Published in:
01-08-2009 | Research Letter
Islet-associated macrophages in type 2 diabetes
Authors:
S. J. Richardson, A. Willcox, A. J. Bone, A. K. Foulis, N. G. Morgan
Published in:
Diabetologia
|
Issue 8/2009
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Excerpt
To the Editor: Recently evidence has emerged that supports a role for islet inflammation in the development of type 2 diabetes in man, suggesting that there may be certain common features underlying the pathology of beta cell loss in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In particular, data have recently been presented revealing an increased number of macrophages infiltrating the islets of nine type 2 diabetic patients, as well as in several animal models of type 2 diabetes (including high-fat-fed C57BL6/6J mice, GK rats and the
db/db mouse) when compared with relevant controls [
1]. Those authors argued that this evidence implies that macrophage infiltration could be involved in mediating beta cell dysfunction and loss in type 2 diabetes. In view of these conclusions, we considered it important to verify whether increased macrophage infiltration is also observed in a different and larger cohort of human patients with type 2 diabetes and to assess the magnitude of this response. …