The healthy exocrine pancreas contains preproinsulin-specific CD8 T cells that attack islets in type 1 diabetes
Christine Bender, Teresa Rodríguez-Calvo, Natalie Amirian, Ken Coppieters, Matthias G. von Herrath
Abstract
T cells were already abundantly present in the nondiabetic pancreas, thus questioning the dogma that T1D is caused by defective thymic deletion or systemic immune dysregulation. During T1D development, these cells accumulated in and around islets, indicating that an islet-specific trigger such as up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex class I might be essential to unmask beta cells to the immune system.
Topics & Concepts
PancreasType 1 diabetesIsletDiabetes mellitusExocrine pancreasCD8Pancreatic isletsEndocrinologyType 2 diabetesInternal medicineMedicineBiologyImmunologyAntigenDiabetes and associated disordersPancreatic function and diabetesDiabetes Management and Research