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Tacrolimus, but not Cyclosporine A, significantly increases expression of ICAM‐1 and IFN‐γ in the NOD mouse
Author(s) -
Papaccio Gianpaolo,
V.G. Latronico Michael,
Graziano Antonio,
Lanza Alessandro,
Pedullà Marcella
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of cellular biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 165
eISSN - 1097-4644
pISSN - 0730-2312
DOI - 10.1002/jcb.1092
Subject(s) - nod mice , islet , icam 1 , nod , insulitis , tacrolimus , biology , endocrinology , immunosurveillance , immunology , cell adhesion molecule , immune system , medicine , diabetes mellitus , transplantation
We studied the alterations of cytokines and ICAM‐1 expression in the NOD mouse pancreas produced by the administration of Cyclosporine A (CY) and Tacrolimus (TA), two widely used immunosuppressive drugs. Results evidenced differences in the effects of these two drugs. In fact, during treatment and after withdrawal, CY‐treated animals remained euglycemic, showed good islet cell preservation and had low levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines; ICAM‐1 positivity within the islets was also found to be relatively low. On the other hand, TA‐treated animals had infiltrated islets containing numerous dendritic cells, adhesion molecule overexpression, increased IFN‐γ and ICAM‐1 mRNA transcripts, and interestingly, high levels of circulating ICAM‐1. However, even these animals remained euglycemic. These findings lead to the thought that these drugs may exert their effects in very different ways. Moreover, in TA‐treated animals, the presence of an islet infiltrate containing numerous dendritic cells coupled with maintenance of euglycemia is suggestive for the involvement of immunosurveillance mechanisms. J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl. 36: 107–116, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.