People with the Trp64Arg mutation of the gene for the beta 3-adrenergic receptor may have an increased capacity to gain weight.

Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a form of non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) which is characterized by an early age at onset and an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Except for these features, the clinical characteristics of patients with MODY are similar to those with the more common late-onset form(s) of NIDDM. Previously we observed tight linkage between DNA polymorphisms in the glucokinase gene on the short arm of chromosome 7 and NIDDM in a cohort of sixteen French families having MODY. Glucokinase is an enzyme that catalyses the formation of glucose-6-phosphate from glucose and may be involved in the regulation of insulin secretion and integration of hepatic intermediary metabolism. Because the glucokinase gene was a candidate for the site of the genetic lesion in these families, we scanned this gene for mutations. Here we report the identification of a nonsense mutation in the gene encoding glucokinase and its linkage with early-onset diabetes in one family. To our knowledge, this result is the first evidence implicating a mutation in a gene involved in glucose metabolism in the pathogenesis of NIDDM.

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is a major health problem, affecting 5% of the world population. Genetic factors are important in NIDDM, but the mechanisms leading to glucose intolerance are unknown. Genetic linkage has been investigated in multigeneration families to localize, and ultimately identify, the gene(s) predisposing to NIDDM. Here we report linkage between the glucokinase locus on chromosome 7p and diabetes in 16 French families with maturity-onset diabetes of the young, a form of NIDDM characterized by monogenic autosomal dominant transmission and early age of onset. Statistical evidence of genetic heterogeneity was significant, with an estimated 45-95% of the 16 families showing linkage to glucokinase. Because glucokinase is a key enzyme of blood glucose homeostasis, these results are evidence that a gene involved in glucose metabolism could be implicated in the pathogenesis of NIDDM.