Prevention of diabetes in NOD mice by injection of autoreactive T-lymphocytes.
The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse develops a high incidence of autoimmune diabetes and is believed to be a good model for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in humans. We isolated T-lymphocyte lines from islets of newly diabetic NOD mice, some of which are autoreactive to NOD spleen cells. Because autoreactive T-lymphocytes have been implicated in immune suppression, we injected NOD mice with an autoreactive T-lymphocyte line. The injected mice had a marked decrease in incidence of IDDM compared with control mice. Moreover, their islets showed no insulitis at 1 yr of age. We conclude that autoreactive T-lymphocytes can prevent the development of IDDM in NOD mice. This result suggests that 1) islets contain both effector cells capable of damaging pancreatic beta-cells and cells able to regulate this autoimmune response, and 2) development of IDDM depends on the balance between these opposing forces.
Reich
E P
EP
Section of Immunobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New Haven, Connecticut.
Scaringe
D
D
Yagi
J
J
Sherwin
R S
RS
Janeway
C A
CA
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation*