BackgroundWhile current recommendations on exercise type and volume have strong experimental bases, there is no clear evidence from large-sized studies indicating whether increasing training intensity provides additional benefits to subjects with type 2 diabetes.ObjectiveTo compare the effects of moderate-to-high intensity (HI) versus low-to-moderate intensity (LI) training of equal energy cost, i.e. exercise volume, on modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.DesignPre-specified sub-analysis of the Italian Diabetes and Exercise Study (IDES), a randomized multicenter prospective trial comparing a supervised exercise intervention with standard care for 12 months (2005–2006).SettingTwenty-two outpatient diabetes clinics across Italy.PatientsSedentary patients with type 2 diabetes assigned to twice-a-week supervised progressive aerobic and resistance training plus exercise counseling (n = 303).InterventionsSubjects were randomized by center to LI (n = 142, 136 completed) or HI (n = 161, 152 completed) progressive aerobic and resistance training, i.e. at 55% or 70% of predicted maximal oxygen consumption and at 60% or 80% of predicted 1-Repetition Maximum, respectively, of equal volume.Main Outcome Measure(s)Hemoglobin (Hb) A1c and other cardiovascular risk factors; 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk scores.ResultsVolume of physical activity, both supervised and non-supervised, was similar in LI and HI participants. Compared with LI training, HI training produced only clinically marginal, though statistically significant, improvements in HbA1c (mean difference −0.17% [95% confidence interval −0.44,0.10], P = 0.03), triglycerides (−0.12 mmol/l [−0.34,0.10], P = 0.02) and total cholesterol (−0.24 mmol/l [−0.46, −0.01], P = 0.04), but not in other risk factors and CHD risk scores. However, intensity was not an independent predictor of reduction of any of these parameters. Adverse event rate was similar in HI and LI subjects.ConclusionsData from the large IDES cohort indicate that, in low-fitness individuals such as sedentary subjects with type 2 diabetes, increasing exercise intensity is not harmful, but does not provide additional benefits on cardiovascular risk factors.Trial Registration www.ISRCTN.org ISRCTN-04252749.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are generated by cells of origin through complex molecular mechanisms and released into extracellular environment. Hence, the presence of EVs has been described in multiple biological fluids and in most cases their molecular cargo, which includes non-coding RNAs (ncRNA), messenger RNAs (mRNA), and proteins, has been reported to modulate distinct biological processes. EVs release and their molecular cargo have been demonstrated to be altered in multiple diseases, including autoimmune diseases. Notably, numerous evidence showed a relevant crosstalk between immune system and interacting cells through specific EVs release. The crosstalk between insulin-producing pancreatic β cells and immune system through EVs bidirectional trafficking has yet started to be deciphered, thus uncovering an intricate communication network underlying type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis. EVs can also be found in blood plasma or serum. Indeed, the assessment of circulating EVs cargo has been shown as a promising advance in the detection of reliable biomarkers of disease progression. Of note, multiple studies showed several specific cargo alterations of EVs collected from plasma/serum of subjects affected by autoimmune diseases, including T1D subjects. In this review, we discuss the recent literature reporting evidence of EVs role in autoimmune diseases, specifically focusing on the bidirectional crosstalk between pancreatic β cells and immune system in T1D and highlight the relevant promising role of circulating EVs as disease biomarkers.