Idd1 and Idd3 are necessary but not sufficient for development of type 1 diabetes in NOD mouse

NOD alleles at Idd1 and Idd2 loci drive exocrine pancreatic inflammation

Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice spontaneously develop autoimmune diabetes and have enabled the identification of several loci associated with diabetes susceptibility, termed insulin-dependent diabetes (Idd). The generation of congenic mice has allowed the characterization of the impact of several loci on disease susceptibility. For instance, NOD.B6-Idd1 and B6.NOD-Idd1 congenic mice were instrumental in demonstrating that susceptibility alleles at the MHC locus (known as Idd1) are necessary but not sufficient for autoimmune diabetes progression. We previously showed that diabetes resistance alleles at the Idd2 locus provide significant protection from autoimmune diabetes onset, second to Idd1. In search of the minimal genetic factors required for T1D onset, we generated B6.Idd1.Idd2 double-congenic mice. Although the combination of Idd1 and Idd2 is not sufficient to induce diabetes onset, we observed immune infiltration in the exocrine pancreas of B6.Idd2 mice, as well as an increase in neutrophils and pancreatic tissue fibrosis. In addition, we observed phenotypic differences in T-cell subsets from B6.Idd1.Idd2 mice relative to single-congenic mice, suggesting epistatic interaction between Idd1 and Idd2 in modulating T-cell function. Altogether, these data show that Idd1 and Idd2 susceptibility alleles are not sufficient for autoimmune diabetes but contribute to inflammation and immune infiltration in the pancreas.

Selective ablation of thymic and peripheral Foxp3+ regulatory T cell development

Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells of thymic (tTreg) and peripheral (pTreg) developmental origin are thought to synergistically act to ensure immune homeostasis, with self-reactive tTreg cells primarily constraining autoimmune responses. Here we exploited a Foxp3-dependent reporter with thymus-specific GFP/Cre activity to selectively ablate either tTreg (ΔtTreg) or pTreg (ΔpTreg) cell development, while sparing the respective sister populations. We found that, in contrast to the tTreg cell behavior in ΔpTreg mice, pTreg cells acquired a highly activated suppressor phenotype and replenished the Treg cell pool of ΔtTreg mice on a non-autoimmune C57BL/6 background. Despite the absence of tTreg cells, pTreg cells prevented early mortality and fatal autoimmunity commonly observed in Foxp3-deficient models of complete Treg cell deficiency, and largely maintained immune tolerance even as the ΔtTreg mice aged. However, only two generations of backcrossing to the autoimmune-prone non-obese diabetic (NOD) background were sufficient to cause severe disease lethality associated with different, partially overlapping patterns of organ-specific autoimmunity. This included a particularly severe form of autoimmune diabetes characterized by an early onset and abrogation of the sex bias usually observed in the NOD mouse model of human type 1 diabetes. Genetic association studies further allowed us to define a small set of autoimmune risk loci sufficient to promote β cell autoimmunity, including genes known to impinge on Treg cell biology. Overall, these studies show an unexpectedly high functional adaptability of pTreg cells, emphasizing their important role as mediators of bystander effects to ensure self-tolerance.

Genetic and Molecular Basis of QTL of Diabetes in Mouse: Genes and Polymorphisms

A systematic study has been conducted of all available reports in PubMed and OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man) to examine the genetic and molecular basis of quantitative genetic loci (QTL) of diabetes with the main focus on genes and polymorphisms. The major question is, What can the QTL tell us? Specifically, we want to know whether those genome regions differ from other regions in terms of genes relevant to diabetes. Which genes are within those QTL regions, and, among them, which genes have already been linked to diabetes? whether more polymorphisms have been associated with diabetes in the QTL regions than in the non-QTL regions.

Our search revealed a total of 9038 genes from 26 type 1 diabetes QTL, which cover 667,096,006 bp of the mouse genomic sequence. On one hand, a large number of candidate genes are in each of these QTL; on the other hand, we found that some obvious candidate genes of QTL have not yet been investigated. Thus, the comprehensive search of candidate genes for known QTL may provide unexpected benefit for identifying QTL genes for diabetes.

Impact of protective IL-2 allelic variants on CD4+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cell function in situ and resistance to autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice

Type I diabetes (T1D) susceptibility is inherited through multiple insulin-dependent diabetes (Idd) genes. NOD.B6 Idd3 congenic mice, introgressed with an Idd3 allele from T1D-resistant C57BL/6 mice (Idd3(B6)), show a marked resistance to T1D compared with control NOD mice. The protective function of the Idd3 locus is confined to the Il2 gene, whose expression is critical for naturally occurring CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T (nT(reg)) cell development and function. In this study, we asked whether Idd3(B6) protective alleles in the NOD mouse model confer T1D resistance by promoting the cellular frequency, function, or homeostasis of nT(reg) cells in vivo. We show that resistance to T1D in NOD.B6 Idd3 congenic mice correlates with increased levels of IL-2 mRNA and protein production in Ag-activated diabetogenic CD4(+) T cells. We also observe that protective IL2 allelic variants (Idd3(B6) resistance allele) also favor the expansion and suppressive functions of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) nT(reg) cells in vitro, as well as restrain the proliferation, IL-17 production, and pathogenicity of diabetogenic CD4(+) T cells in vivo more efficiently than control do nT(reg) cells. Lastly, the resistance to T1D in Idd3 congenic mice does not correlate with an augmented systemic frequency of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) nT(reg) cells but more so with the ability of protective IL2 allelic variants to promote the expansion of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) nT(reg) cells directly in the target organ undergoing autoimmune attack. Thus, protective, IL2 allelic variants impinge the development of organ-specific autoimmunity by bolstering the IL-2 producing capacity of self-reactive CD4(+) T cells and, in turn, favor the function and homeostasis of CD4(+)Foxp3(+) nT(reg) cells in vivo.

The autoimmune contrivance: genetics in the mouse model

Autoimmunity and inheritance of complex characters behold an explosive interest in biology over the last 15 years. Research in the genetics of autoimmunity has been impelled by the isolation of genetic markers allowing tracing of heredity. The annotation and sequencing of the human and mouse genomes provide with the potential for further advancements, through the development of new technologies. This review aims to summarize advances made in the autoimmunity field, centered in type 1 diabetes in the NOD mouse model. It also aims to demonstrate that animal models, albeit some phenotypic and genetic dissimilarities with the human diseases, still remain the best way to move towards an understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in autoimmunity. Assessing the current state of research in this field together with the increasing potential of novel biotechnology advancements, new insights to disease pathogenesis and discovery of molecular targets for intervention strategies are anticipated in the coming years.