Genetic determination of islet cell autoimmunity in monozygotic twin, dizygotic twin, and non-twin siblings of patients with type 1 diabetes: prospective twin study

Abstract

Monozygotic and dizygotic twins differ in progression to diabetes and expression of islet cell autoantibodies. Dizygotic twin siblings are similar to non-twin siblings. These two observations suggest that genetic factors play an important part in determination of islet cell autoimmunity, thus rejecting the hypothesis. In addition, there is a high penetrance of islet cell autoimmunity in DQ8/DQ2 monozygotic twin siblings.