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Updated: May 4, 2026

Accelerated Type 1 Diabetes Induction in Mice by Adoptive Transfer of Diabetogenic CD4+ T Cells
Published on: May 6, 2013
Effector-memory T cells develop in islets and report islet pathology in type 1 diabetes
Jonathan Chee1, Hyun-Ja Ko, Ania Skowera
1St. Vincent's Institute, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia;
CD8(+) T cells are critical in human type 1 diabetes and in the NOD mouse. In this study, we elucidated the natural history of islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP)-specific CD8(+) T cells in NOD diabetes using MHC-tetramer technology. IGRP206-214-specific T cells in the peripheral lymphoid tissue increased with age, and their numbers correlated with insulitis progression. IGRP206-214-specific T cells in the peripheral lymphoid tissue expressed markers of chronic Ag stimulation, and their numbers were stable after diagnosis of diabetes, consistent with their memory phenotype. IGRP206-214-specific T cells in NOD mice expand, acquire the phenotype of effector-memory T cells in the islets, and emigrate to the peripheral lymphoid tissue. Our observations suggest that enumeration of effector-memory T cells of multiple autoantigen specificities in the periphery of type 1 diabetic subjects could be a reliable reporter for progression of islet pathology.
CD8(+) T cells are critical in human type 1 diabetes and in the NOD mouse. In this study, we elucidated the natural history of islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP)-specific CD8(+) T cells in NOD diabetes using MHC-tetramer technology. IGRP206-214-specific T cells in the peripheral lymphoid tissue increased with age, and their numbers correlated with insulitis progression. IGRP206-214-specific T cells in the peripheral lymphoid tissue expressed markers of chronic Ag stimulation, and their numbers were stable after diagnosis of diabetes, consistent with their memory phenotype. IGRP206-214-specific T cells in NOD mice expand, acquire the phenotype of effector-memory T cells in the islets, and emigrate to the peripheral lymphoid tissue. Our observations suggest that enumeration of effector-memory T cells of multiple autoantigen specificities in the periphery of type 1 diabetic subjects could be a reliable reporter for progression of islet pathology.
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