BARBARA DAVIS CENTER
RESEARCH UPDATES Although 2020 was a challenging time for all of us, the scientists at the BDC research
Dr. Richard Benninger
division continued to work diligently and creatively to keep the T1D research going. The BDC continues to be leader in the T1D research arena, continually receiving international recognition for their groundbreaking scientific discoveries toward predicting and preventing T1D.
In 2020, BDC basic and translational investigators were authors on ~40 peer reviewed publications. Notably, Dr. Richard Benninger and his group published a preclinical study in Nature Communications showing sub-micron ultrasound contrast agents can non-invasively detect insulitis prior to T1D onset. In addition, one of the newest members of the BDC faculty – Dr. Jordan Jacobelli – published his exciting discovery of a protein that promotes immune cell entry into pancreatic islet; the absence of this protein impairs the ability of immune cells to induce T1D. Dr. Maki Nakayama published a methods paper describing a new assay that measures immune cells (T lymphocytes). She has provided reagents for this assay to the global research community and in only 6 months these reagents have been distributed to over 15 different labs around the country, facilitating T1D research. Finally, due to their acknowledged expertise in the diabetes field, the New England Journal of Medicine invited Drs. Aaron Michels and Peter Gottlieb to write an editorial entitled “Advances in Diabetes Treatment - Once-Weekly Insulin” and invited Dr. Lori Sussel to author a Clinical Implications of Basic Research manuscript. There were several additional research advances towards detecting and treating T1D, many which are ongoing. Dr. Liping Yu’s group has successfully developed and validated a highly sensitive islet autoantibody multiplex assay that allows them to combine all four major islet autoantibody assays in a single well. This allows them to test for all the islet antibodies in a single small patient sample. They are also continuing to identify and study new islet autoantibodies on the beta cell surface to open new avenues of investigation into autoantibody-mediated T1D etiology and progression. Dr. Benninger’s lab continues to explore novel ultrasound technologies to non-invasively monitor T1D disease progression and potentially deliver therapeutics directly to the pancreas. Dr. Rachel Friedman’s lab has begun to identify how the immune populations communicate during the progression of T1D; interfering with such communication has the potential to block or attenuate the autoimmune response. Finally, Dr. Sussel’s lab has identified that misregulation of mRNA processing in beta cells in response to an autoimmune attack leads to beta cell dysfunction and death. The ability to correct these processing errors would promote beta cell survival, even in the context of autoimmunity. Dr. Holger Russ also continues to make progress in his efforts to model human T1D in a dish. Dr. Yu has also used his expertise to tackle COVID-19. He has developed a highly sensitive COVID-19 antibody assay that is >99% effective for detecting whether an individual has previously been exposed to the virus. It has also been a strong funding year for the faculty and trainees, with many of them successfully competing for NIH and JDRF grants and Helmsley funding. The University of Colorado was also awarded the prestigious NIH Diabetes Research Center grant to provide support ($880K annually for 5 yrs) for diabetes research at the BDC and across the campus. Dr. Sussel is lead investigator on the award.
Dr. Jordan Jacobelli
Dr. Maki Nakayama
Dr. Aaron Michels
Dr. Peter Gottlieb
Dr. Lori Sussel
Dr. Liping Yu
Dr. Rachel Friedman
Of particular note, the Clinical Laboratory at the Barbara Davis Center that assays for the presence autoantibodies from patient samples in the US and around the world attained College of American Pathology (CAP) Accreditation. Accredited laboratories meet the CAP's rigorous standards and requirements for highest quality testing.
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Dr. Holger Russ
