Methods and compositions for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes

Both type 1 (DMT1) and type 2 (DMT2) diabetes mellitus are characterized by the slow loss of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and by a long preclinical stage when diagnosis and preventive therapies are already possible. Our inventors identified a novel DMT1 auto-antigen which is selectively expressed by beta cells and likely involved in the control of their progressive death. The identified molecules represent novel targets or tools for the development of diagnostic tests and cytoprotective therapies for diabetes mellitus.