The Role Of Fas-FasL In NOD Insulitis

[Objective] This study is designed to analyze the significance ofFas-FasL in NOD insulitis and to explore the mechanism of the autoimmunediabetes. [Material & Method] Totally, 32 female NOD mice, 3-32 weeks ofage, were selected. The blood glucose concentration were recorded. Thepathological data were obtained from the HE staining of the pancreatic slidesand the immunohistochemical staining, in which insulin, Fas, FasL, CD8 weredetected by their specific antibodies. [Result] Of all the 32 female NOD mice,4 were found suffer from diabetes, i. e. , they had high blood glucose levelmore than 300mg/dl. Along with the increase of the age, the blood glucoseconcentration tended to rise (p=0.621). In normal islets, insulin+ cellsaccounted for 59.37%±1.21%, and some islet cells were observed expressingFas. At the age of 6 weeks, insulitis lesions could be found with differentdegrees. The average score of insulitis tended to go up along with the ageincreasing (p<0.0005). Meanwhile, Insulin+ cells decreased (p<0.0005), andcorrelated negatively with the score(p<0.05). In some islets with normal orlower score, there were fewer insulin+ cells or even not any. Fas+ islet cellsbecame more and more (p<0.0005), correlating positively with the score(p<0.01). With insulitis observed, islet cells could be found express FasL, andthat increased along with the age (p<0.0005), correlating positively with thescore (p<0.01). The infiltrating cells were all Fas negative. But thesemononucleated cells showed their expression of FasL and CD8, bothincreasing along with the age (p<0.0005). Furthermore, there was certainrelationship between the expression of some antigens: in islet cells, it was...