Genetic Variation of the GLUT10 Glucose Transporter (SLC2A10) and Relationships to Type 2 Diabetes and Intermediary Traits

Abstract

The SLC2A10 gene encodes the GLUT10 facilitative glucose transporter, which is expressed in high amounts in liver and pancreas. The gene is mapped to chromosome 20q12-q13.1, a region that has been shown to be linked to type 2 diabetes. The gene was examined in 61 Danish type 2 diabetic patients, and a total of six variants (−27C→T, Ala206Thr, Ala272Ala, IVS2 + 10G→A, IVS4 + 18T→G, and IVS4 + 26G→A) were identified and investigated in an association study, which included 503 type 2 diabetic patients and 510 glucose-tolerant control subjects. None of the variants were associated with type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, carriers of the codon 206 Thr allele had 18% lower fasting serum insulin levels (P = 0.002) and 20% lower insulinogenic index (P = 0.03) than homozygous carriers of the Ala allele. These results suggest that variation in the coding region of SLC2A10 does not contribute substantially to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes in the examined study population. However, the codon 206 polymorphism may be related to the interindividual variation in fasting and oral glucose-induced serum insulin levels.