Oral administration of Lactococcus lactis-expressing heat shock protein 65 and tandemly repeated IA2P2 prevents type 1 diabetes in NOD mice

•We constructed two L. lactis expressing recombinant protein HSP65-6IA2P2.•HSP65-6IA2P2 was successfully delivered to intestine mucosa in NOD mice.•L. lactis was proved as the vaccine vector to prevent type 1 diabetes in NOD mice.•Immunomodulatory responses in mice were enhanced by recombinant L. lactis.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of insulin-secreting β cells upon autoreactive T cell attack. Oral administration of autoantigens is an attractive approach to treating T1DM, but an effective carrier should be used in order to protect antigens. Lactococcus lactis, a safe engineering strain, was used for this task in the present study. Two recombinant L. lactis expressing protein HSP65-6IA2P2 were used and be investigated the effects and mechanisms against T1DM in NOD mice. Our findings demonstrate that recombinant L. lactis strains can successfully both deliver antigens to intestinal mucosa and maintain the epitopes for a long time in NOD mice. Oral administration of recombinant L. lactis could prevent hyperglycemia, improve glucose tolerance, and reduce insulitis by inhibiting antigen-specific proliferation of T cells, augmenting regulatory immune reactions, and balancing ratios of Th17/Tregs and Th1/Th2. These results prove that orally administrated L. lactis expressing HSP65-6IA2P2 is an effective approach for the prevention of T1DM in NOD mice.