When given to mice with a disease similar to type 1 diabetes, the vaccine prevented diabetes by increasing the number of regulator T cells and reducing the number of warriors. In type 1 diabetes, the helper and warrior T cells work together to kill the beta cells, while the regulators appear unable to stop this from happening.Ī/Prof Grey's team worked up a vaccine, called BCMA-Fc, that re-dressed this imbalance. T cells develop in the thymus gland and, from a naïve or undifferentiated state, they are gradually “educated” to become helpers, warriors, or regulators. Some of the immune system culprits attacking the beta cells are T cells. One way to cure diabetes could be to persuade a badly behaved immune system to accept the beta cells as part of the body. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system is unable to tell the difference between harmful germs and the body's cells and tissues, so the immune system attacks the body’s own insulin producing beta cells. While it is difficult to say how long it will be before a cure is finally realised, we can reflect on how far we have come since the discovery of insulin in the early twentieth century, and look forward to more new and exciting discoveries that will bring us closer to a cure for type 1 diabetes. This exciting data provides tantalising new information that will help to bring us closer to a better understanding of type 1 diabetes and hopefully, to a cure.Įvery day, scientists all around the world are making progress toward a cure for type 1 diabetes. We have shown how single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) changes in one particular gene called A20 (suspected to be a player in type 1 diabetes) not only contributes to diabetes susceptibility, but also enhances rejection in islet transplantation. To start, we have sequenced the entire genomes of 50 individuals with type 1 diabetes.Īlready, even at this early stage of this newest program, we have made an exciting discovery. Using very new genome technologies and cutting edge scientific methods, my team is embarking on a new program with the aim of functionally annotating the gene changes in type 1 diabetes.
Whole genome sequencing for type 1 diabetes However, we know less about the nature of the particular changes in the involved genes, and how, as a result, their function may be different.
Past research has identified some good candidate genes, and raised suspicion on others. There is strong evidence that type 1 diabetes happens when an individual with a certain combination of genes comes into contact with a particular environmental influence.