GAD2
Glutamate decarboxylase 2
Also known as: DCE2_HUMAN, GAD65
Cross-references: UniProt · Ensembl · Human Protein Atlas · GeneCards · NCBI Gene
Protein identityUniProt · HPA
- UniProt accession
- Q05329
- Gene
- GAD2
- Ensembl
- ENSG00000136750
- Chromosome
- 10
- Canonical length
- 585 aa
- Protein class
- Enzymes, Metabolic proteins, Predicted intracellular proteins
- Quaternary structure
- Homodimer
OverviewNCBI Gene
This gene encodes one of several forms of glutamic acid decarboxylase, identified as a major autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes. The enzyme encoded is responsible for catalyzing the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid from L-glutamic acid. A pathogenic role for this enzyme has been identified in the human pancreas since it has been identified as an autoantibody and an autoreactive T cell target in insulin-dependent diabetes. This gene may also play a role in the stiff man syndrome. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants that encode the same protein. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2008]
Canonical amino-acid sequenceUniProt
585 residues, UniProt reviewed canonical sequence.
>Q05329|GAD2
1 MASPGSGFWS FGSEDGSGDS ENPGTARAWC QVAQKFTGGI GNKLCALLYG DAEKPAESGG
61 SQPPRAAARK AACACDQKPC SCSKVDVNYA FLHATDLLPA CDGERPTLAF LQDVMNILLQ
121 YVVKSFDRST KVIDFHYPNE LLQEYNWELA DQPQNLEEIL MHCQTTLKYA IKTGHPRYFN
181 QLSTGLDMVG LAADWLTSTA NTNMFTYEIA PVFVLLEYVT LKKMREIIGW PGGSGDGIFS
241 PGGAISNMYA MMIARFKMFP EVKEKGMAAL PRLIAFTSEH SHFSLKKGAA ALGIGTDSVI
301 LIKCDERGKM IPSDLERRIL EAKQKGFVPF LVSATAGTTV YGAFDPLLAV ADICKKYKIW
361 MHVDAAWGGG LLMSRKHKWK LSGVERANSV TWNPHKMMGV PLQCSALLVR EEGLMQNCNQ
421 MHASYLFQQD KHYDLSYDTG DKALQCGRHV DVFKLWLMWR AKGTTGFEAH VDKCLELAEY
481 LYNIIKNREG YEMVFDGKPQ HTNVCFWYIP PSLRTLEDNE ERMSRLSKVA PVIKARMMEY
541 GTTMVSYQPL GDKVNFFRMV ISNPAATHQD IDFLIEEIER LGQDLLocalizationUniProt · AlphaFold · HPA
Whether an antibody against GAD2 can act on the native protein depends on physical access: surface and secreted proteins are reachable by circulating antibodies, intracellular proteins usually are not.
- Antibody reachability
- Cell surface
- Secreted
- No
- Transmembrane segments
- 0
- Mean surface accessibility (rSASA)
- 0.29
- Highest tissue expression
- 65 nTPM
Expression across tissuesHPA
Tissue
- basal ganglia: 65 nTPM
- hypothalamus: 33 nTPM
- cerebral cortex: 27 nTPM
- amygdala: 14 nTPM
- cerebellum: 9.8 nTPM
- hippocampal formation: 9.6 nTPM
Single-cell type
- pancreatic islet cells: 547 nCPM
- brain inhibitory neurons: 385 nCPM
- retinal amacrine cells: 179 nCPM
- other brain neurons: 146 nCPM
- oocytes: 111 nCPM
- retinal horizontal cells: 20 nCPM
Immune cell
- basophil: 0 nTPM
- classical monocyte: 0 nTPM
- eosinophil: 0 nTPM
- gdT-cell: 0 nTPM
- intermediate monocyte: 0 nTPM
- MAIT T-cell: 0 nTPM
Brain region
- hypothalamus: 101 nTPM
- basal ganglia: 92 nTPM
- midbrain: 44 nTPM
- cerebral cortex: 42 nTPM
- thalamus: 40 nTPM
- amygdala: 37 nTPM
DiseaseUniProt · ClinVar · IEDB · PubMed
Four sources answering four different questions about GAD2.
Disease | ImmuneIEDB
Conditions an epitope on GAD2 was assayed in.
