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SUMMARY:Infection and Autoimmunity: co‐habitation may be a good thing - 
 Prof
. Anne 
Cooke\, 
Dept 
of 
Pathology\, Univ of 
Cambridge
DTSTART:20110210T160000Z
DTEND:20110210T170000Z
UID:TALK29197@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Christian Scheppach
DESCRIPTION:Both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the deve
 lopment of type 1 diabetes\, an autoimmune disease where the pancreatic in
 sulin producing beta cells are destroyed by the immune system. Type 1 diab
 etes\, a disease of juvenile onset\, was lethal before the discovery of in
 sulin in the 1920s and is dramatically increasing in incidence in the deve
 loped world. This increase is occurring faster than can be accounted for b
 y genetic change. There has been considerable interest in determining the 
 role that infection might play in the development of autoimmune diabetes. 
 Initial studies focused on the role that infection might play in precipita
 ting diabetes onset but more recently there has been an increased focus on
  the ways in which infections might inhibit the development of this autoim
 mune disease. This is particularly relevant since some infectious agents h
 ave co-evolved with the human immune system and indeed some use the human 
 immune system to facilitate their life cycle.  The relationships between h
 umans and infectious agents of historical importance have been perturbed w
 ith improved housing\, sanitation and the advent of vaccination strategies
 .  \n\nBy using the NOD mouse model of type 1 diabetes it has been possibl
 e to show that some\, but not all infections\, are able to provide long te
 rm protection against diabetes development. The ways in which infectious a
 gents modulate diabetes onset include effects on the innate and the adapti
 ve immune response. Different infections such as helminth\, viral or bacte
 rial can modulate onset of diabetes through different mechanisms. In some 
 cases diabetes prevention can be achieved using microbially derived produc
 ts obviating the need for a live infection. The ways in which these agents
  or their products mediate diabetes prevention will be discussed.\n
LOCATION:Hodgkin Huxley Seminar Room\, Physiology Building\, Downing Site
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