Could bovine serum albumin be the initiating antigen ultimately responsible for the development of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus?
Western blotting of either a cloned rat beta-islet tumour cell extract or isolated BB rat islets with rat anti-bovine serum albumin antiserum revealed a cross-reacting protein (Mr = 69,000). A protein of similar molecular size was observed by fluorography in proteins immunoprecipitated from islet cells labelled with (35S)-methionine using anti-bovine serum albumin antiserum. In comparing the primary structure of the beta subunits of the proteins Ia, DQ and DR a region of homology with bovine serum albumin became evident. Analysis of the amino-acid homology in relation to the DR/DQ allotypes found in the human population gave a strong correlation between the combined DR and DQ homology score with bovine serum albumin and the incidence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.
Glerum
M
M
Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Robinson
B H
BH
Martin
J M
JM
D007516:Adenoma, Islet Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens; D002417:Cattle; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D011913:Rats, Inbred BB; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000235:genetics*; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000276:immunology
D000941:Antigens; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D012709:Serum Albumin; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine