Pancreatic islet-cell epitope recognized by an anti-sulphatide monoclonal antibody

Insulin-dependent (Type 1) diabetes mellitus is recognized as an autoimmune disease and islet-cell antibody (ICA) is present in the majority of patients at diagnosis. ICA labels both beta and alpha cells and is believed to be directed against a glycolipid. In this study we examine the presence of sulphatide (3'-sulphogalactosylceramide) or closely related structures (sulpholactosylceramide and seminolipid) in islet cells by means of a monoclonal antibody, Sulph I. Histological examination of pancreatic tissue from Lewis and BB rats, and BALB/c and NOD mice showed a pronounced labelling of the islets of Langerhans with Sulph I. No staining of the exocrine pancreatic tissue, the heart, the liver, the adrenals, the thymus, the spleen or lymph nodes was seen, but staining of some tubular cells and glomerular cells in the kidney as well as of myelin in nerve cells was found. Cytological examination of isolated Lewis islet cells and their cell subpopulations, separated using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), showed positive surface labelling of 97.3 +/- 2.2% (SD) of the beta cells and 84.4 +/- 3.0% of the non-beta cells. Thus, the epitope on the glycolipid sulphatide or closely related structures is--with the exception of neural and certain kidney tissue--specifically present in islet cells. Furthermore, the staining pattern of the antibody used, Sulph I, was equivalent to that of ICA.