title: Type 1 diabetes vaccine development: animal models vs. humans.
abstract: The loss of tolerance towards self-antigens on pancreatic β-cells is the hallmark of type 1 diabetes that ultimately causes destruction of the islets of Langerhans, loss of blood glucose control and severe long-term complications. One major aspect that contributes to the emergence of autoreactivity may be the interplay of several microbial agents with the immune system that, depending on its nature, may promote autoreactivity or confer protection. Since there is no curative treatment available that can be safely administered to the increasing number of patients suffering from this disease, the development of a vaccine that prevents autoreactivity or re-introduces immune regulation once autoreactivity occurs is of great interest, particularly because other treatment options almost entirely depend on general immunosuppression. Here, we will discuss recent developments in vaccine discovery and, since a majority of the available information is derived from animal models, will focus on the question, how these observations may be translated to a therapy for human type 1 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boettler
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Herrath
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000639:trends; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D023421:Models, Animal; D014612:Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines