Abnormal peripheral blood dendritic cell populations in type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a T cell-mediated disease. Various DC populations play important roles in initiating and directing T cell responses and thus may be critical for T1D pathogenesis. We thus examined peripheral blood DC1 and DC2 populations by flow cytometry in healthy controls, subjects at risk for T1D, new-onset patients, and established T1D patients.