Genetically Altered Food and Type I Diabetes
Genetics and Food Potential to Prevent Diseases
Jan 19, 2009
While some people may be opposed to genetically altered food, research in this area is ground breaking and has the potential to prevent diseases and disorders.
Research on Plant Protein to Help Prevent Type I Diabetes
Plantigen Incorporated and The Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario, Canada announced their research findings on the use of plant protein to help prevent Type 1 diabetes.
Until now, there has been no known way to prevent Type I Diabetes in individuals considered to be at high risk. However, according to the research findings of a team of London, Ontario, scientists, this may no longer be true.
The research was released in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) journal in 2004. The research indicated it is possible to prevent diabetes-prone mice from developing the disease by adding certain proteins made by insulin producing cells of the pancreas to their diet.
The proteins, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), which is thought to be a trigger factor for diabetes, along with interleukin-4 (IL-4) can reprogram harmful immune responses by promoting a mechanism known as oral immune tolerance.
It May be Possible to Reset the Immune System
According to Dr. Anthony Jevnikar, "Type I Diabetes is caused by overactivity of the immune system which leads to damage of insulin producing cells within the pancreas. It may be possible to reset the immune system to prevent injury by oral exposure to the proteins which initially triggered the disease."
Dr. Jevnikar is program director, transplantation, immunity and regenerative medicine at Lawson Health Research Institute, and professor of medicine with the immunology and microbiology at The University of Western Ontario (UWO) in London, Ontario, Canada.
As compared to biotherapeutics administered to patients by injection, large quantities of these proteins would be needed. Drs. Shengwu Ma, scientist at the research institute, and adjunct professor with the departments of biology and medicine at UWO, and Jevnikar realized that current technology for production of these complex proteins could not supply enough for clinical testing.
Genetically Altered Non-Nicotine Tobacco Proteins
In searching for a practical way to produce the proteins they turned to plants. They have been able to produce clinically useful amounts of these proteins in a novel way using genetically altered non-nicotine tobacco.
This means the plant was engineered to produce the GAD and IL-4 proteins. By feeding the mice the genetically altered plant leaf, the mice would receive the amounts of GAD and IL-4 thought to be needed to induce tolerance to their proteins and prevent diabetes.
Researchers Prevent Diabetes in Mice
The result, researchers were able to prevent diabetes in mice that normally develop Type I Diabetes like humans. "Our research demonstrates that IL-4, along with human GAD produced in these plants can be used to regulate immune responses without the need for elaborate purification. This is a significant achievement," concluded Dr. Ma.
Relevance to Humans Long Way Off
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador physician and an award-winning researcher Christopher Kovacs cautions this is a very early study in mice. "Whether there is any relevance to humans is a long way off from being determined."
Dr. Kovacs is also associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University and a specialist in endocrinology at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
"This study examines an animal (mouse) model of Type I diabetes, the kind of diabetes that develops in children and young adults, which makes up a smaller proportion of diabetes... probably 5 to 10 per cent, but it has no relevance to Type II diabetes, which is what makes about 90 per cent of people with diabetes," points out Dr. Kovacs.
"Type I diabetes has an immune origin in that something - a viral infection, exposure to certain antigens/proteins such as cow's milk, genetic triggers, etc and/or a combination thereof triggers the immune system to attack and destroy the insulin-producing islet cells of the pancreas."
Other Diabetes Studies
There have been some other studies in humans to try to prevent Type I diabetes, but they have not been successful in preventing Type I diabetes, explains Dr. Kovacs. "And, earlier studies suggesting that breast feeding protected against Type I while early exposure to cow's milk increased the risk of Type I diabetes is consistent with this idea, that in this case cow's milk protein would be one of the exposure triggers that might get the immune system activated against the islet cells."
Vitamin D may Protect Against Type I Diabetes
"There is also some evidence vitamin D may protect against Type I diabetes. Or conversely children who were born of mothers who had low intake of vitamin D are more likely to develop Type I diabetes. Plus there are other postulated triggers. It is likely there is more than one trigger and there may not be a single trigger common to all patients."
Newly diagnosed patients with Type I diabetes usually have antibodies against GAD in their bloodstream, as well as other antibodies, explains Dr. Kovacs. "Relatives of these patients who also have antibodies against GAD are at very high risk to develop Type I diabetes within the next 5 years, whereas relatives without antibodies against GAD are at very low risk."
Research Left with Many Questions
Research is left with many questions says Dr. Kovacs. "This has resulted in some focus on GAD as to whether it is an immune system trigger, or is it an innocent bystander? Is it a cause, or a result? Do the antibodies against GAD destroy islets, or do the antibodies arise because the islets are being destroyed, resulting in GAD and other things getting exposed to the immune system and thereby generating antibodies against GAD."
The London researchers attempt to address these questions by making mice that are at high-risk for Type I diabetes tolerant to GAD, or in other words that they will not generate an immune response against GAD.
