Abstract
The etiology of type 2 diabetes is characterized by obesity, insulin and leptin resistance, and compensatory beta cell hyperplasia followed by islet degeneration, resulting in the eventual dysregulation of glucose and lipid homeostasis. The recent identification of insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) as a central player in the pathophysiology of many of these processes suggests a potentially unifying molecular link underlying the initiation and progression of type 2 diabetes.