Role of Donor MHC Class III Genes in the Destruction of Transplanted Islets in NOD Mice

What is it about?

MHC class III genes are important in immune regulation and inflammation, and the gene products of this region are well conserved between species. We used islets from NOD mice that lacked expression of both MHC class I and class II molecules to test the effect of MHC class III differences on the injury of transplanted NOD islets. Loss of islet MHC class I was highly protective, while deletion of MHC class II had no benefit on islet survival. However the combined absence of both MHC class I and class II expression by NOD islets resulted in a delayed form of injury, when islets were transplanted to NOD mice.These results suggest a previously unrecognized and important contribution of MHC class III differences on islet injury following transplantation.

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Why is it important?

These results suggest a previously unrecognized and important contribution of MHC class III differences on islet injury following transplantation.

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