Irradiated lymphocytes do not adoptively transfer diabetes or prevent spontaneous disease in the BB/W rat

Diabetes in the BB/W rat is autoimmune in origin, and lymphocytes from acutely diabetic animals activated by concanavalin A (con A) induce the disease in adoptive recipients. We report that irradiation of these cells prevents adoptive transfer of diabetes. Through 60 days of age, diabetes occurred in none of 47 BB/W rats given irradiated con A cells, but in 21 of 36 (58%) given nonirradiated cells. Between 60 and 130 days of age, however, spontaneous diabetes occurred in 18 of 34 untreated control rats (53%) and 16 of 32 rats (50%) given two injections of irradiated con A activated spleen cells. We conclude that irradiation prevents adoptive transfer of BB/W rat diabetes and that irradiated con A activated lymphocytes from acutely diabetic rats do not protect against spontaneous disease in susceptible recipients.