title: Occurrence of islet cell reactive autoantibodies in diabetes-prone BB/OK rats is not associated with the onset of diabetes: a cross-sectional study of BB rats and their diabetes-resistant congenic strains.
abstract: Diabetes-prone BB rats are one of the extensively studied animal models of human type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. We have detected islet cell reactive autoantibodies (ICRA) in sera of age-matched (120 days of age) diabetic and non-diabetic diabetes-prone BB/OK rats compared to sex- and age-matched diabetes-resistant LEW.1A control rats by cellular enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CELISA) using either desiccated or viable rat insulinoma (RIN) cells as target. The antibody levels measured using desiccated RIN cells (mean O.D. +/- SD; prevalence) of the diabetic group (1.41 +/- 0.59; 94.1%) and the non-diabetic group (1.23 +/- 0.48; 100%) were significantly (p < 0.01) increased compared to those of the diabetes-resistant LEW.1A control rats (0.24 +/- 0.1; 3.2%). Additionally, in a 209-day-old group of non-diabetic diabetes-prone BB/OK rats the autoantibody levels were further significantly (p < 0.01) increased (2.65 +/- 0.48; 100%). Comparing both congenic rat strains BB.1A/OK and LEW.1BB/OK, only the BB.1A/OK rats which bears the genetic background of diabetes-prone BB/OK rats were found to be antibody positive (0.68 +/- 0.43; 63.1%). The results were confirmed by the CELISA using viable RIN cells. We conclude that the prevalence of islet cell autoantibodies in diabetes-prone BB/OK rats and congenic BB.1A/OK rats is closely associated with the genetic susceptibility to diabetes and may be independent of Beta-cell destruction, but they are not a predictive marker for the onset of the disease in this animal model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunochemistry, Institute of Diabetes Gerhardt Katsch, Karlsburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlosser
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Augstein
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Klöting
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziegler
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007340:Insulinoma; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000276:immunology; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms; D051381:Rats; D011913:Rats, Inbred BB; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; C024211:islet cell antibody