Long-term administration of IMT504 greatly improves the diabetic condition in female nod mice. Impact on the immune system

LAVIGNOLLE MARÍA DEL ROSARIO; BIANCHI, STEFANIA; MONTANER ALEJANDRO; LIBERTUN, CARLOS; LUX-LANTOS, VICTORIA A.; BIANCHI, MARÍA S.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Reunión anual de Sociedades de Biociencia 2019 (SAB); 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Biología

Abstract 0783:Due to the importance of type I Diabetes,it has become crucial to find a treatment that would not onlynormalize blood glucose, but also restore insulin secretion bystopping the autoimmune destruction of beta cells. Our approachfor the reversion of the diabetic condition consists of the use ofan immunomodulatory oligonucleotide, IMT504 (IMT). Previously,we have shown that IMT treatment promotes a marked recoveryof toxic diabetes in rats, immunodependent diabetes in mice andin a short-term treatment in diabetic NOD mice. Here weevaluate a continuous and chronic IMT treatment in NOD diabeticmice, more similar to what could eventually be used in humans.We have previously shown that this treatment improves themetabolic condition and we aim here to study its immunologicaleffects. Diabetic female NOD mice were implanted with constantdrug release pumps, loaded with either IMT (total dose releasedper day: 20 mg/kg BW) or saline. After 28 days of treatment,mice were sacrificed, and their spleens and pancreases harvestedfor gene expression analysis by RT-qPCR and leukocyte infiltration determination (haematoxylin and eosin staining)respectively. Ongoing results show that IMT induces a decreasein leukocyte infiltration in Langerhans islets (p