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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Electrochemiluminescence Assays for Human Islet Autoantibodies
Published on: March 23, 2018
ECL-IAA and ECL-GADA Can Identify High-Risk Single Autoantibody-Positive Relatives in the TrialNet Pathway to
Andrea K Steck1, Alexandra Fouts1, Dongmei Miao1
11 Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado School of Medicine , Aurora, Colorado.
Background:
Relatives with single positive islet autoantibodies have a much lower risk of progression to diabetes than those with multiple autoantibodies.
Materials And Methods:
TrialNet subjects positive for single autoantibody to insulin (mIAA) (n = 50) or single autoantibody to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GADA) (n = 50) were analyzed using new electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assays (ECL-IAA and ECL-GADA, respectively) at their initial visit and longitudinally over time. Affinity assays were performed on a subset of single autoantibody-positive subjects at initial and most recent visits.
Results:
After a mean follow-up of 5.3 years, 20 subjects developed type 1 diabetes. Among either single GADA or single mIAA subjects, those who were positive in the ECL assay showed higher affinity at the initial visit, and affinity results stayed consistent over time. No converting events from low to high or high to low affinity were seen over time.
Conclusions:
Confirmed positivity for ECL is associated with high affinity and can help staging of risk for type 1 diabetes in single autoantibody-positive subjects.
