Journal
DIABETES
Volume 62, Issue 6, Pages 2059-2066Publisher
AMER DIABETES ASSOC
DOI: 10.2337/db12-0942
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Competence Network for Diabetes Mellitus
- Federal Ministry of Education and Research [KFZ 01GI0807, 01GI1102]
- DFG Research Center
- Cluster of Excellence, Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden [FZ 111]
- Helmholtz Center Munich
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation [10-2009-284]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Islet autoimmunity precedes type 1 diabetes onset. We previously found that islet autoimmunity rarely starts before 6 months of age but reaches its highest incidence already at similar to 1 year of age. We now examine whether homeostatic expansion and immune competence changes seen in a maturating immune system may account for this marked variation in islet autoimmunity risk in the first year of life. We found naive proinsulin- and GAD65-responsive T cells in cord blood (CB) of healthy newborns, with highest responses observed in children with type 1 diabetes-susceptible HLA-DRB1/DQB1 genotypes. Homeostatic expansion characteristics with increased IL-7 concentrations and enhanced T-cell responsiveness to IL-7 were observed throughout the first year of life. However, the ability of antigen-presenting cells to activate naive T cells was compromised at birth, and CB monocytes had low surface expression of CD40 and HLA class R. In contrast, antigen presentation and expression of these molecules had reached competent adult levels by the high incidence age of 8 months. We propose that temporal changes in islet autoimmunity seroconversion in infants are a consequence of the changing balance between homeostatic drive and antigen presentation competence. These findings are relevant for early prevention of type 1 diabetes.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available