nPOD honors Estefania Quesada Masachs for type 1 diabetes discoveries
LJI researcher delves into what triggers type 1 diabetes
Disease Type 1 Diabetes
New research gets to the roots of type 1 diabetes
A Q&A with Estefania Quesada-Masachs, M.D., Ph.D.
Unmasking the pancreas
No one knows exactly what triggers type 1 diabetes, but researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology have uncovered some fascinating clues.
LJI research leads to promising combination therapy for type 1 diabetes
Phase 2 trial run by Novo Nordisk emphasizes the importance of translational research
The story behind a vivid pancreas image
"To prevent and treat the disease, it is vital to understand how the immune cells attack the body's own insulin-producing beta cells"
Diabetes researchers spot dangerous T cells in the pancreas—even in healthy people
LA JOLLA—Your pancreas is studded with cell clusters called islets. In most people, special beta cells live snug in the islets, happily making the insulin that the body uses to regulate blood sugar. But in people with type 1 diabetes,…
Blocking nerve signals to the pancreas halts type 1 diabetes onset in mice
New LJI discovery could help explain patterns of cell death in many autoimmune diseases
Exploring toxic effects of T1D patient’s serum in pancreatic β cells
Team: Estefania Quesada-Masachs, Sakthi Rajendran Type 1 diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune disease that usually affects young people, is on the rise worldwide. But we still don’t completely understand the underlying processes that drive the destruction of insulin-producing β cells in…
Expression of HLA class II in human pancreatic tissue sections
Team: Estefania Quesada-Masachs, Sakthi Rajendran Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which insulin-producing β cells are attacked by the immune system. Earlier work suggests that β cells could also express HLA class II (HLA II) upon exposure…
Characterization of in-situ IL17 expression in human pancreas
Team: Sakthi Rajendran, Estefania Quesada-Masachs and Mehdi Benkahla IL-17 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine important in shaping host immune responses against pathogens. IL-17 is also attributed to cause tissue damage and chronic inflammation in autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis…
Detailed in-situ characterization of cytokines, immune and endocrine cell in the human pancreas
Team: Sakthi Rajendran, Estefania Quesada-Masachs, Christine Bender Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease caused by the destruction of insulin-producing β cells by the immune system. However, the process of disease development is complex and still unknown. Networks of…
Characterization of HLA class I expression in autoantibody positive and type 1 diabetic donors
Team: Mehdi Benkahla and Somayeh Sabouri Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by increased blood glucose levels due to the destruction of insulin-producing β cells by the immune system, leading to a lifelong dependence on exogenous insulin.…
Modeling and detection of viral infections in human pancreas slices
Team: Mehdi Benkahla It is thought that an interaction between predisposing genes and environmental factors, such as viral infections, may trigger T1D. Several viruses, mainly from the Enterovirus genus have been considered as potential causal agents for human T1D. Infection…
Characterization of specificity and phenotype of pancreatic CD8 T cells in human Type 1 Diabetes
Team: Christine Bender A better understanding of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the first step to potentially developing new therapies capable of preventing or permanently reversing the disease. Due to the inaccessibility of human pancreatic tissue, our knowledge of the…
