[Induced-expression of MHC-DR molecules on mice islet cells]

The correlation of induced-expression of MHC-DR molecules with insulin release in cultured mice islet cells has been studied. The results showed that, (1) No detectable induced-expression of MHC-DR molecules by TNF-alpha alone at the concentration of 50-100 U/ml has been assayed, but the induced-expression of MHC-DR molecules has been identified in a few islet cells (8.5 +/- 2.9%) with IFN-r alone at concentration of 50-100 U/ml. (2) The induced-expression of MHC-DR molecules has been detected in as high as 80% of cultured islet cells with TNF-alpha and IFN-r combined at different concentrations. (3) Insulin released from cultured islet cells was enhanced by IFN-r and TNF-alpha either alone or combined at different concentrations. These results suggest that the induced-expression of MHC-DR molecules themselves does not damage the function for insulin release in cultured islet cells.