Lowering apolipoprotein CIII delays onset of type 1 diabetes.

Serum levels of apolipoprotein CIII (apoCIII) are increased in type 1 diabetic patients, and when β cells are exposed to these diabetic sera, apoptosis occurs, an effect abolished by an antibody against apoCIII. We have investigated the BB rat, an animal model that develops a human-like type 1 diabetes, and found that apoCIII was also increased in sera from prediabetic rats. This increase in apoCIII promoted β-cell death. The endogenous levels of apoCIII were reduced by treating prediabetic animals with an antisense against this apolipoprotein, resulting in a significantly delayed onset of diabetes. ApoCIII thus serves as a diabetogenic factor, and intervention with this apolipoprotein in the prediabetic state can arrest disease progression. These findings suggest apoCIII as a target for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.