IGRP and insulin vaccination induce CD8+ T cell-mediated autoimmune diabetes in the RIP-CD80GP mouse.

Autoimmune diabetes is characterized by autoantigen-specific T cell-mediated destruction of pancreatic islet beta cells, and CD8(+) T cells are key players during this process. We assessed whether the bitransgenic RIP-CD80 x RIP-LCMV-GP (RIP-CD80GP) mice may be a versatile antigen-specific model of inducible CD8(+) T cell-mediated autoimmune diabetes. Antigen-encoding DNA, peptide-loaded dendritic cells and antigen plus incomplete Freund's adjuvant were used for vaccination. Of 14 pancreatic proteins tested by DNA vaccination, murine pre-proinsulin 2 (100% of mice; median time after vaccination, 60 days) and islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP) (77%, 58 days) could induce diabetes. Vaccination with DNA encoding for zinc transporter 8, Ia-2, Ia-2ß, glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (Gad67), chromogranin A, insulinoma amyloid polypeptide and homeobox protein Nkx-2.2 induced diabetes development in 25-33% of mice. Vaccination with DNA encoding for Gad65, secretogranin 5, pancreas/duodenum homeobox protein 1 (Pdx1), carboxyl ester lipase, glucagon and control hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) induced diabetes in <20% of mice. Diabetes induction efficiency could be increased by DNA vaccination with a vector encoding a ubiquitin-antigen fusion construct. Diabetic mice had florid T cell islet infiltration. CD8(+) T cell targets of IGRP were identified with a peptide library-based enzyme-linked immunospot assay, and diabetes could also be induced by vaccination with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-restricted IGRP peptides loaded on mature dendritic cells. Vaccination with antigen plus incomplete Freund's adjuvant, which can prevent diabetes in other models, led to rapid diabetes development in the RIP-CD80GP mouse. We conclude that RIP-CD80GP mice are a versatile model of antigen specific autoimmune diabetes and may complement existing mouse models of autoimmune diabetes for evaluating CD8(+) T cell-targeted prevention strategies.

Mucosal insulin vaccination for type 1 diabetes prevention.

Mucosal administration of autoantigen, if efficacious, is an attractive therapeutic approach for prevention of type 1 diabetes. It can prevent or delay autoimmune diabetes in animal models, but although shown to be safe has not yet been proven effective in human studies. Efficacy may depend upon the dose and route at which antigen is administered, the stage in type 1 diabetes pathogenesis at which treatment is initiated, and the study cohort that is treated. Here we address these issues and propose a clinical translation possibility for mucosal insulin administration in genetically at risk individuals.

Autoantibodies in insulin-dependent diabetes recognize distinct cytoplasmic domains of the protein tyrosine phosphatase-like IA-2 autoantigen.

Protein tyrosine phosphatase-like IA-2 is a major autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes. It has been identified as both a specificity of cytoplasmic islet cell Abs and one of the precursors of the 40- and 37-kDa tryptic fragment islet autoantigens. To characterize autoantibody binding to IA-2 and determine whether humoral autoimmunity extends to other tyrosine phosphatases, we analyzed serum reactivity in 100 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes against different in vitro translated portions of the IA-2 protein as well as the tyrosine phosphatase domains of HPTPbeta and HPTPdelta. All autoantibody reactivity was confined to the cytoplasmic portion of IA-2 (amino acids 601-979). At least four epitopes were found. These were contained within amino acids 605 to 620 and 605 to 682 of the juxtamembrane region and within amino acids 777 to 937 and 687 to 979 in the IA-2 tyrosine phosphatase-like domain. Footprinting studies confirmed the presence of multiple epitopes. Fifty-six percent of sera with IA-2 Abs bound epitopes within the juxtamembrane region, and 83% bound epitopes in the tyrosine phosphatase-like domain; 39% had Abs to both regions. No reactivity against the IA-2 ectodomain or the tyrosine phosphatase domains of HPTPbeta and HPTPdelta was found. These data suggest that the cytoplasmic region, in particular the tyrosine phosphatase-like domain, is the major target of IA-2 Abs in insulin-dependent diabetes, and that autoantibody reactivity is specific for IA-2 or IA-2-like molecules.