Kenneth H. Johnson

Staining methods for identification of amyloid in tissue.

Publisher Summary The staining reaction given by amyloid after treatment with iodine was often used in the earlier studies of amyloidosis, and amyloid is still identified by its characteristic histological staining reactions. Despite the enormous amount of knowledge now known regarding the molecular nature of amyloid, histological staining methods are crucial for the diagnosis of amyloidosis and are also used commonly in amyloid research. Also, the introduction of modern immunohistochemical techniques has made it possible to identify normal and abnormal components in tissue. Immunohistochemistry (often used interchangeably with immunocytochemistry) has become an important tool in amyloid research. Amyloid was first recognized by its tinctorial properties, which were elicited when amyloid-laden tissues were treated with iodine at the autopsy table. This reaction is now known to depend on the presence of minor carbohydrate components in the amyloid deposits. Iodine reacts with the amyloid, giving it a mahogany-like color that changes to blue when sulfuric acid is subsequently added. The staining properties of amyloid with rosaniline dyes (e.g., methyl violet and cresyl violet), which were the main staining methods for amyloid before Congo red staining was introduced in the 1920s, are also based on the presence of these same carbohydrate components. Because of their low sensitivity and lack of specificity, these methods are not commonly used any longer. Most, if not all, dyes used for the identification of amyloid are compounds developed for use by the textile industry. This includes the dye Congo red, which was introduced as the first direct cotton dye in 1884. Much of the background knowledge regarding the properties of these amyloid-associated dyes comes from textile staining.

[3] Absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopy of nucleic acid duplexes and triplexes

Absorption and CD measurements of complementary oligomers and mixtures are described. The concentrations of oligomers may be estimated from absorption measurements and nearest-neighbor calculations of molar extinction coefficients. Interactions between complementary strands in mixtures can lead to obvious differences between measured CD spectra and the average of the spectra of the individual strands. CD spectra also allow an assessment of whether the individual strands are in self-complexes, which could compete with duplex or triplex formation. Isodichroic and isoabsorptive points provide important indicators of the stoichiometry of the strands in base-paired complexes. CD spectra provide an important means of characterizing differences in the conformations of DNA, RNA, and hybrid duplexes or triplexes having analogous sequences.

Islet amyloid, islet-amyloid polypeptide, and diabetes mellitus

Islet-amyloid deposits, which are a common feature of Type II diabetes mellitus, are derived from the polymerization of a putative hormone identified as IAPP. IAPP is synthesized by normal islet beta cells and probably is cosecreted with insulin. Although the physiologic function of IAPP and its role in the pathogenesis of Type II diabetes mellitus are just beginning to be unraveled, IAPP may play an important part in the development of this most common form of diabetes mellitus by opposing the action of insulin in peripheral tissues. The polymerization of IAPP to form extracellular islet-amyloid deposits may further contribute to the development of Type II diabetes mellitus by destroying islet cells and by disrupting the passage of glucose and hormones to and from them. Substantial evidence indicates that the propensity of IAPP to polymerize and form extracellular amyloid deposits in only certain species (e.g., humans, cats, and raccoons) is directly associated with an intrinsically amyloidogenic part of the molecule--i.e., positions 20 through 29 of IAPP. The inherent amyloidogenicity of IAPP in these species may be further facilitated by increased beta-cell production of IAPP, leading to a high local concentration that predisposes to polymerization. The latter possibility is supported by studies demonstrating that IAPP production by islet beta cells is increased in normoglycemic cats with impaired glucose tolerance. Although increased production of IAPP may initially cause insulin resistance, prolonged overproduction of IAPP may ultimately impair insulin secretion by leading to the progressive deposition of insoluble islet amyloid, a finding apparent in most subjects with overt diabetes. If, as these studies suggest, increased IAPP production is linked to the development of Type II diabetes mellitus, further studies must address the genetic and nongenetic factors that influence this important biologic change in humans and some animal species.

