title: Alteration in lymphocyte population and humoral immune response in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Proinflammatory cytokine production by a skewed T cell compartment has been shown to be elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, it is unknown whether humoral immune response controlled by lymphocytes is altered in T2D.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lymphocyte populations and immunoglobulin production were investigated in Goto-Kakizaki (G-K) rat, which is a genetic experimental model for T2D, and Wistar rat as a control. Each lymphocyte population was analyzed using flow cytometry. Immunoglobulin in plasma was measured before and after immunization with ovalbumin. The immunoglobulin subclasses and ovalbumin-specific immunoglobulins were measured by enzyme-immunoassay. Effects of improvement in hyperglycemia of G-K rats by chronic diet restriction on lymphocyte populations were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  T/B lymphocyte ratios in blood and spleen from the G-K rats were significantly higher than those from the Wistar rats. The difference in the T/B cell ratio in blood of the G-K and Wistar rats was not affected by the diet restriction and the immunization. The ability of immunoglobulin production in G-K rats was comparable to that in Wistar rats, while the levels of natural IgM and ovalbumin-specific IgG2a were higher in plasma from the G-K rats than in plasma from the Wistar rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since helper T cell type 2 (Th2) is known to regulate the class switch to IgG2a in rats, the results of this study suggest that G-K rats are characterized as immunologically Th2 dominant, resulting in increases in natural IgM and T/B cell ratio.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D056724:Immunity, Humoral; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose