Analysis of Pathogenesis of Autoimmune Insulitis in NOD Mice: Adoptive Transfer Experiments of Insulitis in ILI and NOD Nude Mice

摘要

In an effort to study the pathophysiological events in the development of insulitis in NOD mice, we have developed ILI- and NOD-nuu mice. ILI mice are a nondiabetic inbred strain but are derived from the same Jcl:ICR mouse as NOD mice and share the same H-2 allotype with NOD mice. Splenocytes and CD4~+ cells from diabetic NOD mice appeared to transfer insulitis to ILI-nuu mice, suggesting that ILI mice already express autoantigen(s) responsible for insulitis. But reciprocal thymic grafts from NOD mice into ILI-nuu mice and those from ILI mice into NOD-nuu mice failed to allow the development of insulitis, implying that ILI mice possess neither precursor T cells nor the thymic environment responsible for the development of insulitis. In addition, splenocytes from ILI mice appeared to contain regulatory cells which suppress the development of diabetes but not that of insulitis in NOD mice. The use of these nude mice should provide more information on the products of insulitis-susceptibility genes of NOD mice.