Islet amyloid polypeptide-like immunoreactivity in the islet B cells of Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic and non-diabetic individuals

SummaryA novel peptide, islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), with structural resemblance to calcitonin gene-related peptide has recently been purified from amyloid deposits in an insulinoma and from islets of Langerhans. By immunohistochemical methods, using antisera to a synthetic undecapeptide of IAPP and to insulin, we show that freshly fixed islet B cells in man, guinea pig, rat, mouse and hamster exhibit strong IAPP-immunoreactivity while A cells are unreactive. In human autopsy material, all of 11 non-diabetic individuals had IAPP immunoreactivity of the islets. In comparison 8 of the 13 patients with Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes had no IAPP immunoreactive cells. The proportion of islet cells having IAPP immunoreactivity exceeded 10% in only 1 of the 5 remaining diabetic patients while in all 13 patients substantially more than 10% of the islet cells contained immunoreactive insulin. IAPP-positive amyloid deposits were found in 20–99% of the islets in 12 of the Type 2 diabetic patients while 6 of 11 non-diabetic subjects had amyloid in 3–11% of their islets. In islets with IAPP-immunoreactive amyloid, very few IAPP-cells were seen despite a strong reaction of the B cells with antiserum to insulin. This study shows that IAPP is a normal islet B cell component and that IAPP immunoreactivity in B cells is diminished in Type 2 diabetes while IAPP is deposited as amyloid fibrils in the islets of Langerhans. Although the function of IAPP is unknown, its occurrence in the islet B cells and its structural relation to calcitonin gene-related peptide makes a hormonal nature probable. The present study indicates an altered expression or metabolic fate of IAPP in Type 2 diabetes.

Sequence divergence in a specific region of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) explains differences in islet amyloid formation between species

Amyloid deposits in the islets of Langerhans occur in association with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in humans and cats and consist of a 37‐amino‐acid polypeptide known as islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). In order to find an explanation for the situation that islet amyloid (IA) does not develop in common rodent species, we have deduced the amino acid sequence of the IAPP molecule in mouse, rat and hamster. We find that a specific region of the molecule diverges to a high degree. Synthetic peptides corresponding to this region of human and hamster IAPP were compared for their ability to form amyloid fibrils in vitro. Whereas the human peptide readily formed fibrils with amyloid character, the hamster peptide completely lacked this property. We suggest this to be a likely explanation for the differences in IA formation between humans and rodents and discuss our findings in relation to the type 2 DM syndrome.

Islet Amyloid Polypeptide and Insulin Secretion From Isolated Perfused Pancreas of Fed, Fasted, Glucose-Treated, and Dexamethasone-Treated Rats

Rats from four experimental treatment groups, including fed controls, 24- to 30-h fasted, dexamethasone-treated, and intraperitoneal glucose-treated, were used to assess the effects of these treatments on the immunohistochemically detectable islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) content in the pancreatic islets. Isolated perfused pancreases from additional animals in these groups were used to assess insulin and IAPP secretion and relative amounts of these hormones secreted into the perfusate under low-glucose (2.75 mM) and high-glucose (16.7 mM) conditions. Insulin and IAPP concentrations in the perfusate were measured by radioimmunoassays. Titration of immunohistochemical staining revealed the highest levels of IAPP in the dexamethasone- and glucose-treated groups, followed by the fed controls; the least amount was observed in the fasted group. In the perfusion experiments, the dexamethasone-treated group had significantly higher IAPP secretion than did all of the other groups under stimulation with 16.7 mM glucose. In addition, both dexamethasone treatment and glucose treatment increased the relative amount of IAPP to insulin secretion during 16.7 mM glucose stimulation in comparison with fed controls and fasted groups. Fasting tended to have the opposite effect and significantly decreased the relative amount of IAPP to insulin secreted under stimulation with 16.7 mM glucose. In all groups, IAPP and insulin secretion were generally parallel, which is consistent with their colocalization in the β-cell secretory vesicle and co-release after glucose stimulation. However, significant differences in the insulin-IAPP ratios between experimental groups is consistent with the hypothesis that production of IAPP and insulin are regulated differently in the β-cell. The increased secretion of IAPP in severe hyperglycemia may also facilitate the formation of IAPP-derived islet amyloid deposits, thus contributing to progressive worsening of the diabetic state.

