Immune T cells that attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas of a person with diabetes are drawn there by a portion of the insulin molecule itself.

Wong, F.S. . . . and C.A. Janeway Jr. 1999. Identification of an MHC class I-restricted autoantigen in type 1 diabetes by screening an organ-specific cDNA library. Nature Medicine 5(September):1026.

Atkinson, M.A., and N.K. Maclaren. 1994. The pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. New England Journal of Medicine 331(Nov. 24):1428.

Bate, K., and P.G. Colman. 1996. New pieces in the puzzle of diabetes. Lancet 384(Dec. 21):SII4.

Benoist, C., and D. Mathis. 1999. Spotting a killer’s target in autoimmune diabetes. Nature Medicine 5(September):992.

Eisenbarth, G.S., and M. Stegall. 1996. Islet and pancreatic transplantation autoimmunity and alloimmunity. New England Journal of Medicine 335(Sept. 19):888.

French, M.B., et al. 1997. Transgenic expression of mouse proinsulin II prevents diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice. Diabetes 46:34.

Serreze D.V., et al. 1994. Major histocompatibility complex class I-deficient NOD-B2mnull mice are diabetes and insulitis resistant. Diabetes 43:505.

Wicker, L.S., et al. 1994. Beta 2-microglobulin-deficient NOD mice do not develop insulitis or diabetes. Diabetes 43:500.

Adults or children who think they might carry a hereditary risk of getting type 1 diabetes (also called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes) can call the Diabetes Prevention Trial for more information about being screened for a potential treatment to prevent the disease. The number is 1-800-HALTDM1, or 1-800-425-8361.

George Eisenbarth
Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes
Box B140
4200 East Ninth Avenue
Denver, CO 80262

Charles A. Janeway Jr.
Yale School of Medicine
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Sections of Immunobiology and Endocrinology
310 Cedar Street
New haven, CT 06520-8011

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 12, September 18, 1999, p. 181. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.