Differential expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase in rat and human islets
The GABA synthesizing enzyme GAD is a prominent islet cell autoantigen in type I diabetes. The two forms of GAD (GAD64 and GAD67) are encoded by different genes in both rats and humans. By in situ hybridization analysis of rat and human pancreases, expression of both genes was detected in rat islets, whereas only GAD64 mRNA was detected in human islets, Immunocytochemical analysis of rat and human