Publication Date:
2018-10-01
Description:
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which insulin-producing beta cells, found within the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, are destroyed by islet-infiltrating T cells. Identifying the antigenic targets of beta-cell reactive T cells is critical to gain insight into the pathogenesis of T1D and develop antigen-specific immunotherapies. Several lines of evidence indicate that insulin is an important target of T cells in T1D. Because many human islet-infiltrating CD4+ T cells recognize C-peptide–derived epitopes, we hypothesized that full-length C-peptide (PI33–63), the peptide excised from proinsulin as it is converted to insulin, is a target of CD4+ T cells in people with T1D. CD4+ T cell responses to full-length C-peptide were detected in the blood of: 14 of 23 (〉60%) people with recent-onset T1D, 2 of 15 (〉13%) people with long-standing T1D, and 1 of 13 (
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Electronic ISSN:
1091-6490
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
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