Viral infection has been suggested to play a triggering role in the pancreatic beta cell destruction which occurs in insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM). However, the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon is unknown. In this study a human insulinoma cell line has been infected with measles, mumps and rubella viruses since a temporal association is reported between the clinical onset of IDDM and diseases caused by these viruses. The infection with measles and mumps viruses induced the release of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by the cell line as assessed by a bioassay and up-regulated the expression of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II antigens as evaluated by cytofluorimetric analysis. Stimulation with rubella virus induced the release of IL-6 only and had no effect on HLA antigen expression. These data show for the first time that IL-1 and IL-6 secretion by an insulinoma cell line may occur after viral infection and suggest that cytokine release and increased expression of HLA molecules by beta cells may act to induce the immune response towards beta cells in IDDM.
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