Health & Medicine
Type 1 Diabetes: New Class Of Antigens May Trigger The Illness
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Feb 13, 2016 07:18 PM EST
Scientists have discovered what may be a possible trigger for type 1 diabetes. The findings are published in the journal Science.
Researchers at the University of Colorado made the discovery while working to understand why immune cells attack the body's own tissue--at which time, they came upon a hybrid insulin peptide that may be responsible for the autoimmune response that causes the inherited autoimmune disorder.
"Our lab studies the type of T cell known as a CD4 T cell," said Dr. Kathryn Haskins, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in a news release. "We have focused on autoreactive CD4 T cells using a mouse model of autoimmune diabetes. We have been especially interested in identifying the antigens that activate these T cells."
The researchers first worked with mice, using mass spectrometry, to find the peptide targets of CD4 T cells in type 1 diabetes.
They discovered a new class of antigen present in beta cells that consisted of insulin fragments fused to peptides of other proteins--leading to the generation of hybrid insulin peptides no encoded in an individual's geneome. Next, the mutation is idenfieid as a foreign body because it is no longer matching the proper gene, resulting in an autoimmune response.
They found similar hybrid peptides in T cells isolated from the pancreatic islets of two patients with type 1 diabetes; this may help researchers better understand why the immune system is tricked into destroying the body's own beta cells.
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First Posted: Feb 13, 2016 07:18 PM EST
Scientists have discovered what may be a possible trigger for type 1 diabetes. The findings are published in the journal Science.
Researchers at the University of Colorado made the discovery while working to understand why immune cells attack the body's own tissue--at which time, they came upon a hybrid insulin peptide that may be responsible for the autoimmune response that causes the inherited autoimmune disorder.
"Our lab studies the type of T cell known as a CD4 T cell," said Dr. Kathryn Haskins, a professor of immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in a news release. "We have focused on autoreactive CD4 T cells using a mouse model of autoimmune diabetes. We have been especially interested in identifying the antigens that activate these T cells."
The researchers first worked with mice, using mass spectrometry, to find the peptide targets of CD4 T cells in type 1 diabetes.
They discovered a new class of antigen present in beta cells that consisted of insulin fragments fused to peptides of other proteins--leading to the generation of hybrid insulin peptides no encoded in an individual's geneome. Next, the mutation is idenfieid as a foreign body because it is no longer matching the proper gene, resulting in an autoimmune response.
They found similar hybrid peptides in T cells isolated from the pancreatic islets of two patients with type 1 diabetes; this may help researchers better understand why the immune system is tricked into destroying the body's own beta cells.
Related Articles
How Can You Reduce Your Diabetes Risk? Just Eat Right And Exercise!
Potato Consumption During Pregnancy Increases Gestational Diabetes Risk
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone