A stimulating insulin vaccine

ADana-Farber Cancer Institute-led team has designed a modified insulin peptide-based vaccine that prevents type 1 diabetes in mice by inducing the production of immunosuppressive T_regcells.¹ The group is now collaborating with the German Research Center for Environmental Health's Institute of Diabetes Research to identify peptides that have similar properties in humans.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when autoreactive T cells attack and destroy insulin-producing pancreatic b cells. Many of the genetic and environmental factors that trigger this immune assault are not well understood. However, multiple autoantigens have been identified that are strongly associated with the disease, including insulin itself...