Prevention of diabetes mellitus in BB rats by neonatal stimulation of β cells.

Abstract Antigen expression in type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes may depend on the functional state of β cells. At birth, β cells are immature, produce only a basal amount of insulin, and are unresponsive to glucose—but are sensitive to glucagon and arginine. β cells of spontaneously diabetic BB rats were stimulated for the first 6 days after birth by glucose with glucagon or arginine to accelerate β cell maturation, and possibly to induce antigen expression and tolerance. Over the first 200 days of life, only 23% of glucose and glucagon-treated BB rats, and 20% of glucose and arginine-treated BB rats developed diabetes, compared with 65% of untreated controls. This finding may explain the observation that children of mothers who have type 1 diabetes are three times less likely to develop the disease than children of fathers with type 1 diabetes. Earlier maturation of β cells during the diabetic pregnancy may protect against diabetes in later life.