CORRESPONDENCE

Insulin receptor substrate-1 Gly972Arg variant and type 2 diabetes mellitus

To the Editor: In their article, Vergotine et al.^[1] concluded that 'the Gly972Arg variant may not aid diabetes risk evaluation in this setting'. In fact, the insulin receptor substrate-1 Gly972Arg variant is widely studied in terms of its relationship to diabetes mellitus. Different observations have been made in different settings. In a report from Mexico, Burguete-Gárcia et al.^[2] found 'participation of Gly972Arg polymorphism of IRS1 in the genetic susceptibility to TD2 in Mexican population'. An interesting point is that there are many possible genetic polymorphisms that can relate to diabetes mellitus. However, a polymorphism study alone cannot tell the exact relationship. In a previous study from Mexico,^[3] a polygenic polymorphism effect on diabetes could be confirmed.

Sim Sai Tin
Medical Center, Shantou, China
simsaitin@gmail.com

Viroj Wiwanitkit
Visiting professor, Hainan Medical University, Haikou City, Hainan Province, China

1. Vergotine Z, Kengne AP, Erasmus RT, Matsha TE. No evidence for association of insulin receptor substrate-1 Gly972Arg variant with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a mixed-ancestry population of South Africa. S Afr Med J 2014;104(6):420-423. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.7419]        [ Links ]

2. Burguete-Gárcia AI, Cruz-López M, Madrid-Marina V, et al. Association of Gly972Arg polymorphism of IRS1 gene with type 2 diabetes mellitus in lean participants of a national health survey in Mexico: A candidate gene study. Metabolism 2010;59(1):38-45. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metaboL2009.07.007]        [ Links ]

3. Gárcia-Escalante MG, Suárez-Solís VM, López-Avila MT, Pinto-Escalante D del C, Laviada-Molina H. Effect of the Gly972Arg, SNP43 and Prol2Ala polymorphisms of the genes IRS1, CAPN10 and PPARG2 on secondary failure to sulphonylurea and metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes in Yucatan, Mexico. Invest Clin 2009;50(1):65-76.         [ Links ]