INSULIN RECEPTOR POSITIVE AND AUTOANTIGEN REACTIVE T CELLS IN TYPE 1 DIABETES

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of peripheral blood immune cells and measure humoral immune responses in Type 1 diabetes patients, relatives at high risk and relatives at low risk for developing Type 1 Diabetes, patients with other autoimmune diseases and normal, healthy control individuals. The study subjects' genetic analysis will include HLA typing. Specifically, but not exclusively, we will look at the role of insulin receptor positive and antigen reactive cells in the peripheral blood, with special emphasis on regulatory and other specialized cell populations,serum autoantibodies and disease predisposition. The study has the potential to find a cellular marker for human Type 1 diabetes mellitus and also to give us a better understanding of the disease process itself. The ability to monitor the activity of autoimmunity could help any future interventional tools too.