Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 7 min ago
PreprintCC BYbioRxiv

Can the Human Plastisphere Account for the Rise of Type 1 Diabetes: A Computational Molecular Mimicry Study

  • J. Facelli1
  • M. jones
  • S. Mistry
  • R. Gouripeddi
  1. 1University of Utah
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

An increased incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been widely documented, but its pathophysiological origins are poorly understood. The post-World War II expansion of the plastics industry in the United States and elsewhere coincides with a marked increase in T1DM incidence; however, no pathophysiological mechanism has been proposed that could justify such a temporal correlation. Here, we leverage recent advances in artificial intelligence and protein structure prediction and binding to show that molecular mimicry is a plausible pathophysiological mechanism for plastic fragments to induce onset of T1DM for individuals with certain HLA haplotypes.

Related

  1. Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor
    Diana Gómez De La Cruz, Thomas W. Ingram, Rafał Zdrzałek +6
    SciencePeer-reviewedCC BY21 citedPlant biologyOpenAlex
  2. ReGraph: A Computational Account of Emergent Generalization in the "what" and "where" Dual Visual Streams
    Hyewon Kang, Jungmin Lee, Ilgyu Lee +1
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textNeurosciencearXiv
  3. Beyond the Plastisphere: Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Diversity of Marine Microorganisms with Putative Plastic-Degradation Potential
    C. Kong, S. M. Elkassas
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textMicrobiologybioRxiv
  4. A versatile set of computational tools for inference of genetic ancestry from human molecular data
    P. Belleau, X. Li, A. Deschenes +2
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textBioinformatics & computational biologybioRxiv
  5. Fake figs, fooled fig wasps and rewarded phorid flies: brood‐site mimicry and mutualism in Heterostemma ficoides (Apocynaceae)
    Aroonrat Kidyoo, Manit Kidyoo, Doyle McKey +10
    New PhytologistPeer-reviewedPublisher termsFull text1 citedMicrobiologyPlant biologyHAL

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{facelli2026human,
  title = {{Can the Human Plastisphere Account for the Rise of Type 1 Diabetes: A Computational Molecular Mimicry Study}},
  author = {J. Facelli and M. jones and S. Mistry and R. Gouripeddi},
  howpublished = {bioRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.11.02.763715},
  url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.02.763715v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Can the Human Plastisphere Account for the Rise of Type 1 Diabetes: A Computational Molecular Mimicry Study
AU  - J. Facelli
AU  - M. jones
AU  - S. Mistry
AU  - R. Gouripeddi
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/02
PB  - bioRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.11.02.763715
UR  - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.02.763715v1
AB  - An increased incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been widely documented, but its pathophysiological origins are poorly understood. The post-World War II expansion of the plastics industry in the United States and elsewhere coincides with a marked increase in T1DM incidence; however, no pathophysiological mechanism has been proposed that could justify such a temporal correlation. Here, we leverage recent advances in artificial intelligence and protein structure prediction and binding to show that molecular mimicry is a plausible pathophysiological mechanism for plastic fragments to induce onset of T1DM for individuals with certain HLA haplotypes.
ER  -