INDUCTION OF AUTOIMMUNE DIABETES BY ORAL-ADMINISTRATION OF AUTOANTIGEN

An antigen administered orally can induce immunological tolerance to a subsequent challenge with the same antigen. Evidence has been provide d for the efficacy of this approach in the treatment of human autoimmu ne diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Howev er, oral administration of autoantigen in mice was found to induce a c ytotoxic T lymphocyte response that could lead to the onset of autoimm une diabetes. Thus, feeding autoantigen can cause autoimmunity, which suggests that caution should be used when applying this approach to th e treatment of human autoimmune diseases.