Screening for a Mutation in the Glucagon Receptor Gene (Gly⁴⁰→Ser) in Japanese Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

A missense mutation in the glucagon receptor gene causing a Gly to Ser change at codon 40 (Gly⁴⁰→Ser) has been reported to be associated with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in a French population. To investigate the association of this mutation with NIDDM in Japanese, we screened 145 unrelated NIDDM patients and 265 control subjects for the presense of the Gly⁴⁰→Ser mutation by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. None of the Japanese NIDDM patients and control subjects enrolled in this study had this mutation. Our results suggest that the Gly⁴⁰ →Ser mutation does not play an important role in the pathogenesis of NIDDM in the Japanese population