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NK3-Like NK Cells Are Involved in Protective Effect of Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid on Type 1 Diabetes in Nonobese Diabetic Mice¹

Institute of Immunology, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China

Type 1 diabetes in NOD mice is characterized by the uncontrolled Th1 immune responses and deficiency of regulatory or suppressor cells. Previous study has shown that NOD mice treated with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) have a markedly reduced incidence of diabetes, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we report that the prevention of diabetes by poly(I:C) is associated with the formation of Th2-enriched environment in spleen and pancreas. We further show that the prevention of diabetes and the formation of Th2-enriched environment depend on the presence of NK cells. Long-term poly(I:C)-treated NK cells exhibit a NK3-like phenotype, and are involved in the induction of Th2 bias of spleen cells in response to islet autoantigens via TGF--dependent manner. Therefore, NK cells mediate the protective effect of poly(I:C) possibly through the promotion of Th2 bias of immune responses. These findings suggest that NK cells can participate in the regulation of autoimmune diabetes.

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¹ This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 30630059, 30528007, 30570819, 30571695, and 30500467) and a grant from Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China (Grant 705029).

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Zhigang Tian, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 443 Huang-shan Road, Hefei 230027, China. E-mail address: tzg{at}ustc.edu.cn

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: T1D, type 1 diabetes; poly(I:C), polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid.

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