Programmed cell death represents an important pathogenic mechanism in various autoimmune diseases. Type I diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a T cell-dependent autoimmune disease resulting in selective destruction of the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans. beta cell apoptosis has been associated with IDDM onset in both animal models and newly diagnosed diabetic patients. Several apoptotic pathways...

Neonatal studies in different mouse strains reveal that early life colonization affects the development of adaptive immunity in mice. The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse spontaneously develops autoimmune diabetes, but neonatal studies of NOD mice are lacking. We hypothesized that NOD mice deviate from another much used mouse strain, C57BL/6, with respect to postnatal microbiota and/or hematopoies...

The nod kinesin-like protein is localized along the arms of meiotic chromosomes and is required to maintain the position of achiasmate chromosomes on the developing meiotic spindle. Here we show that the localization of ectopically expressed nod protein on mitotic chromosomes precisely parallels that observed for wild-type nod protein on meiotic chromosomes. Moreover, the carboxyl-terminal half...

IL-10 is essential for an early phase of diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, but later becomes protective against its development. The mechanism by which IL-10 mediates the pathway to diabetes in these mice is unknown. Herein, we dissected the cellular and costimulation requirements for diabetes in transgenic (tg) NOD mice that expressed IL-10 in their pancreatic islets (IL-10-NOD mice). ...

Nodularin (NOD) is a cyclic penta-peptide hepatotoxin mainly produced by Nodularia spumigena, reported from the brackish water bodies of various parts of the world. It can accumulate in the food chain and, for safety reasons, levels of NOD not only in water bodies but also in food matrices are of interest. Here, we report on a non-competitive immunoassay for the specific detection of NOD. A pha...

Lipooligosaccharides (Nod metabolites) have been shown to be essential for the successful nodulation of legumes. In strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii, Nod metabolites were detected predominantly within the cell and to a lesser extent in the periplasmic space and the growth medium. The production, and in particular the excretion, of Nod metabolites was restricted by a range of envi...

Bacterial Nod factors trigger a number of cellular responses in root hairs of compatible legume hosts, which include periodic, transient increases in cytosolic calcium levels, termed calcium spiking. We screened 13 pharmaceutical modulators of eukaryotic signal transduction for effects on Nod factor-induced calcium spiking. The purpose of this screening was 2-fold: to implicate enzymes required...

Although regulatory T cells (Tregs) are well described, identifying autoaggressive effector T cells has proven more difficult. However, we identified CD4loCD40+ (Th40) cells as being necessary and sufficient for diabetes in the NOD mouse model. Importantly, these cells are present in pancreata of prediabetic and diabetic NOD mice, and Th40 cells but not CD4+CD40(-) T cells transfer progressive ...

The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse is genetically predisposed for the spontaneous development of type 1 diabetes. Linkage analyses have identified at least 19 susceptibility loci (Idd1-Idd19) that contribute to disease pathogenesis in which lymphocytes mediate the specific destruction of insulin-producing beta-cells. Interestingly, nondiabetic mouse strains have been shown to confer susceptibili...

The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse has been developed as a model for insulin-dependent diabetes. One gene required for the development of diabetes is associated with the major histocompatibility complex. This gene possibly could be linked to class II genes, which show a unique pattern in NOD mice. To evaluate the role of the I-A class II antigen expressed in NOD mice, we studied the effect of an...