/A

Background: The human intestinal fatty acid binding protein (FABP2) locus has been proprosed to be a major candidate gene in determining insulin resistance. It has been hypothesized that alanine to threonine substitution at codon 54 (Ala54Thr) of the FABP2 gene may result in enhanced intestinal uptake of fatty acids, and thereby an impairment of insulin action. FABP2 polymorphism was recently shown to be associated with insulin resistance in several populations including Mexican-Americans, Pima Indians, and Japanese, but not associated in the English, Wales, and Finn. Methods: We investigated the association ot the FABP2 gene polymorphism and insulin resistance, fat absorption, and body fuel metabolism in 96 normal Korean men aged between 21 and 36 years. Results: In normal Koreans, the alanine-encoding allele frequency was 0.66 and threonine encoding allele frequency was 0.34. Subjects with threonine-encoding allele were found to have a higher mean fasting plasma insulin concentration, a higher insulin resistance index, and a higher basal fat oxidation rate compared with subjects who were homozygous for the alanine-encoding allele. Conclusion: These results show that the Ala54Thr substitution in the FABP2 gene is associated with increased fat oxidation and insulin resistance in normal Korean men.