The Extra-Islet Pancreas Supports Autoimmunity in Human Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

AbstractIn autoimmune Type 1 diabetes (T1D), immune cells progressively infiltrate and destroy the islets of Langerhans – islands of endocrine tissue dispersed throughout the pancreas. However, it is unclear how this process, called ‘insulitis’, develops and progresses within this organ. Here, using highly multiplexed CO-Detection by indEXing (CODEX) tissue imaging and cadaveric pancreas samples from pre-T1D, T1D, and non-T1D donors, we examine pseudotemporal-spatial patterns of insulitis and exocrine inflammation within large pancreatic tissue sections. We identify four sub-states of insulitis characterized by CD8+T cells at different stages of activation. We further find that exocrine compartments of pancreatic lobules affected by insulitis have distinct cellularity, suggesting that extra-islet factors may make particular lobules permissive to disease. Finally, we identify “staging areas” – immature tertiary lymphoid structures away from islets where CD8+T cells appear to assemble before they navigate to islets. Together, these data implicate the extra-islet pancreas in autoimmune insulitis, greatly expanding the boundaries of T1D pathogenesis.