Transplacental passage of autoantibodies from a mother with diabetes and Graves' disease to her infant.

Antibodies to islet cells and thyroid gland were examined in a mother with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and Graves' disease and in her infant. Islet cell antibodies (ICA), complement-fixing ICA, islet cell surface antibodies (ICSA) and anti-microsomal antibodies (MAb) persisted in the mother during pregnancy. At birth, ICA, ICSA and MAb could be detected in the infant. ICSA and ICA in the infant disappeared by the 3rd and 7th months, respectively. There was no clinical or laboratory evidence of diabetes in the infant. These data suggest that anti-islet cell antibodies themselves may have no significant effect on islet cells.