Proteins as an early warning system for type 1 diabetes?

The work was based on two large studies that are intended to explain the mechanisms behind the development of type 1 diabetes (BABYDIAB and BABYDIET*). The study participants are children who have a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes and who consequently have an increased risk of developing the disease due to the familial predisposition.

This autoimmune process does not develop from one day to the next, however: Often the young patients go through longer asymptomatic preliminary stages that see the formation of the first antibodies against the child’s own insulin-producing cells in the pancreas; these are the so-called autoantibodies. Biomarkers that indicate whether and when this is the case and how quickly the clinical symptoms will appear could significantly improve the treatment of patients at-risk.

A team of scientists, led by Dr. Stefanie Hauck, head of the Research Unit Protein Science and the Core Facility Proteomics, and Prof. Dr. Anette-G. Ziegler, Director of the Institute of Diabetes Research (IDF) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, analyzed blood samples from 30 children with autoantibodies who had developed type 1 diabetes either very rapidly or with a very long delay. The researchers compared the data with data on children who displayed neither autoantibodies nor diabetes symptoms. In a second step with samples from another 140 children, the researchers confirmed the protein composition differences that they found in this approach.

New biomarkers for diagnosis

“Altogether, we were able to identify 41 peptides** from 26 proteins that distinguish children with autoantibodies from those without,” reports Dr. Christine von Toerne, a scientist in the Research Unit Protein Science who shared first authorship of the work with Michael Laimighofer, a doctoral candidate in Jan Krumsiek's junior research group at the Institute of Computational Biology. Striking in their evaluations: A large number of these proteins are associated with lipid metabolism.

“Two peptides – from the proteins apolipoprotein M and apolipoprotein C-IV – were particularly conspicuous and were especially differently expressed in the two groups,” von Toerne adds. In autoantibody-positive children, it was furthermore possible to reach a better estimate of the speed of the diabetes development using the peptide concentrations of three proteins (hepatocyte growth factor activator, complement factor H and ceruloplasmin) in combination with the age of the particular child.

The researchers are confident that the protein signatures they have discovered will be helpful as biomarkers for future diagnostics. “The progression of type 1 diabetes into a clinical disease takes place over a period of time that varies from individual to individual and that at this time is insufficiently predictable,” explains Prof. Ziegler. “The biomarkers that we have identified allow a more precise classification of this presymptomatic stage and they are relatively simple to acquire from blood samples.”

Further Information

* The BABYDIAB study, which was established in 1989 as the world's first diabetes prospective birth cohort, is a pioneering study in the field of type 1 diabetes pathogenesis research. More than 1650 children of parents with type 1 diabetes have been observed since their birth, or for a period of 25 years. The objective of the BABYDIAB study is to determine when islet autoantibodies first appear, which genetic factors and environmental factors influence their development, and which characteristics of the autoantibodies are most strongly associated with the development of type 1 diabetes. The participants in the study are reexamined every three years by means of blood samples and questionnaires. The BABYDIET is examining the influence of food containing gluten on the development of type 1 diabetes. Of the 2,441 children included in the two studies, so far 124 have developed a precursor to diabetes. 82 of these meanwhile display a clinical disease (as of November 2014).

** Peptides are molecules that, like proteins, are constructed from amino acids. However, they are smaller and to some extent result as fragments during protein breakdown. The transition is therefore relatively fluid.

Background:
The study was financed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), which has headquarters in the USA.

The number of new cases of type 1 diabetes each year continues to rise. New immunotherapeutic approaches aim at stopping this development. A precise assessment of the individual stage of disease development is an important criterion for the targeted use of new treatments. The described study shows that children already display proteomic changes in the blood during the presymptomatic stage. This information allows a better assessment of the time until clinical manifestation of the disease. Recently scientists in the Protein Science Research Unit were also able to identify biomarkers for the precursor to type 2 diabetes: https://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/en/press-media/press-releases/2016/press-relea…

Original Publication:
Von Toerne, C. & Laimighofer, M. et al. (2016): Peptide serum markers in islet autoantibody-positive children. Diabetologia, doi: 10.1007/s00125-016-4150-x
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-016-4150-x

The Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum München is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich and has about 2,300 staff members. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 18 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members. http://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/en

The independent Research Unit Protein Science (PROT) investigates the composition of protein complexes and their integration into cellular processes and protein networks. One focus is the analysis of the interaction of genetic variance and environmental factors in neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases. The aim of this research is to identify biological systems and disease-associated disorders on a systemic level, thus contributing to a molecular understanding of diseases. http://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/prot

The Core Facility Proteomics is an instrumental analysis platform at the Helmholtz Zentrum München. It provides interested research groups with access to comprehensive proteome analyses conducted with highly sensitive mass spectrometers. The portfolio ranges from technical and scientific consultation during project design and sample preparation to the development of optimized analysis methods to actual sample measurement and data evaluation.

The Institute of Diabetes Research (IDF) focuses on the pathogenesis and prevention of type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes and the long-term effects of gestational diabetes. A major project is the development of an insulin vaccination against type 1 diabetes. The IDF conducts long-term studies to examine the link between genes, environmental factors and the immune system for the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. Findings of the BABYDIAB study, which was established in 1989 as the world’s first prospective birth cohort study, identified risk genes and antibody profiles. These permit predictions to be made about the pathogenesis and onset of type 1 diabetes and will lead to changes in the classification and the time of diagnosis. The IDF is part of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center (HDC). http://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/en/idf/index.html

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is a national association that brings together experts in the field of diabetes research and combines basic research, translational research, epidemiology and clinical applications. The aim is to develop novel strategies for personalized prevention and treatment of diabetes. Members are Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health, the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf, the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of the Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University Medical Center Carl Gustav Carus of the TU Dresden and the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Zentrum München at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tuebingen together with associated partners at the Universities in Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck and Munich. http://www.dzd-ev.de/en/index.html

Contact for the media:
Department of Communication, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg – Tel. +49 89 3187 2238 – Fax: +49 89 3187 3324 – E-mail: presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de

Scientific Contact at Helmholtz Zentrum München:
Dr. Stefanie Hauck, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Research Unit Protein Science, Heidemannstr. 1, 80939 München – Tel. +49 89 3187 3941, E-mail: hauck@helmholtz-muenchen.de

Prof. Dr. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Institute of Diabetes Research, Heidemannstr. 1, 80939 München – Tel. +49 89 3187 3405 – E-mail: anette-g.ziegler@helmholtz-muenchen.de

http://www.helmholtz-muenchen.de/en/press-media/index.html – more press releases of Helmholtz Zentrum München