Evidence for superantigen involvement in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus aetiology

INSULIN-DEPENDENT diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease whose onset is believed to be triggered by unknown environmental factors acting on a predisposing genetic background. Islet-infiltrating T (IIT) cells from two IDDM patients, who had died at the onset of the disease f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1994-09, Vol.371 (6495), p.351-355
Main Authors: Conrad, Bernard, Weidmann, Eckhart, Trucco, Giuliana, Rudert, William A, Behboo, Roubik, Ricordi, Camillo, Rodriquez-Rilo, Horacio, Finegold, David, Trucco, Massimo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
Antigens, CD - immunology
Autoantigens - immunology
Autoradiography
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Differentiation
Cell Membrane - immunology
Child
Clone Cells
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - immunology
Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance
Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases)
Endocrinopathies
Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance
Flow Cytometry
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Islets of Langerhans - cytology
Islets of Langerhans - immunology
letter
Male
Medical sciences
Molecular Sequence Data
multidisciplinary
Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta - biosynthesis
Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta - genetics
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Spleen - cytology
Spleen - immunology
Superantigens - immunology
T-Lymphocytes - immunology
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Summary:INSULIN-DEPENDENT diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease whose onset is believed to be triggered by unknown environmental factors acting on a predisposing genetic background. Islet-infiltrating T (IIT) cells from two IDDM patients, who had died at the onset of the disease from brain swelling as a complication of ketoacidosis, were analysed. The results provided evidence for the involvement of a pancreatic islet cell membrane-bound superantigen 1,2 as a diabetes aetiopatho-genetic factor. There was a selective expansion of a T-cell receptor (TCR) variable segment of the β-chain (Vβ7) in these IIT cells in association with unselected Vα-chain segments; extensive junc-tional diversity of the TCR Vβ7 chains; and evidence of positive selection, after exposure to diabetic islet cell membrane preparations, of Vβ7 + T-cell clones among peripheral blood lymphocytes from non-diabetic individuals.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/371351a0