We are thrilled to share an update on the exciting research we have been supporting at the University of Oxford, which seeks to unpick the complex link between diabetes and heart disease. The Choudhury Research Group has previously shown that innate immune cells are programmed by high glucose to have excessive inflammatory responses, a phenomenon called ‘trained immunity’, that leads to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with diabetes.
The Choudhury Research Group recently published a literature review on this topic in Cardiovascular Research entitled ‘Emerging opportunities to target inflammation: myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes’. (External link to the publication that Kusuma has no responsibility for the content)
With our funding they have found that a common characteristic of trained immunity is modulation of pathways responsible for lymphocyte activation. In November 2024, this work was presented as a poster at the International Symposium on Trained Immunity / Innate Immune Memory in Dresden, Germany. They are continuing to explore the role of human lymphocytes in patients with diabetes and to relate these to characteristics of trained immunity.
We wish the team at Choudhury Research Group the very best as they continue advancing this vital research!