Tissue-Specific Splicing and Dietary Interaction of a Mutant As160 Allele Determine Muscle Metabolic Fitness in Rodents

Ethnic groups are physiologically and genetically adapted to their diets. Inuit bear a frequent AS160R684X mutation that causes type 2 diabetes. Whether this mutation evolutionarily confers adaptation in Inuit and how it causes metabolic disorders upon dietary changes are unknown due to limitations in human studies. Here, we develop a genetically modified rat model bearing an orthologous AS160R693X mutation, which mimics human patients exhibiting postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Importantly, a sugar-rich diet aggravates metabolic abnormalities in AS160R693X rats. The AS160R693X mutation diminishes a dominant long-variant AS160 without affecting a minor short-variant AS160 in skeletal muscle, which suppresses muscle glucose utilization but induces fatty acid oxidation. This fuel switch suggests a possible adaptation in Inuit who traditionally had lipid-rich hypoglycemic diets. Finally, induction of the short-variant AS160 restores glucose utilization in rat myocytes and a mouse model. Our findings have implications for development of precision treatments for patients bearing the AS160R684X mutation.