Type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathophysiology, while incompletely understood, has in part been attributed to aberrant presentation of self-antigen plus proinflammatory co-stimulation by professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Therapies targeting dendritic cells (DCs) offer an avenue to restore antigen-specific tolerance by promoting presentation of self-antigen in an antiinflammatory or suppressive context. Here, we describe a subcutaneously administered, dual-sized biodegradable microparticle (MP) platform that includes phagocytosable (~1 μm) and nonphagocytosable (~30 μm) MPs to deliver pro-tolerogenic factors both intra-and extracellularly, as well as the T1D-associated autoantigen, insulin, to DCs for amelioration of autoimmunity. This MP platform resulted in increased recruitment of DCs, suppressive skewing of DC phenotype with diminished expression of CD86 and MHC-II, increased regulatory T cell (Treg) frequency, and upregulated expression of the checkpoint inhibitor programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) on T cells. When administered concomitantly with anti-CD3 antibody, which provides transient T cell depletion while preserving Treg populations, in 12-week-old non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, regulatory immune populations persisted out to 20 weeks of age; however, combination anti-CD3 + dual sized MP (dMP) therapy failed to synergistically inhibit diabetes onset.

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Pancreatic beta cells maintain glucose homeostasis by secreting pulses of insulin in response to a rise in glucose. Pulsatile secretion occurs due to glucose-induced oscillations in beta-cell cytosolic Ca2+. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) helps regulate beta-cell cytosolic Ca2+, and ER stress can lead to ER Ca2+ depletion, beta-cell dysfunction and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. To determine the effects of tunicamycin-induced ER stress on ER inositol 1,4,5- triphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and their involvement in subsequent Ca2+ dysregulation, INS-1 832/13 cells and primary mouse islets were treated with tunicamycin. This increased RyR1 mRNA and potentiated RyR-mediated Ca2+ signaling without affecting RyR2 mRNA. TM treatment also enhanced IP3R function, while it decreased IP3R1 and IP3R3 mRNA. Stress reduced ER Ca2+, triggered oscillations in cytosolic Ca2+ under subthreshold glucose conditions, and increased apoptosis; these changes were prevented by cotreatment with the RyR1 inhibitor dantrolene. In contrast, inhibiting IP3Rs with xestospongin-C failed to suppress the cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations due to tunicamycin treatment and did not protect beta cells from tunicamycin-induced apoptosis, although xestospongin-C inclusion prevented ER Ca2+ depletion. Taken together, changes in RyR1 function were shown to play a critical role in ER stress induced Ca2+ dysfunction and beta-cell apoptosis.

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