Yale finds that suppressing the immune system may prevent type 1 diabetes

A new study at Yale School of Medicine shows that suppressing the immune system may prevent type 1 diabetes as well as induce sustained remission. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system goes into overdrive and mistakenly attacks insulin producing beta cells, leading to increased blood sugar levels. Working in a mouse model with a functional human immune system, the Yale team focused on the effect of the antibody teplizumab (anti-CD3) on CD3-positive immune cells, which are key to the development of type 1 diabetes. The researchers found that teplizumab induced the immune system’s T cells to migrate from the circulatory and lymph systems to the small intestine, where they produced an anti-inflammatory protein. This is the first study to unlock the mechanisms by which anti-CD3 works.