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Identification of the 64K autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes as the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase

Nature volume 347, pages 151–156 (1990)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 25 October 1990

Abstract

The pancreatic islet β-cell autoantigen of relative molecular mass 64,000 (64K), which is a major target of autoantibodies associated with the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mel-litus (IDDM) has been identified as glutamic acid decarboxylase, the biosynthesizing enzyme of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid). Pancreatic β cells and a subpopulation of central nervous system neurons express high levels of this enzyme. Autoantibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase with a higher titre and increased epitope recognition compared with those usually associated with IDDM are found in stiff-man syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by a high coincidence with IDDM.

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Author notes

  1. Franco Folli

    Present address: Department of Medicine, Istituto Scientifico S. Raffaele, Milano, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Microbiology/Immunology, Medicine, and Hormone Research Institute, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, 94143, USA

    Steinunn Baekkeskov, Henk-Jan Aanstoot, Stephan Christgai & Marilia Cascalho

  2. Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, USA

    Annette Reetz, Michele Solimena, Franco Folli & Pietro-De Camilli

  3. Hagedorn Research Laboratory, DK2820, Gentofte, Denmark

    Hanne Richter-Olesen

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  3. Stephan Christgai
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Baekkeskov, S., Aanstoot, HJ., Christgai, S. et al. Identification of the 64K autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes as the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase. Nature 347, 151–156 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/347151a0

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