While these studies indicate that MIF may contribute to insulin function in non-pathological glucose homeostasis (i.e., in absence of obesity or disease), the associations observed in human studies indicate that it may have a detrimental role in obesity and the development of obesity-associated insulin resistance and T2D, i.e. conditions of metabolic stress and disturbed metabolic homeostasis. This evidence concerns the gene INS and type 2 diabetes mellitus.