Effect of coincident enterovirus infection and cows' milk exposure on immunisation to insulin in early infancy.

Abstract

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS:

Insulin autoantibodies appear often as the first autoantibody in children who develop islet-cell autoimmunity. Our recent studies indicate that primary immunisation to insulin is induced in early infancy by exposure to dietary bovine insulin present in cows' milk formulas. As gut-associated lymphoid tissue is also the primary replication site of enteroviruses, we tested whether enterovirus infections could modify the development of immune response to dietary insulin in early infancy.

METHODS:

We studied the development of IgG-antibodies to dietary bovine insulin by enzyme immunoassay in relation to enteroviral infections determined by T-cell proliferation response to the Coxsackie B4 virus and by serological tests for enterovirus antigens in 57 infants who carried the HLA DQB1(*)02/0302 diabetes risk genotype and participated in a Finnish population-based birth-cohort study (Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Project, DIPP, study).

RESULTS:

In the infants exposed to cows' milk formulas before the age of 3 months, those who had a T-cell proliferation response to enterovirus antigen at 3 months of age ( n = 12) had higher concentrations of IgG-antibodies to bovine insulin at the age of 6 and 9 months than those who did not have T-cell proliferation response to enterovirus antigen ( n = 25) (median OD were 0.742 vs 0.427, p = 0.04, and 0.477 vs 0.293, p = 0.02, respectively).

CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION:

Our results suggest that two epidemiological risk factors of Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, enterovirus infections and exposure to cows' milk formulas, could modify the immunisation to insulin in early infancy.

• Authors: O Vaarala, P Klemetti, S Juhela, O Simell, H Hyöty, J Ilonen
• Journal: Diabetologia (Diabetologia) Vol. 45 Issue 4 Pg. 531-4 (Apr 2002) ISSN: 0012-186X [Print] Germany
• PMID: 12032629 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Autoantibodies
• Immunoglobulin G
• Insulin Antibodies

Topics

• Animals
• Autoantibodies (immunology)
• Cattle
• Cohort Studies
• Enterovirus B, Human (immunology)
• Enterovirus Infections (immunology)
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Immunoglobulin G (blood)
• Infant
• Infant Food
• Insulin Antibodies (immunology)
• Lymphocyte Activation
• Milk (immunology)
• T-Lymphocytes (immunology)