The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young Study (TEDDY)

The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study is a longitudinal study that investigates genetic and genetic-environmental interactions, including gestational events, childhood infections, dietary exposures, and other environmental factors after birth, in relation to the development of islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes (T1D). A consortium of six clinical centers assembled to participate in the development and implementation of the study to identify environmental triggers for the development of islet autoimmunity and T1D in genetically susceptible individuals. Beginning in 2004, the TEDDY study screened over 400,000 newborns for high-risk HLA-DR, DQ genotypes from both the general population and families already affected by T1D. The TEDDY study enrolled around 8,676 participants across six clinical centers worldwide (Finland, Germany, Sweden and three in the United States) in the 15-year prospective follow-up.

Participants are followed every three months for islet autoantibody (IA) measurements with blood sampling until four years of age and then at least every six months until the age of 15. After the age of four, autoantibody positive participants continue to be followed at three month intervals and autoantibody negative participants are followed at six-month intervals. In addition to the analysis of autoantibodies, additional data and sample collection are performed at each visit. Parents collect monthly stool samples in early childhood. The parents also fill out questionnaires at regular intervals in connection with study visits and record information about diet and health status in the child's TEDDY Book between visits. Continued long-term follow-up of the currently active TEDDY participants will provide important scientific information on early childhood diet, reported and measured infections, vaccinations, and psychosocial stressors that may contribute to the development of type 1 diabetes and islet autoimmunity.

Additional information on the TEDDY study is available in the following articles: Rewers et al., 2008 (PMID: 19120261) and Hagopian et al., 2006 (PMID: 17130573).

Details of the TEDDY protocol can be found in Hagopian et al., 2011 (PMID: 21564455).

TEDDY data currently available in dbGaP include: gene expression, SNPs, and microbiome (gut, nasal, and plasma).

For more information on TEDDY Study version history please refer to TEDDY Study dbGaP README File.

ImmunoChip SNP

DNA from whole blood samples on study participants and their family members (mothers, fathers, and siblings) was obtained and used for SNP genotyping. Genotyping was performed by the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia using the Illumina ImmunoChip SNP array, which contains around 196,000 SNPs from 186 regions associated with 12 autoimmune diseases (Hadley et al., 2015, PMID: 26010309).

Gene Expression

The TEDDY study collected peripheral blood for the extraction of total RNA from enrolled children starting at 3 months of age, and then at 3 month intervals up to 48 months and then biannually. Total RNA was extracted using a high throughput (96-well format) extraction protocol using magnetic (MagMax) beads technology at the TEDDY RNA Laboratory, Jinfiniti Biosciences in Augusta, GA. Purified RNA (200 ng) was further used for cRNA amplification and labeling with biotin using Target Amp cDNA synthesis kit (Epicenter catalog no. TAB1R6924). Labeled cRNA was hybridized to the Illumina HumanHT-12 Expression BeadChips based on the manufacturer's instructions. The HumanHT-12 Expression BeadChip provides coverage for more than 47,000 transcripts and known splice variants across the human transcriptome.

Microbiome

The TEDDY microbiome study aimed to characterize the longitudinal development of the microbiome, including bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms in the gut, plasma, and nasal cavity of prediabetic and diabetic subjects compared to autoantibody negative non-diabetic subjects. Stool samples used were collected monthly from 3 to 48 months, after which stool samples were collected every 3 months. Nasal swab samples were collected every 3 months starting at 9 months of age until 48 months, after which nasal swabs were collected every 6 months. Plasma samples were collected every 3 months starting at 3 months of age until 48 months, after which plasma samples were collected every 6 months. If the subject was autoantibody positive at 48 months then they remained on the 3 month collection interval for nasal swab and plasma samples.

Samples underwent 16s rRNA gene sequencing, DNA and viral RNA metagenomics shotgun sequencing, and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions.

Additional information on the TEDDY microbiome data is available in the following articles: Vatanen et al., 2018 (PMID: 30356183), Stewart et al., 2018 (PMID: 30356187), and Vehik et al., 2020 (PMID: 31792456).

RNA Sequencing

The TEDDY study aimed to characterize the transcriptome in subjects with islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes compared to matched control subjects. Peripheral blood was collected to extract total RNA from enrolled children starting at 3 months of age, and then at 3 month intervals up to 48 months and then biannually. Total RNA was extracted using a high throughput (96-well format) extraction protocol using magnetic (MagMax) beads technology at the TEDDY RNA Laboratory, Jinfiniti Biosciences in Augusta, GA. Purified RNA was then sent to the Broad Institute for the generation of the TEDDY RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data. The RNA samples were prepped using Superscript III reverse transcriptase and Illumina's TruSeq Stranded mRNA Sample Prep Kit. The TruSeq libraries were run on the Illumina HiSeq2500 platform.

Whole Genome Sequencing

The TEDDY study aimed to conduct deep whole genome sequencing and examine the genomic variations in subjects with islet autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes compared to matched autoantibody negative and non-diabetic children. DNA from whole blood was obtained from TEDDY children for whole genome sequencing. The WGS data were generated on the Illumina HiSeq X Ten system.