Adaptive Immunity and Pathogenesis of Diabetes: Insights Provided by the α4-Integrin Deficient NOD Mouse.

Background: The spontaneously diabetic "non-obese diabetic" (NOD) mouse is a faithful model of human type-1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: Given the pivotal role of α4 integrin (CD49d) in other autoimmune diseases, we generated NOD mice with α4-deficient hematopoiesis (NOD.α4-/-) to study the role of α4 integrin in T1D.