Immunotherapy of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus is caused by the T cell mediated autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the islets of Langerhans within the pancreas. Current immunotherapy strategies are aimed at directly inactivating the autoreactive T cells and/or inducing T cells with regulatory capabilities. At the preclinical level, several strategies that employ TCR antagonists -- including monoclonal antibodies, autoantigen-specific peptides and soluble TCR ligands -- are showing promise and being developed for clinical application. Several of these approaches employing monoclonal antibodies against the TCR-CD3 complex or soluble peptide antigens are producing favorable results in the clinic.
UCSF Diabetes Center, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Emma L
EL
Masteller
Jeffrey A
JA
Bluestone
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D017260:Receptor-CD3 Complex, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D017252:CD3 Complex; D017260:Receptor-CD3 Complex, Antigen, T-Cell; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell