Background

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a devastating disease caused by the autoimmune destruction of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells. Diabetes worldwide affects around 420+ million people, of these about 5% to 10% have T1D and its prevalence is growing.

The disease may be prevented by specifically blocking immune responses to the targets of this destructive autoimmune response; individuals at risk for disease and candidates for preventative immunotherapy may be identified by detecting the presence of circulating antibodies to the target autoantigens. The current four major T1D autoantigen targets include proinsulin, glutamate decarboxylase, IA-2 and ZnT8.

Researchers at the University of Lincoln have identified a fifth major T1D autoantigen target, Tspan7 (Tetraspanin-7).