Aims/hypothesisImpaired intestinal barrier function is observed in type 1 diabetes patients and animal models of the disease. Exposure to diabetogenic antigens from the intestinal milieu due to a compromised intestinal barrier is considered essential for induction of the autoimmune process leading to type 1 diabetes. Since a hydrolysed casein (HC) diet prevents autoimmune diabetes onset in diabetes-prone (DP)-BioBreeding (BB) rats, we studied the role of the HC diet on intestinal barrier function and, therefore, prevention of autoimmune diabetes onset in this animal model.MethodsDP-BB rats were fed the HC diet from weaning onwards and monitored for autoimmune diabetes development. Intestinal permeability was assessed in vivo by lactulose–mannitol test and ex vivo by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Levels of serum zonulin, a physiological tight junction modulator, were measured by ELISA. Ileal mRNA expression of Myo9b, Cldn1, Cldn2 and Ocln (which encode the tight junction-related proteins myosin IXb, claudin-1, claudin-2 and occludin) and Il-10, Tgf-ß (also known as Il10 and Tgfb, respectively, which encode regulatory cytokines) was analysed by quantitative PCR.ResultsThe HC diet reduced autoimmune diabetes by 50% in DP-BB rats. In DP-BB rats, prediabetic gut permeability negatively correlated with the moment of autoimmune diabetes onset. The improved intestinal barrier function that was induced by HC diet in DP-BB rats was visualised by decreasing lactulose:mannitol ratio, decreasing serum zonulin levels and increasing ileal TEER. The HC diet modified ileal mRNA expression of Myo9b, and Cldn1 and Cldn2, but left Ocln expression unaltered.Conclusions/interpretationImproved intestinal barrier function might be an important intermediate in the prevention of autoimmune diabetes by the HC diet in DP-BB rats. Effects on tight junctions, ileal cytokines and zonulin production might be important mechanisms for this effect.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00125-010-1903-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.

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Introduction Urokinase receptor (uPAR, CD87), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein, is considered to play an important role in inflammation and fibrinolysis. The Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei is able to survive and replicate within leukocytes and causes melioidosis, an important cause of pneumonia-derived community-acquired sepsis in Southeast Asia. We here investigated the expression and function of uPAR both in patients with septic melioidosis and in a murine model of experimental melioidosis. Methods Using a translational approach we conducted a patient study in patients with culture-confirmed sepsis caused by B. pseudomallei, in vitro experiments using wild-type (WT) and uPAR knockout (KO) cells, and mouse studies using WT and uPAR KO mice inoculated with B. pseudomallei. Results uPAR mRNA and surface expression was increased in patients with septic melioidosis in/on both peripheral blood monocytes and granulocytes as well as in the pulmonary compartment during experimental pneumonia-derived melioidosis in mice. uPAR-deficient mice intranasally infected with B. pseudomallei showed an enhanced growth and dissemination of B. pseudomallei when compared with WT mice, corresponding with increased pulmonary and hepatic inflammation. uPAR KO mice demonstrated significantly reduced neutrophil migration towards the pulmonary compartment after inoculation with B. pseudomallei. Further in vitro experiments showed that uPARdeficient macrophages and granulocytes display a markedly impaired phagocytosis of B. pseudomallei. Additional studies showed that uPAR deficiency did not influence hemostatic and fibrinolytic responses during severe melioidosis. Conclusions These data suggest that uPAR is crucially involved in the host defense against sepsis caused by B. pseudomallei by facilitating the migration of neutrophils towards the primary site of infection and subsequently facilitating the phagocytosis of B. pseudomallei. P2 A comparison of acute lung inflammation in Klebsiella pneumoniae B5055-induced pneumonia and sepsis in BALB/c mice

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