Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is traditionally characterized by early onset and a heterogeneous autosomal dominant form of inheritance. MODY2 may be common in the Japanese, but the difference in clinical characteristics compared to Europeans and Americans remains unclear. Here, we examined the characteristics in Japanese pediatric patients diagnosed with MODY2. We retrospectively reviewed the diagnostic data of Japanese MODY2 patients diagnosed at our hospital between 2009 and 2022. Genetic screening for MODY2 was performed by direct sequencing followed by multiplex ligation amplification assays. We identified 20 missense mutations in 25 patients and 2 nonsense mutations in 2 patients. We detected 5 deletions in 6 patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 10 years (range 2-14 years), the mean BMI percentile was 46.2%, with none being obese. Mean HbA1c was 6.54%. A glucose tolerance test was performed on 29 patients, 15 of whom were diabetic (7 were diabetic at fasting, 5 were diabetic at 120 min, 3 were diabetic at both) and 14 of borderline diabetes (IFG + IGT: 11, IFG: 2, and IGT: 1). The average glucose tolerance test values were 121.6 mg/dL at 0 min and 182.2 mg/dL at 120 min. No correlation was found between age at onset and plasma glucose value at 0 and 120 min. Reportedly, MODY2 causes a slight increase in post-load blood glucose levels, however the difference between 120 min and 0 min was 56.0 mg/dL (−32 to 140). A negative correlation was observed between 0 min and 120 min blood glucose levels. HOMAIR average was 1.85, 27% of which patients were 2.5 or higher; HOMA-β average was 37.0%, 39% of which showed <30%; and insulinogenic index averaged 0.63, 25% of which showed <0.4, indicating decreased initial insulin secretion. In this study, it is suggested that in Japanese MODY2 cases, glucose sensor dysfunction due to GCK gene mutation causes decreased initial insulin secretion.

Disclosure

R.Katashima: None. S.Yoshida: None. Y.Watanabe: None. M.Moritani: None. I.Yokota: None.

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