Suspected Cause Of Type 1 Diabetes Caught 'Red-handed' For The First Time
Friday, May 9, 2008 - 11:28
in Health & Medicine
Scientists working with diabetic mice have examined in unprecedented detail the immune cells long thought to be responsible for type 1 diabetes. They caught the immune cells, known as dendritic cells, "red-handed": they were carrying insulin and fragments of insulin-producing cells known as beta cells. This can be the first step in a misdirected immune system attack that destroys the beta cells, causing diabetes.