Comparative pulmonary disease evolution of TB & T2D/TB
Mice fed with hypercaloric diet for three weeks old and treated at eight weeks old with only one low dose of streptozotocin showed progressive weight increase (Fig. 1B), and after two months showed significant higher sera concentration of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and insulin (Fig. 1C, D, E, and F). The histology study of the liver showed extensive lipid cytoplasmic vacuolization of hepatocytes (steatosis) (Fig. 1H). Treatment of these mice with metformin or glibenclamide resulted in normal blood concentrations of glucose (Fig. 1G). Thus, these mice showed the metabolic parameters of T2D.
In comparison with chow fed mice infected with Mtb, infected T2D mice showed significant higher pulmonary bacilli burdens (Fig. 2A). T2D/TB mice also showed lower expression of TNF-α and decreasing survival rate than TB mice (Fig. 2B, and 2C). Thus, T2D/TB mice suffered more severe disease than TB mice.