IFN beta accelerates autoimmune type 1 diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice and breaks the tolerance to beta cells in nondiabetes-prone mice.

Genetic and environmental factors are decisive in the etiology of type 1 diabetes. Viruses have been proposed as a triggering environmental event and some evidences have been reported: type I IFNs exist in the pancreata of diabetic patients and transgenic mice expressing these cytokines in beta cells develop diabetes. To determine the role of IFNbeta in diabetes, we studied transgenic mice expressing human IFNbeta in the beta cells. Autoimmune features were found: MHC class I islet hyperexpression, T and B cells infiltrating the islets and transfer of the disease by lymphocytes. Moreover, the expression of beta(2)-microglobulin, preproinsulin, and glucagon in the thymus was not altered by IFNbeta, thus suggesting that the disease is caused by a local effect of IFNbeta, strong enough to break the peripheral tolerance to beta cells. This is the first report of the generation of NOD (a model of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes) and nonobese-resistant (its homologous resistant) transgenic mice expressing a type I IFN in the islets: transgenic NOD and nonobese-resistant mice developed accelerated autoimmune diabetes with a high incidence of the disease. These results indicate that the antiviral cytokine IFNbeta breaks peripheral tolerance to beta cells, influences the insulitis progression and contributes to autoimmunity in diabetes and nondiabetes- prone mice.