Absence of Anti-p53 Autoantibodies in Taiwanese Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Aims. Type 1 diabetes mellitus is an autoimmune disorder in which T-cell dependent islet β-cell destruction occurs in genetically susceptible hosts. Evidence from studies in spontaneous diabetes and accelerated diabetes models of non-obese diabetic mice, as well as islet β-cell lines in in vitro studies, suggest that pancreatic β-cells are destroyed in part by apoptotic mechanisms. The present study, according to our knowledge, is the first report to demonstrate the autoimmune response against tumor suppressor gene p53, an important protein in the control of cell proliferation and apoptosis, in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods. The strategy of this study was to use purified full-length p53 protein to investigate the prevalence of anti-p53 autoantibodies in patients with type I diabetes mellitus. 201 Taiwanese patients with type I diabetes mellitus were recruited in this study. For reference, 51 healthy individuals were also recruited. Purified full-length p53 proteins were used as antigens to study the frequency of anti-p53 autoantibodies by Western blot analysis. Results. Our results showed that none of the 201 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus carried anti p53 autoantibodies. Conclusions. We think this is an important study though we didn't find any positive results, since it suggests that p53 gene is less likely to play crucial roles in the autoimmune process of islet cell destruction in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes mellitus.