Enteroviruses of the human enterovirus B species (HEV-Bs) (e.g., coxsackie B viruses [CVBs] and echoviruses) have been implicated as environmental factors that trigger/accelerate type 1 diabetes, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the cytokines and chemokines that are produced by human pancreatic islets upon infection with CVBs. To this ...

Transgenic expression of interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the islets of Langerhans leads to a pronounced pancreatic inflammation, without inflammation of the islets of Langerhans and without diabetes. A scattered infiltration of macrophages (Mtk) precedes localized accumulations of CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and Mtk. This recruitment of inflammatory cells to the pancreas is somewhat...

INTRODUCTION Autotransplantation of isolated Langerhans islets is regarded as the only way to prevent iatrogenic diabetes in patients who had been scheduled for pancreatectomy due to painful chronic pancreatitis. A sufficient number of Langerhans islets capable of secretory activity need to be transplanted to maintain normoglycemia after the surgical procedure. In order to optimize all stages, ...

In the human insulin gene, three regulatory sequences upstream of the transcription start site at -77 (the CT1 box), -210 (the CT2 box), and -315 (the CT3 box) bind a beta-cell-specific transcription factor, IUF1. Recent studies have mapped a glucose response element to a CT-like sequence in the rat insulin I gene. The present study was therefore undertaken to ascertain the role of IUF1 in gluc...

BACKGROUND We have previously performed a genome-wide linkage study in Scandinavian Type 1 diabetes (T1D) families. In the Swedish families, we detected suggestive linkage (LOD≤2.2) to the chromosome 5p13-q13 region. The aim of our study was to investigate the linked region in search for possible T1D susceptibility genes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Microsatellites were genotyped in the Sc...

BACKGROUND The complex endocrine and exocrine functionality of the human pancreas depends on an efficient fluid transport through the blood and the lymphatic vascular systems. The lymphatic vasculature has key roles in the physiology of the pancreas and in regulating the immune response, both important for developing successful transplantation and cell-replacement therapies to treat diabetes. H...

Within single islets of Langerhans, the endocrine portion of the pancreas, intracellular metabolites, as well as insulin secretion, oscillate with a period of ∼5 min. In vivo, pulsatile insulin oscillations are also observed with periods ranging from 5-15 minutes. In order for oscillations of insulin to be observed in vivo, the majority of islets in the pancreas must synchronize their output. I...

Nitric oxide synthase activity was measured in Langerhans islets isolated from control and streptozotocin diabetic rats. The activity of the enzyme was linear up to 150 micrograms of protein from control rats and was optimal at 0.1 microM calcium, when it was measured after 45 min of incubation at 37 degrees C in the presence of 200 microM arginine. Specific activity of the enzyme was 25 x 10(-...

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from the autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta-cells in the pancreas. Recruitment of inflammatory cells is prerequisite to beta-cell-injury. The junctional adhesion molecule (JAM) family proteins JAM-B and JAM-C are involved in polarized leukocyte transendothelial migration and are expressed by vascular endothelial cells of peripheral tissue and high end...

Transgenic expression of interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the islets of Langerhans leads to a pronounced pancreatic inflammation, without inflammation of the islets of Langerhans and without diabetes. A scattered infiltration of macrophages (Mtk) precedes localized accumulations of CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and Mtk. This recruitment of inflammatory cells to the pancreas is somewhat...