Xj. Huang et al., ISLET EXPRESSION OF INTERFERON-ALPHA PRECEDES DIABETES IN BOTH THE BBRAT AND STREPTOZOTOCIN-TREATED MICE, Immunity, 1(6), 1994, pp. 469-478
The mechanism(s) leading to beta cell dysfunction in type I diabetes h
as not been defined. We have investigated whether islet expression of
IFN alpha could be a cause of the lesions that are hallmarks of type I
diabetes. Streptozotocin induces the expression of interferon-alpha b
y pancreatic islets prior to the diabetes induced by streptozotocin. I
ncreased IFN alpha, induced by poly I/C or expressed from a transgene
will exacerbate the diabetogenic effects of streptozotocin. In another
rodent model of type I diabetes (the BB rat), islet expression of IFN
alpha precedes lymphocytic infiltration and diabetes. As in the strep
tozotocin model, in the BB rats poly I/C will induce islet expression
of IFN alpha and accelerate the onset of diabetes. These results are c
onsistent with the hypothesis that islet expression of IFN alpha parti
cipates in causing type I diabetes.