A Mouse Model for Type 1 Diabetes, the NOD Mouse

A mouse model for type 1 diabetes, the NOD mouse, has a well-described sex bias in the incidence and rate of diabetes onset. Female NOD mice are about twofold more likely to become diabetic, and do so on average about six-weeks earlier than male NOD mice. Recent studies have shown that a large component of this sex bias is due to differences in the intestinal microbiota between male and female NOD mice. In fact, colonization of young female NOD mice with male microbiota reduced the incidence and time to onset of diabetes in the transplanted mice, resulting in a disease course resembling that of the typical male NOD mice. These data indicate that:

A) Male mice are genetically resistant to type 1 diabetes.
B) Sex-based differences in microbiota have a substantial impact on immune system regulation.
C) Differences in microbiota between male and female mice affect the regulation of pancreatic insulin-producing cells.
D) Environmental factors are more important than genetic factors in determining which individuals acquire an autoimmune disease.
E) Antibiotic treatment to eliminate intestinal microbiota would be a useful treatment for most autoimmune diseases.