Altered Natural Killer Cells in Type 1 Diabetic Patients

Evidence from animal models suggests that natural killer (NK) cells can be important players in the development of type 1 diabetes, although data in humans are still sparse. We studied the frequency and activation state of blood NK cells at different stages of human type 1 diabetes, and whether genetic or phenotypic NK cell peculiarities could be associated with an early onset of diabetes. The onset period is marked by a slight reduction in blood NK cells, but these are unusually activated in some patients (γ-interferon expression). This activation status does not correlate, however, with a particularly young age at onset. In contrast, NK cells in patients with long-standing type 1 diabetes had a markedly lower expression of p30/p46 NK-activating receptor molecules compared with those of control subjects. A slightly decreased expression of NKG2D in all type 1 diabetic patients relative to control subjects was observed, independent of the duration of disease, parallel to prior observations in the NOD mouse. Finally, type 1 diabetic patients had an increased frequency of KIR gene haplotypes that include the activating KIR2DS3 gene, with a genetic interaction between the KIR and HLA complexes. The reduced activation of NK cells in individuals with long-standing type 1 diabetes would seem to be a consequence rather than a cause, but other peculiarities may relate to type 1 diabetes pathogenesis.