At the present time, there are markers which we can use to identify individuals with a high susceptibility of developing insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) years before the onset of the disease. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disease strongly associated with HLA antigen …

Insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is the consequence of a chronic cell-mediated immune attack upon the insulin-producing beta-cells. Progressive insulinopenia is characteristic of individuals who eventually develop IDDM. Autoimmunity develops because of a failure in self-nonself di …

DBA/1 mice were administered type II collagen (CII) or collagen peptides intranasally before systemic immunization to determine whether tolerance could be induced and autoimmune arthritis suppressed. Although prior experiments have demonstrated that collagen given intravenously or orally is effectiv …

The effects of energy restriction on experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) were investigated. Seven-week-old, male Lewis rats were divided into three groups. Experiment A) A control group was fed ad libitum, a second group was given 50% calorie restricted food from the day of immunization, and a thi …

Previous studies have shown that in vivo treatment with antiinterferon-gamma (anti-IFNgamma) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) prevents the development of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. Although these findings anticipate that specific anti-IFNgamma therapies may be useful for the prevention/treatment o …

The in vitro activity of gelatinase B, an enzyme whose appearance in the cerebrospinal fluid is associated with inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, was dose-dependently inhibited by the antirheumatic D-penicillamine. Inhibition of gelatinase B in electrophoretically pure preparation …

Treatment of SJL mice with 400 ng Bordetella pertussis toxin (PT) either in saline or emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant protected the mice against experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced 28 days later by a synthetic peptide of myelin proteolipid protein (PLP139-151) in compl …

Immunotherapeutic approaches to autoimmune disease have a common goal of inducing antigen-specific, long-lasting tolerance to autoantigens, without otherwise compromising the immune response. Here we review some of the most interesting experimental advances in this area. We discuss the use of T cell …

Experiments in rodent models of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) suggest that destruction of pancreatic beta cells can be both initiated and inhibited by certain environmental factors such as dietary constituents. We studied nutritional impact of certain protein sources of natural-ingredie …

We have recently reported that female Lewis rats exhibit significantly higher basal circadian levels of corticosterone (Cort) than male Lewis rats. The studies reported here were designed to explore whether male and female Lewis rats demonstrate a differential suppression of experimental autoimmune …

Androgens appear to protect cartilage from inflammation induced breakdown in male animals. These results support a pathogenic role for hypoandrogenism in rheumatoid arthritis and suggest that long term androgen replacement may help prevent joint damage and disability.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) and experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) are caused, in part, by the production of autoantibodies against the main immunogenic region, amino acids 61-76, of the alpha chain of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR). Theoretically, induction of anti-idiotypic (Id) antibo …

Linomide (LS-2616, quinoline-3-carboxamide) is a synthetic immunomodulator that stimulates natural killer cell activity and activates several lymphocytic subpopulations in experimental animals and humans. In this study we determined the effect of oral treatment with linomide on the development of ex …

Restimulation of autoreactivity in two different BB rat sublines of the same origin (Ottawa, Canada) was investigated by syngeneic islet transplantation into diabetic animals. Despite identical methods and conditions recurrence of hyperglycaemia was observed in BB/OK rats (Karlsburg, Germany) but no …

The prevention of insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD) in humans remains an elusive goal, despite the broad spectrum of therapeutic interventions that prevent the development of IDD in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse. Can an animal model in which spontaneous autoimmune pathology is interrupted so eas …

The effects of the novel immunosuppressant Deoxyspergualin (DSP) on the development of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) in CBA mice were studied. For EAT induction, the mice were immunized with 100 micrograms of porcine thyroglobulin (p Tg) emulsified in CFA on day 0 and in IFA, for boostin …

Nicotinamide can protect the NOD mouse from diabetes if given early enough and in sufficient dose. The effect partly wanes with time. There is reduced islet inflammation. Similar protective effects can be demonstrated in quasi-experimental interventions in humans--both diabetes related and unrelated …

Experimental SLE can be induced in mice by immunization with a human mAb to DNA (16/6Id). Immunized mice develop Abs to the 16/6Id immunogen, DNA, and nuclear Ags. Subsequently, clinical manifestations of disease develop, including leukopenia, proteinuria, and immune complex deposits in the kidney. …

We describe the induction and prevention of autoimmune insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), and its pathological substrate, insulitis, in congenitally athymic nude rats following injections of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) compatible lymph node T cells. The cells capable of adoptive …

(C57BL/6 x DBA/2)F1 (B6D2F1) mice inoculated with parental DBA/2 (D2) splenocytes develop chronic stimulatory graft-versus-host reaction with many of the clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. This investigation tested the ability of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) and ultraviolet A (UVA …

To understand the role of CD8+ T cells in experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG), CD8+ T cells were depleted by injecting a monoclonal anti-rat CD8 antibody (OX8) into Lewis rats immunized with Torpedo acetylcholine receptor (AChR) in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). CD8-depleted EAMG rat …