title: Induction of autoimmune disease by depletion of regulatory T cells.
abstract: Organ-specific autoimmune diseases can be induced in rodents that do not normally spontaneously develop autoimmunity by using procedures that render the animals partially T cell deficient. Using a protocol of adult thymectomy followed by four doses of sublethal gamma irradiation, insulin-dependent diabetes can be induced in normal PVG.RT1(u) rats, an inbred congenic strain that has the same major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allotype as the spontaneously diabetic BB rat. Onset of the disease ranges from 3 to 18 weeks after the final dose of irradiation, with 98% of male and 70% of female animals becoming diabetic. This unit describes the induction of insulin-dependent diabetes in the rat. A modified protocol allows for the induction of a more severe form of the disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Simmonds
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mason
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020296:Animals, Congenic; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005720:Gamma Rays / Q000009:adverse effects; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013934:Thymectomy / Q000379:methods