Diabetes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Diabetes, including details on insulin, type i, type ii, diet, treatment, prevention.

Analysis of coding variants in the betacellulin gene in type 2 diabetes and insulin secretion in African American subjects.

Elbein SC, Wang X, Karim MA, Chu WS, Silver KD

Endocrinology Section, Medical Service, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. elbeinstevenc@uams.edu

BACKGROUND: Betacellulin is a member of the epidermal growth factor family, expressed at the highest levels predominantly in the pancreas and thought to be involved in islet neogenesis and regeneration. Nonsynonymous coding variants were reported to be associated with type 2 diabetes in African American subjects. We tested the hypotheses that these previously identified variants were associated with type 2 diabetes in African Americans ascertained in Arkansas and that they altered insulin secretion in glucose tolerant African American subjects. METHODS: We typed three variants, exon1 Cys7Gly (C7G), exon 2 Leu44Phe (L44F), and exon 4 Leu124Met (L124M), in 188 control subjects and 364 subjects with type 2 diabetes. We tested for altered insulin secretion in 107 subjects who had undergone intravenous glucose tolerance tests to assess insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. RESULTS: No variant was associated with type 2 diabetes, and no variant altered insulin secretion or insulin sensitivity. However, an effect on lipids was observed for all 3 variants, and variant L124M was associated with obesity measures. CONCLUSION: We were unable to confirm a role for nonsynonymous variants of betacellulin in the propensity to type 2 diabetes or to impaired insulin secretion.

Published 16 August 2006 in BMC Med Genet, 7: 62.
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