Effects of exosomes from T lymphocytes of NOD mice on pancreatic islet-cell gene expression

During Type 1 diabetes development, T lymphocytes infiltrate pancreatic islets and induce the destruction of the insulin-producing cells within the islets, the beta-cells. T lymphocytes are known to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines but also exosomes that could contribute to the mechanisms leading to beta-cell death. In this project, we wanted to investigate the effect of exosomes released from T lymphocytes on beta-cell gene expression. Dispersed C57Bl/6N mouse islet cells were incubated for 72h in the absence (Ctl) or presence of 50 µg/ml of exosomes isolated from the culture media of CD4+CD25- T lymphocytes of NOD mice (exoNOD), prior to RNA extraction and gene expression profiling. Three independent experiments were performed, using different islet and exosome preparations.