The effects of islet cell surface antibodies on the metabolic function of mouse islet B cells in vitro

Immunoglobulin (Ig) fractions from the plasma of a group of newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 1) patients and a set of control subjects were assessed for their effects on isolated mouse islet function. It was found that Igs from type 1 patients caused a significant inhibitory effect on insulin secretion when incubated with mouse islets as compared with controls (25.6±2.9 pg islet^–1 h^–1 vs 44.7±7.7 pg islet^–1 h^–1,P<0.05). The plasma samples from which the Igs were obtained were then tested for the presence of antibodies to the mouse islet cell surface (ICSA). Four of the nine patients were positive for ICSA, and plasma samples from eight control subjects were all negative. ICSA-positive samples appeared to have the greatest inhibitory effect on insulin secretion when compared with their respective controls (53.3±7.0 pg insulin islet^–1 min^–1 vs 30.9±3.7 pg insulin islet^–1 min^–1,P<0.05). In contrast, it was also found that ICSA-positive Ig fractions had no significant effect on glucose oxidation when co-incubated with mouse islets as compared with the controls (11.3±2.3 pmol islet^–1 h^–1 vs 11.2±2.9 pmol islet^–1 h^–1). These studies suggest that Igs from newly diagnosed type 1 patients containing ICSA may impair insulin secretion from isolated mouse islets by mechanisms which do not involve the inhibition of B-cell glucose metabolism.