A human antibody against pathologic IAPP aggregates protects beta cells in type 2 diabetes models.

In patients with type 2 diabetes, pancreatic beta cells progressively degenerate and gradually lose their ability to produce insulin and regulate blood glucose. Beta cell dysfunction and loss is associated with an accumulation of aggregated forms of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) consisting of soluble prefibrillar IAPP oligomers as well as insoluble IAPP fibrils in pancreatic islets. Here, we describe a human monoclonal antibody selectively targeting IAPP oligomers and neutralizing IAPP aggregate toxicity by preventing membrane disruption and apoptosis in vitro. Antibody treatment in male rats and mice transgenic for human IAPP, and human islet-engrafted mouse models of type 2 diabetes triggers clearance of IAPP oligomers resulting in beta cell protection and improved glucose control. These results provide new evidence for the pathological role of IAPP oligomers and suggest that antibody-mediated removal of IAPP oligomers could be a pharmaceutical strategy to support beta cell function in type 2 diabetes.

Cynomolgus monkey's choroid reference database derived from hybrid deep learning optical coherence tomography segmentation.

Cynomolgus monkeys exhibit human-like features, such as a fovea, so they are often used in non-clinical research. Nevertheless, little is known about the natural variation of the choroidal thickness in relation to origin and sex. A combination of deep learning and a deterministic computer vision algorithm was applied for automatic segmentation of foveolar optical coherence tomography images in cynomolgus monkeys. The main evaluation parameters were choroidal thickness and surface area directed from the deepest point on OCT images within the fovea, marked as the nulla with regard to sex and origin. Reference choroid landmarks were set underneath the nulla and at 500 µm intervals laterally up to a distance of 2000 µm nasally and temporally, complemented by a sub-analysis of the central bouquet of cones. 203 animals contributed 374 eyes for a reference choroid database. The overall average central choroidal thickness was 193 µm with a coefficient of variation of 7.8%, and the overall mean surface area of the central bouquet temporally was 19,335 µm2 and nasally was 19,283 µm2. The choroidal thickness of the fovea appears relatively homogeneous between the sexes and the studied origins. However, considerable natural variation has been observed, which needs to be appreciated.

Uncovering of intraspecies macular heterogeneity in cynomolgus monkeys using hybrid machine learning optical coherence tomography image segmentation.

The fovea is a depression in the center of the macula and is the site of the highest visual acuity. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has contributed considerably in elucidating the pathologic changes in the fovea and is now being considered as an accompanying imaging method in drug development, such as antivascular endothelial growth factor and its safety profiling. Because animal numbers are limited in preclinical studies and automatized image evaluation tools have not yet been routinely employed, essential reference data describing the morphologic variations in macular thickness in laboratory cynomolgus monkeys are sparse to nonexistent. A hybrid machine learning algorithm was applied for automated OCT image processing and measurements of central retina thickness and surface area values. Morphological variations and the effects of sex and geographical origin were determined. Based on our findings, the fovea parameters are specific to the geographic origin. Despite morphological similarities among cynomolgus monkeys, considerable variations in the foveolar contour, even within the same species but from different geographic origins, were found. The results of the reference database show that not only the entire retinal thickness, but also the macular subfields, should be considered when designing preclinical studies and in the interpretation of foveal data.