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["Diabetic rosettes": a cellular immunity marker in subjects at risk for type I diabetes]
S Bardet1, V Rohmer, D Maugendre
1Laboratoire d'Immunologie du Diabète et Clinique Médicale B, Nantes, France.
Insights
Diabetic rosettes, a marker of cell-mediated immunity, were found in individuals at risk for type 1 diabetes. This finding suggests a potential early indicator for the autoimmune condition.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Endocrinology
- Diabetes Research
Background:
- Previously identified "diabetic rosettes" indicate cell-mediated immunity in type 1 diabetes patients.
- This marker involves increased binding of CD3 CD4 lymphocytes to beta-cell membrane antigens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence of "diabetic rosettes" in individuals at risk for type 1 diabetes.
- To explore associations between "diabetic rosettes" and risk factors or clinical characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Assessed lymphocyte adherence to beta-cells (beta-CL) in at-risk subjects and controls.
- Correlated beta-CL levels with HLA DR 3/4, insulin release, and autoantibodies.
Main Results:
- "Diabetic rosettes" were detected in 20% of at-risk subjects, with significantly higher beta-CL values than controls (p = 0.003).
- The presence of "diabetic rosettes" was associated with HLA DR 3/4 heterozygosity and impaired acute insulin release.
- No association was found with islet-cell antibodies, insulin autoantibodies, or activated T-lymphocytes.
Conclusions:
- "Diabetic rosettes" serve as a potential marker for cellular immunity in individuals predisposed to type 1 diabetes.
- This cellular immune response may precede the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes.
Abstract:
The authors have previously described a marker of cell-mediated, called "diabetic rosettes", revealed by the increased binding of CD3 CD4 lymphocytes from type I diabetic patients to beta-cell membrane antigens, as compared to lymphocytes from control subjects. In the present study, they have detected such "diabetic rosettes" in some subjects at risk for type I diabetes. The mean value of lymphocytes adhering to beta (RINm5F)-cells (beta-CL) was statistically higher in those subjects at risk than in control blood bank donors (p = 0.003). When a positive test was arbitrarily defined as a value of beta-CL higher than the 95th percentile of controls, 20 p. cent of the subjects at risk were classified as beta-CL+. No difference was observed between two subgroups of subjects at risk: first degree relatives of type I diabetic patients, and non-diabetic subjects with transient hyperglycaemia. "Diabetic rosettes" were associated with HLA DR 3/4 heterozygosity (p less than 0.04) and with a "low" acute insulin release to IV glucose (p = 0.05). They were not associated with islet-cell antibodies, insulin autoantibodies, or "activated" (HLA DR+) T-lymphocytes. The authors suggest that "diabetic rosettes" represent a marker of cellular immunity in some subjects at risk for type I diabetes.