|
||
J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 187, Number 7, April 6, 1998 1047-1056
/
-T Cell Receptor (TCR)+CD4
CD8
(NKT) Thymocytes
Prevent Insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus in Nonobese
Diabetic (NOD)/Lt Mice by the Influence of Interleukin
(IL)-4 and/or IL-10
By
From the Autoimmunity Research Group, Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology,
Newtown, New South Wales 2042, Australia
We have previously shown that nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice are selectively deficient in
/
-T
cell receptor (TCR)+CD4
CD8
NKT cells, a defect that may contribute to their susceptibility to the spontaneous development of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The role of
NKT cells in protection from IDDM in NOD mice was studied by the infusion of thymocyte
subsets into young female NOD mice. A single intravenous injection of 106 CD4
/lowCD8
or
CD4
CD8
thymocytes from female (BALB/c × NOD)F1 donors protected intact NOD
mice from the spontaneous onset of clinical IDDM. Insulitis was still present in some recipient
mice, although the cell infiltrates were principally periductal and periislet, rather than the intraislet pattern characteristic of insulitis in unmanipulated NOD mice. Protection was not associated with the induction of "allogenic tolerance" or systemic autoimmunity. Accelerated
IDDM occurs after injection of splenocytes from NOD donors into irradiated adult NOD recipients. When
/
-TCR+ and
/
-TCR
subsets of CD4
CD8
thymocytes were transferred with diabetogenic splenocytes and compared for their ability to prevent the development
of IDDM in irradiated adult recipients, only the
/
-TCR+ population was protective, confirming
that NKT cells were responsible for this activity. The protective effect in the induced model of
IDDM was neutralized by anti-IL-4 and anti-IL-10 monoclonal antibodies in vivo, indicating
a role for at least one of these cytokines in NKT cell-mediated protection. These results have significant implications for the pathogenesis and potential prevention of IDDM in humans.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|