Scientists Find Way to Delay Type 1 Diabetes Onset

When Thomas Delong was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12, he made it his life's mission to understand what causes the disease and how to stop it. Two decades later, the CU Anschutz researcher has discovered not just what triggers the autoimmune attack, but how to potentially outsmart it.

Delong's team identified the culprit in 2016: hybrid insulin peptides, or HIPs. Unlike normal proteins that the immune system recognizes as safe, these hybrid molecules combine fragments from different proteins, creating sequences the body doesn't recognize.

"The immune system sees it as foreign and starts attacking," Delong explained. The rogue molecules trick T cells into destroying the pancreas's insulin-producing beta cells, eliminating the body's ability to regulate blood sugar.

Finding these specific troublemakers wasn't easy. The human genome contains trillions of possible protein combinations, making the search "like looking for a needle in a haystack." But Delong persisted, working with a team of researchers at one of the world's largest diabetes centers.

The breakthrough came from collaboration. Delong built on years of groundwork from the lab of T-cell pioneer Kathryn Haskins, who first identified the T cells that trigger diabetes in mice back in the 1980s.

After confirming HIPs caused diabetes in animal models, Delong's team proved the finding in humans. Working with doctors at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, they found elevated levels of HIP-reactive T cells in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Researcher Maki Nakayama even isolated these cells from the pancreatic tissue of organ donors with the disease.

"We basically caught these HIPs at the crime scene," Delong said.

Why This Inspires

The discovery isn't just academic. Understanding what triggers the autoimmune attack opens the door to stopping it before it starts. For the 9.5 million people worldwide living with type 1 diabetes, and the many more at risk, this research represents real hope for future therapies.

The work also showcases how personal experience can fuel scientific breakthroughs. Delong's childhood diagnosis didn't just give him a research topic. It gave him the determination to spend years searching through trillions of molecular combinations until he found the answer.

Colorado families already benefit from this research through free screening programs that catch the disease early, before life-threatening complications develop. As Delong's team continues translating their discoveries into treatments, that early detection could one day pair with therapies that stop diabetes before it starts.