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N Maclaren

Publications and source records attributed to N Maclaren.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Clinical review 130: Addison's disease 2001.

Whereas it is now more than 150 yr since T. Addison first described the clinical and pathological features of adrenal failure (1 ), the disease remains underdiagnosed, leading to unnecessary morbidity and mortality. Over the past decade, there have been important advances in elucidating the pathogeneses and underlying genetics of the individual forms of the disease. This review emphasizes the multiple etiologies and the diagnostic steps to be taken with consideration to age at onset and gender and summarizes new genetic insights in the disease.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed2001

Expression of GAD65 and islet cell antibody (ICA512) autoantibodies among cytoplasmic ICA+ relatives is associated with eligibility for the Diabetes Prevention Trial-Type 1.

More than 71,000 relatives of type 1 diabetic patients have been screened for cytoplasmic islet cell antibodies (ICAs), GAD65 autoantibodies (GAAs), and ICA512 autoantibodies (ICA512AAs). Among those 71,148 relatives, 2,448 were cytoplasmic ICA+, and the remainder were ICA-. Of the ICA+ group, 1,229 (50.2%) were positive for GAAs and/or ICA512AAs. Among ICA- relatives, 1,897 (2.76%) were positive for GAAs and/or ICA512AAs. Given the large number of relatives positive for cytoplasmic ICA and negative for "biochemically" determined autoantibodies, and the converse, we analyzed the proportion of ICA+ relatives found eligible to participate in the intervention phase of Diabetes Prevention Trial-Type 1 (DPT-1). To be eligible for the parenteral insulin DPT-1 trial, a relative had to have first-phase insulin secretion below the 1st percentile of cut-points (for parents) or below the 10th percentile (for siblings and offspring). To be eligible for the oral insulin trial, a relative had to have first-phase insulin secretion above cut-points (>1st percentile for parents, >10th percentile for siblings/offspring) and be positive for anti-insulin autoantibodies. For both trials, DQB1*0602 was an exclusion criteria, cytoplasmic ICA positivity had to be confirmed, and an oral glucose tolerance test had to result in nondiabetic levels. Of 572 relatives found to be eligible for trial entry, 442 (77.3%) were positive for GAAs and/or ICA512AAs, although overall only 50.2% of ICA+ relatives were positive for GAAs and/or ICA512AAs. The positive predictive value for trial eligibility for ICA+ relatives with GAAs or ICA512AAs who completed staging was 51.0%. In contrast, only 11.9% of ICA+ but GAA- and ICA512AA- relatives were found to be eligible by DPT criteria for trial entry. Positivity for biochemically determined autoantibodies among cytoplasmic antibody-positive relatives is associated with eligibility for the DPT-1 study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Immunopathology of immune-mediated (type 1) diabetes.

Immune-mediated diabetes is established as an autoimmune disease, which most often is induced during late infancy or early childhood. Multiple genetic lesions in immune tolerance are required before autoimmunity can be sustained once induced by environmental agents, such as viruses. The diagnostic hallmarks of the disease are the islet autoantibodies, which should be made routinely available to physicians to distinguish this disease from other forms of diabetes. The ability to identify individuals with impending IMD and those at high risk of IMD lends itself to the development of clinical trials to prevent diabetes by immunologic means. We believe that this will soon be possible with the development and use of vaccines.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1↗
PubMed1999

Mutation analyses of North American APS-1 patients.

Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS-1; MIM# 240300) is a rare autosomal recessively inherited disease characterised by destructive autoimmune diseases of endocrine glands. The gene responsible for APS-1, known as AIRE (for autoimmune regulator), was recently identified and contains motifs suggestive of a transcription regulator. To date, nine APS-1-associated mutations have been identified in the AIRE gene, including two common mutations R257X and 1094-1106del. In addition to these two mutations, we report seven novel mutations in 16 APS-1 patients from North America. We found that 1094-1106del and R257X were the most common mutations in this population of mixed geoethnic origin, accounting for 17/32 and 4/32 alleles, respectively. Haplotype analyses suggest that both are recurrent mutations, occurring on several different haplotypes with closely linked markers. All the novel mutations appear to be rare, occurring in only single APS-1 families. After examining all coding sequences and exon/intron boundaries of the AIRE gene, the other APS-1 allele remained unidentified in three patients. Genotype-phenotype correlations for APS-1 remain difficult, suggesting that other genetic or environmental factors, or both, influence the clinical presentation and disease progression in individual APS-1 patients.

