Manipal University School of Life Sciences has now found a specialized sentinel ‘neutrophils’ in the blood that fight infections. The chemicals and proteins present inappropriately in diabetic individuals disable short lived cells like neutrophils which are ineffective to fight infections and lead to associated complications.

“Of the various ways in which neutrophils fight infection, the process called ‘NETosis’ is key to trap the bacteria and eliminate them in the body,” said Dr. Manjunath B Joshi, Assistant Professor and lead author of the manuscript, School of Life Sciences, Manipal University,

“Neutrophils constitute a major part of blood cells which fight against pathogens. During infection, neutrophils release their DNA along with few proteins to trap bacteria or fungi and kill them. This happens similar to fishermen who throw the net to trap the fish! These structures are known as Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).  In healthy individuals these process are very efficient to guard the body from harmful bacteria. But among diabetics, the process is ineffective due to excessive inflammatory proteins and bio-molecules like  glucose and homocysteine,” he added.

The accumulation of excess NETs might lead to delayed wound healing and result in cardiovascular diseases, was reported in the latest issue of Nature Publishing Groups (NPG) journal ‘Scientific Reports’ titled "Elevated homocysteine levels in type 2 diabetes induce constitutive neutrophil extracellular traps".

Foot ulcers in diabetic individuals are difficult to manage due to drug resistant bacteria. Approximately 15 per cent of all diabetic foot ulcers undergo amputation. In 2013, the Manipal University researchers demonstrated that neutrophils from diabetic individuals are constitutively weak to respond to cues to produce extracellular traps. This is due to high levels of glucose.

“Our battery of experiments conclude that this effect leads to complications associated with diabetes like cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Elevation of homocysteine can be due to several reasons including vitamin deficiency,” noted Dr K Satyamoorthy who is the lead scientist led the group.

This work was undertaken by Kasturba Medical College panel comprising :Dr. Lingadakai Ramachandra and Dr. Kaniyoor Nagri Shivashankara.

Our scientists are also investigating antibiotic resistance and associated several diseases, said Dr. Vinod Bhat, vice chancellor, Manipal University.  

Dr. HS Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, Manipal University said that the research is critical to manage chronic diseases like diabetes and may lead to better clinical practices in future.