The type 1 diabetes (T1D) research community has continued to reflect on the overlapping biology of cancer immunity and other autoimmune disorders. To better explore synergistic approaches of these findings, JDRF hosted its first major workshop in North America on the topic of Common Mechanisms of Autoimmunity, in San Francisco in June, 2018. The workshop was titled “Revisiting Autoimmunity: Can we use Novel Trials and Technologies to Gain New Insights?” and convened a group of experts from the autoimmune disorder and immune-oncology communities, including scientific expertise from academia, disease-specific foundations and industry, as well as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The group was tasked to discuss advancements in cancer and autoimmune disease immune therapy, with inclusion of compelling technological advances, which could lead to common opportunities to better understand key processes governing autoimmunity and to develop novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of T1D and other autoimmune disorders.

Autoimmune disorders happen when the body’s own immune cells attack your own healthy cells. There are several different autoimmune diseases, including (but not limited to):

• Celiac and Crohn’s disease
• Lupus
• Psoriasis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Thyroiditis
• Type 1 diabetes

Participants praised JDRF for facilitating a meeting that brought together a high caliber of experts with complementary interests to engage in open dialogue and to think outside the box. The setting allowed the group to talk about agreeable and controversial topics – while identifying common and compelling avenues to move forward. The meeting was a great launching pad for further conversations amongst groups that have typically not interacted in an integrated fashion in the past. Importantly, it was clear that the autoimmune features of some of the side effects of checkpoint immune therapy in cancer trials have captured the attention of multiple groups across both fields. JDRF intends to facilitate continuation of these discussions towards developing one or more high impact cross-functional projects, hopefully in partnership with other stakeholders, including existing and hopefully new funding partners.

The participants of this workshop acknowledged that given the complexity of these diseases, no one entity alone can solve the problem of treating autoimmune disorders, but that together, scientific communities make much faster progress.

With a gift of $2 million, the Ladish Company Foundation helped launch the JDRF Collaborative Autoimmune Research Project, an initiative that puts JDRF at the center of an effort to uncover common and distinct mechanisms among autoimmune diseases and establish immune interventions for T1D and other diseases. Thank you to the Ladish Foundation for its generous support.

It should be noted that the topic of common mechanisms of autoimmunity has been close to JDRF for several years and previous workshops with similar themes have been held overseas by JDRF affiliates and partners.

Immune therapy is one of JDRF’s seven research programs, and it aims to alter the course of T1D through the development of immune therapies that induce, restore and maintain immune tolerance. In this way, we aim to prevent or stop the immune attack of pancreatic beta cells so that they may survive and function properly. It is JDRF’s hope that immune therapies, when working alone or with other technologies, will be a fundamental approach to the treatment of T1D, ultimately achieving a cure for this disease in the future.

Learn more about JDRF’s research here.