Resistance to Streptozotocin-Induced Autoimmune Diabetes in Absence of Complement C3: Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Play a Role

The contribution of complement to the development of autoimmune diabetes has been proposed recently. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), which act as regulators in autoimmunity, play a role in resistance to diabetes in absence of complement C3. Indeed, MDSC number was increased significantly in STZ-treated C3−/− mice. These cells highly expressed arginase I and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Importantly, depletion of MDSC led to the occurrence of overt diabetes in C3−/− mice after STZ. Furthermore, C3−/− MDSC actively suppressed diabetogenic T cell proliferation and prevented/delayed the development of diabetes in arginase and/or iNOS-dependent manner. Both Tregs and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) are crucial for MDSC induction in STZ-treated C3−/− mice as depletion of Tregs or blocking TGF-β bioactivity dramatically decreased MDSC number. These findings indicate that MDSC are implicated in resistance to STZ-induced diabetes in the absence of complement C3, which may be helpful for understanding of mechanisms underlying preventive effects of complement deficiency on autoimmune diseases.