Failure to replicate the diabetes alleviating effect of a maternal gluten-free diet in non-obese diabetic mice

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease with an unexplained rising incidence for which environmental factors like gluten may play a role. Previously, we showed that a gluten-free (GF) diet provided strictly in utero reduces the autoimmune diabetes incidence in Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD) mice compared to a gluten-containing standard (STD) diet. The current study was initiated to elucidate possible mechanisms behind the diabetes-alleviating effect of the same diet intervention. NOD mice received either a GF Altromin diet or a STD Altromin diet during pregnancy. Female offspring from both groups were fed a STD diet throughout life and their diabetes incidence was recorded for 200 days. The following parameters were measured in 13-week-old female offspring: insulitis degree, glucose and insulin tolerance, and plasma insulin autoantibody titer. The diet intervention showed no reduction in autoimmune diabetes incidence, insulitis degree, glucose nor insulin tolerance and plasma insulin autoantibody titer. In conclusion, this study could not replicate the previously observed diabetes alleviative effects of a maternal gluten-free diet in NOD mouse offspring and could therefore not further elucidate potential mechanisms.