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Objectives Insulin-derived amyloidosis is a rare skin-related complication of insulin therapy. The purpose of this study was to show the effects of insulin-derived amyloidosis on blood glucose levels, insulin dose requirements, and insulin absorption. Methods Seven patients were found to have insulin-derived amyloidosis at the Tokyo Medical University Ibaraki Medical Center. The clinical characteristics and insulin therapy of the 7 patients were investigated. Insulin absorption was studied by comparing the serum insulin levels after insulin injections into insulin-derived amyloidosis sites versus injections into normal sites in 4 patients. Results When the insulin-derived amyloidosis was discovered, the mean hemoglobin A1c level was 9.3%, and the mean daily insulin dose was 57 units. After changing the injection sites to avoid the insulin-derived amyloidosis, the blood glucose concentrations improved, and the mean daily insulin dose could be reduced to 27 units (P = .035; 53% reduction). The insulin absorption at insulin-derived amyloidosis sites was 34% of that at normal sites (P = .030). Conclusions Insulin-derived amyloidosis caused poor glycemic control and increased insulin dose requirements because of impairments in insulin absorption.

Genetic data support the notion that polymorphisms in members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family of genes play an important role in extracellular matrix remodeling and contribute to the pathogenesis of vascular disease. To identify novel genetic markers for diabetic nephropathy (DN), we examined the relationship between MMP gene polymorphisms and DN in the Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes (GoKinD) population. Genotypic data from the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) type 1 DN project were analyzed for associations across 21 MMP genes in 1,705 individual with type 1 diabetes, including 885 normoalbuminuric control subjects and 820 advanced DN case subjects. In total, we investigated the role of 1,283 SNPs (198 genotyped SNPs and 1,085 imputed SNPs) mapping to the MMP genes. We identified associations at several correlated SNPs across a 29.2 kb interval on chromosome 11q at the MMP-3/MMP-12 locus. The strongest associations occurred at 2 highly-correlated SNPs, rs610950 (OR = 0.50, P = 1.6×10−5) and rs1277718 (OR = 0.50, P = 2.1×10−5). Further examination of this locus identified 17 SNPs (2 genotyped SNPs and 15 imputed SNPs) in complete linkage disequilibrium associated with DN (P-values < 2.5×10−4), including a non-synonymous SNP (rs652438, Asn357Ser) located in exon 8 of MMP-12 that significantly reduced the risk of DN among carriers of the serine substitution relative to homozygous carriers of asparagine (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.37–0.71, P = 6.2×10−5). Taken together, our study suggests that genetic variations within the MMP-3/MMP-12 locus influence susceptibility of DN in type 1 diabetes.