- type 1 diabetes mellitus B and T cell
- Stiff-Person syndrome B and T cell
- prediabetes syndrome B and T cell
- multiple sclerosis B cell
- rubella T cell
- autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome B cell
- Graves' disease B cell
- central nervous system disease B cell
- type 2 diabetes mellitus T cell
Disease | AutoantibodyPubMed
Conditions in which antibodies against GAD2 are reported. Each links to that disease's full target list.
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 822
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 214
- Stiff-Person Syndrome 163
- Epilepsy 67
- Cerebellar Ataxia 63
- Encephalitis 59
- Limbic Encephalitis 49
- Thyroiditis, Autoimmune 34
- Hashimoto Disease 33
- Autoimmune Diseases of the Nervous System 29
- Polyendocrinopathies, Autoimmune 25
- Insulin Resistance 24
- Seizures 22
- Obesity 18
- Celiac Disease 13
- Graves Disease 13
- Paraneoplastic Syndromes, Nervous System 10
- Addison Disease 7
- Diabetic Nephropathies 7
- COVID-19 6
Showing 20 of 72 — disease pages carrying at least 10 antigens.
ReferencesPubMed · IEDB
Publications for GAD2 from three distinct lines of evidence, kept separate because they answer different questions: whether antibodies are directed at the protein, whether a B-cell epitope has been mapped on it, and whether a T-cell epitope has. Each is labelled with its source.
Reference: AutoantibodyPubMed
1,518 publications
- Identification of the 64K autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes as the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase.
1990 · Nature · RCR 37.5 · 1,518 citations - Antibodies to the GABA(B) receptor in limbic encephalitis with seizures: case series and characterisation of the antigen.
2010 · Lancet Neurol · RCR 18.6 · 662 citations - Autoantibodies to GABA-ergic neurons and pancreatic beta cells in stiff-man syndrome.
1990 · N Engl J Med · RCR 16.8 · 553 citations - Encephalitis with refractory seizures, status epilepticus, and antibodies to the GABAA receptor: a case series, characterisation of the antigen, and analysis of the effects of antibodies.
2014 · Lancet Neurol · RCR 15.5 · 426 citations - Immunopathology of autoantibody-associated encephalitides: clues for pathogenesis.
2012 · Brain · RCR 14.9 · 504 citations
Show 20 more of 1,518 total
- Efgartigimod beyond myasthenia gravis: the role of FcRn-targeting therapies in stiff-person syndrome.
2024 · J Neurol · RCR 14.2 · 51 citations - Spectrum of neurological syndromes associated with glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies: diagnostic clues for this association.
2008 · Brain · RCR 14 · 463 citations - Glycine receptor antibodies in PERM and related syndromes: characteristics, clinical features and outcomes.
2014 · Brain · RCR 13.7 · 365 citations - Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase as predictors of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus before clinical onset of disease.
1994 · Lancet · RCR 13.7 · 487 citations - Autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase in a patient with stiff-man syndrome, epilepsy, and type I diabetes mellitus.
1988 · N Engl J Med · RCR 13.5 · 481 citations - The 6 year incidence of diabetes-associated autoantibodies in genetically at-risk children: the TEDDY study.
2015 · Diabetologia · RCR 12 · 354 citations - The epidemiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus in older adults.
2025 · Nat Rev Endocrinol · RCR 11.9 · 34 citations - Neurologic syndromes related to anti-GAD65: Clinical and serologic response to treatment.
2020 · Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm · RCR 11.9 · 172 citations - Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase define a form of limbic encephalitis.
2010 · Ann Neurol · RCR 11.8 · 376 citations - GAD antibodies in neurological disorders - insights and challenges.
2020 · Nat Rev Neurol · RCR 11.4 · 185 citations - A novel radioligand binding assay to determine diagnostic accuracy of isoform-specific glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies in childhood IDDM.
1994 · Diabetologia · RCR 11.1 · 399 citations - A novel subtype of type 1 diabetes mellitus characterized by a rapid onset and an absence of diabetes-related antibodies. Osaka IDDM Study Group.
2000 · N Engl J Med · RCR 10.3 · 479 citations - Stiff-person Syndrome and GAD Antibody-spectrum Disorders: GABAergic Neuronal Excitability, Immunopathogenesis and Update on Antibody Therapies.
