title: Role of L-selectin in the development of autoimmune diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice.
abstract: Autoimmune diabetes is characterized by an early mononuclear infiltration of pancreatic islets and later selective autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells. Lymphocyte homing receptors have been considered candidate targets to prevent autoimmune diabetes. L-selectin (CD62L) is an adhesion molecule highly expressed in naive T and B cells. It has been reported that blocking L-selectin in vivo with a specific antibody (Mel-14) partially impairs insulitis and diabetes in autoimmune diabetes-prone non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. In the present study we aimed to elucidate whether genetic blockade of leukocyte homing into peripheral lymph nodes would prevent the development of diabetes. We backcrossed L-selectin-deficient mice onto the NOD genetic background. Surprisingly NOD/L-selectin-deficient mice exhibited unaltered islet mononuclear infiltration, timing of diabetes onset and cumulative incidence of spontaneous diabetes when compared to L-selectin-sufficient animals. CD4, CD8 T cells and B cells were present in islet infiltrates from 9-week-old L-selectin-sufficient and -deficient littermates. Moreover, total splenocytes from wild-type, heterozygous or NOD/L-selectin-deficient donor mice showed similar capability to adoptively transfer diabetes into NOD/SCID recipients. On the other hand, homing of activated, cloned insulin-specific autoaggressive CD8 T cells (TGNFC8 clone) is not affected in NOD/L-selectin-deficient recipients. We conclude that L-selectin plays a small role in the homing of autoreactive lymphocytes to regional (pancreatic) lymph nodes in NOD mice.
authors.affiliation: Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Conchi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mora
authors.forename: Iqbal S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Grewal
authors.forename: F Susan
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Flavell
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D019041:L-Selectin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016513:Mice, SCID; D010179:Pancreas / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing; D019041:L-Selectin