Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/16/2015
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

A Microparticle Vaccine Modulates Cellular Tolerance in Type 1 Diabetes

The overall goal of this proposal is to elucidate cellular mechanisms of tolerance in a microparticle vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). T1D is an autoimmune disease characterized by T cell mediated destruction of pancreatic β-cells. Recent evidence has suggested that this breakdown of self-tolerance results from functional deficiencies in dendritic cells (DCs), triggering the immune system to recognize self-tissue as foreign. DCs are key regulatory cells with the capacity to instigate either the inflammatory or anti-inflammatory wings of the adaptive immune system. A microparticle vaccine that delivers pro-tolerogenic agents to DCs in a sustained release fashion under the context of antigen specific for T1D has demonstrated prevention of T1D in preclinical models. However, to date, the underlying biology behind the microparticle vaccine has not been completely revealed. The proposed work will attempt to: 1) investigate DC recruitment and microparticle uptake and 2) identify mechanisms by which the microparticle vaccine induces tolerance. The findings from this research will illuminate specific modalities that promote disease prevention, and in turn help advance this therapeutic vaccine towards clinical translation.