2022 · Neurotherapeutics · RCR 9.9 · 88 citations - Latent autoimmune diabetes mellitus in adults (LADA): the role of antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase in diagnosis and prediction of insulin dependency.
1994 · Diabet Med · RCR 9.5 · 334 citations - Autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus.
2007 · JAMA · RCR 9.2 · 395 citations - Looking back at the TEDDY study: lessons and future directions.
2025 · Nat Rev Endocrinol · RCR 8.8 · 26 citations - High-dose intravenous immune globulin for stiff-person syndrome.
2001 · N Engl J Med · RCR 8.8 · 309 citations - Detection of GAD65 antibodies in diabetes and other autoimmune diseases using a simple radioligand assay.
1994 · Diabetes · RCR 8.5 · 300 citations - Dysregulation of lipid and amino acid metabolism precedes islet autoimmunity in children who later progress to type 1 diabetes.
2008 · J Exp Med · RCR 8.3 · 345 citations - Immune checkpoint inhibitors and type 1 diabetes mellitus: a case report and systematic review.
2019 · Eur J Endocrinol · RCR 8.2 · 209 citations
Reference: B cellIEDB
25 publications
- Autoreactive epitopes defined by diabetes-associated human monoclonal antibodies are localized in the middle and C-terminal domains of the smaller form of glutamate decarboxylase.
1993 · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · RCR 4 · 161 citations - Analysis of GAD65 autoantibodies in Stiff-Person syndrome patients.
2005 · J Immunol · RCR 3 · 121 citations - Glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies in stiff-man syndrome and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus exhibit similarities and differences in epitope recognition.
1996 · J Immunol · RCR 2.8 · 105 citations - High-Density Peptide Microarray Analysis of IgG Autoantibody Reactivities in Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid of Multiple Sclerosis Patients.
2016 · Mol Cell Proteomics · RCR 2.5 · 66 citations - High-resolution autoreactive epitope mapping and structural modeling of the 65 kDa form of human glutamic acid decarboxylase.
1999 · J Mol Biol · RCR 2 · 81 citations
Show 20 more
- Identification of autoantibody epitopes of glutamic acid decarboxylase in stiff-man syndrome patients.
1994 · J Immunol · RCR 1.3 · 47 citations - Antibody cross-reactivity induced by the homologous regions in glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) and 2C protein of coxsackievirus B4. Childhood Diabetes in Finland Study Group.
1996 · Clin Exp Immunol · RCR 1.2 · 51 citations - Epitope spreading and a varying but not disease-specific GAD65 antibody response in Type I diabetes. The Childhood Diabetes in Finland Study Group.
2000 · Diabetologia · RCR 1.2 · 55 citations - Conformational epitopes on the diabetes autoantigen GAD65 identified by peptide phage display and molecular modeling.
2000 · J Immunol · RCR 0.8 · 35 citations - Comparative analysis of epitope recognition of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) by autoantibodies from different autoimmune disorders.
1999 · Clin Exp Immunol · RCR 0.8 · 31 citations - Characterization of a linear epitope within the human pancreatic 64-kDa glutamic acid decarboxylase and its autoimmune recognition by sera from insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients.
1993 · Eur J Biochem · RCR 0.7 · 25 citations - Enterovirus infection may induce humoral immune response reacting with islet cell autoantigens in humans.
2003 · J Med Virol · RCR 0.7 · 32 citations - Distinct antigenic features of linear epitopes at the N-terminus and C-terminus of 65 kDa glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65): implications for autoantigen modification during pathogenesis.
2002 · Clin Exp Immunol · RCR 0.5 · 22 citations - Autoimmunity to glutamic acid decarboxylase in the neurodegenerative disorder Batten disease.
2005 · Neurology · RCR 0.5 · 20 citations - Murine monoclonal glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)65 antibodies recognize autoimmune-associated GAD epitope regions targeted in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and stiff-man syndrome.
1996 · Acta Diabetol · RCR 0.4 · 16 citations - Cross-reactive peptide epitopes of Enterovirus Coxsackie B4 and human glutamic acid decarboxylase detecting antibodies in latent autoimmune diabetes in adults versus type 1 diabetes.
