ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers attenuate the severity of diabetes by inducing CD8+ T cell tolerance

•ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers inhibited proliferation, cytotoxicity, and inflammatory cytokine of CD8+ T.•ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers ameliorated the incidence and severity of diabetes mice.•ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers abrogate pathogenic CD8+ T cells in diabetes.

Recent studies demonstrated that activated CD8+ T cells contributed to the development of T1D, and Zinc Transporter 8 (ZnT8) has emerged as a target of autoreactive T cells in human T1D in recent years. In the previous work, we identified that ZnT8107-115 peptide as a candidate to generate CD8+ T cells and induce diabetes in mice. In addition, MHC-peptide complexes that interact with autoreactive T cells can induce immune tolerance. In the current study, we constructed ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers, and utilized them to immunize diabetes mice. The proliferation, cytotoxicity, and inflammatory cytokine of CD8+ T were analyzed, and the incidence and severity of diabetes were detected.We found that ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers inhibited proliferation, cytotoxicity, and inflammatory cytokine of CD8+ T. Additionally, ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers ameliorated the incidence and severity of diabetes mice. Our findings suggested that ZnT8107-115/HLA-A2 dimers abrogate pathogenic CD8+ T cells in diabetes, and the strategies represented promising way in T1D and other autoimmune diseases.