Inositol pyrophosphates, also designated inositol diphosphates, possess high-energy -phosphates that can pyrophosphorylate proteins and regulate various cellular processes. They are formed by a family of inositol hexakisphosphate kinases (IP6Ks). We have created mice with a targeted deletion of IP6K1 in which production of inositol pyrophosphates is markedly diminished. Defects in the mutants indicate important roles for IP6K1 and inositol pyrophosphates in several physiological functions. Male mutant mice are sterile with defects in spermiogenesis. Mutant mice are smaller than wild-type despite normal food intake. The mutants display markedly lower circulating insulin.inositol phosphate kinase ͉ inositol polyphosphate ͉ knockout mouse N umerous inositol phosphates regulate biological functions with the best characterized, inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 ), releasing intracellular calcium (1). Recent attention has focused on the inositol pyrophosphates, also designated inositol diphosphates, of which the best studied are diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate [5-PP-I(1,2,3,4,6)P 5 , here designated IP 7 ] and bisdiphosphoinositol tetrakisphosphate ([PP] 2 -IP 4 , IP 8 ) (2-4). These compounds are synthesized by a family of three inositol hexakisphosphate (IP 6 ) kinases (IP6Ks) (5-7). Inositol pyrophosphates have been implicated in a variety of physiologic functions including apoptosis (8, 9), endocytosis (10, 11), telomere length maintenance (12, 13), and chemotaxis (14). Additionally, another form of IP 7 , tentatively identified as 4/6-PP-IP 5 , is formed by the Vip1 enzyme in yeast and is implicated in the regulation of cell morphology, cell growth, and phosphate homeostasis (15, 16). Shears et al. have established that the mammalian Vip1 ortholog physiologically synthesizes IP 8 , which is involved in osmotic regulation (17,18). Inositol pyrophosphates may exert their functions in two ways, by binding to proteins or via phosphorylation. IP 7 can directly bind cytosolic proteins, such as the cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-CDK inhibitor (CKI) complex, required for phosphate homeostasis in yeast (19). IP 7 can also compete with membrane phosphoinositides for binding to phosphoinositide-binding modules such as PH domains, as observed during chemotactic regulation in Dictyostelium (14). In addition, IP 7 physiologically phosphorylates proteins in a nonenzymatic fashion, analogous to S-nitrosylation, whereby the -phosphate is transferred from IP 7 to previously phosphorylated proteins; hence, IP 7 pyrophosphorylates proteins (20, 21).The various mammalian IP6Ks serve diverse functions. IP6K2 regulates apoptotic cell death (8,9,22,23). IP6K1 has been implicated in the disposition of insulin and glucose. A putative disruption of the IP6K1 gene has been described in a family with type 2 diabetes (24). Illies et al. recently showed that selective depletion of IP6K1 by RNA interference in pancreatic beta cells impairs insulin secretion (25). To elucidate the physiologic role of IP6K1, we created mice with a ta...