Association Of Proliferative And Cytokine Immune Reactivity With Beta-Cell Function, Hla And Sex In Type 1 Diabetes

We investigated 99 adult and paediatric patients with recent onset type 1 diabetes (T1D). Proliferation and cytokine secretion upon stimulation with islet antigens was associated with beta-cell function during the first months after diagnosis of T1D, influenced by IILA, BMI and sex. Children carrying diabeters susceptible haplotypes revealed higher secretion of Th1 related IFN-gamma. Increased Th1 related IFN-gamma response was associated with lower beta-cell function whereas increased Th2 related IL-5 and IL-13 response was associated with better beta-cell function until week 8. In paediatric T1D, proliferation was negatively associated with beta-cell function upon stimulation with DiaPep277at week 0 (P=0.007) while positively associated upon plA2 stimulation at week 30 (P=0.017). We conclude that cellular immune reactivity is associated with residual beta-cell function and may reflect the beta-cell destructive process.