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Amyloid of human islets of Langerhans

II. Electron microscopic analysis of isolated amyloid

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Summary

Isolated amyloid from the islets of Langerhans of patients with maturity onset diabetes mellitus was compared with amyloid fibrils from patients with different types of systemic amyloidosis. It was found that systemic amyloids had in common rigid and non-branching filaments with a width of about 75 å and that these filaments sometimes were attached laterally, forming thicker fibrils. Similar filaments could also be extracted from islet amyloid but the main part of this amyloid was built up by large aggregates of very thin and often very wavy units. This structure, which has not been previously described in human amyloid, probably explains some properties of isolated islet amyloid.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Pathology, University of Uppsala, Box 553, S-751 22, Uppsala, Sweden

    Per Westermark

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  1. Per Westermark
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Supported by the Swedish Medical Research Council (Project No. 102) and Nordisk Insulinfond. Thanks are due to Anni Bedy and Cristina Bittkowski for skilled technical assistance

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Westermark, P. Amyloid of human islets of Langerhans. Virchows Arch. A Path. Anat. and Histol. 373, 161–166 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00432160

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00432160

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