Hyperproinsulinemia is a disease where insulin

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

 is not sufficiently processed before secretion

Secretion

Secretion is the process of elaborating, releasing, and oozing chemicals, or a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast to excretion, the substance may have a certain function, rather than being a waste product...

 and immature forms of insulin make up the majority of circulating insulin immunoreactivity in both fasting and glucose-stimulated conditions (insulin immunoreactivity refers to all molecules detectable by an insulin antibody

Antibody

An antibody, also known as an immunoglobulin, is a large Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique part of the foreign target, termed an antigen...

, i.e. insulin, proinsulin

Proinsulin

Proinsulin is the prohormone precursor to insulin made in the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, specialized regions of the pancreas. In humans, proinsulin is encoded by the INS gene.- Synthesis and post-translational modification :...

, and proinsulin-like material). The term is composed of hyper - high, proinsulin - immature insulin molecule, and -emia - blood condition.

Hyperproinsulinemia is more frequent in type 2 diabetes. It has been attributed to either a direct β-cells

Beta cell

Beta cells are a type of cell in the pancreas located in the so-called islets of Langerhans. They make up 65-80% of the cells in the islets.-Function:...

 defect or an indirect effect of cell dysregulation under sustained elevated blood glucose (hyperglycemia).

Some allele

Allele

An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus . "Allel" is an abbreviation of allelomorph. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic traits, such as different pigmentation...

s of insulin can cause hyperproinsulinemia (see table 2: http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTD020843.htmlmonogenic forms of type 1 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus type 1

Diabetes mellitus type 1 is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. The subsequent lack of insulin leads to increased blood and urine glucose...

, INS (insulin)]. For a more detailed descriptions of the insulin gene variations leading to hyperproinsulinemia see NCBI's OMIM 176730