Islet cell Ag 512 (ICA512) is a recombinant human Ag that was isolated from an islet cDNA expression library by screening with human insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus sera. Specificity of reaction with diabetic sera was demonstrated initially by immunoprecipitation with a small number of diabetic and normal serum samples. To permit quantitative and rapid serum testing, ICA512 was purified and adapted to an ELISA format. In this way, a sensitivity of 48% with newly diagnosed diabetic sera has been measured with a panel of 80 sera. DNA sequencing of ICA512-3, a cDNA that contains a 1644 bp open reading frame, suggests that it codes for a transmembrane protein having a single membrane-spanning segment and a cytoplasmic domain that is closely related to the first intracellular (catalytic) domain of the T cell protein tyrosine phosphatase, CD45. Northern blot analysis of poly(A)+ RNAs from several human tissues indicates that ICA512 mRNA is expressed in brain and pancreas.