Nanovaccine Reverses Type 1 Diabetes In Mice

Filed in archive Developments , Research on April 11, 2010

© euthman

Type 1 diabetes or juvenile diabetes is an autoimmune disease. The white blood cells called T cells attack the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Such is the case also in diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

While scientists already know the cause of type 1 diabetes, they haven't found a way to treat autoimmunity without impairing the body's immune system. Now a nanovaccine maybe able to do just that in humans as it has already worked in mice experiments. The nanoparticles that make up the vaccine are coated with protein fragments that suppress autoimmunity without compromising the rest of the immune system.

The nanovaccine helps to suppress the immune attacks by blocking the stimulus that causes the aggressive T-cells to attack. The said study was conducted by University of Calgary researchers. Findings have been published online April 8 in the journal Immunity.