ObjectiveExenatide has been demonstrated beneficial effects on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) regarding lipid metabolism. However, the potential mechanism remains unclear. We used a lipidomic approach to evaluate lipid changes in response to treatment with exenatide in T2DM patients.MethodsSerum lipidomic profiles of 35 newly diagnosed T2DM patients (before and after exenatide treatment) and 20 age-matched healthy controls were analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.ResultsA total of 45 lipid species including sphingomyelins (SMs), ceramides (CERs), lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LPEs) and phosphatidylcholines (PCs) were identified in all participants. Compared to the healthy controls, 13 lipid species [SM (d18:1/18:0, d18:1/18:1), Cer (d18:1/18:0, d18:1/16:0, d18:1/20:0, d18:1/24:1), LPC (15:0, 16:0, 17:0), PC (19:0/19:0), LPE (18:0) and PE (16:0/22:6, 18:0/22:6)] were markedly increased in the T2DM group, while PE (17:0/17:0) and PC (18:1/18:0) were decreased (P < 0.05). The serum SM (d18:1/18:0, d18:1/18:1), LPC (16:0), and LPE (18:0) were significantly decreased after exenatide treatment, which was accompanied by the amelioration of lipids and glycemic parameters (TC, LDL-C, ApoA-I, FCP and HbA1c) in T2DM patients. The chord diagrams showed distinct correlation patterns between lipid classes and subclasses among healthy controls, T2DM patients before and after exenatide treatment.ConclusionOur results revealed that the therapeutic benefits of exenatide on T2DM might be involved in the improved lipid metabolism, especially SM, LPC, and LPE.Clinical Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03297879.

Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and inflammatory cytokines play important roles in the pathogenesis of diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI). However, little is known about alterations of gut microbiota and SCFA levels as well as the relationships between inflammatory cytokines and cognitive function in Chinese DCI patients. Herein, the differences in the gut microbiota, plasma SCFAs, and inflammatory cytokines in DCI patients and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients were explored. A cross-sectional study of 30 DCI patients and 30 T2DM patients without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was conducted in Tianjin city, China. The gut microbiota, plasma SCFAs, and inflammatory cytokines were determined using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and Luminex immunofluorescence assays, respectively. In addition, the correlation between gut microbiota and DCI clinical characteristics, SCFAs, and inflammatory cytokines was investigated. According to the results, at the genus level, DCI patients presented a greater abundance of Gemmiger, Bacteroides, Roseburia, Prevotella, and Bifidobacterium and a poorer abundance of Escherichia and Akkermansia than T2DM patients. The plasma concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid, isobutyric acid, and butyric acid plummeted in DCI patients compared to those in T2DM patients. TNF-α and IL-8 concentrations in plasma were significantly higher in DCI patients than in T2DM patients. Moreover, the concentrations of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and isovaleric acid in plasma were negatively correlated with TNF-α, while those of acetic acid and butyric acid were negatively correlated with IL-8. Furthermore, the abundance of the genus Alloprevotella was negatively correlated with butyric acid, while that of Holdemanella was negatively correlated with propanoic acid and isobutyric acid. Fusobacterium abundance was negatively correlated with propanoic acid. Clostridium XlVb abundance was negatively correlated with TNF-α, while Shuttleworthia abundance was positively correlated with TNF-α. It was demonstrated that the gut microbiota alterations were accompanied by a change in SCFAs and inflammatory cytokines in DCI in Chinese patients, potentially causing DCI development. These findings might help to identify more effective microbiota-based therapies for DCI in the future.

Rhizosphere fungi play an important role in agricultural ecosystems. Their activities and interactions greatly affect various ecosystem processes related to nutrient cycling, soil borne diseases and crop health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rotation fallow mode of spring wheat, potato, fallow and spring wheat, rape, fallow on rhizosphere fungi community structure and functional fungi composition of spring wheat. In this paper, high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics were used to systematically analyze the diversity, composition and abundance of functional fungi in the rhizosphere of spring wheat at flowering stage. The results showed that: compared with WWW, rotation fallow mode could increase the diversity of rhizosphere fungi and eliminate a small number of specific fungi; The dominant phylum of spring wheat rhizosphere fungi were Ascomycota (32.72-47.99%), Basidiomycota (8.39-34.21%) and Mortierellomycota (2.05-18.42%). Rotation fallow mode significantly increased the relative abundance of Mortierellomycota and Chytridiomycota; The relative abundance of Basidiomycota decreased significantly (P<0.05); By increasing the relative abundance of potentially beneficial genera of Mortierella, unidentified_Mortierellales_sp and Atractiella, Reducing the relative abundance of potentially harmful fungi genera of Fusarium, Plectosphaerella and Alternaria to a certain extent kept the soil healthy. Compared with other modes, WFP is most likely to cause rhizosphere fungi community structure to develop in favor of plant health.