Transfer of experimental autoimmune insulitis by spleen cells in mice.

We have tested whether experimental insulitis induced by multiple subdiabetogenic injections of streptozotocin can be transferred by lymphocytes to normal recipients. C57BL/6J mice were treated on 5 consecutive days with 40 mg streptozotocin/kg body weight. 5 X 10(7) nucleated spleen cells from 20 animals which had developed hyperglycaemia with concomitant insulitis three weeks after the first streptozotocin-injection, were transferred into congenic thymusless C57BL/6J-nu/nu mice. The cell transfer led to lymphocytic infiltrations of pancreatic islets in 75% of the recipients. Hyperglycaemia was not observed. It is concluded that low-dose streptozotocin treatment induces cellular immune reactions against pancreatic islets.