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Interleukin-1 beta regulation of islet and thyroid autoimmunity in the BB rat
S Vertrees1, C A Wilson, R Ubungen
1University of Washington, Department of Medicine, Seattle 98195.
Journal of Autoimmunity
|October 1, 1991
Abstract:
Daily injections of high dose human recombinant interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) accelerated the onset of both insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and lymphocytic thyroiditis in genetically prone BB rats. In diabetes-resistant BB rats, high dose IL-1 beta failed to induce diabetes. Additionally, the presence of neutralizing IL-1 beta antibodies in these rats strongly correlated with inhibition of lymphocytic thyroiditis. Since low dose IL-1 beta protects diabetes-prone rats from IDDM, we conclude that IL-1 beta is a potent modulator of autoimmune diabetes and thyroid disease in genetically susceptible rats.