HVN FIBRE Metadata Record - The effect of increased fibre intake on HbA1c and peripheral immune cells in diabetes

This metadata record and it's attached files make statements about the kinds of data collected as part of this research, and set out policies for governance of that data, now and in the future.

Description: Increased dietary fibre and the subsequent production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) by gut microbiota is known to influence immune cell function and metabolic activity. High fibre diets correlate to decreased inflammatory markers in T2DM, and in animal experiments dietary fibre derived SCFA have been found to reduce inflammatory markers and protect against diabetic neuropathies. Furthermore modulation of immune cell metabolism by SCFA can lead to a rebalancing away from pro-inflammatory phenotypes. We hypothesise that in addition to improving clinical indicators such as HbA1c, fibre supplementation will lead to altered peripheral immune cell metabolic and phenotypic parameters.

In this study, we will conduct analyses, to allow for functional immune profiling of trial participants, to provide insights on how enhanced fibre intake in T2DM impacts immunological metabolism and function. To do this we will isolate peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) from trial participants before and during a dietary fibre intervention. We will use high dimensional spectral flow cytometry and extracellular flux analysis to profile functional phenotypes and metabolic characteristics of individual immune populations. We will compare these, to potential changes in blood plasma cytokine levels, faecal metabolite profiles and changes in clinical readouts (eg. HbA1c).