2021 · Clin Chim Acta · RCR 0.4 · 5 citations - Antigen-specific immunomodulation for type 1 diabetes by novel recombinant antibodies directed against diabetes-associates auto-reactive T cell epitope.
2013 · J Autoimmun · RCR 0.4 · 15 citations - Mapping of an autoreactive epitope within glutamate decarboxylase using a diabetes-associated human monoclonal autoantibody and an epitope cDNA library.
1996 · Hybridoma · RCR 0.4 · 14 citations - Antibodies to GAD65 and peripheral nerve function in the DCCT.
2007 · J Neuroimmunol · RCR 0.3 · 13 citations - TCR-like antibodies distinguish conformational and functional differences in two- versus four-domain auto reactive MHC class II-peptide complexes.
2011 · Eur J Immunol · RCR 0.3 · 13 citations - Protein-engineered molecules carrying GAD65 epitopes and targeting CD35 selectively down-modulate disease-associated human B lymphocytes.
2019 · Clin Exp Immunol · RCR 0.2 · 5 citations - ELISA based on peptide antigens reproducing cross-reactive viral epitopes to detect antibodies in latent autoimmune diabetes in adults vs. type 1 diabetes.
2021 · MethodsX · RCR 0.2 · 2 citations - Conformation-dependent GAD65 autoantibodies in diabetes.
2004 · Diabetologia · RCR 0.2 · 8 citations - Peptide specificity of high-titer anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)65 autoantibodies.
1998 · Immunol Lett · RCR 0.2 · 6 citations - Reduced display of conformational epitopes in the N-terminal truncated GAD65 isoform: relevance for people with stiff person syndrome or DQ8/8-positive Type 1 diabetes mellitus.
2019 · Diabet Med · RCR 0.1 · 2 citations
Reference: T cellIEDB
81 publications
- Analysis of self-antigen specificity of islet-infiltrating T cells from human donors with type 1 diabetes.
2016 · Nat Med · RCR 9.1 · 276 citations - Cellular immunity to a determinant common to glutamate decarboxylase and coxsackie virus in insulin-dependent diabetes.
1994 · J Clin Invest · RCR 8.5 · 374 citations - Clonal Deletion Prunes but Does Not Eliminate Self-Specific αβ CD8(+) T Lymphocytes.
2015 · Immunity · RCR 6.4 · 266 citations - Autoreactive T cells in healthy individuals.
2004 · J Immunol · RCR 4.5 · 276 citations - Recognition of posttranslationally modified GAD65 epitopes in subjects with type 1 diabetes.
2014 · Diabetes · RCR 3.5 · 127 citations
Show 20 more of 81 total
- Plasmid-encoded proinsulin preserves C-peptide while specifically reducing proinsulin-specific CD8⁺ T cells in type 1 diabetes.
2013 · Sci Transl Med · RCR 3.5 · 137 citations - CD8+ T-cell responses identify beta-cell autoimmunity in human type 1 diabetes.
2007 · Diabetes · RCR 3.3 · 162 citations - Cytomegalovirus in autoimmunity: T cell crossreactivity to viral antigen and autoantigen glutamic acid decarboxylase.
2001 · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · RCR 3.1 · 158 citations - Cytotoxic T cells specific for glutamic acid decarboxylase in autoimmune diabetes.
1995 · J Exp Med · RCR 3 · 148 citations - Detection of GAD65-specific T-cells by major histocompatibility complex class II tetramers in type 1 diabetic patients and at-risk subjects.
2002 · Diabetes · RCR 2.7 · 154 citations - β-cell-specific CD8 T cell phenotype in type 1 diabetes reflects chronic autoantigen exposure.
2015 · Diabetes · RCR 2.5 · 96 citations - The antigen presentation landscape of cytokine-stressed human pancreatic islets.
2025 · Cell Rep · RCR 2.5 · 8 citations - Identification of naturally processed T cell epitopes from glutamic acid decarboxylase presented in the context of HLA-DR alleles by T lymphocytes of recent onset IDDM patients.
1997 · J Clin Invest · RCR 2.3 · 120 citations - Evidence for molecular mimicry between human T cell epitopes in rotavirus and pancreatic islet autoantigens.
