A study of 51 subtypes of peripheral blood immune cells in newly diagnosed young type 1 diabetes patients. (21st June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oras, A.; Peet, A.; Giese, T.; Tillmann, V.; Uibo, R.
• Is Part Of: Clinical and experimental immunology. Volume 198:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 57
• Page End: 70
• Publication Date: 2019-06-21
• Subjects: autoimmunity -- cell surface molecules -- diabetes -- pancreas; Immunopathology -- Periodicals; 616.079
• DOI: 10.1111/cei.13332
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-9104

Abstract

Summary: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from autoimmune destruction of insulin‐producing beta cells in pancreatic islets. Various immune cell populations are involved in disease development and natural course. However, to our knowledge, so far there are no comprehensive comparative investigations of all main immune cell populations and their most important subsets at the onset of disease. Therefore, in the current study, we analyzed 51 peripheral blood immune cell populations in 22 young T1D patients and in 25 age‐matched controls using a comprehensive polychromatic flow cytometry panel developed for whole blood by the COST Action no. BM0907 ENTIRE (European Network for Translational Immunology Research and Education: From Immunomonitoring to Personalized Immunotherapy) consortium. We found that in T1D patients, frequencies and absolute counts of natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DC) and T cells, as well as their respective subsets, were significantly altered compared to controls. Further, we observed that changes in several cell populations (e.g. CD14 + CD16 + non‐classical monocytes, plasmablasts) were dependent on the age of the patient. In addition to age‐related changes, we also found that alterations in immune cell patterns were associated with parameters such as the presence of ketoacidosis and C‐peptide serum levels. Our study provides a foundation for future studies investigating different cell lineages and their role in T1D and illustrates the value of polychromatic flow cytometry for evaluating all main peripheral immune cells and their subsets in whole blood samples. Abstract : We performed flow cytometric immunophenotyping of 51 peripheral blood immune cell subsets. Our results showed that natural killer cell, dendritic cell, and T cell compartments were significantly altered in newly diagnosed young T1D patients compared to controls. Further, we observed that changes in many cell subsets (e.g. non‐classical monocytes, plasmablasts and activated CD8+ and CD4+ T cells) in patients are associated with the level of serum C‐peptide, the presence of ketoacidosis and the age of disease onset.