Mathematical modelling of immune regulation of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a disease characterized by progressive loss of β cell function due to an autoimmune reaction affecting the islets of Langerhans. Two types of T cells are involved in diabetes: turncoat auto-reactive T cells, or T cells gone bad, that kill the insulin-producing cells, and regulatory T cells that are unable to control the auto-reactive T cells. We formulate a mathematical model that incorporates the role of cytotoxic T cells and regulatory T cells in type 1 diabetes. This study shows that onset of type 1 diabetes is due to a collective, dynamical instability, rather than being caused by a single etiological factor. It is also a numbers game between regulatory T cells and auto-reactive T cells. The problem in the onset of this disease is that there are not enough of the regulatory cells that suppress the immune response against the body's insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells.