title: Altered thymic and peripheral T-lymphocyte repertoire preceding onset of diabetes in NOD mice.
abstract: Insulitis occurs by 5 wk of age in all NOD mice. However, diabetes is detectable only after 3-5 mo of age and only in approximately 50% of females and 10% of males in our colony. Therefore, it is predictable that changes in the T-lymphocyte repertoire of diabetes-prone mice occur and predispose them to disease. We demonstrate here that an altered (with respect to control BALB/cJ mice) thymic T-lymphocyte maturation reflected by a depletion (approximately 12%) of CD4+CD8+ T lymphocytes and a reciprocal increase in CD4-CD8- T lymphocytes precedes the onset of diabetes. This depletion was detected only approximately 3 mo after insulitis and is manifested by a specific loss (approximately 3%) of immature T lymphocytes bearing V beta 8lo (lo is a relative level of expression) T-lymphocyte receptor. By onset of diabetes, an even greater decrease (approximately 35%) of CD4+CD8+ and a reciprocal increase of CD4-CD8- T lymphocytes were apparent and accompanied by the same depletion (3%) of V beta 8 lo T lymphocytes. Administration of cyclophosphamide (CY), which accelerates the appearance of diabetes in NOD mice, caused similar depletions of CD4+CD8+ and V beta 8lo thymic T lymphocytes. The same alterations in the distribution of these thymic T-lymphocyte subsets were evident even earlier in insulitis- and diabetes-free NON mice, indicating that these changes in thymic T-lymphocyte development may be necessary but not sufficient to give rise to diabetes. Despite the common genetic origin of NOD and NON mice, differences at their MHC-linked and -unlinked loci may account for their differential susceptibility to diabetes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zipris
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Delovitch
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D011236:Prediabetic State / Q000276:immunology*; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell