Evaluating the potential of the GFAP‐KLH immune‐tolerizing vaccine for type 1 diabetes in mice

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), expressed in peri‐islet Schwann cells, is a novel target for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We designed a GFAP immune‐tolerizing vaccine that successfully suppresses hyperglycemia and enhances C peptide secretion. The GFAP vaccine significantly prevented T cell infiltration into pancreatic islets. Moreover, after GFAP vaccination, naïve T‐cell differentiation shifted from a cytotoxic Th1‐ to a Th2‐biased humoral response. These results indicate that as a novel target, GFAP reliably predicts the development of T1DM, and that the GFAP vaccine successfully delays the progression of T1DM by regulating T‐cell differentiation.