Modulation of cytokine production by dietary fatty acids in T cells from Type 1

Diabetes-susceptible NOD mice

Maansi Gupta1 2, Jaileene,Hernandez Escalante2, Albert Jones IV2, Hans Dooms Ph.D.2
Johns Creek High School, 5575 State Bridge Rd, Johns Creek, GA 300221; Boston University
School of Medicine: Rheumatology Section, 72 E Concord St, Boston, MA 021182.
Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disorder characterized by autoreactive T cells attacking beta
cells in the pancreas. This causes insulin levels to decrease throughout an individual’s life until
essentially no insulin is being produced. The instances of individuals with low-risk alleles for
T1D acquiring the disease has been increasing, which shows that environmental factors have a
role in the occurrence of T1D. One such environmental factor is one’s diet, more specifically, the
amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as omega-3, consumed. There are many T cell
subsets, and of these subsets, experiments have shown that CD4+ and CD8+ T cells have been
observed to produce less IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, when exposed to linoleic acid, a
polyunsaturated fatty acid. It is possible that other T cell subsets could also be affected by fatty
acids. In this experiment, conditions for CD4+ T cell polarization into proinflammatory Th17
cells were set. Th17 cells have two unique cytokines: IL-17A and IL-21. It has been observed
that a high concentration of Th17 cells is associated with disease pathogenesis of T1D. As such,
the goal of this experiment was to determine if a) Th17 polarization could occur given certain
conditions; b) if fatty acid concentration could affect Th17 polarization; and c) how fatty acid
concentration would affect cytokine production in Th17 cells. T cells were isolated from NOD
mice (the standard mouse model for T1D) and exposed to Th17-specific cytokines and blocking
antibodies to induce differentiation. These cells were then exposed to linoleic acid, a dietary fatty
acid. The data generated by a flow cytometry (intracellular cytokine staining) showed that as
fatty acid concentration increased, the abundance of IL-17A decreased, suggesting that linoleic
acid can modulate cytokine production.