Potential mechanism for BCG vaccine reversal of type 1 diabetes

Data presented at American Diabetes Association meeting describes increase in immune cells that control autoimmunity Interim results from a FDA-approved clinical trial testing the generic vaccine bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to reverse advanced type 1 diabetes are being presented at the 75th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association. The data demonstrate a potential new mechanism by which the BCG vaccine may restore the proper immune response to the insulin-secreting islet cells of the pancreas. Presented by Denise Faustman, MD, PhD, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Immunobiology Laboratory and principal investigator of the trial, the findings suggest that BCG may induce a permanent increase in expression of genes that restore the beneficial regulatory T cells (Tregs) that prevent the immune system from attacking the body’s own tissue. “Many groups are looking at the ability of BCG vaccination to reverse autoimmunity,” says Faustman, who is an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School....