The insulin receptor is a ligand-activated tyrosine kinase. Mutations in the corresponding gene cause the rare inherited insulin-resistant disorders leprechaunism and Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome. Patients with the most severe syndrome, leprechaunism, have growth restriction, altered glucose homeostasis and early death (usually before 1 year of age). Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome is less severe, with survival up to 5-15 years of age. These disorders are transmitted as autosomal recessive traits. Here we report six new patients and correlate mutations in the insulin receptor gene with survival. Patients with leprechaunism were homozygous or compound heterozygous for mutations in the extracellular domain of the insulin receptor and their cells had markedly impaired insulin binding (<10% of controls). Mutations in their insulin receptor gene inserted premature stop codons (E124X, R372X, G650X, E665X and C682X), resulting in decreased levels of mature mRNA, or affected the extracellular domain of the receptor (R86P, A92V, DeltaN281, I898T and R899W). Three patients with Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome had at least one missense mutation in the intracellular domain of the insulin receptor (P970T, I1116T, R1131W and R1174W). Expression studies in CHO cells indicated that the R86P, A92V, DeltaN281, I898T, R899W and R1131W mutations markedly impaired insulin binding (<5% of control), while the P970T, I1116T and R1174W mutant receptors retained significant insulin-binding activity. These results indicate that mutations in the insulin receptor retaining residual insulin-binding correlate with prolonged survival in our series of patients with extreme insulin resistance.

Mutations in the insulin receptor gene cause the inherited insulin resistant syndromes Leprechaunism and Rabson–Mendenhall syndrome. These recessive conditions are characterized by intrauterine and post-natal growth restrictions, dysmorphic features, altered glucose homeostasis, and early demise. The insulin receptor gene (INSR) maps to the short arm of chromosome 19 and is composed of 22 exons. Here we optimize the conditions for sequencing this gene and report novel mutations in patients with severe insulin resistance.MethodsPCR amplification of the 22 coding exons of the INSR gene was performed using M13-tailed primers. Bidirectional DNA sequencing was performed with BigDye Terminator chemistry and M13 primers and the product was analyzed on the ABI 3100 genetic analyzer. Data analysis was performed using Mutation Surveyor software comparing the sequence to a reference INSR sequence (Genbank NC_000019).ResultsWe sequenced four patients with Leprechaunism or Rabson–Mendenhall syndromes as well as seven samples from normal individuals and confirmed previously identified mutations in the affected patients. Three of the four mutations identified in this group caused premature insertion of a stop codon. In addition, the INSR gene was sequenced in 14 clinical samples from patients with suspected insulin resistance and one novel mutation was found in an infant with a suspected diagnosis of Leprechaunism.DiscussionLeprechaunism and Rabson–Mendenhall syndrome are very rare and difficult to diagnose. Diagnosis is currently based mostly on clinical criteria. Clinical availability of DNA sequencing can provide an objective way of confirming or excluding the diagnosis.

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