T Cell Vaccines As An Immunotherapy For Type 1 Diabetes

The goal of this project is to create a T cell vaccine which will reduce or eliminate circulating autoreactive CD4+ T cells in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) patients. This vaccine will preserve the Honeymoon Phase, as well as lead to a cure for T1D when administered in conjunction with pancreatic islet transplantation. When T cell vaccines were studied in Multiple Sclerosis, all patients experienced a significant reduction in circulating autoreactive T cells, and all except one patient experienced no relapses. The T1D vaccine will be created by isolating CD4+ T cells from diabetic peripheral mononuclear blood cells, then attenuating proliferation and antigen expression in vitro with T Cell Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase. Patients who receive the vaccine are expected to experience a reduction in circulating autoreactive CD4+ T cells, while patients who receive the placebo are expected to experience no change in circulating autoreactive CD4+ T cells.