Formation of pancreatic ß-cells from precursor cells contributes to the reversal of established type 1 diabetes.

Ig-GAD2, an antigen-specific immune modulator, requires bone marrow (BM) cell transfer in order to restore beta (ß)-cell formation and induce recovery from established type 1 diabetes (T1D). The BM cells provide endothelial precursor cells (EPCs) that give rise to islet resident endothelial cells (ECs). This study shows that, during development of T1D, the immune attack causes collateral damage to the islet vascular network. The EPC-derived ECs repair and restore islet blood vessel integrity. In addition, ß-cell genetic tracing indicates that the newly formed ß-cells originate from residual ß-cells that escaped the immune attack and, unexpectedly, from ß-cell precursors. This indicates that the rejuvenated islet microenvironment invigorates formation of new ß-cells not only from residual ß-cells but also from precursor cells. This is twofold significant from the perspective of precursor cells as a safe reserve for restoration of ß-cell mass and its promise for therapy of T1D long after diagnosis.

Type II Cytokines Fine-Tune Thymic T Cell Selection to Offset Murine Central Nervous System Autoimmunity.

Early thymic progenitors (ETPs) are bone marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells that remain multipotent and give rise to a variety of lineage-specific cells. Recently, we discovered a subset of murine ETPs that expresses the IL-4Rα/IL-13Rα1 heteroreceptor (HR) and commits only to the myeloid lineage. This is because IL-4/IL-13 signaling through the HR inhibits their T cell potential and enacts commitment of HR+ETPs to thymic resident CD11c+CD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs). In this study, we discovered that HR+-ETP-derived DCs function as APCs in the thymus and promote deletion of myelin-reactive T cells. Furthermore, this negative T cell selection function of HR+-ETP-derived DCs sustains protection against experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, a mouse model for human multiple sclerosis. These findings, while shedding light on the intricacies underlying ETP lineage commitment, reveal a novel, to our knowledge, function by which IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines condition thymic microenvironment to rheostat T cell selection and fine-tune central tolerance.

On the Role IL-4/IL-13 Heteroreceptor Plays in Regulation of Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) manifests when the insulin-producing pancreatic ß cells are destroyed as a consequence of an inflammatory process initiated by lymphocytes of the immune system. The NOD mouse develops T1D spontaneously and serves as an animal model for human T1D. The IL-4Rα/IL-13Rα1 heteroreceptor (HR) serves both IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines, which are believed to function as anti-inflammatory cytokines in T1D. However, whether the HR provides a responsive element to environmental (i.e., physiologic) IL-4/IL-13 in the regulation of peripheral tolerance and the development of T1D has yet to be defined. In this study, NOD mice deficient for the HR have been generated by means of IL-13Rα1 gene disruption and used to determine whether such deficiency affects the development of T1D. Surprisingly, the findings indicate that NOD mice lacking the HR (13R-/-) display resistance to T1D as the rise in blood glucose level and islet inflammation were significantly delayed in these HR-deficient relative to HR-sufficient (13R+/+) mice. In fact, the frequency and spleen-to-pancreas dynamics of both Th1 and Th17 cells were affected in 13R-/- mice. This is likely due to an increase in the frequency of mTGFß+Foxp3int regulatory T cells and the persistence of CD206+ macrophages in the pancreas as both types of cells confer resistance to T1D upon transfer to 13R+/+ mice. These findings reveal new insights as to the role environmental IL-4/IL-13 and the HR play in peripheral tolerance and the development of T1D.