Prevention of type 1 diabetes through infection with an intestinal nematode parasite requires IL-10 in the absence of a Th2-type response

Abstract

Helminth infection can prevent type 1 diabetes (T1D); however, the regulatory mechanisms inhibiting disease remain largely undefined. In these studies, nonobese diabetic (NOD) IL-4-/- mice were infected with the strictly enteric nematode parasite, Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Short-term infection, 5-7 weeks of age, inhibited T1D onset, as late as 40 weeks of age. CD4+ T-cell STAT6 phosphorylation was inhibited, while suppressed signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 phosphorylation was sustained, as were increases in FOXP3-, CD4+ T-cell interleukin (IL)-10 production. Blockade of IL-10 signaling in NOD-IL-4 -/-, but not in NOD, mice during this short interval abrogated protective effects resulting in pancreatic β-cell destruction and ultimately T1D. Transfer of CD4+ T cells from H. polygyrus (Hp)-inoculated NOD IL-4-/- mice to NOD mice blocked the onset of T1D. These studies indicate that Hp infection induces non-T-regulatory cells to produce IL-10 independently of STAT6 signaling and that in this Th2-deficient environment IL-10 is essential for T1D inhibition. © 2013 Society for Mucosal Immunology.