T-lymphocytes transfer streptozotocin induced diabetes mellitus in mice.

Diabetes mellitus induced by low dose treatment with streptozotocin in BALB/c mice was passively transferred to syngeneic recipients with a predominantly T-lymphocyte fraction of spleen cells. This fraction was prepared by density centrifugation and passage through an antimouse immunoglobulin coated column. Variation in numbers of injected cells in the range of 10(3) to 10(7) showed that the smaller cell numbers gave the highest blood sugar values. Athymic nude recipients of BALB/c background also developed diabetes following similar transplants. A preliminary result was that the highest blood sugars were seen after transplantation of T-lymphocytes treated by low dose irradiation (200 R). This may reflect a specific effect on T-suppressor lymphocytes.