Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Autoantibodies to proinsulin found in diabetic dogs
By Davison, Lucy J et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2011·Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Autoantibodies to recombinant canine proinsulin in canine diabetic patients.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with diabetes was tested for specific antibodies against a protein called proinsulin. Out of 15 newly diagnosed diabetic dogs, 8 showed signs of these antibodies, while 6 out of 15 dogs already on insulin treatment also reacted positively. Interestingly, some of these dogs did not react to regular insulin, suggesting they might be responding to a different part of the proinsulin protein. This finding indicates that some diabetic dogs may have unique immune responses that could be important for their treatment, but more research is needed to understand what this means for their health.
People also search for: dog diabetes symptoms · diabetic dog treatment options · proinsulin antibodies in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether dogs with spontaneously-occurring diabetes mellitus demonstrate serological reactivity to proinsulin. SAMPLE POPULATION: Serum samples were collected from 15 newly-diagnosed diabetic, 15 insulin-treated diabetic and 15 non-diabetic control dogs. PROCEDURES: Canine proinsulin was cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector to generate recombinant poly-histidine-tagged protein in Escherichia coli. A Western blotting assay was developed for detection of proinsulin autoantibodies in canine sera. RESULTS: Reactivity to canine proinsulin was detected in 3 of 15 control dogs, 8 of 15 newly-diagnosed diabetic dogs and 6 of 15 insulin-treated diabetic patients. Of these reactors, only 1 control dog, 1 newly-diagnosed diabetic dog and 3 insulin-treated diabetic dogs recognised porcine insulin by ELISA, suggesting that the remaining proinsulin reactors might have been recognising proinsulin-specific epitopes. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study suggests that proinsulin autoantibodies are present in a proportion of diabetic dogs. Further work is required to refine the assay and clarify the significance of these autoantibodies.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20855094/