DNA Mutational Analysis↗
PubMed1999

Only multiple autoantibodies to islet cells (ICA), insulin, GAD65, IA-2 and IA-2beta predict immune-mediated (Type 1) diabetes in relatives.

We report here our prospective study of 15,224 non-diabetic, first-degree relatives of probands with immune-mediated (type 1) diabetes (IMD), of which 135 were found to eventually develop diabetes. We determined islet cell, insulin, GAD65, insulinoma-associated antigen-2 and 2beta autoantibodies (ICA, IAA, GAD65A, IA-2A and IA-2betaA), on the first available serum samples. The latter three autoantibodies were however assayed on subsets of the relatives with and without ICA, IAA and/or GAD65A, plus most of the relatives who developed diabetes. Of the relatives who progressed to diabetes, 94% had at least one of these autoantibodies on the first screening, while ICA proved to be the most sensitive single marker (sensitivity 74%). Risk of diabetes was however negligible when ICA was found in the absence of the others (5-year risk=5.3%), but increased dramatically whenever two or more autoantibodies were present (5-year risk=28.2% and 66.2%, respectively). The most predictive combination of markers was ICA plus IA-2A and/or IA-2beta A. Loss of first phase insulin release to IVGTT also occurred only in those ICA-positive relatives who had one or more of the other autoantibodies. The data suggests that significant beta-cell damage is seen only when the underlying autoimmunity has spread to multiple antigenic islet cell determinants. Combinations of the autoantibodies occurred most often in relatives with the highest risk HLA-DR/DQ phenotypes. These data document that only relatives positive for at least two or more of these five autoantibodies are at significant risk of diabetes themselves. Intervention trials for the prevention of type 1 diabetes could be designed based on testing for these autoantibodies alone, without the need for HLA typing and IVGTT testing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Identification and characterization of glima 38, a glycosylated islet cell membrane antigen, which together with GAD65 and IA2 marks the early phases of autoimmune response in type 1 diabetes.

Immunoprecipitating IgG autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase, GAD65, and/or a tyrosine phosphatase, IA2, are present in the majority of individuals experiencing pancreatic beta cell destruction and development of type 1 diabetes. Here we identify a third islet cell autoantigen, a novel 38-kD protein, which is specifically immunoprecipitated with sera from a subset of prediabetic individuals and newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic patients. The 38-kD autoantigen, named glima 38, is an amphiphilic membrane glycoprotein, specifically expressed in islet and neuronal cell lines, and thus shares the neuroendocrine expression patterns of GAD65 and IA2. Removal of N-linked carbohydrates results in a protein of 22,000 Mr. Glima 38 autoantibodies were detected in 16/86 (19%) of newly diagnosed patients, including three very young children, who had a rapid onset of disease, and in 6/44 (14%) of prediabetic individuals up to several years before clinical onset. The cumulative incidence of GAD65 and glima 38 antibodies in these two groups was 83 and 80%, respectively, and the cumulative incidence of GAD65, glima 38, and IA2 antibodies in the same groups was 91 and 84%, respectively. GAD65, IA2, and glima 38 represent three distinct targets of immunoprecipitating IgG autoantibodies associated with beta cell destruction and type 1 diabetes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Autoantibodies to the extracellular domain of the calcium sensing receptor in patients with acquired hypoparathyroidism.

