Amyloid deposits characteristically associated with pancreatic islets of those species (e.g., humans, cats, and monkeys) that develop age-associated forms of diabetes have been shown to represent a concentrated and polymerized form of a previously unknown islet-derived protein identified either as IAPP or amylin. IAPP, a highly conserved and carboxy-terminally amidated 37 amino acid polypeptide with approximately 45% amino acid sequence identity to CGRP, is produced by islet beta cells and is cosecreted with insulin in response to glucose and other secretagogues. Prepro-IAPP is synthesized in beta cells as an 89 to 93 amino acid molecule, and mature IAPP appears to be formed by enzymatic processing similar to that involved in the formation of insulin. Glucose-stimulated IAPP secretion generally parallels that of insulin and, on a molar basis, IAPP represents about 1% of the amount of insulin secreted. A significant dissociation of IAPP and insulin secretion (associated with relatively greater upregulation of IAPP secretion) is observed in response to marked hyperglycemia, suggesting that IAPP and insulin expression are differentially regulated. The amyloidogenicity of IAPP in only a very limited number of species is importantly related to the amino acid residues inherently found in the 20-29 region of IAPP from those species. The 25-28 region of human and cat IAPP is identical in structure and appears to be the most important amyloidogenic sequence common to the human and cat. In vitro fibrillogenesis studies have shown that amino acid substitutions in this region especially affect the amyloidogenicity of IAPP. Studies in dogs and cats suggest that aberrations in beta cell synthesis (or processing) of IAPP may lead to an increased concentration of IAPP in the local milieu, thus providing a second prerequisite for the self aggregation of IAPP to form islet amyloid. IAPP has been implicated to have physiological roles in glucose regulation, hemodynamics, calcium homeostasis, and as an anorectic agent. The major current interest in IAPP concerns its potential relationships to glucose metabolism and the development of type 2 diabetes. Evidence has been provided which indicates that IAPP can inhibit glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by beta cells, and that IAPP can also potentially contribute to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes by increasing hepatic glucose output and by inducing peripheral insulin resistance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)