Islet Amyloid Polypeptide: A Review of Its Biology and Potential Roles in the Pathogenesis of Diabetes Mellitus

Islet amyloidosis (IA) is the principal lesion in the endocrine pancreas of human beings with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and in the similar forms of diabetes mellitus in domestic cats and macaques. As such, the delineation of the pathogenesis of this form of amyloidosis may be crucial to the understanding of the development and progression of NIDDM. Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is a recently discovered polypeptide that is the principal constituent of IA in human beings, cats, and macaques. IAPP is produced by the pancreatic β-cells and is co-packaged with insulin in the β-cell secretory vesicles. Immunohistochemical and physiologic evidence supports the notion that the β-cells are heterogenous with respect to their relative contents of insulin and IAPP. Therefore, although IAPP is co-secreted with insulin in response to a variety of well-known insulin secretogogues, the molar ratio of these two proteins that is released from the islets may vary, depending upon the glucose concentration and prevailing metabolic milieu. IAPP is highly conserved among mammalian species and has about 45% homology to another neuropeptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide. IAPP is encoded by a single-copy gene located, in the human being, on chromosome 12. IAPP is expressed as a 93 (murine)–89 (human)-amino acid prepropolypeptide that is processed enzymatically, resulting in the removal of amino- and carboxy-terminal propeptide segments. The 20–29 region of the IAPP molecule is most important in the ability of IAPP to form amyloid fibrils. The role of IAPP and IA in the pathogenesis of human NIDDM and similar forms of diabetes mellitus in cats and macaques may involve several possible mechanisms, including 1) direct physical/chemical damage to β-cells, resulting in necrosis and loss of functional islet tissue, 2) biologic activities of IAPP that oppose those of insulin or abnormally suppress insulin secretion, and 3) interference by IA deposits of passage of insulin out of β-cells and/or entrance of glucose and other secretogogues into the islet. The roles of each of these possible mechanisms have yet to be demonstrated. In addition, the physiological significance of the apparent IAPP deficiency in both insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and NIDDM is currently unknown.

Islet amyloid polypeptide — a novel controversy in diabetes research

The discovery of a previously unknown polypeptide in the islet Beta cells was unexpecled. This putative hormone, named islet amyloid polypeptided (IAPP) or amylin, has beer implicated in the normal regulation of glucose melabolism and has beer proposed to have a role in the pathogenesis of Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. IAPP is therefore of great interest in the field of diabetes research at present

Immunohistochemical morphometry of pancreatic endocrine cells in diabetic, normoglycaemic glucose-intolerant and normal cats

The anatomical distribution and volume fractions of pancreatic A cells (glucagon), B cells (insulin) and D cells (somatostatin) were evaluated by an immunoperoxidase technique in 6 diabetic cats, 6 normoglycaemic glucose-intolerant cats and 6 normal control cats. Islets lacking A cells were observed in some sections from the right lobe of the pancreas which correlated with a significantly lower A cell volume fraction in the right pancreatic lobe. Endocrine cell volume fractions in normoglycaemic glucose-intolerant cats were not significantly different from controls. Thus, a reduction in B cell volume fraction was not necessary for the occurrence of impaired glucose tolerance in these cats. However, the reduction of B cell volume fraction in the 2 normoglycaemic glucose-intolerant cats with insular amyloidosis may in part explain the more severely impaired glucose tolerance previously observed in these cats. Insular amyloidosis in our feline diabetics, as in human type II diabetics, was associated with a significant decrease in A and B cell volume fractions. In both human type II and feline diabetes mellitus, however, the reduction in B cell mass does not appear sufficient alone to lead to diabetes mellitus. Therefore, amyloid replacement of functional endocrine cells does not appear to be the primary diabetogenic event in feline diabetes mellitus, but may contribute to progression of the condition due to loss of functional B cell reserves. We thus postulate that a B cell defect precedes deposition of islet amyloid and that these amyloid deposits may thus provide an important biochemical clue to specific B cell derangements occurring in adult-onset diabetics.

Structure of Cat Islet Amyloid Polypeptide and Identification of Amino Acid Residues of Potential Significance for Islet Amyloid Formation

Cats and humans, unlike most rodent species, develop amyloid in the islets of Langerhans in conjunction with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The amyloid consists of a 37–amino acid polypeptide referred to as islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). The primary structures of IAPP from human and three rodent species have previously been determined. Sequence divergence was seen in the region corresponding to amino acid residues 20–29, which in human IAPP has been suggested to confer the amyloidogenic properties to the molecule. Using polymerase chain-reaction methodology, we determined the primary sequence of cat IAPP. Amino acid region 20–29 shows specific similarities and differences compared with human and rodent IAPP, respectively. A synthetic cat IAPP20–29 decapeptide formed amyloid fibrils spontaneously in vitro. Comparison between the structure and amyloid fibril-forming activity of various synthetic peptides suggests that the amino acid residues at positions 25–26 in mature IAPP are important for the amyloidogenic properties of the molecule.