Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1991-3-8
pubmed:abstractText
Autoimmune diabetes mellitus affects greater than 50% of diabetes-prone BB (DP BB) rats but less than 1% of diabetes-resistant BB (DR BB) rats. We report an outbreak of spontaneous diabetes among DR BB rats that coincided with serologic evidence of the onset of viral infection. This apparent link between a change in the environment and the expression of diabetes then led us to study the interaction of environmental exposure to viral pathogens in this disorder with virally seropositive and seronegative populations of BB rats and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), an interferon inducer known to accelerate diabetes onset in DP rats. We administered a cytotoxic anti-RT6 monoclonal antibody, poly I:C, or both to DR rats. Depletion of the RT6.1+T-lymphocyte population has previously been shown to induce diabetes and thyroiditis in DR rats. RT6 alone did not induce diabetes in seronegative DR rats, and poly I:C was only weakly effective, but nearly all animals given both reagents became diabetic. When given to seropositive DR rats, either reagent alone induced diabetes; when given to non-BB rats, neither agent was effective. Poly I:C also accelerated the onset of DP diabetes to a greater extent in seropositive than in seronegative rats. We conclude that expression of the genetic predisposition to diabetes present in all BB rats depends on cellular factors that include the presence or absence of regulatory (RT6+) T lymphocytes and modulatory environmental factors including exposure to viral pathogens.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0012-1797
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
40
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
255-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-9-7
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1991
pubmed:articleTitle
Altered expression of diabetes in BB/Wor rats by exposure to viral pathogens.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester 01655.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't