Effect of Antilymphocyte Serum and Neonatal Thymectomy upon Onset of Diabetes in the Chinese Hamster

Abstract

Abstract

Prediabetic Chinese hamsters were treated with antilymphocyte serum (ALS), or thymectomized in order to test the hypothesis that β-cell loss leading to diabetes in this animal model was related to cell-mediated autoimmunity. In addition, passive transfer of diabetes from the Chinese hamster to the nude mouse was attempted by transplantation of lymphocytes. Treatment of prediabetic Chinese hamsters with ALS or thymectomy did not alter development or severity of diabetes in this animal model. Lymphocytes from newly diagnosed diabetic Chinese hamsters did not cause hyperglycemia in nude mice. These three lines of evidence suggest that cell-mediated autoimmunity does not contribute to the etiology of diabetes in the Chinese hamster. The Chinese hamster remains a good model for the study of those forms of diabetes not related to cell-mediated autoimmune phenomena.