2010 · J Immunol · RCR 2.2 · 89 citations - CD8 T-cell reactivity to islet antigens is unique to type 1 while CD4 T-cell reactivity exists in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
2014 · J Autoimmun · RCR 2.1 · 73 citations - Immunodominant epitopes of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 and 67 in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
1994 · Lancet · RCR 2.1 · 97 citations - Chromogranin A is a T cell antigen in human type 1 diabetes.
2014 · J Autoimmun · RCR 2 · 68 citations - HLA-E-restricted regulatory CD8(+) T cells are involved in development and control of human autoimmune type 1 diabetes.
2010 · J Clin Invest · RCR 1.9 · 94 citations - Optimized Peptide-MHC Multimer Protocols for Detection and Isolation of Autoimmune T-Cells.
2018 · Front Immunol · RCR 1.9 · 60 citations - Similar peptides from two beta cell autoantigens, proinsulin and glutamic acid decarboxylase, stimulate T cells of individuals at risk for insulin-dependent diabetes.
1995 · Mol Med · RCR 1.8 · 87 citations - Autoreactive T effector memory differentiation mirrors β cell function in type 1 diabetes.
2018 · J Clin Invest · RCR 1.8 · 58 citations - The frequency and immunodominance of islet-specific CD8+ T-cell responses change after type 1 diabetes diagnosis and treatment.
2008 · Diabetes · RCR 1.6 · 81 citations - Cytoplasmic processing is a prerequisite for presentation of an endogenous antigen by major histocompatibility complex class II proteins.
2000 · J Exp Med · RCR 1.6 · 104 citations - GAD65-specific CD4+ T-cells with high antigen avidity are prevalent in peripheral blood of patients with type 1 diabetes.
2004 · Diabetes · RCR 1.6 · 89 citations - Identification and modulation of a naturally processed T cell epitope from the diabetes-associated autoantigen human glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (hGAD65).
2001 · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · RCR 1.4 · 85 citations
Sources: PubMed — antigen-level antibody evidence from a custom retrieval. Records matching a controlled set of autoantibody terms (the MeSH descriptors Autoantibodies and Autoantigens, with title and abstract term variants) were obtained through NCBI E-utilities, and their titles and abstracts parsed for constructions that direct an antibody at a named protein rather than for co-occurrence. Captured names were resolved against UniProt nomenclature and each antigen adjudicated individually against the source text. IEDB — curated epitope assays from the Immune Epitope Database (Vita et al., Nucleic Acids Research 2019). Bibliographic records from PubMed and MeSH, U.S. National Library of Medicine; citation metrics from NIH iCite (Hutchins et al., PLoS Biology 2016). Titles link to PubMed; abstracts are not reproduced here. The NLM does not endorse this analysis.
Genetic constraint and essentialitygnomAD · DepMap
Does the body need this protein intact? Low LOEUF or a strong DepMap dependency means loss or blockade of the protein is likely to be felt.
- gnomAD LOEUF (loss-of-function intolerance)
- 0.37
- gnomAD pLI
- 0.75
- gnomAD missense Z
- 1.53
- DepMap mean gene effect
- 0.09
- DepMap dependency class
- none
Cancer expressionTCGA
Across TCGA tumor cohorts, this protein is over-expressed in roughly 2% of surveyed tumor types (aggregate summary; per-cohort expression, alteration, and survival load in the interactive view).
OntologyGO
Biological processes
Molecular functions
Cellular components
Protein domainsUniProt · Pfam · InterPro
KeywordsUniProt
Antibody and autoantibody relevanceSeroatlas analysis
Seroatlas reads GAD2 as an antibody target. Whether an autoantibody or antibody against GAD2 could matter depends on whether native GAD2 is physically reachable, whether the body needs it intact, and whether it acts in a disease-relevant tissue.
GAD2 is annotated at the cell surface, where native GAD2 is exposed to circulating antibodies and is a prime autoantibody target that could block, deplete, or overstimulate it.
Source-annotated serology context
The source annotations explicitly mention antibody, autoantibody, autoantigen, or autoimmune context. This is biological context, not study-specific reactivity.
- This gene encodes one of several forms of glutamic acid decarboxylase, identified as a major autoantigen in insulin-dependent diabetes.
- A pathogenic role for this enzyme has been identified in the human pancreas since it has been identified as an autoantibody and an autoreactive T cell target in insulin-dependent diabetes.
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