What is the major cytoplasmic organelle involved in steroid hormone production?
Type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease resulting from destruction of pancreatic ß-cells. The autoimmune response is probably triggered by some unidentified environmental agent (virus, chemical, toxin). In the genetically predisposed individual, ß-cell injury leads to autoimmunity. At least one gene that regulates this phenomenon is linked to HLA, specifically the HLA-D region. The importance of an environmental trigger is underscored by the fact that even in identical twins the concordance rate of type I diabetes is only 50%. Type II, or non-insulin dependent, diabetes is both genetically and biochemically distinct from Type I disease. Although there is a strong genetic predisposition, the genes do not map to HLA. It usually starts in adults (> 30 years) and up to 80% of the patients are obese. There is no evidence of autoimmunity or HLA linkage. The deficiency of insulin is mild relative to that of type I diabetes, and the major factor, at least at the onset of the disease, seems to
