Autoimmune cardiomyopathy and heart block develop spontaneously in HLA-DQ8 transgenic IAβ knockout NOD mice

A line of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice expressing the human diabetes-associated HLA-DQ8 transgene in the absence of mouse IA β failed to show spontaneous insulitis or diabetes, but rather developed dilated cardiomyopathy, leading to early death from heart failure. Pathology in these animals resul…