title: Circulating IgG antibody to protamine in patients treated with protamine-insulins.
abstract: Sera from patients with different types of protamine-insulin were assayed for IgG antibody to protamine. A high prevalence of circulating antibody was found in patients treated with either bovine isophane insulin (26 out of 28 patients; 26 of whom also had antibodies to insulin), or bovine protamine zinc insulin (27 out of 30 patients; all 30 had antibodies to insulin). In sera from 24 patients treated with highly purified porcine isophane insulin, protamine antibody was detected in nine; circulating insulin-antibody was detected in 12 patients, eight of whom had protamine-antibody; in the 12 patients with no detectable antibody to insulin, antibody to protamine was detected in only one (x2 = 8.7, p less than 0.01). This relationship between insulin and protamine antigenicity is of interest as it suggests that the protamine-insulin complex is itself immunogenic.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis*; D007328:Insulin / Q000276:immunology; D007330:Insulin Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D007336:Insulin, Isophane / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049528:Insulin, Long-Acting / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D011479:Protamines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007328:Insulin; D007330:Insulin Antibodies; D049528:Insulin, Long-Acting; D011479:Protamines; D007336:Insulin, Isophane