Could Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Be Attributable to a Deficiency of FAD-Linked Glycerophosphate Dehydrogenase?

In 12 out of 32 non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects, the activity of FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in T lymphocyte homogenates was abnormally low when measured by both a colonimetric and radioisotopic procedure. A comparable situation characterized by a deficient activity of FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in both the colonimetric and radioisotopic assays was only observed once among 26 other subjects including 11 healthy volunteers, 9 non-diabetic patients, 5 type-1 (insulin-dependent) diabetics, and 1 pancreatectomized diabetic. By analogy, it is speculated that an impaired activity of FAD-linked glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in the insulin-producing pancreatic B-cell could represent a far-from-uncommon contributive factor in the pathogenesis of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.