Autoantigen-Specific Immunotherapies for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is driven by an immunologically complex, diverse, and self-sustaining immune response directed against tissue autoantigens, leading to loss or dysfunction of β cells. To date, the single approved immune intervention in T1D is based on a strategy that is similar to that used in other related autoimmune diseases, namely, the attenuation of immune cell activation. As a next-generation approach that is more focused on underlying mechanisms of loss of tolerance, antigen-specific immunotherapy is designed to establish or restore bystander immunoregulation in a highly tissue- and target-specific fashion. Here, we describe the basis for this alternative approach, which could also have potential for complementarity if used in combination with more conventional immune modulators, and highlight recent advances, knowledge gaps, and next steps in clinical development.