Acquired hypoparathyroidism (AH) has been considered to result from an autoimmune process but the self-antigens have not been identified. We studied 25 patients with AH, of which 17 had type I autoimmune polyglandular syndrome and 8 had AH associated with autoimmune hypothyroidism. Five of 25 (20%) AH sera reacted to a membrane-associated antigen of 120-140 kD in human parathyroid gland extracts using immunoblot analysis. This is the exact size of the calcium sensing receptor (Ca-SR). The AH sera were then tested by immunoblot using a membrane fraction of HEK-293 cells transfected with Ca-SR cDNA. Eight of 25 (32%) AH sera reacted to a 120-140-kD protein, which closely matched that recognized by the anti-Ca-SR IgG raised in rabbits. The Ca-SR cDNA was translated in vitro into two parts in order to identify the antigenic epitopes. By using this technique, 14 of 25 (56%) AH sera were positive to the extracellular domain of the Ca-SR, whereas none of the AH patients sera reacted to the intracellular domain. The reactivity of the positive sera was completely removed after pre-absorption with the Ca-SR containing membranes. Sera from 50 patients with various other autoimmune diseases as well as 22 normal controls were also tested, and none of them was positive. In conclusion, the Ca-SR has been identified as an autoantigen in AH.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed1995

Insulin immunization of nonobese diabetic mice induces a protective insulitis characterized by diminished intraislet interferon-gamma transcription.

We reported previously that daily injections of isophane insulin prevented both hyperglycemia and insulitis in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice (Atkinson, M., N. Maclaren; and R. Luchetta. 1990. Diabetes. 39:933-937). The possible mechanisms responsible include reduced immunogenicity of pancreatic beta-cells from "beta-cell rest" and induced active immunoregulation to insulin (Aaen, IK., J. Rygaard, K. Josefsen, H. Petersen, C. H. Brogren, T. Horn, and K. Buschard. 1990. Diabetes. 39:697-701). We report here that intermittent immunizations with insulin or its metabolically inactive B-chain in incomplete Freund's adjuvant also prevent diabetes in NOD mice, whereas immunizations with A-chain insulin or with BSA do not. Adoptive transfer of splenocytes from B-chain insulin-immunized mice prevented diabetes in recipients co-infused with diabetogenic spleen cells, an effect that was abolished by prior in vivo elimination of either CD4+ or CD8+ cells. Insulin immunization did not reduce the extent of intraislet inflammation (insulitis); however, it did abolish expression of IFN-gamma mRNA within the insulitis lesions. Immunizations with insulin thus induce an active suppressive response to determinants on the B-chain that converts the insulitis lesion from one that is destructive to one that is protective.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The role of tyrosinase in autoimmune vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a common depigmenting skin disease, associated with certain autoimmune endocrinopathies, and autoantibodies to several antigens can be found in melanoma cells. We set out to identify the antigens. We examined 26 patients with vitiligo and associated endocrine disease. Of these, 18 patients (77%) and 8 immediate family members had autoantibodies specific for a 69 kDa protein in HTB-70 human melanoma cells that was not seen in control cells. The autoantibody-positive patient sera reacted with recombinant human tyrosinase expressed in Escherichia coli seen by western blots, as did antibodies raised in rabbits against hamster tyrosinase, but not to recombinant tyrosinase-related protein. Not one of 31 normal controls or 8 patients with alopecia or systemic lupus erythematosus had tyrosinase autoantibodies but a small proportion (12%) of 42 patients with autoimmune endocrine disease without a history of vitiligo had them. The results show that tyrosinase, an enzyme important in melanin formation, is a principal autoantigen of autoimmune vitiligo.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

GAD65 autoantibodies increase the predictability but not the sensitivity of islet cell and insulin autoantibodies for developing insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

The clinical onset of insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD) can be predicted by determination of autoantibodies to several pancreatic-islet cell antigens. Islet-cell autoantibodies (ICA) and insulin autoantibodies (AA) are most commonly used. We have developed a recombinant human glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) radioimmunoassay and measured autoantibodies to GAD65 (GAD65A) in the sera of 73 documented prediabetic individuals, 76 newly-diagnosed patients, 103 relatives of IDD probands at increased risk for the development of IDD because they were positive for ICA and/or IAA, 72 ICA and IAA negative relatives, and 207 healthy controls. Our data demonstrate that GAD65A are strongly associated with the currently established autoantibody markers of IDD. Their presence in prediabetic subjects with only ICA or IAA enhances their risk for progression to IDD, yet does not much enhance the screening sensitivity already available through conventional ICA and IAA for IDD prediction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Autoantibody epitope mapping of the 21-hydroxylase antigen in autoimmune Addison's disease.

