WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Oct 25, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A North Carolina scientist says variants of a gene tied to the action of insulin is associated with type 2 diabetes and the body's response to insulin.

Donald W. Bowden, in two articles in the November issue of the journal Diabetes, said the PTPN1 gene is found on the human chromosome 20 and has long been targeted by investigators as a likely site for diabetes genes.

"The protein that this gene makes represses the insulin response, so if you are making a lot of this protein, your ability to respond to insulin would be blunted, which would lead to higher glucose (sugar) in your bloodstream. If it is too high, that's diabetes," Bowden said.

Bowden and his colleagues found several variants of the PTPN1 gene, he said.

"One common form is associated with diabetes, and there's another common form that appears to be protective."

The risky variant of PTPN1 gene is found in about 35 percent of the Caucasian population and the protective form of PTPN1 is found in about 45 percent. The other variants are apparently neutral, neither enhancing nor reducing the risk of diabetes.

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