Researchers at the University of Florida have identified a population of stem-like immune cells in pancreatic lymph nodes that could explain ongoing autoimmune destruction in type 1 diabetes, opening new avenues for potential therapies.
Researchers at the University of Florida say they have identified a population of stem-like immune cells in lymph nodes near the pancreas that appears to keep replenishing the T cells responsible for destroying insulin-producing beta cells in type 1 diabetes. The work, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, offers a possible explanation for why the autoimmune assault can continue for years rather than fading away. It is laboratory research on donated human tissue, not a treatment, and it does not change care for people living with the disease today.
The study drew on pancreatic tissue and nearby lymph nodes from organ donors with and without type 1 diabetes, with the team using single-cell gene sequencing to examine activity inside individual immune cells. Todd Brusko, director of the University of Florida Diabetes Institute and the senior author, said the cells appear to act as a persistent source of autoimmune activity. Leeana Peters, a postdoctoral fellow in Brusko’s lab, was the lead author.
Until now, scientists have often had to rely on blood samples because pancreatic tissue is so difficult to obtain from living patients. The University of Florida’s Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes, known as nPOD, provided the donor tissue for the new work. The finding adds to a growing body of Florida research mapping the immune environment around the pancreas, including a separate study in Nature Metabolism in July that found inflammatory immune cells clustered near T cells at the edge of insulin-producing islets.
The new research does not prove how the cells behave over time in a living person, because donor tissue captures only a single moment. The university did not say how many donors were included, and the study did not test any therapy. Even so, Brusko suggested the identified markers may one day be targeted with therapeutic antibodies, although that would require years of development and clinical trials.
For families and adults affected by type 1 diabetes, the practical message remains the same: insulin is still essential, and no approved therapy reverses the disease. But the work points towards a longer-term goal , stopping the immune attack itself while some beta cells remain. That goal is also reflected in existing immune-based options, including teplizumab, which the US Food and Drug Administration has approved to delay the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in people with stage 2 disease and in certain children recently diagnosed with stage 3 disease.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
