Fig. 2.

Intraperitoneal immunization with the APL H6F prevented the onset of T1D in NOD.β2m^null.HDD mice. Female NOD.β2m^null.HHD mice received weekly intraperitoneal injections of 100 μg of peptide H6F, mIns1B_5-14, or OVA_257-264 from 4 to 9 weeks of age (n = 12 or 13). a The mice were monitored for diabetes development. Data were obtained from three independent experiments. *P < 0.05 and ** P < 0.01. b, c Histopathological evaluation of pancreatic sections from indicated peptide-treated NOD.β2m^null.HHD mice at the age of 12 weeks. Pancreatic sections were stained with H&E and scored for insulitis. Representative micrographs (200× magnification) (b) and histologic scores (c) from each group (n = 10) are shown. Insulitis scoring was performed according to the following criteria: 0, no infiltration; 1, peri-insulitis; 2, insulitis with <50% islet area infiltration; and 3, insulitis with >50% islet area infiltration. d Frequencies and absolute numbers of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells (pre-gated on a live CD3⁺ population) infiltrated in pancreata from the indicated peptide-treated NOD.β2m^null.HHD mice at the age of 12 weeks. The results for absolute numbers of these CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells are expressed as the mean ± SD (each symbol represents a sample of pooled pancreatic infiltrating cells from four mice). e The mRNA expression levels of indicated cytokines in the pancreas in each peptide-treated group of nondiabetic mice (n = 6) were quantified by real-time RT-PCR. The data are presented as fold-change compared to the mRNA levels expressed in pancreata from control peptide-treated mice. Significance was determined by an unpaired t-test