Decline in Titers of Anti-Idiotypic Antibodies Specific to Autoantibodies to GAD65 (GAD65Ab) Precedes Development of GAD65Ab and Type 1 Diabetes.

The humoral Idiotypic Network consisting of antibodies and their anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-Id) can be temporarily upset by antigen exposure. In the healthy immune response the original equilibrium is eventually restored through counter-regulatory mechanisms. In certain autoimmune diseases however, autoantibody levels exceed those of their respective anti-Id, indicating a permanent disturbance in the respective humoral Idiotypic Network. We investigated anti-Id directed to a major Type 1 diabetes (T1D)-associated autoantibody (GAD65Ab) in two independent cohorts during progression to disease. Samples taken from participants of the Natural History Study showed significantly lower anti-Id levels in individuals that later progressed to T1D compared to non-progressors (anti-Id antibody index of 0.06 vs. 0.08, respectively, p = 0.02). We also observed a significant inverse correlation between anti-Id levels and age at sampling, but only in progressors (p = 0.014). Finally, anti-Id levels in progressors showed a significant decline during progression as compared to longitudinal anti-Id levels in non-progressors (median rate of change: -0.0004 vs. +0.0004, respectively, p = 0.003), suggesting a loss of anti-Id during progression. Our analysis of the Diabetes Prediction in Skåne cohort showed that early in life (age 2) individuals at risk have anti-Id levels indistinguishable from those in healthy controls, indicating that low anti-Id levels are not an innate characteristic of the immune response in individuals at risk. Notably, anti-Id levels declined significantly in individuals that later developed GAD65Ab suggesting that the decline in anti-Id levels precedes the emergence of GAD65Ab (median rate of change: -0.005) compared to matched controls (median rate of change: +0.001) (p = 0.0016). We conclude that while anti-Id are present early in life, their levels decrease prior to the appearance of GAD65Ab and to the development of T1D

The pancreas in human type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is considered a disorder whose pathogenesis is autoimmune in origin, a notion drawn in large part from studies of human pancreata performed as far back as the 1960s. While studies of the genetics, epidemiology, and peripheral immunity in T1D have been subject to widespread analysis over the ensuing decades, efforts to understand the disorder through analysis of human pancreata have been far more limited. We have reviewed the published literature pertaining to the pathology of the human pancreas throughout all stages in the natural history of T1D. This effort uncovered a series of findings that challenge many dogmas ascribed to T1D and revealed data suggesting the marked heterogeneity in terms of its pathology. An improved understanding and appreciation for pancreatic pathology in T1D could lead to improved disease classification, an understanding of why the disorder occurs, and better therapies for disease prevention and management

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (Gorlin syndrome)

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), also known as Gorlin syndrome, is a hereditary condition characterized by a wide range of developmental abnormalities and a predisposition to neoplasms

An NMR and X-ray study of the structure of the azo coupling product of 4-dimethylaminopent-3-en-2-one and benzenediazonium-tetrafluoroborate

4-Dimethylaminopent-3-en-2-one reacts with two molecules of benzenediazonium-tetrafluoroborate to give compound 1. The structure of this compound was determined by means of X-ray analysis of its crystal and 1H, 13C and 15N NMR spectra of its solution in CDCl3. The molecule of this compound contains one azo group and one hydrazone group. The substance exists, both in crystal form and in solutions of concentrations above 0.1 mol-1, in the form of a dimer, in which the pair of molecules are bound by two hydrogen bonds N–H ... N. On diluting the solution, the dimers decompose, the two forms being in an equilibrium that is rapid on the NMR time scale

Synthesis and Reactions of Furo[2,3-b]pyrroles

Methyl 6H-furo[2,3-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylate (2a) was prepared by thermolysis of the corresponding methyl 2-azido-3-(3-furyl)propenoate (1). 6-Methyl (2b) and 6-benzyl (2c) derivatives were obtained using phase-transfer catalysis conditions (PTC). The formylation of 2a-2c gave 2-formylated compounds (3a-3c). Compounds 4b, 4c were prepared by reactions of corresponding esters 2b, 2c with hydrazine in refluxing ethanol. By reaction of 3a-3c with hydroxylammonium chloride in acetic anhydride in the presence of pyridine, methyl 2-cyano-6-R1-furo[2,3-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylates (5a-5c) were obtained. The reaction of these compounds with sodium azide and ammonium chloride in dimethylformamide led to methyl 2-(5\u27-tetrazolyl)-6-R1-furo[2,3-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylates (6a-6c). A series of 5-methoxycarbonyl-6-R1-furo[2,3-b]pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde N,N-dimethylhydrazones (7a-7c) was prepared from methyl 2-formyl-6-R1-furo[2,3-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylates (3a-3c) and unsym-dimethylhydrazine. The correlation of the 13C and 15N chemical shifts with the data of the calculated (AM1) net atomic charges is discussed