Hyperglycaemia alters thymic epithelial cell function

• Central tolerance plays an important role in the development of Type 1 Diabetes.
• In most cases hyperglycemia is considered to be a consequence of the disease.
• The role of hyperglycemia as a possible causative agent of Type 1 Diabetes development at the level of thymic epithelial cell function is unclear.
• The development of a new mouse model to investigate this phenomenon and exclude the contribution of peripheral cells is required.
• Establishment of a role of hyperglycemia in Type 1 Diabetes development may lead to the reevaluation of it as the cause of the disease, particularly in a non-predisposed background.

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is considered to be a consequence of unchecked auto-immune processes. Alterations in immune system responses are thought to be the cause of the disease, but the possibility that altered metabolite levels (glucose) can establish the disease by specifically acting on and altering thymus stroma functions has not been investigated. Therefore, the direct effect of hyperglycaemia (HG) on central tolerance mechanisms as a causative agent needs to be investigated.

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