Patients with idiopathic Addison's disease are characterized by cytoplasmic adrenal autoantibodies, detectable by indirect immunofluorescence of cryocut sections of human adrenal cortex. Recently, autoantibodies that bind a 55-kilodalton protein in the microsomal fraction of adrenal gland extracts identified to be the cytochrome P450 enzyme 21-hydroxylase have been found in Addisonian patient sera. We confirm the finding and report here the autoantigenic epitopes involved in the autoantibody reactivity using recombinant DNA technology. Six cDNA fragments spanning different regions of the 21-hydroxylase gene were expressed as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase in Escherichia coli. Immunoblot analyses were used to evaluate the reactivity of the recombinant proteins with patients' sera to determine the autoepitopes involved. We found that a conserved region (amino acids 164-356) reacted with 25 of 30 adrenal autoantibody-positive sera tested. One serum sample reacted only with the amino portion of the 21-hydroxylase (amino acids 1-162). In addition, 4 other enzymes important to steroid hormone biosynthesis, 11 beta-hydroxylase, 17 alpha-hydroxylase, side-chain cleavage enzyme P450, and 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, were expressed in E. coli, but none of them gave positive autoantibody reactions by Western blot assays, even using sera from 5 patients with type I autoimmune polyglandular syndrome. The availability of recombinant antigens has permitted structural analysis of the autoepitopes involved in the autoimmune response to 21-hydroxylase in Addison's disease. Our findings should lead to the development of a simple and specific tool for immunodiagnosis of the disease.

Addison Disease↗
PubMed1993

The 12th International Immunology and Diabetes Workshop. Orlando, Florida.

The 12th International Immunology of Diabetes Workshop was held during April 1993 in Orlando, Florida, to review research progress since the 11th Immunology of Diabetes Workshop meeting in Nagasaki, Japan, one and a half years before. The NOD mouse may have as many as 10 susceptibility genes, including its novel IA major histocompatibility complex antigen and a defective interferon-gamma receptor, whereas human IDDM is so far known to be encoded by cis and trans complementation products of certain DQ genes on chromosome 6q, and a gene in the insulin-like growth factor II region on chromosome 11p. A unique protein regulator of the X box promotor of the highly susceptible DQB1*0302 allele has also been found. Islet cell antibody negative siblings of IDDM patients appear to have lower than expected abilities to secrete insulin in response to intravenous glucose. Sera from patients before and/or after developing IDDM immunoprecipitate two native proteins of 64,000- and 38,000-M(r) glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) reacting to conformational epitopes. However, a multitude of other autoantibodies often reacting to denatured proteins through linear epitopes have also been identified. The first workshop for GAD antibody assays was successfully completed; however, the 38,000-M(r) antigen has not yet been identified. Other autoantibodies reactive to gangliosides and to sulfatides continue to be reported. Insulitis has come to be recognized as a sometimes protective event. Protective insulitis predominates in older lesions. It can be induced by as disparate means as tuberculin antigen administration, by interleukin-4 treatments, by transfer of T-cell lines generated in autologous mixed lymphocyte responses, and by immunization to insulin B-chain, whereas oral islet cell antigens, such as insulin, can delay diabetes onset in the NOD mouse.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Immunology of diabetes mellitus.

Insulin-dependent diabetes is an autoimmune disease that may be becoming more prevalent. It has a polygenic mode of inheritance with a major gene being present in the HLA DQ locus on chromosome 6. Inferential data suggest that environmental factors may be important to genetic penetrance albeit we still lack proof for involvement of often maligned viruses. Patients with IDD and their families are predisposed to organ-specific autoimmunities which should be routinely screened for. Autoantibodies to insulin, to a beta cell cytoplasmic lipid containing moiety and to a beta cell protein of 64KDa, which is believed to be the GABA forming enzyme GAD, can be used to predict IDD among relatives and probably the general population as well. Immunosuppressive therapy can modify the course of IDD after diagnosis and should be able to delay the clinical onset if given before diagnosis. Rigorous insulin therapy should also be given as needed to control hyperglycemia and avoid glucose toxicity to the islets. Such trials are now underway.

Autoimmune Diseases↗