Polymorphisms of the insulin receptor substrate-2 in patients with type 2 diabetes

We investigated the significance of Gly1057Asp and Leu647Val insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-2 polymorphisms in two Italian cohorts comprising 186 glucose-tolerant subjects and 240 subjects with type 2 diabetes from the Lazio region (i.e. representative of central Italy), and 123 glucose-tolerant subjects from the Sicily region (i.e. representative of south Italy). The allelic frequency of Gly1057Asp variant did not differ between diabetics (32.9%) and nondiabetic subjects, whatever their ethnicity was (35.8% and 33.7% from Lazio and Sicily, respectively). As compared with Gly/Gly subjects within each group, Asp/Asp individuals showed no differences in quantitative traits, including fasting insulin and C-peptide, and several indices of insulin sensitivity and secretion. Only one of the diabetic patients was heterozygous for the Leu647Val variant, and none of the control subjects carried this variant. This patient had three children who were also heterozygous for this variant. They were glucose tolerant, and their insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion indices were within the range of age-matched controls. We also analyzed IRS-2 function in fibroblasts from carriers of Gly1057Asp or Leu647Val variant. No defects in IRS-2 expression, insulin-stimulated phosphorylation, or binding to the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase were observed. These results strongly argue against a major role of IRS-2 polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.