Stem-Like Immune Cells in Pancreatic Lymph Nodes May Help Explain Why Type 1 Diabetes

Researchers at the University of Florida identified a population of stem-like immune cells in lymph nodes near the pancreas that may help sustain the autoimmune attack in type 1 diabetes. The study, published September 15 in the *Journal of Clinical Investigation*, used donated human pancreatic tissue and nearby lymph node samples to examine immune-cell activity with single-cell gene sequencing. The team found T cells that appear able to renew themselves and continue supplying the immune cells that attack insulin-producing beta cells.

The finding matters because one of the unresolved questions in type 1 diabetes is why the immune attack can persist for years or even decades instead of fading after the initial wave of damage. Todd Brusko, director of the University of Florida Diabetes Institute and senior author of the study, said these persistent cells may keep driving autoimmunity over long periods. Lead author Leeana Peters and colleagues relied on tissue from the Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes, a major resource for studying the disease directly in pancreatic tissue rather than only through blood samples.

This is not a new treatment and does not change current care: people with type 1 diabetes still need insulin, and no approved therapy reverses the disease. But the work points toward possible future drug targets, including therapeutic antibodies aimed at markers on these self-renewing immune cells. If researchers can eventually interrupt the source that replenishes attacking T cells, it could support strategies to preserve remaining beta cells, especially when type 1 diabetes is detected early through autoantibody screening.