The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7307 p47
10 July 2004

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Novel target for diabetes therapy identified in mice

Researchers have identified a protein, NKG2D, that is present on T lymphocytes and which can trigger diabetes when T cells infiltrate the pancreas of pre-diabetic mice. By blocking the interaction, the researchers have shown that they are able to prevent diabetes developing.

The team expect that development of an antibody to human NKG2D will provide an effective treatment for type 1 diabetes, as well as for other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Lewis Lanier, University of California, San Francisco, and one of the study authors, said: “We are encouraged by our finding that anti-NKG2D is effective at preventing diabetes even when administered late during disease progression. This is in striking contrast with most treatments reported in the non-obese diabetic mouse, which are only effective when administered at a much younger age.” The study is published in the June issue of Immunity (2004;20:757).