Impact of Lymphocyte Apoptosis in Diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder. It is the most common cause of blindness, kidney failure, and amputations in adults and a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. These patients are more prone to infection which shows that there is suppressed cell mediated immunity during diabetes progression. Lymphocytes play a crucial role in  maintenance of cellular & humoral immunity both and its development requires cellular selection to remove potentially auto reactive cells via apoptosis. Apoptosis of lymphocyte clones play a pivotal role in purging the body of dangerous lymphocytes to maintain the development and regulation of the immune system. Indeed, inefficient elimination of lymphocytes can contribute in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases like insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Several clinical and experimental studies have revealed that uncontrolled diabetes leads to lymphocyte death which enhances susceptibility towards infections and creates a permissive environment for bacterial growth. The aim of this article is to review the findings that the high incidence of infection in poorly  controlled diabetic states may be positively correlated with an increased proportion of apoptotic lymphocytes. Keywords: Lymphocyte; Infection; Programmed cell death; Autoantigens; Immunity   DOI: 10.3126/ajms.v2i1.3516 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2 (2011) 1-6