Islet amyloid polypeptide is expressed in the pancreatic islet parenchyma of the teleostean fish, Myoxocephalus (cottus) scorpius.

The comparative endocrinology of the 37-amino-acid-residue islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is poorly known, possibly due to the fact that available antisera, raised against mammalian IAPP, fail to give immunoreactivity with islet parenchymal cells of non-mammalian vertebrates. Using reverse transcriptase-linked polymerase chain reaction with degenerate primers, IAPP was identified, and its deduced amino-acid sequence partially characterized, in three species of teleostean fish, i.e. Danio rerio (zebrafish), Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon), and Myoxocephalus (cottus) scorpius (daddy sculpin). The daddy sculpin is a species where the histophysiology of the pancreatic islet parenchyma has previously been comprehensively studied. From the deduced amino-acid sequence, a synthetic peptide, corresponding to positions 20-29 of Salmo IAPP, was synthesized. A mouse antiserum to this peptide gave a distinct immunoreactivity with the insulin-producing beta cells of the sculpin Brockmann bodies and salmon endocrine pancreas. Thus, IAPP belongs to the group of peptide hormones expressed by the islet parenchymal cells in both mammals and non-mammalian vertebrates. Salmo salar IAPP(20-29) was found to give rise to amyloid-like fibrils in vitro.