Protease Treatment Delays Diabetes Onset in Diabetes-prone Nonobese
Diabetic (NOD) Mice
Wiest-Ladenburger U.,1 Richter W.,1 Moeller P.,2
Boehm B. O.1. Protease Treatment Delays Diabetes Onset in
Diabetes-prone Nonobese Diabetic (NOD) Mice. Inter. Journal of
Immunotherapy 1997, Vol. XIII, No. 3/4, pp. 75-78 - ISSN 0255-9625.
Inter. Journal of Tissue
Reactions 1997, Vol. XIX, No. 1/2,
abstract 108, pp. 89 - ISSN 0250-0868. SO 112 (4-12-2)
(19-04-2)
1 Abteilung Innere Medizin I, Universität Ulm, Ulm, Germany; 2
Institut für Pathologie, Universität Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
7th Interscience World Conference on Inflammation, Antirheumatics,
Analgesics, Immunomodulators, May 19-21, Geneva, Switzerland
It has recently been demonstrated that
proteolytic enzyme treatment modulates certain immune-mediated
diseases. We have, therefore, studied the effect of administration
of a protease mixture in the NOD mouse, an elegant animal model for
autoimmune insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Female NOD
mice were fed proteolytic enzymes from age 6 weeks to 10 weeks,
within the subclinical phase of IDDM. Once a week animals received
intragastrically 1 mg Phlogenzym® (n=10 mice) or 0.5 mg
Phlogenzym® (n=10)
in 0.5 ml saline or saline only (n=10). Mice were followed for
development of IDDM up to week 23. At week 21, all control animals
were diabetic, whereas 25% of the treated mice were still
normoglycemic at the end of the observation period. No significant
appearance of autoantibodies against either isoform of the important
islet cell antigen glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), GAD65 and
GAD67, was observed in the mouse sera as determined by a highly
sensitive radioimmunoassay. The histopathological examination of
pancreatic islets showed signs of insulitis in all mice with a
tendency of milder insulitis in the protease-treated groups.