Fulminant type 1 diabetes (FT1D) is an extremely aggressive disease characterized by the abrupt onset of insulin-deficient hyperglycemia. However, the precise mechanisms underlying disease etiology almost remain unclear. As mice deficient in regulatory T cells (Tregs) are prone to the development of an FT1D-like phenotype, we thus investigated whether FT1D patients manifest Treg deficiency and explored the related mechanisms. We first noted a significant reduction for Foxp3 and CTLA4 expression levels in PBMCs of FT1D patients. IRF-7 was found to selectively bind to the Foxp3 promoter, and by which it promotes Foxp3 transcription. Therefore, ectopic IRF-7 expression significantly promoted Foxp3 and CTLA4 expression in PBMCs, while knockdown of IRF-7 manifested opposite effect. Importantly, stimulation of PBMCs with CpG ODN, a ligand for TLR9, significantly induced Foxp3 expression, demonstrating that TLR9 signaling positively regulates Treg development. However, knockdown of IRF-7 expression almost completely diminished the enhancing effect of TLR9 signaling on Foxp3 expression, suggesting that IRF-7 is a downstream molecule of TLR9 signaling and is essential for TLR9 induced Treg generation. Of interestingly note, the Foxp3 promoter in FT1D patients was hypermethylated, indicating that DNA methylation could be a causative factor responsible for the reduced Foxp3 expression in FT1D patients. Indeed, our mechanistic studies revealed that DNA methylation blocked IRF-7 binding to the Foxp3 promoter. Together, our data support the notion that environmental insults in genetic predisposed subjects trigger Foxp3 promoter hypermethylation, which then prevents IRF-7 binding to the Foxp3 promoter and impairs Treg development/functionality contributing to the pathogenesis of FT1D.
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