Based on the mouse model of type 1 diabetes, it is believed that dendritic cells carry proteins from the pancreatic islets to the lymph nodes where they activate T cells to destroy the pancreatic islets. However, we find that unlike mice, human samples have no dendritic cells in their pancreatic islets. The aims we propose seek to understand how pancreatic islet proteins are carried to the pancreatic lymph nodes in human, to enable us to correctly target therapeutics to prevent this process.
