Value of ICA512 antibodies for prediction and diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

ICA512 was isolated from an islet cDNA expression library and was identified as transmembrane protein closely related to the T-cell tyrosine phosphatase CD45. In order to determine the frequency of antibodies (ab) to ICA512, we tested sera of 124 newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic patients (IDDM) and 30 patients with long standing IDDM, 44 non-diabetic first degree relatives (FDR) with positive ICA or IAA, and 76 healthy control subjects using an ELISA. The mean +/- SD that we obtained in our control population was 4.1 +/- 3.9 U and a cut-off of 16 U was defined as normal range (mean + 3 SD). Of newly diagnosed diabetic patients and patients with long standing IDDM, 32% and 23% respectively had positive ICA512-ab with a mean of 22 +/- 33 U (vs controls p < 0.001) and 14 +/- 14 U (p < 0.01). Of antibody-positive first degree relatives, 36% were found to have elevated ICA512-ab with a mean of 24 +/- 41 U (p < 0.01). In relatives with multiple follow-up samples, ICA512-ab were found to be constantly positive or negative in 86% of cases, whereas fluctuation of ICA512-ab positivity occurred in five relatives in which three developed positive ICA512-ab and two lost ICA512-ab positivity during follow-up. Of ICA512-ab + relatives, 76% progressed to clinical type 1 diabetes within 5 years of follow-up, whereas only 24% developed diabetes in the ICA512-ab negative group (p < 0.01). ICA512-ab were more frequent in newly diagnosed diabetic children below age 15 years (p < 0.02) and in patients with positive ICA (p < 0.001) or positive IAA (p < 0.02). There was, in contrast, no correlation of ICA512-ab with GADA. One patient with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes exclusively exhibited ICA512-ab. In conclusion, these results suggest that ICA512-ab are related to autoimmune type 1 diabetes and useful as an additional screening marker for the prediction of type 1 diabetes.

Homogeneous substrate-labeled fluorescent immunoassay for disopyramide in human serum: semi- and fully automated procedures.

In this immunoassay for disopyramide in serum, to form the label, disopyramide is covalently attached to a fluorogenic enzyme substrate, 7-beta-galactosylcoumarin-3-carboxylic acid, which is nonfluorescent under the conditions of the assay. Hydrolysis, catalyzed by beta-galactosidase, yields a fluorescent product. As a result of competitive protein binding reactions between drug and label for limited antibody binding sites, this fluorescence is proportional to disopyramide concentration. The assay is sensitive to less than 0.5 mg of disopyramide per liter. Results obtained with either the semi-automated procedure (Ames TDA) or the fully automated (Optimate) procedure correlated well with those obtained by liquid chromatography (r = 0.98 and 0.99). For commercial controls containing various concentrations of the drug, the respective coefficients of correlation were 1.00 and 0.99 for the TDA and Optimate procedures. Within-run CVs for the two procedures were less than or equal to 5.1%, overall CVs less than or equal to 6.5%.

Glutamine phosphoribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase from Escherichia coli. Purification and properties.

Glutamine 5-phosphoribosylamine:pyrophosphate phosphoribosyltransferase (amidophosphoribosyl-transferase) has been purified to homogeneity from Escherichia coli. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was 194,000 by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation and 224,000 by gel filtration. A subunit Mr = 57,000 was estimated by gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Cross-linking experiments gave species of Mr = 57,000, 117,000, and 177,000. A trimer or tetramer of identical subunits is indicated for the native enzyme. Highly active E. coli amidophosphoribosyl-transferase lacks significant nonheme iron. Enzyme activity was not enhanced by addition of iron salts and sulfide. Amidophosphoribosyltransferase exhibited both NH3- and glutamine-dependent activities. Glutaminase activity was detected in the absence of other substrates. Both glutamine- and NH3-dependent activities were subject to end product inhibition by purine 5'-ribonucleotides. AMP and GMP, in combination, gave synergistic inhibition. AMP and GMP exhibited positive cooperativity. In addition, GMP promoted cooperativity for saturation by 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate. Glutamine utilization was inhibited by NH3, suggesting that the amide of glutamine is transferred to the NH3 site prior to amination of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate. The glutamine-dependent activity was selectively inactivated by the glutamine analogs L-2-amino-4-oxo-5-chloropentanoic acid and 6-diazo-5-oxo L-norleucine (DON) and by iodoacetamide. Incorporation of 1 eq of DON/subunit (Mr = 57,000) caused complete inactivation of the glutamine-dependent activity, thus providing evidence for one glutamine site per monomer and for the functional identity of the subunits. Following alkylation with iodoacetamide, carboxymethylcysteine was the only modified amino acid isolated from an acid hydrolysate. The glutamine-dependent activity was sensitive to oxidation. Inactivation by exposure to air was reversed by incubation with high concentrations of dithiothreitol.