2. Academic Validation
  3. Pharmacological inhibition of tyrosine protein-kinase 2 reduces islet inflammation and delays type 1 diabetes onset in mice

Pharmacological inhibition of tyrosine protein-kinase 2 reduces islet inflammation and delays type 1 diabetes onset in mice

  • bioRxiv. 2024 May 9:2024.03.20.585925. doi: 10.1101/2024.03.20.585925.
Farooq Syed 1 2 3,  Olivia Ballew 4,  Chih-Chun Lee 1 2 3,  Jyoti Rana 1 3,  Preethi Krishnan 1 2,  Angela Castela 5,  Staci A Weaver 1 6,  Namratha Shivani Chalasani 1,  Sofia F Thomaidou 7,  Stephane Demine 4,  Garrick Chang 8,  Alexandra Coomans de Brachène 5,  Maria Ines Alvelos 5,  Lorella Marselli 9,  Kara Orr 1 2 3,  Jamie L Felton 1 2 3,  Jing Liu 10,  Piero Marchetti 11,  Arnaud Zaldumbide 7,  Donalyn Scheuner 4,  Decio L Eizirik 5,  Carmella Evans-Molina 1 2 3 12 6 13
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
  • 2 Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
  • 3 Department of Pediatrics and the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
  • 4 Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
  • 5 ULB Center for Diabetes Research, Medical Faculty, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
  • 6 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
  • 7 Department of Cell and Chemical Biology, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands.
  • 8 Department of Physics, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
  • 9 Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
  • 10 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
  • 11 Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
  • 12 Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
  • 13 Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
PMID: 38766166 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.20.585925
Abstract

Tyrosine protein-kinase 2 (Tyk2), a member of the Janus kinase family, mediates inflammatory signaling through multiple cytokines, including interferon-α (IFNα), interleukin (IL)-12, and IL-23. Missense mutations in Tyk2 are associated with protection against type 1 diabetes (T1D), and inhibition of Tyk2 shows promise in the management of Other autoimmune conditions. Here, we evaluated the effects of specific Tyk2 inhibitors (TYK2is) in pre-clinical models of T1D. First, human β cells, cadaveric donor islets, and iPSC-derived islets were treated in vitro with IFNα in combination with a small molecule TYK2i (BMS-986165 or a related molecule BMS-986202). Tyk2 inhibition prevented IFNα-induced β cell HLA class I up-regulation, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and chemokine production. In co-culture studies, pre-treatment of β cells with a TYK2i prevented IFNα-induced activation of T cells targeting an epitope of Insulin. In vivo administration of BMS-986202 in two mouse models of T1D (RIP-LCMV-GP mice and NOD mice) reduced systemic and tissue-localized inflammation, prevented β cell death, and delayed T1D onset. Transcriptional phenotyping of pancreatic islets, pancreatic lymph nodes (PLN), and spleen during early disease pathogenesis highlighted a role for Tyk2 inhibition in modulating signaling pathways associated with inflammation, translational control, stress signaling, secretory function, immunity, and diabetes. Additionally, TYK2i treatment changed the composition of innate and adaptive immune cell populations in the blood and disease target tissues, resulting in an immune phenotype with a diminished capacity for β cell destruction. Overall, these findings indicate that TYK2i has beneficial effects in both the immune and endocrine compartments in models of T1D, thus supporting a path forward for testing Tyk2 inhibitors in human T1D.

Keywords

T cell; Type 1 diabetes; interferon-α; islets of Langerhans; tyrosine protein-kinase 2 (TYK2); β cell.

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