The Basement Membrane Form of Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan is Part of Human IAPP Amyloid Deposits in the Islets of Langerhans

Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by amyloid deposition within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans [1, 2]. The major constituent of islet amyloid is a small protein designated islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), or amylin, which is synthesized by beta cells [3, 4]. The precise function of IAPP is unknown but it may act as a glucoregulatory hormone [5, 6] and may, possibly, play a pathogenetic role in Type II DM. This hypothesis in turn raises the question of the potential role of islet amyloid formation in the pathogenesis of Type II DM.