Immunotherapy of type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed. Diabetic patients manage their hyperglycemia by daily insulin injections. However, insulin therapy is by no means a cure. Accordingly, a significant effort has been ongoing to develop immunotherapies that effectively prevent and/or treat T1D in the clinic. This review focuses on antigen- and antibody-based immunotherapies and discusses the respective strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.