Aims/hypothesis: Impaired insulin secretion has a strong genetic component. In this study we investigated whether the 12Glu9 polymorphism in the gene encoding the alpha2B-adrenergic receptor ( ADRA2B) is associated with insulin secretion and/or the incidence of Type 2 diabetes in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance.
Methods: We investigated a total of 506 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance participating in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS). Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. Anthropometric measurements and an oral glucose tolerance test were performed at baseline and at annual follow-up. In a subgroup of patients (n=83), a frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGT) was performed at baseline.
Results: All patients had similar anthropometric measurements and insulin and glucose levels at baseline. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed significant interaction (p=0.003) between study group and genotype across the entire study population. In the control group, subjects with the Glu9 allele had an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared with subjects with the Glu12/12 genotype (odds ratio [OR]=2.68, 95% CI 1.02-7.09, p=0.047 for Glu12/12, and OR=5.17, 95% CI 1.76-15.21, p=0.003 for Glu9/9). This increased risk was not observed in the intervention group, who showed significant weight loss during the trial. In the subgroup who underwent the FSIGT, subjects with the Glu9/9 genotype showed the lowest acute insulin response (p=0.005 for trend).
Conclusions/interpretation: The 12Glu9 polymorphism of ADRA2B is associated with impaired first-phase insulin secretion and may predict the development of Type 2 diabetes in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance who are not subjected to a lifestyle intervention.