Insulin Wakayama: familial mutant insulin syndrome in Japan

We describe a family from Japan displaying the mutant insulin syndrome with hyperinsulinaemia and an increased insulin: C-peptide molar ratio. Serum insulin isolated from several family members showed reduced in vitro biological activity, and analysis by high performance liquid chromatography revealed a peak co-eluting with human insulin and a second species of increased hydrophobicity co-migrating with the previously reported Insulin Wakayama. The insulin genes from the propositus were cloned and sequenced, revealing one normal allele; the second allele, encoding a leucine for valine amino acid substitution at position 3 of the insulin A chain, was similar to that previously described for Insulin Wakayama. Synthesized [LeuA3] insulin showed 0.14% of receptor binding activity on rat adipocytes and a 10-fold prolonged half-life in a somatostatin-infused dog compared with human insulin. The finding of the same mutant gene in two unrelated Japanese families suggests that Insulin Wakayama may be discovered in additional Japanese families with hyperinsulinaemia and/or diabetes.