Transcriptional Regulation of Nos2 via STAT5B Binding to Nos2 Gene Promoter Mediates Nitric Oxide Production: Relevance in β-Cell Maintenance.

Background/aims: Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) involves autoimmune attack due to reduced regulatory T cells as an effect of mutant Stat5b(C1462A) in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, a T1D model resulting in pancreatic β-cell destruction. Although reactive oxygen species are considered to orchestrate the immune attack, the role of nitric oxide (·NO) still remains debatable. Since JAK-STAT pathway is known to induce Nos2, we investigated the role of STAT5B in nitric oxide generation and oxidative stress.