SLC2A4 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Long-term IL-6 or TNF-α treatment inhibits the expression of GLUT4 and IRS-1 in adipose tissue (Hotamisligil et al., 1996; Rotter, Nagaev & Smith, 2003), and in obese patients with T2DM, lower levels of GLUT4 and IRS-1 in VAT were observed (Georgescu et al., 2011; Lancha et al., 2015).