Antibodies to tissue transglutaminase C in Type I diabetes

• Published in: Diabetologia Vol. 42; no. 10; pp. 1195 - 1198
• Main Authors: LAMPASONA, V, BONFANTI, R, BAZZIGALUPPI, E, VENERANDO, A, CHIUMELLO, G, BOSI, E, BONIFACIO, E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 01-10-1999; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies; Antigens; Associated diseases and complications; Autoantibodies - blood; Biological and medical sciences; Celiac disease; Celiac Disease - complications; Celiac Disease - diagnosis; Celiac Disease - immunology; Chi-square test; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - immunology; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Female; Gluten; GTP-Binding Proteins - immunology; Histocompatibility Testing; HLA-DR Antigens - biosynthesis; HLA-DRB1 Chains; Humans; Immunoglobulin A - blood; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Infant; Insulin; Leukocytes; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pathogenesis; Phosphatase; Radioimmunoassay; Transglutaminases - immunology; Italy; Endocrinopathy; Human; Enzyme; Transferases; Coeliac disease; Aminoacyltransferases; Autoantigen; Intestinal malabsorption; Insulinoresistant diabetes; Digestive diseases; Intestinal disease; Complication; Protein-glutamine γ-glutamyltransferase; Gluten
• ISSN: 0012-186X; 1432-0428
• DOI: 10.1007/s001250051291

Silent coeliac disease is a gluten driven autoimmune disease which is relatively frequent in patients with Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. To determine the extent of gluten associated autoimmunity in Type I diabetes, autoantibodies to tissue transglutaminase C, a major autoantigen in coeliac disease, were measured in patients with new-onset Type I diabetes.
We measured IgG and IgA tissue transglutaminase C autoantibodies using human recombinant antigen and radio-binding assays in a cohort of 287 patients with new-onset Type I diabetes, 119 with Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and in 213 control subjects.
We found IgA and IgG tissue transglutaminase C antibodies in 24 (8 %) patients with Type I diabetes; 97 (33 %) patients had IgG antibodies only and 1 IgA antibodies only. Antibody concentrations were highest in those with both IgA and IgG antibodies. Only 2 (2 %) patients with Type II diabetes and 2 (1 %) control subjects had either IgG or IgA tissue transglutaminase C antibodies. Patients with HLA DRB1(*)04 alleles had the highest prevalence of IgG tissue transglutaminase C antibodies.
These data show that almost 10 % of patients have autoimmunity typical of coeliac disease and that another 30 % have low level tissue transglutaminase C antibody binding. This high prevalence suggests either involvement of the gut in the pathogenesis of Type I diabetes or that transglutaminase is a secondary autoantigen resulting from beta-cell destruction. [Diabetologia (1999) 42: 1195-1198]