HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tisch, R. Articles by Serreze, D. V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tisch, R. Articles by Serreze, D. V.

Induction of Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 65-Specific Th2 Cells and Suppression of Autoimmune Diabetes at Late Stages of Disease Is Epitope Dependent¹

Roland Tisch^2,*, Bo Wang^* and David V. Serreze

^* Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; and The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609

Peptide-based immunotherapy is one strategy by which to selectively suppress the T cell-mediated destruction of cells and treat insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Here, we investigated whether a panel of T cell epitopes derived from the cell autoantigen glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) differ in their capacity to induce Th2 cell function in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice and in turn prevent overt IDDM at different preclinical stages of disease development. The panel consists of GAD65-specific peptides spanning aa 217–236 (p217), 247–265 (p247), 290–309 (p290), and 524–543 (p524). Our studies revealed that all of the peptides effectively prevented insulitis and diabetes when administered to NOD mice before the onset of insulitis. In contrast, only a mixture of p217 and p290 prevented progression of insulitis and overt IDDM in NOD mice exhibiting extensive cell autoimmunity. Immunization with the GAD65-specific peptides did not block IDDM development in NOD mice deficient in IL-4 expression. These findings demonstrate that GAD65-specific peptide immunotherapy effectively suppresses progression to overt IDDM, requires the production of IL-4, and is dependent on the epitope targeted and the extent of preexisting cell autoimmunity in the recipient.