Identification of Unique Antigenic Determinants in the Amino Terminus of IA-2 (ICA512) in Childhood and Adult Autoimmune Diabetes: New Biomarker Development

Diabetes Care. 2017 Apr;40(4):561-568. doi: 10.2337/dc16-1527. Epub 2017 Feb 7.

Abstract

Objective: The characterization of diverse subtypes of diabetes is a dynamic field of clinical research and an active area of discussion. The objective of this study was to identify new antigenic determinants in the neuroendocrine autoantigen IA-2 (ICA512) and assess whether circulating autoantibodies directed to new IA-2 epitopes identify autoimmune diabetes in young and adult populations with diabetes.

Research design and methods: Clinically diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 258; diabetes duration: 0.01-31 years) were evaluated using a new biomarker detecting autoantibodies directed to the extracellular domain of the neuroendocrine autoantigen IA-2 (IA-2ec). The proportion of IA-2ec autoantibodies was also evaluated in newly diagnosed patients with type 1 diabetes (n = 150; diabetes duration: 0.04-0.49 years). In addition, IA-2 (intracellular domain), GAD65, and zinc transporter 8 autoantibodies were assayed.

Results: IA-2ec autoantibodies were detected in patients with type 1 diabetes and, surprisingly, in 5% of patients with type 2 diabetes without serologic responses to other IA-2 antigenic epitopes or other islet autoantigens. We also assessed the ability of IA-2ec-derived peptides to elicit CD4+ T-cell responses by stimulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with type 1 diabetes (n = 18) and HLA-matched healthy subjects (n = 13) with peptides and staining with the peptide/DQ8-specific tetramers, observing disease-associated responses to previously unreported epitopes within IA-2ec.

Conclusions: We developed a new antibody biomarker identifying novel antigenic determinants within the N terminus of IA-2. IA-2ec autoantibodies can be detected in patients with type 1 diabetes and in a subgroup of adult autoimmune patients with type 2 diabetes phenotype negative for conventional islet autoantibody testing. These observations suggest that islet autoimmunity may be more common in clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes than previously observed.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Autoantibodies / immunology
  • Autoantigens / immunology
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / immunology*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / immunology
  • Epitopes / immunology*
  • Female
  • Glutamate Decarboxylase / immunology
  • Humans
  • Leukocytes, Mononuclear / immunology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Receptor-Like Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Class 8 / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Autoantibodies
  • Autoantigens
  • Biomarkers
  • Epitopes
  • PTPRN protein, human
  • Receptor-Like Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Class 8
  • Glutamate Decarboxylase