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Aim: This study aimed to evaluate characteristics of autoimmunity in individuals who have a type 2 diagnosis and are relatives of children with type 1 diabetes., Methods: Pre-diagnosis samples (median 17 months before onset) from relatives who were later diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were measured for autoantibodies to glutamate decarboxylase 65 (GADA), islet antigen-2 (IA-2A), zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) and insulin (IAA) as well as the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score (GRS2). Associations between islet autoantibodies, insulin treatment and GRS2 were analysed using Fisher's exact and t-tests., Results: Among 226 relatives (64% men; mean age at sampling 41 years; mean age 54 years at diagnosis), 32 (14%) were islet autoantibody-positive for at least one autoantibody more than a decade before diagnosis. Approximately half of these (n = 15) were treated with insulin. GADA-positivity was higher in insulin-treated relatives than in non-insulin-treated relatives (12/18 [67%] vs. 6/18 [33%], p < 0.001). IAA-positivity was observed in 13/32 (41%) of relatives with autoantibodies. GRS2 scores were increased in autoantibody-positive relatives (p = 0.032), but there was no clear evidence for a difference according to treatment (p = 0.072)., Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of measuring islet autoantibodies, including IAA, in relatives of people with type 1 diabetes to avoid misdiagnosis., (© 2024 The Author(s). Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.)

Introduction: Autoimmune diabetes occurs more often in the first 2 years of life in children with Down syndrome (DS) compared with the general population. We previously observed increased frequencies of islet autoantibodies, including insulin autoantibodies (IAA), in children with DS. Assays for IAA using 125 I-labelled insulin require competition to overcome cross reactivity with antibodies to the cow's milk protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA). 125 I-IAA assay results suggested that levels of antibodies to BSA may also be increased in children with DS. The aim of this study therefore was to determine whether the levels of anti-BSA antibodies differed in children with DS compared with controls., Methods: Samples were available from two populations with DS: one from the UK, (UK DS cohort n=106, 58 male, median age 12.5 years) and one from Estonia (Estonian DS cohort: n=121, 65 male, median age 9.75 years). A UK control population was provided by sex and age-matched healthy siblings of probands participating in the Bart's Oxford (BOX) family study of type 1 diabetes. A competitive-displacement radiobinding assay (RBA) and a Dissociation Enhanced Lanthanide Fluoroimmunoassay (DELFIA) were developed to measure and confirm anti-BSA antibody levels. HLA class II genotype was analysed by PCR using sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP)., Results: Overall, levels of anti-BSA antibodies were increased in those with DS compared with controls (p<0.0001) but this was not HLA associated., Conclusion: Increased levels of anti-BSA antibodies may reflect a defect in immune maturation or increased gut permeability in children with DS, increasing their risk of developing autoimmunity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Grace, Mortimer, Kozhakhmetova, Leveret, Newton, Reimand, Shield, Uibo, Williams and Gillespie.)

Aims: Some childhood type 1 diabetes cases are islet autoantibody negative at diagnosis. Potential explanations include misdiagnosis of genetic forms of diabetes or insufficient islet autoantibody testing. Many NHS laboratories offer combinations of three autoantibody markers. We sought to determine the benefit of testing for additional islet autoantibodies, including insulin (IAA) and tetraspanin 7 (TSPAN7A)., Methods: Radiobinding assays (RBAs) were used to test for four islet autoantibodies in children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes (n = 486; 54.1% male; median age 10.4 years [range 0.7-18.0]; median duration 1 day [range -183 to 14]). Islet autoantibody negative children were tested for TSPAN7A using a luminescence-based test. Where available, islet cell antibody (ICA) and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) data were considered., Results: Using three autoantibody markers, 21/486 (4.3%) children were autoantibody negative. Testing for IAA classified a further 9/21 (42.9%) children as autoantibody positive. Of the remaining 12 (2.5%) autoantibody negative children, all were TPAN7A negative, seven were ICA negative and one was positive for the protective variant DQB1*0602. One was subsequently diagnosed with Maturity Onset of Diabetes in the Young, but follow-up was not available in all cases., Conclusions: Using highly sensitive assays, testing for three autoantibodies fails to detect islet autoimmunity in approximately 1/20 children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Testing for IAA in children <5 years and GADA in those >10 years was the most effective strategy for detecting islet autoimmunity. The ability to test for all islet autoantibodies should inform clinical decisions and make screening for monogenic diabetes more cost-effective., (© 2022 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Diabetes UK.)

Recent success in clinical trials to delay the onset of type 1 diabetes has heralded a new era of type 1 diabetes research focused on the most accurate methods to predict risk and progression rate in the general population. Risk prediction for type 1 diabetes has been ongoing since the 1970s and 1980s when human leucocyte antigen (HLA) variants and islet autoantibodies associated with type 1 diabetes were first described. Development of prediction methodologies has relied on well-characterised cohorts and samples. The Bart's Oxford (BOX) study of type 1 diabetes has been recruiting children with type 1 diabetes and their first (and second)-degree relatives since 1985. In this review, we use the timeline of the study to review the accompanying basic science developments which have facilitated improved prediction by genetic (HLA analysis through to genetic risk scores) and biochemical strategies (islet cell autoantibodies through to improved individual tests for antibodies to insulin, glutamate decarboxylase, the tyrosine phosphatase IA-2, zinc transporter 8 and tetraspanin 7). The type 1 diabetes community are poised to move forward using the best predictive markers to predict and delay the onset of type 1 diabetes., (© 2021 Diabetes UK.)

Purpose of Review: An increased frequency of autoimmunity in children with Down syndrome (DS) is well described but few studies have investigated the underlying mechanisms. Recent immune system investigation of individuals with DS may shed light on the increased risk of autoimmune conditions including type 1 diabetes., Recent Findings: Diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is accelerated in children with DS with 17% diagnosed at, or under, the age of 2 years compared with only 4% in the same age group in the general population. Counterintuitively, children with DS and diabetes have less human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mediated susceptibility than age-matched children with autoimmune diabetes from the general population. Early onset of diabetes in DS is further highlighted by the recent description of neonatal cases of diabetes which is autoimmune but not HLA associated. There are two potential explanations for this accelerated onset: (1) an additional chromosome 21 increases the genetic and immunological risk of autoimmune diabetes or (2) there are two separate aetiologies in children with DS and diabetes. Autoimmunity in DS is an under-investigated area. In this review, we will draw on recent mechanistic studies in individuals with DS which shed some light on the increased risk of autoimmunity in children with DS and consider the current support for and against two aetiologies underlying diabetes in children with DS.

The only strategy to select individuals at increased risk for type 1 diabetes for primary prevention trials is through genetic risk assessment. While genome-wide association studies have identified more than 40 loci associated with type 1 diabetes, the single most important genetic determinants lie within the human leucocyte antigen gene family on chromosome 6.In this chapter we describe a protocol for a straightforward, cheap strategy to determine HLA class II mediated risk of type 1 diabetes. This method has proved robust for genotyping whole-genome-amplified DNA as well as DNA extracted directly from human tissues.