Chromosomal mapping and mutational analysis of the coding region of the glycogen synthase kinase-3 alpha and beta isoforms in patients with NIDDM

Activation of glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle in response to insulin results from the combined inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) and activation of the protein phosphatase-1, changing the ratio between the inactive phosphorylated state of the glycogen synthase to the active dephosphorylated state. In a search for genetic defects responsible for the decreased insulin stimulated glycogen synthesis seen in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and their glucose-tolerant first-degree relatives we have performed mutational analysis of the coding region of the 2 isoforms of GSK-3 alpha and GSK-3 beta in 72 NIDDM patients and 12 control subjects. No structural changes were detected apart from a few silent mutations. Mapping of the GSK-3 alpha to chromosome 19q13.1-13.2 and the GSK-3 beta to chromosome 3q13.3-q21 outside known genetic loci linked to NIDDM further makes it unlikely that these genes are involved in the pathogenesis of common forms of NIDDM.