Viruses can both cause and prevent autoimmune disease. In order to understand this dualism, Matthias von Herrath and colleagues from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in California exposed prediabetic mice to viral infections. In the January 2 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation the authors report that infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) during the prediabetic period completely abolished the diabetic process in two distinct mouse models.
Urs Christen, Dirk Benke, Tom Wolfe, Evelyn Rodrigo, Antje Rhode, Anna C. Hughes, Michael B.A. Oldstone, and Matthias G. von Herrath Cure of prediabetic mice by viral infections involves lymphocyte recruitment along an IP-10 gradient J. Clin. Invest. 2004 113: 74-84.
Message posted by: Frank S. Zollmann
|