New research identifies a distinctive population of immune cells that may play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. The research, published by Cell Press and available online in the April 21st issue of Immunity, sheds new light on the pathogenesis of diabetes and may lead to the development of new more selective therapeutic strategies for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases of the accessory organs of the digestive system.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease that develops when the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Previous work using a mouse model of diabetes (nonobese diabetic or "NOD" mice) demonstrated that multiple types of immune cells are necessary for the development of T1D, including two different types of T cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as B cells. The individual roles and interactions of these cells in the pathogenesis of T1D are not well understood.
"We do know that the cytokine interleukin (IL)-21 is produced by CD4+ T cells and plays a critical role in autoimmune diseases, and that IL-21 contributes to the proliferation, differentiation and survival of motile types of immune cells," explains senior study author, Dr. Cecile King from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. "However, how IL-21 mediates its effect on autoimmune disease pathogenesis remains an important unanswered question."