, Leonardo Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Puplishing Corporation 01.01.2012; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Child; Clinical Study; Colleges & universities; Dairy products; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - immunology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - microbiology; Disease; DNA; DQA1 protein; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Health care; Heparin; Histocompatibility antigen HLA; Hospitals; Humans; Hypotheses; Immune response; Immunology; Infection; Infections; Islets of Langerhans; Italy; Microbiology; Mycobacterium avium; Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis - genetics; Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis - immunology; Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis - isolation & purification; Mycobacterium Infections - complications; Mycobacterium Infections - microbiology; Pancreas; Paratuberculosis; Pathogenesis; Pediatrics; Polymerase chain reaction; Proteins; Risk Factors; Ruminantia; Italy
• ISSN: 1740-2522; 2314-8861; 1740-2530; 1740-2530; 2314-7156
• DOI: 10.1155/2012/785262

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the etiological agent of Johne’s disease in ruminants. Recent studies have linked MAP to type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the Sardinian population. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MAP infection in a T1D cohort from continental Italy compared with healthy control subjects. 247 T1D subjects and 110 healthy controls were tested for the presence of MAP. MAP DNA was detected using IS900-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of antibodies towards a MAP antigen, heparin binding hemoagglutinin (HBHA), was detected by ELISA. We demonstrated a higher MAP DNA prevalence in plasma samples from T1D patients and a stronger immune response towards MAP HBHA, compared with healthy control subjects. Moreover, in the recent onset patients, we observed an association between anti-MAP antibodies and HLA DQ2 (DQA1 0201/DQB1 0202). These findings taken together support the hypothesis of MAP as an environmental risk factor for the development of T1D in genetically predisposed subjects, probably involving a mechanism of molecular mimicry between MAP antigens and pancreatic islet β-cells.