Superantigen-like effects and incidence of diabetes in NOD mice.
The population of T-cells that develops in any individual can be divided into families based on sequence differences in the beta-chain variable region of the T-cell receptor heterodimer. Major histocompatibility complex products and endogenous retroviral gene products have both been shown to exert powerful influences on the frequency distribution of T-cell receptor beta-chain variable region families in the mouse. In most mouse strains, these repertoire modifiers appear to be fully functional early in mouse development and shape a repertoire of antigen specificities that remains essentially unchanged from the first weeks of life until old age. In NOD mice, an inbred mouse model of type I diabetes, puberty in males coincides with a beta-chain variable region-specific T-cell expansion that mimics the results of exposure to exogenous superantigens in immunologically mature animals. The subsequent behavior of this subset indicates that it may play a role in the relative protection of male NOD mice from complete pancreatic beta-cell destruction and overt diabetes.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
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M
McDuffie
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Ostrowska
D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD / Q000276:immunology*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta