[Investigation of the insulin gene by the amplification method in vitro]

Forty one patients with familial non-insulin-dependent diabetes (type 2) were included into the study. The fragment of insulin gene including the sequences coding for beta chain and part of C-peptide as well as 5'untranslated region was amplified in vitro by using the polymerase chain reaction. The digestion of the fragments by using the restriction enzyme Pst I followed by electrophoretic separation allowed to recognize the alpha and beta alleles of insulin gene. The investigations have shown that the beta allele occurs more frequently in diabetic patients than in healthy control subjects (P < 0.05).