title: Transthyretin (prealbumin) in the pancreas and sera of newly diagnosed type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients.
abstract: We investigated transthyretin (TTR) in the pancreases and sera of 10 newly diagnosed type I diabetic patients by immunohistochemistry and nephelometry. In the type I diabetic pancreases, glucagon-positive A-cells showed strong immunoreactivity for TTR, the intensity and distribution pattern of which corresponded to those in normal subjects. Morphometric analysis revealed that the amount of strongly TTR-positive A-cells was not significantly different from that in normal subjects. On the contrary, insulin-positive B-cells, which normally show uneven and weak TTR immunoreactivity, decreased in number, and only a few residual B-cells showed faint immunoreactivity. Neither somatostatin cells nor pancreatic polypeptide cells were positive for TTR. The serum TTR concentration showed a significant decrease in type I diabetic patients compared with that in normal subjects (P less than 0.005). These data suggest that the synthesis or storage of TTR in A-cells is not affected, but that in B-cells is impaired in type I diabetes. The decrease in serum TTR might be one of the features of metabolic disorders in type I diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hanafusa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miyagawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawata
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tarui
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D001706:Biopsy; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000032:analysis; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011228:Prealbumin / Q000032:analysis*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D011228:Prealbumin; C024211:islet cell antibody