Home » Daily News

Jan. 17 - Autoimmune Diabetes Triggered by Immunity-Controlling T-cells as They Wane with Age

A research team led by Dr. Ciriaco A. Piccirillo of McGill University's Department of Microbiology and Immunology has discovered that in some individuals, the specialized immunoregulatory T-cells that regulate the body's autoimmune reactions may lose their effectiveness and become "lazy" over time, leading to the onset of type 1 diabetes.

In diabetes mellitus, or type 1 diabetes, insulin-producing beta islet cells in the pancreas are attacked and destroyed by the body's own immune system. Patients must inject insulin on a regular basis or risk diabetic shock and death, and are also at increased risk for numerous secondary health problems, including blindness, heart attack and stroke.

It is likely, the researchers say, that certain genetic predispositions, coupled with the possible contribution of external environmental factors or infections, could potentially alter regulatory T-cell function in susceptible individuals and trigger a full-scale diabetic autoimmune reaction in the pancreas.

"This discovery not only elucidates the mechanism by which type 1 diabetes is triggered, but it also points the way to the development of new immune system-based therapies for a whole range of diseases. We believe that these regulatory cells may represent a kind of master switch, and by understanding how they are made, how they function and how they survive, we may be able to stop disease from occurring," Dr. Piccirillo stated.

Source: McGill University

(View the Daily News Archive)